Conversations in Mathematics, Physics, Cosmology and Philosophy

 

I compiled this list of broadcasts in the BBC R4 series 'In Our Time', which has now been running for more than 20 years, and is moderated by the author Melvyn Bragg. The full list of broadcasts is now around 900 shows. I'm gratetful for whoever compiled the full list of shows, which made this compilation fairly straightforward to do. 

Why did I make this compilation? I wanted to assemble a body of discussion for the purpose of comment. I will provide this as and when I've listened to a particular broadcast. I've listened to quite a few of these over the years, but not remotely the majority of them. I will take them in no obvious order, according to what is of interest to me at the time.  The commentary will be added in the form of footnotes. 

Those who are familiar with my work will know that I challenge a number of aspects of the history of ideas, sometimes accepted uncritically, and those narratives that are built on conventions which have little in the way of substantial foundations. The reason for challenging our view of  our intellectual history is twofold: what we think we know about that history constrains what we can understand about the past, and therefore what we can do and think in the future.

Having gone through the entire list of broadcasts, there are some striking omissions, though these may be more apparent than real.  Cantor's work on the infinite and set theory may be discussed in the broadcast on Bertrand Russell, or in the broadcast on the concept of the Infinite. The absence of a programme about Frege may be explained in a similar way. 

There is also a large set of returning contributors, (Roger Penrose puts in a number of appearances, which of course is no bad thing). And some subjects have been discussed more than once: discovering why may be interesting.

Each individual show can be accessed by clicking on the date of broadcast.

Thomas Yaeger, November 12, 2020.

