Patricia Fara
Emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge
17 episodes
Appears in multiple episodes with: Simon Schaffer
Covers topics in categories such as:
Emilie du Châtelet
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 18th-century mathematical genius whose insights into Newton and Leibniz were part of the great advance in science in the Enlightenment.
4 February 2021
Also featuring: David Wootton, Judith Zinsser
ScienceFrench physicists18th-century French philosophersDeaths in childbirth18th-century French writersContributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772)French women philosophersDeaths from pulmonary embolism18th-century French mathematicians18th-century philosophers18th-century French scientists18th-century French women writersFrench women physicistsDorothy Hodgkin
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the work, ideas and life of the woman who won the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on the structures of vitamin B12 and penicillin.
3 October 2019
Also featuring: Georgina Ferry, Judith Howard
ScienceMembers of the Order of MeritFellows of the Royal SocietyForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesFellows of Somerville College, OxfordAlumni of Newnham College, CambridgeBritish biochemistsRecipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and ArtNobel laureates in ChemistryRecipients of the Copley MedalFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesWomen Nobel laureatesAlumni of Somerville College, OxfordBritish Nobel laureatesRecipients of the Dalton Medal20th-century British biologistsForeign members of the USSR Academy of SciencesEnglish Nobel laureates20th-century British chemists, British biophysicists, British crystallographersBritish scientists with disabilitiesRoyal Medal winnersRosalind Franklin
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the achievements of the pioneering scientist Rosalind Franklin.
22 February 2018
Also featuring: Jim Naismith, Judith Howard
Robert Hooke
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Robert Hooke, the 17th-century scientist with a wide variety of interests from elasticity to microscopes who fell out with Newton.
18 February 2016
Also featuring: David Wootton, Rob Iliffe
The Curies
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the scientific achievements of the Curie family, Marie and Pierre and their daughter Irene Joliot-Curie, all three of whom won Nobel Prizes.
26 March 2015
Also featuring: Robert Fox, Steven T Bramwell
HistoryFrench atheistsNobel laureates in PhysicsFrench Nobel laureatesFormer Roman CatholicsLegion of Honour refusalsBurials at the Panthéon, ParisExperimental physicistsCorresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesNaturalized citizens of FranceNobel laureates in ChemistryFrench women physicistsWomen Nobel laureatesAcademic staff of the University of ParisCorresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925)Honorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Recipients of the Matteucci MedalDiscoverers of chemical elementsFrench agnostics19th-century French chemistsUniversity of Paris alumniWomen inventorsWomen nuclear physicistsBenjamin Franklin
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of the scientist, writer, printer, diplomat and American founding father Benjamin Franklin.
1 March 2012
Also featuring: Simon Middleton, Simon Newman
CultureMasonic grand mastersFellows of the Royal SocietyHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesIndependent scholarsAmerican male non-fiction writersTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of literatureAmerican deistsAge of EnlightenmentSocial philosophersPhilosophy writersPhilosophers of technologyAmerican political philosophersActivists for African-American civil rightsWriters about religion and sciencePolitical activists from PennsylvaniaAphoristsRecipients of the Copley MedalRhetoric theoristsFellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences18th-century pseudonymous writersAmerican people of English descentAmerican philosophers of cultureHumor researchersAmerican male journalistsRecreational cryptographers, Writers from Boston, Writers from PhiladelphiaHall of Fame for Great Americans inducteesAmerican philosophers of religion18th-century American politicians, American Freemasons, Signers of the United States ConstitutionPhilosophers from MassachusettsMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyPeople associated with electricityCreators of writing systemsWriters about activism and social changePhilosophers of scienceAmerican slave ownersPhilosophers of historyAmerican autobiographers18th-century American writers, Founding Fathers of the United States, People of the American EnlightenmentSimple living advocatesIndependent scientistsAmerican philosophers of educationWomen and Enlightenment Science
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the role played by women in Enlightenment science.
4 November 2010
Also featuring: Karen O'Brien, Judith Hawley
Calculus
Melvyn Bragg and guests Patricia Fara, Simon Schaffer and Jackie Stedall discuss the dispute between Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz over who invented calculus.
24 September 2009
Also featuring: Simon Schaffer, Jackie Stedall
Baconian Science
Melvyn Bragg and guests Patricia Fara, Stephen Pumfrey and Rhodri Lewis discuss the Jacobean lawyer, political fixer and alleged founder of modern science Francis Bacon.
2 April 2009
Also featuring: Stephen Pumfrey, Rhodri Lewis
Vitalism
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Vitalism, an 18th and 19th century quest for the spark of life and the science behind Frankenstein.
16 October 2008
Also featuring: Andrew Mendelsohn, Pietro Corsi
Ada Lovelace
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 19th century mathematician and hard living daughter of Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace.
6 March 2008
Also featuring: Doron Swade, John Fuegi
Humboldt
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Prussian naturalist and explorer, Alexander Von Humboldt. A hero in South America; Charles Darwin described him as ‘the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived’.
28 September 2006
Also featuring: Jason Wilson, Jim Secord
ScienceUniversity of Jena alumniHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences18th-century German LGBTQ peopleGerman LutheransGerman travel writersForeign members of the Royal SocietyRecipients of the Copley MedalFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesMembers of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesUniversity of Göttingen alumniHuman geographersGay scientistsMembers of the French Academy of SciencesRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Members of the Prussian Academy of SciencesMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesMembers of the Bavarian Academy of SciencesIndependent scientistsElectrickery
Melvyn Bragg discusses the dawn of the age of electricity, from lightning conductors to leaping soldiers and Franklin to Frankenstein.
4 November 2004
Also featuring: Simon Schaffer, Iwan Morus
Rutherford
Melvyn Bragg discusses Ernest Rutherford. He is seen as the father of nuclear science, a great charismatic figure who mapped the landscape of the sub-atomic world.
19 February 2004
Also featuring: Simon Schaffer, Jim Al-Khalili
ScienceHonorary Fellows of the Royal Society of EdinburghPersons of National Historic Significance (Canada)Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences19th-century British physicistsKnights BachelorAcademics of the Victoria University of ManchesterBurials at Westminster AbbeyExperimental physicistsRecipients of Franklin MedalNobel laureates in ChemistryRecipients of the Copley MedalFellows of Trinity College, Cambridge20th-century British physicists, Members of the Pontifical Academy of SciencesRadio pioneersCorresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925)Honorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Recipients of the Matteucci MedalBritish Nobel laureatesDiscoverers of chemical elementsRecipients of the Dalton MedalCavendish Professors of PhysicsMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyEnglish Nobel laureates20th-century British scientists