Portrait of Lord Melvyn Bragg, host of In Our Time

Martin Palmer

Visiting Professor in Religion, History and Nature at the University of Winchester

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22 episodes

Appears in multiple episodes with: Caroline Humfress, John Haldane, Justin Champion, John Carey

Covers topics in categories such as:

  1. Arianism

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss a widely shared form of Christianity, followed in the Roman empire and by the Goths across its borders, that became an infamous heresy.

    15 April 2021

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    Also featuring: Judith Herrin, Robin Whelan

     
  2. Augustine's Confessions

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss St Augustine's account of his life, sometimes called the first autobiography, written around AD397 after he had been appointed as Bishop of Hippo.

    15 March 2018

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    Also featuring: Kate Cooper, Morwenna Ludlow

     
  3. Baltic Crusades

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the fight, led by orders such as the Teutonic Knights and supported by the popes, to convert pagans in what became known as the Baltic Crusades.

    24 November 2016

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    Also featuring: Aleks Pluskowski, Nora Berend

     
  4. Prester John

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Prester John, the legendary Christian king said to rule over a lost nation in 'The Indies' and ready to support Christians in Europe.

    4 June 2015

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    Also featuring: Marianne O'Doherty, Amanda Power

     
  5. The Trinity

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the doctrine of the Trinity, the idea of a threefold God, which lies at the heart of Christianity.

    13 March 2014

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    Also featuring: Janet Soskice, The Reverend Graham Ward

     
  6. The Book of Common Prayer

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Book of Common Prayer, published after the Reformation in order to make church liturgy available in English.

    17 October 2013

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    Also featuring: Diarmaid MacCulloch, Alexandra Walsham

     
  7. Gnosticism

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Gnosticism, a religious sect associated with early Christianity.

    2 May 2013

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    Also featuring: Caroline Humfress, Alastair Logan

     
  8. King Solomon

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Solomon, the biblical king celebrated in the Old Testament for his wisdom.

    7 June 2012

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    Also featuring: Philip Alexander, Katharine Dell

     
  9. Shinto

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Japanese belief system of Shinto.

    22 September 2011

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    Also featuring: Richard Bowring, Lucia Dolce

     
  10. The Pelagian Controversy

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Pelagian Controversy, one of the most significant doctrinal disputes of the early church.

    21 April 2011

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    Also featuring: Caroline Humfress, John Milbank

     
  11. Daoism

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Daoism, a Chinese belief system encompassing both religion and philosophy.

    16 December 2010

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    Also featuring: Tim Barrett, Hilde de Weerdt

     
  12. St Thomas Aquinas

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss St Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic Church's foremost western philosopher and theologian.

    17 September 2009

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    Also featuring: John Haldane, Annabel Brett

     
  13. Miracles

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the history of miracles, the subject of fierce theological debate, intense popular piety and serious medical study.

    25 September 2008

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    Also featuring: Janet Soskice, Justin Champion

     
  14. The Nicene Creed

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the Nicene Creed, a statement of essential faith that established the Divinity of Christ and has been spoken for over 1600 years in Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Churches

    27 December 2007

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    Also featuring: Caroline Humfress, Andrew Louth

     
  15. Hell

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the idea of Hell and its changing appearance in literature and the visual arts from Ancient Egypt to today.

    21 December 2006

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    Also featuring: Margaret Kean, Neil MacGregor

     
  16. Heaven

    Melvyn Bragg discusses heaven and the afterlife, from Ancient Egypt, Zoroastrianism and Judaism through to Christianity, the arch promoter of heaven.

    22 December 2005

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    Also featuring: Valery Rees, John Carey

     
  17. Angels

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the heavenly host of Angels, so popular with so many believers and so problematic for philosophers and theologians.

    24 March 2005

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    Also featuring: Valery Rees, John Haldane

     
  18. The Fall

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the idea of original sin and its impact on politics, gender and notions of morality in western culture, examining Augustine, Milton, the Masaccio frescoes and Charles Darwin.

    8 April 2004

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    Also featuring: Griselda Pollock, John Carey

     
  19. The Devil

    Melvyn Bragg discusses how the Devil came into being and why it took so long for him to become an established figure in Christianity.

    11 December 2003

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    Also featuring: Alison Rowlands, David Wootton

     
  20. The Apocalypse

    Melvyn Bragg discusses how this powerful narrative of judgement and retribution evolved, and how it still shapes our thinking on the deepest questions of morality and history.

    17 July 2003

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    Also featuring: Marina Benjamin, Justin Champion

     
  21. Muslim Spain

    Melvyn Bragg discusses Muslim Spain, a culture that lasted 700 years, from Cordoba’s golden age to the fall of Granada.

    21 November 2002

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    Also featuring: Tim Winter, Mehri Niknam

     
  22. The Soul

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the spectrum of ideas about the soul, the extent of human individuality, and the history of thought concerning immortality and the afterlife.

    6 June 2002

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    Also featuring: Richard Sorabji, Ruth Padel