Western civilization didn’t vanish when Rome fell - it moved east. Dr. Roy explores how the libraries of Persia, Egypt, and Baghdad became the true heirs of the ancient world. From the Great Library of Alexandria to the Academy of Gundishapur, from Persian mathematicians to Arab engineers, this episode traces how Islamic civilization safeguarded humanity’s c ... Show More
Feb 2026
Genocide & Dreams: Iraq
Iraq’s modern history is often told through war and geopolitics, but far less often through memory, trauma, and survival. In this lecture, Dr. Roy explores Iraq through the intertwined lenses of genocide, imperial ambition, and the fragile dreams that persist in the aftermath of ... Show More
1h 46m
Feb 2026
Activism in the US: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Activism has shaped the United States at every stage of its history, but not always in the ways we remember. In this lecture, Dr. Roy traces the evolution of American activism from labor movements and civil rights struggles to modern protest culture, examining how power actually ... Show More
2h 6m
Sep 2023
The Golden Age of Islam and Houses of Wisdom
Join us for a journey back in time to discover the incredible Golden Age of Islam and the Houses of Wisdom! Learn how these remarkable thinkers made groundbreaking contributions to mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and more. Explore the legendary House of Wisdom, a center of kno ... Show More
11m 54s
Aug 2021
Reconsidering relations among Greeks, Arabs, science and philosophy
Dr George Saliba, Professor and Director of AUB’s Farouk Jabre Center for Arabic and Islamic Science and Philosophy, explains how his research identifies how Arab and Greek scholars and philosophers jointly articulated new knowledge that went on to spark the European Renaissance. ... Show More
26m 2s
Feb 2017
Maths in the Early Islamic World
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the flourishing of maths in the early Islamic world, as thinkers from across the region developed ideas in places such as Baghdad's House of Wisdom. Among them were the Persians Omar Khayyam, who worked on equations, and Al-Khwarizmi, latinised as ... Show More
49m 7s
Nov 2024
True Arabian Nights | How Early Islamic Education Shaped a Golden Age?
Read, Read, Read!True Arabian Nights invites you into the heart of one word: 'Read.' This episode explores how a single command ignited the minds of early Muslims, fostering a culture of learning, wisdom, and intellectual achievement. Journey with us to understand the impact of K ... Show More
16m 6s