20 May 1999	The Universe's Origins	Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and Royal Society Research Professor in Astronomy and Physics, Cambridge University Paul Davies, theoretical physicist and Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London
25 November 1999	Consciousness	Ted Honderich, philosopher and former Grote Professor of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic, University College London Roger Penrose, physicist, mathematician and author of The Large, The Small, and the Human Mind
30 December 1999	Time	Neil Johnson, theoretical physicist at the Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford University and Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 1999 on the subject of Time Lee Smolin, cosmologist and Professor of Physics, Pennsylvania State University
24 February 2000	Grand unified theory	Brian Greene, Professor of Physics and Mathematics, Columbia University and Cornell University Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and Royal Society Research Professor in Astronomy and Physics at Cambridge University
19 October 2000	Laws of Nature	Mark Buchanan, physicist and author of Ubiquity Frank Close, theoretical physicist and author of Lucifer's Legacy: The Meaning of Asymmetry Nancy Cartwright, Professor of Philosophy, LSE
11 January 2001	Mathematics and Platonism	Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics and Gresham Professor of Geometry, University of Warwick Margaret Wertheim, science writer, journalist and author of Pythagoras' Trousers John D. Barrow, Professor of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge.
22 February 2001	Quantum Gravity	John Gribbin, Visiting Fellow in Astronomy, University of Sussex Lee Smolin, Professor of Physics, Centre for Gravitational Physics and Geometry, Pennsylvania State University and Visiting Professor of Physics at Imperial College, London Janna Levin, Advanced Fellow, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge University
12 April 2001	Black Holes	Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal – 2001, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Cambridge University Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Professor of Physics at The Open University Martin Ward, director of the X-Ray Astronomy Group at the University of Leicester
10 January 2002	Nuclear Physics	Jim Al-Khalili, Senior Lecturer in Physics at the University of Surrey Christine Sutton, Particle Physicist and Lecturer in Physics at St Catherine's College Oxford John Gribbin, Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex
7 February 2002	The Universe's Shape	Martin Rees, Royal Society Research Professor in Astronomy and Physics, Cambridge University Julian Barbour, Independent Theoretical Physicist Janna Levin, Advanced Fellow in Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge
2 May 2002	Physics of Reality – Quantum Mechanics	Roger Penrose, Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics, Oxford University Fay Dowker, Lecturer in Theoretical Physics, Queen Mary, University of London Tony Sudbery, Professor of Mathematics, University of York
16 May 2002	Chaos Theory – was the universe chaotic or orderly?	Susan Greenfield, senior research fellow, Lincoln College, Oxford David Papineau, Professor of the Philosophy of Science, King's College London Neil Johnson, University Lecturer in Physics at Oxford University
27 Mar 2003	Supernovas – the life cycle of stars	Paul Murdin, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge Janna Levin, Advanced Fellow in Theoretical Physics in the Department of Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge Phil Charles, Professor of Astronomy at Southampton University
2 October 2003	James Clerk Maxwell – great 19th century physicist	Simon Schaffer, Reader in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge Peter Harman, Professor of the History of Science at Lancaster University and editor of The Scientific Letters and Papers of James Clerk Maxwell Joanna Haigh, Professor of Atmospheric Physics at Imperial College London
23 October 2003	Infinity – a brief history.	Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick Robert D. Kaplan, co-founder of The Math Circle at Harvard University and author of The Art of the Infinite: Our Lost Language of Numbers Sarah Rees, Reader in Pure Mathematics at the University of Newcastle
19 February 2004	Rutherford – the father of nuclear physics	Simon Schaffer, Professor in the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge Jim Al-Khalili, Senior Lecturer in Physics at the University of Surrey Patricia Fara, Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge
25 March 2004	Theories of Everything – still the holy grail of physics?	Brian Greene, Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Columbia University and author of The Fabric of the Cosmos John Barrow, Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge and author of The Constants of Nature Val Gibson, particle physicist from the Cavendish Laboratory and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
13 May 2004	Zero – everything about nothing	Robert D. Kaplan, co-founder of the Maths Circle at Harvard University and author of The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick Lisa Jardine, Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary, University of London
2 September 2004	Pi – the number that doesn't add up	Robert D. Kaplan, co-founder of the Maths Circle at Harvard University Eleanor Robson, Lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick
16 December 2004	The Second Law of Thermodynamics – the most important thing you will ever know	John Gribbin, Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex Peter Atkins, Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University Monica Grady, Head of Petrology and Meteoritics at the Natural History Museum
17 March 2005	Dark Energy – the unknown force breaking the universe apart	Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics, Cambridge University Carolin Crawford, Royal Society University Research Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge Roger Penrose, Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Maths at Oxford University
