The Forum

Discover world history, culture and ideas with today's leading experts.

Radio 4,75 episodes

Episodes

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Who Was the Real Cleopatra?
Bridget Kendall and guests unpick fact from fiction in the life of the last Queen of Egypt
29 Dec 2018,28 mins
From Straw Poll to Opinion Poll
Exploring the past, present and future of opinion polling
31 Mar 2018,28 mins
Stanislavsky: Founder of Modern Acting
Bridget Kendall presents the ideas discussion show.
17 Feb 2018,28 mins
Nikola Tesla's Electric Dreams
Bridget Kendall and guests discuss the life and inventions of engineer Nikola Tesla.
06 Jan 2018,28 mins
Making Scents: The Story of Perfume
Bridget Kendall and guests explore how fine fragrance became what it is today.
30 Dec 2017,28 mins
Picasso: Artist of Reinvention
How an artist changed our way of seeing.
07 Oct 2017,28 mins
The One Thousand and One Nights
Rajan Datar and guests explore the power of storytelling.
30 Sep 2017,28 mins
Up Close with the Tango
The dance that seduced the world
23 Sep 2017,28 mins
The Magic of Bronze
Bridget Kendall and guests explore the history and importance of bronze.
26 Aug 2017,28 mins
Marie Curie - A Pioneering Life
The extraordinary life of the Polish scientist who changed the course of physics.
19 Aug 2017,28 mins
Indian Princely States
Rajan Datar explores a lost world of culture and romance.
12 Aug 2017,28 mins
The Bittersweet Tale of Cocoa
Bridget Kendall and guests explore the origins of chocolate.
05 Aug 2017,28 mins
Mata Hari: Dancer, Lover, Spy
What is the truth behind the legendary WWI spy-seductress?
15 Apr 2017,28 mins
Fire: How Climate Change Is Altering Our Attitudes to Wildfires
Bridget Kendall and guests explore ideas about how wildfires should be dealt with.
18 Feb 2017,30 mins
The New Curators: Who Decides What's Culturally Important?
How the idea of curation has radically changed.
31 Dec 2016,28 mins
Balloons and How They Changed the World
The extraordinary impact of balloons on human society.
24 Sep 2016,28 mins
Reawakening Language
How can we save or 'reawaken' dying languages?
03 Sep 2016,28 mins
The Element of Surprise
Bridget Kendall and guests explore the unexpected in art, science and everyday life.
27 Aug 2016,28 mins
Grass Roots: The Impact and Influence of 'People's' Movements
Bridget Kendall and guests explores how 'people's' movements are changing.
20 Aug 2016,28 mins
Taming Nature
What lies behind our desire to improve and perfect nature?
13 Aug 2016,28 mins
Living at the Edge: Life in Extreme Environments
Extreme life and synthetic biology in the sea, on land and in space.
06 Aug 2016,28 mins
Wheel Revolutions
Bridget Kendall and guests discuss the technology and art of wheeled transport.
30 Jul 2016,28 mins
Machine Translation: The End of the Human Translator?
Will new technology mean the end of the human translator?
04 Jun 2016,28 mins
The Hidden Power of Noise
Bridget Kendall and guests discuss why we should pay more attention to background noise.
09 Apr 2016,28 mins
The Power of Wind
Bridget Kendall and guests explore the impact of the wind on Earth, in space and in art.
02 Apr 2016,28 mins
Being Cold
Bridget Kendall travels to Canada to find out how weather affects a nation's character.
02 Jan 2016,28 mins
Core: A Journey to the Centre of the Things
A journey to the very centre of the earth, the universe and ourselves.
26 Dec 2015,28 mins
Design and Beauty
How important is beauty in design? Bridget Kendall and guests discuss.
14 Nov 2015,28 mins
Worlds in Miniature
Bridget Kendall and guests explore why tiny things appeal to us.
10 Oct 2015,28 mins
Deja Vu
Is deja vu a brain glitch or misplaced 'real' memory? Bridget Kendall and guests discuss.
03 Oct 2015,28 mins