Ask any overseas reader “what is the Best of British?” and they usually cite the BBC and its ecological superstar Sir David Attenborough. But the BBC contains another hidden gem. One that is free, easy to access, and which you may not have heard of. Ladies and Gentlemen, allow us to present Melvyn Bragg and In Our Time. [1]
For this is a golden trove of learning on every conceivable subject and every intelligent man or woman who has ever lived(except for the ones they haven’t covered yet) Aeschylus, the Artheshastra, Booth, the Bacchae……Shakespeare, Schopenhauer……we could go on. All presented in the same easily-assimilable 48 minute format where Melvyn gets in three of the top academics in any chosen field and lets them talk. But not at length! A recurring highlight is when he reigns in some rambling academic and reminds them that they’re there to talk about that day’s topic, not some obscure side branch from one hundred years before. And every show since 1998 has been collected and archived so you can dip in to as many or as few as you wish.
This is learning as it should be. Before they came along and ruined it for you with endless exams, assessments, targets and crushing assignments. A world of eclectic discovery and thought-and wonder. We have never been sure if those who didn’t go to a University at 18 ever missed much, at least not with the state of contemporary education. But now, thanks to Melvyn, anyone can get what is most worthwhile from that experience, while avoiding all the soul-destroying torments that have been layered on top. Now everyone can go to University.And this time they can enjoy it.
[1]https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qykl?page=3
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Learning, Science and Society 