29 September 2005	Magnetism – an attractive history	Stephen Pumfrey, Senior Lecturer in the History of Science at the University of Lancaster John Heilbron, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley Lisa Jardine, Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary, University of London
24 November 2005	The Graviton – the quest for the theoretical gravity particle	Roger Cashmore, Former Research Director at CERN and Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford Jim Al-Khalili, Professor of Physics at the University of Surrey Sheila Rowan, Reader in Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow
12 January 2006	Prime Numbers – the building blocks of mathematics	Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics and Fellow of Wadham College at the University of Oxford Robin Wilson, Professor of Pure Mathematics at the Open University and Gresham Professor of Geometry Jackie Stedall, Junior Research Fellow in the History of Mathematics at Queen's College, Oxford
9 March 2006	Negative numbers – how they spread across civilizations	Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick Colva Roney-Dougal, Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews Raymond Flood, Lecturer in Computing Studies and Mathematics at Kellogg College, Oxford
29 June 2006	Galaxies – extra-galactic nebulae, black holes, stars and dark matter	John Gribbin, Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex Carolin Crawford, Royal Society University Research Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge Robert Kennicutt, Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at the University of Cambridge
2 November 2006	The Poincaré conjecture – how a 19th-century mathematician changed how we think about the shape of the universe	June Barrow-Green, Lecturer in the History of Mathematics at the Open University Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford
30 November 2006	The Speed of Light – a cosmic speed limit?	John Barrow, Professor of Mathematical Sciences and Gresham Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge University Iwan Morus, Senior Lecturer in the History of Science at The University of Wales, Aberystwyth Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Visiting Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford University.
14 December 2006	Indian Maths – laying the foundations for modern numerals and zero as a number	George Gheverghese Joseph, Honorary Reader in Mathematics Education at Manchester University Colva Roney-Dougal, Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews Dennis Almeida, Lecturer in Mathematics Education at Exeter University and the Open University
19 April 2007	Symmetry – the pattern at the heart of our physical world	Fay Dowker, Reader in Theoretical Physics at Imperial College, London Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick
17 May 2007	Gravitational Waves – a new window on the universe	Jim Al-Khalili, Professor of Physics at the University of Surrey Carolin Crawford, Royal Society Research Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridgee Sheila Rowan, Professor in Experimental Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow
4 October 2007	Antimatter – where has it all gone?	Val Gibson, Reader in High Energy Physics at the University of Cambridge Frank Close, Professor of Physics at Exeter College, University of Oxford Ruth Gregory, Professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Durham
29 November 2007	The Fibonacci Sequence – – the numbers in nature	Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford Jackie Stedall, Junior Research Fellow in History of Mathematics at Queen's College, Oxford Ron Knott, Visiting Fellow in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Surrey
21 February 2008	The Multiverse – the universe is not enough	Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society and Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge Fay Dowker, Reader in Theoretical Physics at Imperial College Bernard Carr, Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Queen Mary, University of London
3 April 2008	Newton's Laws of Motion – they put a man on the Moon	Simon Schaffer, Professor in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Darwin College Raymond Flood, University Lecturer in Computing Studies and Mathematics and Senior Tutor at Kellogg College, Oxford Rob Iliffe, Professor of Intellectual History and History of Science at the University of Sussex
29 May 2008	Probability – heads or tails?	Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford Colva Roney-Dougal, Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick
9 October 2008	Gödel's incompleteness theorems – the dirty secret of maths science	Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at Wadham College, University of Oxford John D. Barrow, Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge and Gresham Professor of Geometry Philip Welch, Professor of Mathematical Logic at the University of Bristol
4 December 2008	Heat: A History -from fire to thermodynamics	Simon Schaffer, Professor of History of Science at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Darwin College Hasok Chang, Professor of Philosophy of Science at University College London Joanna Haigh, Professor of Atmospheric Physics at Imperial College London
18 December 2008	The Physics of Time – does time even exist?	Jim Al-Khalili, Professor of Theoretical Physics and Chair in the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Surrey Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at the Open University Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick
5 March 2009	The Measurement problem in Physics – Man is not the measure of all things	Basil Hiley, Emeritus Professor of Physics at Birkbeck, University of London Simon Saunders, Reader in Philosophy of Physics and University Lecturer in Philosophy of Science at the University of Oxford Roger Penrose, Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford
