* Astronomy

• Pocahontas 21 Nov 13

  Duration: 42 mins

  Pocahontas was a Native American woman who became a symbol of the New World to English eyes. During the colonisation of Virginia in the early 17th century, Pocahontas was captured by the English, converted to Christianity, married a settler and travelled to England where she was regarded as a curiosity. She died in 1617 aged 22 and was buried in Gravesend; her story has fascinated generations on both sides of the Atlantic and has been reinterpreted by many writers and artists. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Susan Castillo, Harriet Beecher Stowe Emeritus Professor of American Studies at King's College London; Tim Lockley, Reader in American Studies at the University of Warwick and Jacqueline Fear-Segal, Reader in American History and Culture at the University of East Anglia.

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• The Tempest 14 Nov 13

  Duration: 42 mins

  The Tempest is thought to be one of Shakespeare's final works and contains some of his most poetic and memorable passages. It was influenced by accounts of distant lands written by contemporary explorers, and by the complex politics of the early Jacobean age. The play is set entirely on an unnamed island inhabited by the magician Prospero, his daughter Miranda and the monstrous Caliban, one of Shakespeare's most intriguing characters. Its themes include magic and the nature of theatre itself - and some modern critics have seen it as an early meditation on the ethics of colonialism. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Jonathan Bate, Provost of Worcester College, Oxford; Erin Sullivan, Lecturer and Fellow at the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham and Katherine Duncan-Jones, Emeritus Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford.

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• Ordinary Language Philosophy 7 Nov 13

  Duration: 42 mins

  Ordinary Language Philosophy was a school of thought which emerged in Oxford in the years following World War II. With its roots in the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Ordinary Language Philosophy is concerned with the meanings of words as used in everyday speech. Its adherents believed that many philosophical problems were created by the misuse of words, and that if such 'ordinary language' were correctly analysed, such problems would disappear. Philosophers associated with the school include some of the most distinguished British thinkers of the 20th century, such as Gilbert Ryle and JL Austin. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Stephen Mulhall, Professor of Philosophy at New College, Oxford; Ray Monk, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton and Julia Tanney, Reader in Philosophy of Mind at the University of Kent.

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• The Berlin Conference 31 Oct 13

  Duration: 43 mins

  The Berlin Conference of 1884 brought together Europe's leading powers to discuss trade and territorial rights in Africa. It is widely seen as one of the most significant events in the process known as the Scramble for Africa, and the decisions reached had effects which have lasted to the present day. In the following decades, European nations laid claim to most of the continent. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Richard Drayton, Rhodes Professor of Imperial History at King's College London; Richard Rathbone, Emeritus Professor of African History at SOAS, University of London and Joanna Lewis, Assistant Professor of Imperial History at the LSE, University of London.

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The Book of Common Prayer 17 Oct 13

Duration: 42 mins

The Book of Common Prayer, first published in 1549, contained versions of the liturgy in English. Compiled by Thomas Cranmer, the book was at the centre of the decade of religious turmoil that followed, and disputes over its use were one of the major causes of the English Civil War in the 1640s. The book was revised several times before the celebrated final version was published in 1662. It is still in use in many churches today, and remains not just a liturgical text of great importance but a literary work of profound beauty. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford; Alexandra Walsham, Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge and Martin Palmer, Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education, and Culture.

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Exoplanets 3 Oct 13

Duration: 43 mins

Exoplanets are planets beyond our solar system. Astronomers have speculated about their existence for centuries, but it was not until the 1990s that instruments became sophisticated enough to detect such remote objects. Since then, more than 900 exoplanets have been discovered, and scientists are now able to reach increasingly sophisticated conclusions about what they look like - and whether they might be able to support life. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Carolin Crawford, Gresham Professor of Astronomy and a member of the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge; Don Pollacco, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Warwick and Suzanne Aigrain, Lecturer in Astrophysics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of All Souls College.

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Pascal 19 Sep 13

Duration: 42 mins

Pascal was a brilliant 17th-century mathematician and scientist who invented one of the first mechanical calculators and made important discoveries about fluids and vacuums while still a young man. In his thirties he experienced a religious conversion, after which he devoted most of his attention to philosophy and theology. Although he died in his late thirties, Pascal left a formidable legacy as a scientist and pioneer of probability theory, and as one of seventeenth century Europe's greatest writers.

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