3. Religion Podcast
Religion Podcast
Discussion of religious movements and the theories and individuals behind them.
Updated: occasionally
Episodes available: indefinitely
123 Episodes – 2024-02-06
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1
Episodes to download
Thu 7 Dec 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the influential Swiss protestant theologian.
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Thu 9 Mar 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ancient Sanskrit epic.
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Thu 12 Jan 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the priest who was one of England's finest love poets.
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Thu 23 Jun 2022
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great Cambodian temple complex, begun 900 years ago.
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Thu 19 May 2022
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 17th-century Czech educator committed to toleration.
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Thu 28 Apr 2022
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Eusebius of Caesarea and his stories of Christian martyrs.
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Thu 31 Mar 2022
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Michelangelo's iconic frescoes in Renaissance Rome.
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Thu 15 Apr 2021
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss an orthodox form of Christianity that became a heresy.
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Thu 18 Feb 2021
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Christian pilgrimage in Europe in the Middle Ages.
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Thu 28 Jan 2021
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life of one of England's most revered saints.
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Thu 10 Dec 2020
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Wesley's role in the rise of Methodism in the 18th Century
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Thu 8 Oct 2020
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most disruptive ideas of the Enlightenment.
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Thu 12 Mar 2020
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Presbyterian solidarity in C17th Scotland and its impact.
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Thu 26 Sep 2019
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the idea that believers will vanish from the world.
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Thu 6 Jun 2019
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the physician with a curious mind in dangerous times
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Thu 14 Feb 2019
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how this Bible story has inspired artists for centuries.
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Thu 10 Jan 2019
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the idea that Popes cannot err in exercise of their office
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Thu 6 Dec 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the devastating war across the Holy Roman Empire 1618-1648
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Thu 22 Nov 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the philosophy of hope - a weakness or a strength?
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Thu 27 Sep 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the German theologian, killed for plotting against Hitler
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Thu 15 Mar 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss St Augustine's account of his conversion to Christianity.
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Thu 11 Jan 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Ottoman attack on the Knights Hospitaller in Malta.
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Thu 14 Dec 2017
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life, murder and impact of Thomas Becket (c 1118-1170)
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Thu 5 Oct 2017
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Roman emperor Constantine the Great.
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Thu 25 May 2017
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of the idea of Purgatory.
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Thu 24 Nov 2016
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss crusades against Baltic pagans from 12th Century onwards.
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Thu 6 Oct 2016
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the goddess Lakshmi.
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Margery Kempe and English Mysticism
Thu 2 Jun 2016
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Margery Kempe, the medieval English mystic.
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Titus Oates and his 'Popish Plot'
Thu 12 May 2016
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Titus Oates and his fictitious Popish Plot.
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2
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Thu 7 Apr 2016
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Empire.
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Thu 25 Feb 2016
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Mary Magdalene, one of the best-known figures in the Bible
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Thu 26 Nov 2015
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Salem witch trials.
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Thu 4 Jun 2015
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the legend of Prester John.
Thu 21 May 2015
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Flavius Josephus, author of The Jewish War.
Matteo Ricci and the Ming Dynasty
Thu 16 Apr 2015
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Matteo Ricci's 16th-century travels in Ming China.
Thu 19 Mar 2015
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval Islamic thinker Al-Ghazali.
Thu 4 Dec 2014
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Zen, a distinctively East Asian form of Buddhism.
Thu 26 Jun 2014
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval writer and mystic Hildegard of Bingen.
Thu 29 May 2014
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Talmud, a major text of rabbinical Judaism.
Thu 20 Mar 2014
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the 18th-century philosopher George Berkeley.
Thu 13 Mar 2014
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Trinity, a central doctrine of Christianity.
Thu 5 Dec 2013
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Hindu ideas about the creation of the universe.
Thu 17 Oct 2013
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Book of Common Prayer.
Thu 13 Jun 2013
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss prophecy in the Abrahamic religions.
Thu 2 May 2013
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Gnosticism, a sect associated with early Christianity.
Thu 27 Dec 2012
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the cult of Mithras, the Roman mystery religion.
Thu 8 Nov 2012
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Upanishads, the sacred texts of Hinduism.
Thu 27 Sep 2012
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Ontological Argument for the existence of God.
Thu 7 Jun 2012
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the biblical king Solomon.
Thu 5 Apr 2012
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the origins of Quakerism.
Thu 9 Feb 2012
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Renaissance scholar Desiderius Erasmus.
Thu 12 Jan 2012
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Safavid Dynasty of early modern Iran.
Thu 15 Dec 2011
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Concordat of Worms of 1122.
Thu 24 Nov 2011
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the revolutionary Jewish leader Judas Maccabeus.
Thu 22 Sep 2011
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Japanese belief system of Shinto.
Thu 16 Jun 2011
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss John Wyclif and the Lollards.
Thu 5 May 2011
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the origins of Islamic law.
Thu 21 Apr 2011
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the church's most significant doctrinal disputes.
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Thu 31 Mar 2011
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Bhagavad Gita, a key text of Hinduism.
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Episodes to download
Thu 17 Feb 2011
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides.
Thu 16 Dec 2010
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Daoism, the ancient Chinese philosophy and religion.
Thu 18 Nov 2010
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Foxe's Book of Martyrs.
Thu 30 Sep 2010
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Delphic Oracle.
Thu 10 Jun 2010
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Central Asian scientist and historian al-Biruni.
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William James's 'The Varieties of Religious Experience'
Thu 13 May 2010
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James.