30 April 2009	The Vacuum of Space – a programme about nothing?	Frank Close, Professor of Physics at Exeter College, Oxford Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Visiting Professor in Astrophysics at Oxford University Ruth Gregory, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Durham University
24 September 2009	Leibniz vs Newton – who first calculated the calculus?	Simon Schaffer, Professor of History of Science at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Darwin College Patricia Fara, Senior Tutor at Clare College, Cambridge Jackie Stedall, Departmental Lecturer in History of Mathematics at the University of Oxford
12 November 2009	The Discovery of Radiation – from radio waves to gamma rays	Jim Al-Khalili, Professor of Theoretical Physics and Chair in the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Surrey Frank Close, Professor of Physics at Exeter College, University of Oxford Frank James, Professor of the History of Science at the Royal Institution
10 December 2009	Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans – maths and mysticism	Ian Stewart, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick Serafina Cuomo, Reader in Roman History at Birkbeck College, University of London John O'Connor, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at the University of St Andrews
11 February 2010	The Unintended Consequences of Mathematics	John D. Barrow, Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge and Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London Colva Roney-Dougal, Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews Marcus du Sautoy, Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.
6 May 2010	The Cool Universe	Carolin Crawford, Member of the Institute of Astronomy, and Fellow of Emmanuel College, at the University of Cambridge Paul Murdin, Visiting Professor of Astronomy at Liverpool John Moores University's Astronomy Research Institute Michael Rowan-Robinson, Professor of Astrophysics at Imperial College, London
23 September 2010	Imaginary numbers	Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University Ian Stewart, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick Caroline Series, [1] Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick
21 October 2010	History of logic	A. C. Grayling, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London Peter Millican, Gilbert Ryle Fellow in Philosophy at Hertford College, Oxford Rosanna Keefe, [5], Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Sheffield
16 December 2010	Daoism	Tim Barrett, Professor of East Asian History at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London Martin Palmer, Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture Hilde de Weerdt, Fellow and Tutor in Chinese History at Pembroke College, University of Oxford
13 January 2011	Random and Pseudorandom	Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford Colva Roney-Dougal, Senior Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews Timothy Gowers, Royal Society Research Professor in Mathematics at the University of Cambridge
3 March 2011	The Age of the Universe	Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge Carolin Crawford, Member of the Institute of Astronomy and Fellow of Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge Carlos Frenk, Director of the Institute for Computational Cosmology at the University of Durham
14 April 2011	The Neutrino	Frank Close, Professor of Physics at Exeter College at the University of Oxford Susan Cartwright, Senior Lecturer in Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Sheffield David Wark, Professor of Particle Physics at Imperial College, London, and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
8 December 2011	Heraclitus	Angie Hobbs, associate professor of Philosophy and Senior Fellow in the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Warwick Peter Adamson, Professor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at King's College London James Warren, Senior Lecturer in Classics and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
26 January 2012	The Scientific method	Simon Schaffer, Professor of the History of Science at the University of Cambridge John Worrall, Professor of the Philosophy of Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science Michela Massimi, Senior Lecturer in the Philosophy of Science at University College London
29 March 2012	The Measurement of Time	Kristen Lippincott, Former Director of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich Jim Bennett, Director of the Museum of the History of Science at the University of Oxford Jonathan Betts, Senior Curator of Horology at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
19 April 2012	Neoplatonism	Angie Hobbs, associate professor of Philosophy and Senior Fellow in the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Warwick Peter Adamson, Professor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at King's College London Anne Sheppard, Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London
10 May 2012	Game Theory	Ian Stewart, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick Andrew Colman, Professor of Psychology at the University of Leicester Richard Bradley, Professor of Philosophy at the London School of Economics and Political Science
27 September 2012	The Ontological Argument	John Haldane, Professor of Philosophy at the University of St Andrews Peter Millican, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford Clare Carlisle, Lecturer in Philosophy of religion at King's College London
25 October 2012	Fermat's Last Theorem	Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics & Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford Vicky Neale, Fellow and Director of Studies in Mathematics at Murray Edwards College at the University of Cambridge Samir Siksek, Professor at the Mathematics Institute at the University of Warwick
29 November 2012	Crystallography	Judith Howard, Director of the Biophysical Sciences Institute and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Durham Chris Hammond, Life Fellow in Material Science at the University of Leeds Mike Glazer, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford and Visiting Professor of Physics at the University of Warwick
