BBC Radio 4

Rory Stewart: The Long History of...

History EN ↓ 16 episodes

Rory Stewart with a radical take on the concepts that shape our lives.

Author

BBC Radio 4

Category

History

Podcast website

www.bbc.co.uk

Latest episode

Sep 1, 2025

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Episodes

Heroism: 5. New Heroes 01.09.2025

Rory Stewart explores ideas of what it means to be a hero from the ancient world to the present day. How have these ideas changed? Why do heroes matter? Who are the heroes we need today? With the help of leading historians, psychologists, philosophers and theologians, he examines how heroism is continually questioned and re-invented in every age, and how these contrasting visions of the hero might...

Heroism: 4. Poster Heroes 25.08.2025

Rory Stewart explores ideas of what it means to be a hero from the ancient world to the present day. How have these ideas changed? Why do heroes matter? Who are the heroes we need today? With the help of leading historians, psychologists, philosophers and theologians, he examines how heroism is continually questioned and re-invented in every age, and how these contrasting visions of the hero might...

Heroism: 3. The Death of the Hero 18.08.2025

Rory Stewart explores ideas of what it means to be a hero from the ancient world to the present day. How have these ideas changed? Why do heroes matter? Who are the heroes we need today? With the help of leading historians, psychologists, philosophers and theologians, he examines how heroism is continually questioned and re-invented in every age, and how these contrasting visions of the hero might...

Heroism: 2. Revolution and Pragmatism 11.08.2025

Rory Stewart explores ideas of what it means to be a hero from the ancient world to the present day. How have these ideas changed? Why do heroes matter? Who are the heroes we need today? With the help of leading historians, psychologists, philosophers and theologians, he examines how heroism is continually questioned and re-invented in every age, and how these contrasting visions of the hero might...

Heroism: 1. The Classical Hero 04.08.2025

Rory Stewart explores ideas of what it means to be a hero from the ancient world to the present day. How have these ideas changed? Why do heroes matter? Who are the heroes we need today? With the help of leading historians, psychologists, philosophers and theologians, he examines how heroism is continually questioned and re-invented in every age, and how these contrasting visions of the hero might...

Heroism: Trailer 28.07.2025

Rory Stewart explores the changing role of the hero throughout history. Listen first on BBC Sounds.

Ignorance: 6. Wisdom 11.07.2024

We prize knowledge, and rightly so. We think of ignorance as a bad thing. But ignorance is inseparable from what we know. Knowledge can distract us, mislead us and endanger us. While ignorance is often the most fundamental insight about our human condition. Ignorance is not simply the opposite of knowledge, but a positive force with its own momentum that gives meaning to our lives. It drives scien...

Ignorance: 5. The Psychology of Ignorance 11.07.2024

We prize knowledge, and rightly so. We think of ignorance as a bad thing. But ignorance is inseparable from what we know. Knowledge can distract us, mislead us and endanger us. While ignorance is often the most fundamental insight about our human condition. Ignorance is not simply the opposite of knowledge, but a positive force with its own momentum that gives meaning to our lives. It drives scien...

Ignorance: 4. Ignorance in Politics 11.07.2024

We prize knowledge, and rightly so. We think of ignorance as a bad thing. But ignorance is inseparable from what we know. Knowledge can distract us, mislead us and endanger us. While ignorance is often the most fundamental insight about our human condition. Ignorance is not simply the opposite of knowledge, but a positive force with its own momentum that gives meaning to our lives. It drives scien...

Ignorance: 3. Ignorance and Inspiration 11.07.2024

We prize knowledge, and rightly so. We think of ignorance as a bad thing. But ignorance is inseparable from what we know. Knowledge can distract us, mislead us and endanger us. While ignorance is often the most fundamental insight about our human condition. Ignorance is not simply the opposite of knowledge, but a positive force with its own momentum that gives meaning to our lives. It drives scien...

Ignorance: 2. The Limits of Knowledge 11.07.2024

We prize knowledge, and rightly so. We think of ignorance as a bad thing. But ignorance is inseparable from what we know. Knowledge can distract us, mislead us and endanger us. While ignorance is often the most fundamental insight about our human condition. Ignorance is not simply the opposite of knowledge, but a positive force with its own momentum that gives meaning to our lives. It drives scien...

Ignorance: 1. The Pursuit of Knowledge 11.07.2024

We prize knowledge, and rightly so. We think of ignorance as a bad thing. But ignorance is inseparable from what we know. Knowledge can distract us, mislead us and endanger us. While ignorance is often the most fundamental insight about our human condition. Ignorance is not simply the opposite of knowledge, but a positive force with its own momentum that gives meaning to our lives. It drives scien...

Ignorance: Trailer 08.07.2024

Exploring the idea that understanding ignorance is as important as acquiring knowledge.

Argument: 3. Synthesis 08.07.2024

Rory Stewart explores the strange human phenomenon of arguing and why it matters so deeply to our lives in a new series on BBC Radio 4. Argument became the way in which we answered the deepest questions of philosophy, established scientific rules, and made legal decisions. It was the foundation of our democracies and the way in which we chose the policies for our state. Rory grew up believing that...

Argument: 2. Antithesis 08.07.2024

Rory Stewart explores the strange human phenomenon of arguing and why it matters so deeply to our lives. Argument became the way in which we answered the deepest questions of philosophy, established scientific rules, and made legal decisions. It was the foundation of our democracies and the way in which we chose the policies for our state. Rory grew up believing that the way to reach the truth was...

Argument: 1. Thesis 08.07.2024

Rory Stewart explores the strange human phenomenon of arguing and why it matters so deeply to our lives. Argument became the way in which we answered the deepest questions of philosophy, established scientific rules, and made legal decisions. It was the foundation of our democracies and the way in which we chose the policies for our state. Rory grew up believing that the way to reach the truth was...

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