Jan 13

Episode #242 - What Was Ponzi's Scheme? (Part I)

The name Charles Ponzi has become synonymous with financial frauds. In 1920 the formerly obscure Italian immigrant suddenly became one of the most famous men in Boston when his Securities Exchange Company started offering investors remarkable returns. Ponzi claimed that he had di ... Show More

1h 25m

Dec 30

Bonus Episode - Grisly Trophies, Evil Cowboys, and Questionable Mascots

In this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions about the recent series on Buffalo Bill and the Wild West Show. He unpacks Bill's influence on the cowboy hero archetype, dives into the contentious history of scalping, and learns some fun facts about Bill's legacy in Belgium. Tune ... Show More

39m 34s

Dec 16

Episode #241 - Who Invented the Wild West? (Part II)

Buffalo Bill's Wild West first started touring outdoor arenas in 1883. What started as a western themed circus soon grew in ambition. In the quest to appeal to respectable middle-class family audiences Buffalo Bill was soon promoting his show as an educational experience. The Wil ... Show More

1h 24m

Mar 2018

Episode #61- What's the Problem with Socrates?

Socrates has been celebrated as the "father of western philosophy". This is particularly remarkable when you consider the fact that we know almost nothing about him for sure. What we consider "Socratic Philosophy" is what has been reported to us by his students. Should we trust w ... Show More

54m 53s

Feb 2023

Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Aristotle and Plato ICYMI

The Greek thinker Socrates was put to death for encouraging his students to question everything - from their own beliefs to the laws and customs of Athenian society. But his ideas didn't die with him. Here's a chance to hear two episodes from our archive examining the legacy of ... Show More

56m 2s

Sep 2007

Socrates

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Greek philosopher Socrates, acknowledged as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Born in 469 BC into the golden age of the city of Athens, he has profoundly influenced philosophy ever since. In fact, his impact is so profound that all the ... Show More

42m 2s

Jun 2013

Episode #003 ... Socrates and the Sophists

This week we talk about the prosperity of athens and how it led to the rise and ideas of a group of philosopher teachers called the Sophists, we tied up some loose ends and helped put all that we've learned in the last two episodes into context with a graph of the presocratics, a ... Show More

39m 32s

Jul 2013

Episode #004 ... Plato

In this week's episode, we learn about Plato's "Symposium", which you might think of as philosophy's version of fan fiction. We also learn about Plato's "Theory of Forms" and ask ourselves what makes a tree, well, a tree. This leads to discussion of Plato's famous "Allegory of th ... Show More

45m 1s

Jun 2023

Plato: the world’s greatest philosopher?

He learned from Socrates, taught Aristotle and is often described as the key figure in the history of philosophy. But what do we actually know about the life of Plato of Athens? And why was his work so pioneering? Plato’s latest biographer, Robin Waterfield, joins Rob Attar to ex ... Show More

43m 13s

Sep 2023

Socrate : un philosophe emblématique

Dans le précédent épisode j’ai essayé de répondre à la question : Qu’est-ce que la philosophie ? Aujourd’hui, j’ai décidé de commencer ce cheminement assez classiquement avec Socrate car même s’il n’est pas réellement le premier des philosophes, il incarne encore aujourd’hui la f ... Show More

6m 33s

Apr 2021

E91 Pourquoi Socrate a-t-il été condamné à mort ?

<p>Cette année, j'ai décidé d'enfin combler les innombrables lacunes de ma culture générale ! Quoi de mieux qu'une pandémie pour se plonger dans les classiques que l'on n'a jamais le temps de lire ? Première étape de cet ambitieux programme, direction la Grèce antique ! Q ... Show More

41m 19s

Episode #61- What's the Problem with Soc...