The Forum Podcast
The programme that explains the present by exploring the past.
Episodes to download
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The Devils: Dostoevsky鈥檚 novel of political evil
Thu 4 Nov 2021
Dostoevsky鈥檚 study of terrorism and poisoned ideals in pre-revolutionary Russia
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A focus on spectacles
Thu 28 Oct 2021
Looking at the history of an invention many of us take for granted
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Sarah Bernhardt: Queen of stage and screen
Thu 21 Oct 2021
The 19th Century French actress who defined modern celebrity
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A dirty history of diamonds
Thu 14 Oct 2021
The complex and sometimes shocking story of the diamond industry throughout history
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Sushi: The Japanese dish with an ancient tradition
Thu 30 Sep 2021
Sushi originally started in East Asia as a means of preserving fish
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Toni Morrison: The legacy of a literary legend
Thu 23 Sep 2021
How her influence as a writer extends across the globe
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Algorithms: From the ancients to the internet
Thu 16 Sep 2021
The 4,000-year history of the mathematical operations that now govern our daily lives.
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Louder! How the electric guitar conquered popular music
Thu 9 Sep 2021
The origins and early years of making the guitar electric
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Luigi Pirandello: Italian dramatist who brought chaos to the stage
Thu 2 Sep 2021
The radical, convention-breaking plays of an architect of modern 20th century theatre
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Mars: A history of the Red Planet
Thu 26 Aug 2021
When might we send humans to one of our closest neighbours in our solar system?
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A radiant light: The Indonesian poet Amir Hamzah
Thu 19 Aug 2021
The romantic works and tragic life of a noble writer from Sumatra
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Sailing by the stars: The pioneering voyages of David Lewis
Thu 12 Aug 2021
One man's intrepid quest to revive ancient navigation
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Inside the mind of crime writer Patricia Highsmith
Thu 5 Aug 2021
A 20th century master of the psychological thriller
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Ibn Sina: The Persian polymath
Mon 2 Aug 2021
Best known for his Canon of Medicine, Avicenna helped shape modern science
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The Panama Canal: The real story behind the engineering triumph
Thu 29 Jul 2021
The Canal that joined up the Atlantic and Pacific oceans but how did it impact Panama?
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Ida Pfeiffer: 19th Century globetrotter
Thu 22 Jul 2021
The eccentric traveller and collector who circumnavigated the globe twice
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Rain or shine? A short history of the weather forecast
Thu 15 Jul 2021
A century and a half of scientific meteorology
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Emile Berliner, inventor of the gramophone
Thu 8 Jul 2021
How mass-produced audio discs transformed our sound world
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The Wizard of Oz: A homegrown American fairy tale
Thu 24 Jun 2021
The magical story of Dorothy, a plucky American heroine who follows the yellow brick road
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Falconry: The history of hunting with birds of prey
Thu 17 Jun 2021
From nomads to nobles, the working relationship between humans and raptors
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Aramaic: An imperial language without an empire
Thu 10 Jun 2021
A history of one of the oldest living languages in the world
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X-rays: New ways of seeing
Thu 3 Jun 2021
The discovery of X-rays in 1895 and how it transformed our world
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Machiavelli, master of power
Thu 27 May 2021
The life and reputation of Niccol貌 Machiavelli鈥檚 The Prince
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The birth of the modern car
Thu 20 May 2021
Design milestones in the early history of motor vehicles
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Ukulele - a history of Hawaii's national instrument
Thu 13 May 2021
The mini guitar that came to symbolise Hawaiian culture
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Tadeusz Kosciuszko, groundbreaking fort builder
Thu 6 May 2021
The engineer who championed freedom on two continents
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The census: A snapshot of life
Thu 29 Apr 2021
Charting the history of counting and classifying people the world over
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Unravelling the history of knitting
Thu 22 Apr 2021
What are the origins of knitting and how did it spread to different parts of the world?
