The Forum Podcast
The programme that explains the present by exploring the past.
Episodes to download
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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?
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One Hundred Years of Solitude: The story of Latin America
Thu 15 Apr 2021
Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez鈥檚 modern classic that fuses the magical with real life
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Rabindranath Tagore: The Bard of Bengal
Thu 8 Apr 2021
A portrait of the prolific writer who was an environmental thinker before his time
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Pauline Viardot: 19th-Century diva
Thu 1 Apr 2021
The Franco-Spanish singer and composer who charmed European society on and off stage
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The One Thousand and One Nights
Thu 25 Mar 2021
The ancient magical tales whose origins stretch from India to Persia to Arabia
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Adventures with dentures: The story of dentistry
Thu 18 Mar 2021
The painful early roots of a profession we all rely on
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BR Ambedkar: The Dalit hero of India
Thu 11 Mar 2021
The life of perhaps the greatest social reformer in 20th-century India
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Making waves: the history of swimming
Thu 4 Mar 2021
Different strokes for different folks, embracing the story of swimming around the world
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Abraham Maslow鈥檚 psychology of human needs
Thu 25 Feb 2021
An influential 20th-century thinker who identified what motivates us
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The Kalevala: the Finnish epic that inspired a nation
Thu 18 Feb 2021
The collection of folk songs and poetry that articulated Finnish independence
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Mermaids: Tales from the deep
Thu 4 Feb 2021
A history of sea creature folklore from around the world
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Eleusinian Mysteries: Secret ceremonies promising happiness
Thu 28 Jan 2021
The enigma at the centre of ancient Greek religion
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Toussaint L鈥橭uverture: Hero of the Haitian slave rebellion
Thu 21 Jan 2021
The charismatic freed slave who was the true embodiment of French Revolutionary ideals
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Olympe de Gouges: France鈥檚 forgotten revolutionary heroine
Thu 14 Jan 2021
The French social activist, feminist and playwright who was executed at the guillotine
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Alexandre Yersin and the race to fight the plague
Thu 7 Jan 2021
The life and work of a pioneering Swiss microbiologist
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The Kingdom of Aksum: Africa's trading empire
Thu 17 Dec 2020
An ancient state in the Horn of Africa that is famed for its monumental stelae structures
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Umm Kulthum: Egypt鈥檚 singing superstar
Thu 10 Dec 2020
Exploring the life of a woman whose voice still captivates people across the Middle East
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Alexandre Dumas: The man behind the Musketeers
Thu 3 Dec 2020
The adventurous life of the much-loved French novelist
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Unlocking the mysteries of cuneiform tablets
Thu 26 Nov 2020
We explore the system of writing that developed 5,000 years ago in Ancient Mesopotamia
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First impressions: The printing press
Thu 19 Nov 2020
How the machine pioneered by 15th Century entrepreneur Johannes Gutenberg changed history
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The woman whose cells changed medical history
Thu 12 Nov 2020
The story of Henrietta Lacks who unwittingly left behind an extraordinary medical legacy
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Comenius, a pioneer of lifelong learning
Thu 5 Nov 2020
The life and work of the father of modern education
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Dido of Carthage: A love story gone wrong
Thu 29 Oct 2020
What makes the legend of Dido so appealing to the arts and beyond?
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Paul Robeson: Singer, actor and civil rights activist
Thu 22 Oct 2020
Exploring the life of a man who campaigned for disenfranchised people around the world
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Writer Jorge Luis Borges: Mixing the magical with the mundane
Thu 8 Oct 2020
Teasing and thought provoking: the works of the Argentinian master of pithy stories
Do you think political or business leaders need to be charismatic? Or do you prefer highly competent but somewhat stern people?
We鈥檇 love to hear your views on charm and charisma for a future Forum.
