The Forum

The programme that explains the present by exploring the past.

World Service,763 episodes

Episodes

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The American author James Baldwin
A giant of twentieth century American culture
01 Sep 2018,40 mins
The Acropolis: Cradle of democracy
How the Acropolis of Athens provided the West with its foundations of politics and drama
25 Aug 2018,40 mins
Friedrich Engels: The Man Behind Karl Marx
The eventful life of Engels and his pivotal contribution to Marxism
18 Aug 2018,40 mins
Empress Nur Jahan: Leader of the Mughals
The woman who wielded unparalleled power over the Mughal Empire in 17th century India
11 Aug 2018,38 mins
Waiting for Godot: The play that changed the rules of theatre
How a play in which nothing happens created a revolution in contemporary theatre
04 Aug 2018,40 mins
Christina of Sweden: Queen of surprises
The rebellious monarch who scandalised 17th-century Europe
28 Jul 2018,39 mins
Vincent van Gogh: The struggling artist
Charting the highs and lows of the influential Dutch post-Impressionist painter
21 Jul 2018,40 mins
Mark Twain: The 'father of American literature'
Bridget Kendall and guests discuss the life, work and legacy of Mark Twain
14 Jul 2018,40 mins
Pioneers of surgical hygiene
The painful route to cleanliness in 19th century hospitals
07 Jul 2018,40 mins
The invention of numbers
How numbers and counting shaped our world
30 Jun 2018,40 mins
The life and works of William Blake
Radical visionary, artist and poet
23 Jun 2018,40 mins
J. William Fulbright: Scholarships and Soft Power
The man behind the renowned scholarship programme
16 Jun 2018,40 mins
The tales of Timbuktu
How a remote desert town in Mali became world famous
09 Jun 2018,40 mins
The piano: Hitting the right keys
Bridget Kendall and guests lift the lid on 300 years of the piano
02 Jun 2018,40 mins
Simone de Beauvoir: Feminist thinker for modern times
How a philosophical thinker radically changed the way we see women
26 May 2018,39 mins
Catherine the Great of Russia
A woman and a foreigner who usurped her way to the throne in 18th century Russia
19 May 2018,40 mins
Material World: Making the Modern Factory
The global factory story
12 May 2018,40 mins
Machu Picchu: The secrets of a forgotten city
The enigma of the Inca mountain retreat
05 May 2018,40 mins
Plastic: How it Changed the World
Experts from the world of science discuss the story of plastic with presenter Rajan Datar
28 Apr 2018,40 mins
Sugar: A Sweet Menace
How sugar travelled across the world and seduced all on its path
21 Apr 2018,40 mins
What is Zoroastrianism?
The history of a venerable religion
14 Apr 2018,40 mins
Votes for Women: the Global Story
The extraordinary stories of the women around the world who won the right to vote
07 Apr 2018,40 mins
From Straw Poll to Opinion Poll
With us since the 1930s, polls help forecast elections and conduct market research
31 Mar 2018,40 mins
Lawrence of Arabia
The life of T.E Lawrence renowned for his involvement with the Arab Revolt during WW1
24 Mar 2018,40 mins
Yves Saint Laurent: Fashion revolutionary
Bridget Kendall and guests on the glamorous world of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.
17 Mar 2018,39 mins
Herman Melville: Moby Dick
The 19th Century epic novel on a vengeful sailor’s battle with the great ‘white whale’
10 Mar 2018,40 mins
The original Goths
The ancient tribe which shaped Europe's history
03 Mar 2018,40 mins
Dante’s Inferno: The poetry of Hell
The imagined poetic voyage through Hell that explores the meaning of human existence
24 Feb 2018,40 mins
Magellan: First Man Round the Globe?
The story of the man whose voyage accidently circumnavigated the globe
17 Feb 2018,40 mins
The Little Prince: Lessons from an aviator’s life
Who was Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and how did he come to write The Little Prince?
10 Feb 2018,40 mins