The Essay Episodes Available now
Berlin—Cities on the Brink
3/5 Stephen Evans focuses on life in Berlin in 1914, seen as the Silicon Valley of its time.
Paris—Cities on the Brink
2/5 Hugh Schofield on the storm in Paris over the murder of pacifist Jean Jaures before WWI.
Vienna—Cities on the Brink
1/5 Bethany Bell evokes the elegance and dark tensions of 1914 Vienna - and their echoes now.
Seeing the Future—Let There Be Dark
5/5 Rupert Goodwins on the potential of the internet to improve the future for blind people.
Long, Slow Journey through the Night—Let There Be Dark
4/5 Rupert Goodwins tries to find if technology can limit his isolation from blindness.
Doctoring the Evidence—Let There Be Dark
3/5 Rupert Goodwins reflects on the medical experience of losing his sight.
Behind the Eyes—Let There Be Dark
2/5 Writer Rupert Goodwins describes unexpected insights he gained as he lost his sight.
Let There Be Dark—Let There Be Dark
1/5 Rupert Goodwins on what going blind suddenly taught him about science, culture and life.
Al-Farabi—The Islamic Golden Age
10/20 Professor Peter Adamson discusses the great Muslim philosopher Al-Farabi.
Al-Tabari—The Islamic Golden Age
9/20 Hugh Kennedy discusses the life and times of the great historian of early Islam, al-Tabari
