logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
35m 26s

Robot history: everything you wanted to ...

IMMEDIATE MEDIA
About this episode
When did automatons first emerge? Which science-fiction depiction of robots is the most accurate? And why did so many people fall for a hoax machine called the "Mechanical Turk"? In conversation with Spencer Mizen, author and academic Kerry McInerney answers some of the most pressing questions on the history of robots. Michael Wooldridge explores our fascin ... Show More
Up next
Today
What causes cultures to decline and fall?
The new BBC TV series Civilisations: Rise and Fall charts the decline of some of history's most famous cultures, from the Aztecs to the ancient Egyptians. Three of its experts – Islam Issa, Caroline Dodds Pennock and Luke Kemp – joined Matt Elton to explore some of the series' ma ... Show More
44m 5s
Yesterday
Christopher Marlowe: life of the week
From his possible espionage work for the Elizabethan state to his open flirtations with atheism and subversive sexual themes, the brief life of playwright Christopher Marlowe tells us much about the shadowy edges of 16th-century England. Stephen Greenblatt joins Elinor Evans to d ... Show More
42m 54s
Nov 24
Uprising: the Civil Wars untangled
On 30 January 1649, Charles I was led on to a freshly erected scaffold outside Whitehall’s Banqueting House in London. Thousands of spectators watched in shock and awe as the king of England, Scotland and Ireland was executed as a traitor. It was the climax of one of the most des ... Show More
37 m
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2024
How Old is America?
<p>When fossils were discovered in the US during the 19th Century, it altered American understandings of science, religion, race and more. So what was the Hadrosaurus Foulkii, and why did it have such an enormous effect?</p><br><p>Caroline Winterer, William Robertson Coe Professo ... Show More
27m 55s
Dec 2024
Origins of the Wheel
<p>It is one of the most pivotal inventions in human history - the wheel.</p><br><p>New research suggests that the wheel was first created by prehistoric miners in the Carpathian Mountains to transport copper. Tristan Hughes speaks to the team behind this fascinating theory; arch ... Show More
52m 10s
Jan 2025
Sargon of Akkad
<p>Over 4,000 years ago, Sargon of Akkad carved his name into history by forging what many consider the world’s first empire. But who was this enigmatic warlord, and how did he transform from a man without a dynasty to the revered founder of the Akkadian Empire?</p><br><p>In this ... Show More
43m 21s
Oct 19
The Cold War
For decades after the Second World War, the Soviet Union and the United States of America were locked in a conflict of ideology that took the planet to the brink of catastrophe. Known as the Cold War, it was an era of paranoia, fear and mutual suspicion, where the contest for sup ... Show More
57m 50s
Oct 2019
The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Things (Part 1)
In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start off looking at the surprisingly interesting origin of the paperclip and why a person who had nothing to do with its design commonly gets all the credit for it, including having a giant statue of it made in his honor only a couple d ... Show More
56m 30s
Jul 2025
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
First published in Russia in 1903, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion purported to demonstrate evidence of a global Jewish conspiracy. Though it has repeatedly been proven to be a forgery, the text has helped fuel antisemitism across the world, from Henry Ford in America, to Naz ... Show More
30m 7s
Oct 2024
Technology and artificial intelligence
<p>We start with the world's first general purpose electronic computer, the ENIAC, built in 1946 by a team of female mathematicians including Kathleen Kay McNulty. We speak to Gini Mauchly Calcerano, daughter of Kathleen Kay McNulty, who developed ENIAC.</p><p>Then we hear about ... Show More
50m 52s
Aug 2024
Life Lessons From Historical Women
<p>When women's stories aren't being flat-out ignored from the history books, they can often be sidelined.</p><br><p>Well not here! Joining Kate today is the comedian and author of <a href="https://www.welbooks.co.uk/shop/p/life-lessons-from-historical-women-by-eleanor-morton" re ... Show More
35m 48s
Dec 2020
The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Things (Part 4)
In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out with an appetizer looking at how chopsticks came to be and why they became so popular in certain parts of the world vs things like spoons and forks. Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor… Ourselves! Go check out ... Show More
57m 49s
Sep 2
History's Worst F*ckboys: Charles II
Our mini-series exploring the worst f*ckboys in history is back!In today's episode, Kate is joined by Dr. David Taylor of Oxford University to get to know the so-called Merry Monarch and the many women in his life.Was it better to be married or be a mistress to Charles II? How ma ... Show More
44m 49s