Thu 25 Feb 2010
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas of John Calvin and their impact.
Thu 5 Nov 2009
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Siege of Munster in 1534-35.
Thu 17 Sep 2009
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss St Thomas Aquinas.
Thu 25 Jun 2009
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the origins of the split between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims
Thu 28 May 2009
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the influence of St Paul on the early Christian church.
Thu 14 May 2009
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1683 siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Army.
Thu 20 Nov 2008
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the culture of the Baroque.
Thu 23 Oct 2008
Melvyn Bragg examines Dante’s ‘Inferno’, a medieval journey through Hell’s nine circles
Thu 25 Sep 2008
Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the history of miracles.
Thu 3 Jul 2008
Melvyn Bragg examines the Metaphysical poets, including John Donne and Andrew Marvell.
Thu 26 Jun 2008
Melvyn Bragg examines the Arab conquests which helped communicate Islam to the world.
The Dissolution of the Monasteries
Thu 27 Mar 2008
Melvyn Bragg examines Henry VIII's policy of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Thu 13 Mar 2008
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Greek myths from Achilles to Zeus.
Thu 17 Jan 2008
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the enigmatic myth of the Fisher King.
Thu 27 Dec 2007
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Nicene Creed which established the Divinity of Christ.
Thu 5 Jul 2007
Melvyn Bragg discusses what the Pilgrim Fathers and the Mayflower mean to Americans.
Thu 31 May 2007
Melvyn Bragg discusses the ideas of William Ockham including Ockham's Razor.
Thu 3 May 2007
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Dutch, Jewish and Christian Philosopher, Baruch Spinoza.
Thu 5 Apr 2007
Melvyn Bragg discusses the 7th century abbess, St Hilda.
Thu 18 Jan 2007
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Jesuits, “the school masters of Europe”.
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Thu 21 Dec 2006
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of Hell and its representation in the arts.
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Thu 12 Oct 2006
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the events that helped trigger the European Reformation.
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Thu 22 Jun 2006
Melvyn Bragg examines the Spanish Inquisition, defenders of medieval orthodoxy.
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Thu 11 May 2006
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 5000 year cultural history of fairies.
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Episodes to download
Thu 13 Apr 2006
Melvyn Bragg examines the 19th century Catholic movement within the Church of England.
Thu 22 Dec 2005
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss ideas of heaven and the afterlife.
Thu 10 Nov 2005
Melvyn Bragg looks at the religious orders of the Dominicans and the Franciscans.
Thu 16 Jun 2005
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the return of classical pagan thought in the Renaissance.
Thu 5 May 2005
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the medieval tale of Abelard and Heloise.
Thu 24 Mar 2005
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the heavenly host of Angels.
Thu 25 Nov 2004
The life and work of the Venerable Bede who revolutionised Christian scholarship.
Thu 11 Nov 2004
The history of Zoroastrianism, claimed to be the first monotheistic religion.
Thu 21 Oct 2004
The history of witchcraft in Reformation Europe.
Thu 20 May 2004
Melvyn Bragg looks at the politics behind the rise of religious freedom in England.
Thu 8 Apr 2004
Melvyn Bragg examines the concept of original sin and its influence in Christian Europe.
Thu 11 Mar 2004
Melvyn Bragg examines the myths and theology that inspired the Vikings.
Thu 11 Dec 2003
Melvyn Bragg examines how the Devil became an established figure in Christianity.
Thu 27 Nov 2003
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the infamous St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572.
Thu 16 Oct 2003
Melvyn Bragg examines events surrounding the medieval division of the Christian Church.
Thu 17 Jul 2003
Melvyn Bragg examines how a powerful narrative of judgement and retribution evolved.
Thu 22 May 2003
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss blood, from medical progress to the link to the divine.
Thu 15 May 2003
Melvyn Bragg examines why the Holy Grail legend has fascinated writers for centuries.
Thu 13 Mar 2003
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss redemption, crucial for Judeo-Christian thought.
Thu 20 Feb 2003
Melvyn Bragg examines the manuscripts that united Celtic and Roman cultures in England.
Thu 21 Nov 2002
Melvyn Bragg examines Muslim Spain, from Cordoba’s golden age to the fall of Granada.
Thu 6 Jun 2002
The history of thought on immortality, the self and the afterlife.
Thu 21 Mar 2002
The history of marriage from ancient Greek and Babylonian times to today.
Thu 14 Mar 2002
The life of Siddhartha Gautama and the legacy of his teachings.
Thu 31 Jan 2002
Melvyn Bragg explores the strange and mystical world of the Irish poet W B Yeats.
Thu 17 Jan 2002
Melvyn Bragg examines the Cathars, a medieval European Christian sect accused of heresy.
Thu 29 Nov 2001
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the highs and lows of the Third Crusade.
Thu 8 Feb 2001
The history and legacy of classical Humanism, invented by Cicero.
Thu 25 Jan 2001
Melvyn Bragg explores the areas of conflict and agreement between science and religion.
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Thu 9 Mar 2000
Melvyn Bragg examines the spread of religious doubt over the last three centuries.
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5
Episodes to download
Thu 23 Dec 1999
Melvyn Bragg examines the purpose and effects of prayer.
Thu 22 Apr 1999
Melvyn Bragg examines the roots and the consequences of religious fundamentalism.
Thu 1 Apr 1999
Melvyn Bragg examines how we judge good and evil in modern western civilisation.
Thu 18 Feb 1999
Melvyn Bragg looks at how cyberspace has introduced a new concept of space in our world.
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