6 December 2012	Bertrand Russell	A. C. Grayling, Master of the New College of the Humanities and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford Mike Beaney, Professor of Philosophy at the University of York Hilary Greaves, Lecturer in Philosophy and Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford
7 March 2013	Absolute Zero	Simon Schaffer, Professor of the History of Science at the University of Cambridge Stephen Blundell, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford Nicola Wilkin, Lecturer in Theoretical Physics at the University of Birmingham
2 May 2013	Gnosticism	Martin Palmer, Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education, and Culture Caroline Humfress, Reader in History at Birkbeck College, University of London Alastair Logan, Honorary University Fellow of the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter
16 May 2013	Cosmic rays	Carolin Crawford, Gresham Professor of Astronomy and a member of the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge Alan Watson, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Leeds Tim Greenshaw, Professor of Physics at the University of Liverpool
6 June 2013	Relativity	Ruth Gregory, Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Durham University Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge Roger Penrose, Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford
5 December 2013	Hindu Ideas of Creation	Jessica Frazier, [30] Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Kent and a research fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies at the University of Oxford Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, [31] Professor of Comparative Religion and Philosophy at Lancaster University Gavin Flood, [32] Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion at the University of Oxford
19 December 2013	Complexity	Ian Stewart, [36] Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick Jeff Johnson, [37] Professor of Complexity Science and Design at the Open University Eve Mitleton-Kelly, [38] Director of the Complexity Research Group at the London School of Economics
20 March 2014	Bishop Berkeley	Peter Millican, [69] Gilbert Ryle Fellow and Professor of Philosophy at Hertford College, Oxford Tom Stoneham, [70] Professor of Philosophy at the University of York Michela Massimi, [71] Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Science at the University of Edinburgh
3 April 2014	States of Matter	Andrea Sella, [75] Professor of Materials and Inorganic Chemistry at University College London Athene Donald, [76] Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge Justin Wark, [77] Professor of Physics and Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford
25 September 2014	e	Colva Roney-Dougal, [119] Reader in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews June Barrow-Green, [120] Senior Lecturer in the History of Maths at the Open University Vicky Neale, [121] Whitehead Lecturer at the Mathematical Institute and Balliol College, Oxford
30 October 2014	Nuclear Fusion	Philippa Browning, [134] Professor of Astrophysics, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester Steve Cowley, [135] Professor in Plasma Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Physics Imperial College, London Justin Wark, [136] Professor of Physics, University of Oxford
4 December 2014	Zen	Tim Barrett, [148] Emeritus Professor at Department of the Study of Religions, SOAS, University of London Lucia Dolce, [149] Numata Reader in Japanese Buddhism at SOAS, University of London Eric Greene, [150] Lecturer in East Asian Religions at the University of Bristol
22 January 2015	Phenomenology	Simon Glendinning, [160] Professor of European Philosophy in the European Institute at the London School of Economics Joanna Hodge, [161] Professor of Philosophy at Manchester Metropolitan University Stephen Mulhall, [162] Professor of Philosophy and Tutor at New College, Oxford
5 February 2015	Ashoka the Great	Jessica Frazier, [166] Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Kent and a research fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Naomi Appleton, [167] Chancellor's Fellow in Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh Richard Gombrich, [168] Founder and Academic Director of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies and Emeritus Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford
12 February 2015	The Photon	Frank Close, [169] Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Oxford Wendy Flavell, [170] Professor of Surface Physics at the University of Manchester Susan Cartwright, [171] Senior Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sheffield
12 March 2015	Dark matter	Carolin Crawford, [181] Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge Gresham Professor of Astronomy Carlos Frenk, [182] Ogden Professor of Fundamental Physics and Director of the Institute for Computational Cosmology at the University of Durham Anne Green, [183] Reader in Physics at the University of Nottingham
24 September 2015	Perpetual motion	Ruth Gregory, Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Durham University Frank Close, Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Oxford Steven Bramwell, Professor of Physics and former Professor of Chemistry at University College London
5 November 2015	P v NP	Colva Roney-Dougal, Reader in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews Timothy Gowers, Royal Society Research Professor in Mathematics at the University of Cambridge Leslie Ann Goldberg, Professor of Computer Science and Fellow of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
25 December 2015	Michael Faraday	Geoffrey Cantor, Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at the University of Leeds Laura Herz, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford Frank James, Professor of the History of Science at the Royal Institution
14 April 2016	The Neutron	Val Gibson, Professor of High Energy Physics at the University of Cambridge and fellow of Trinity College Andrew Harrison, chief executive officer of Diamond Light Source and Professor in Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh Frank Close, Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Oxford
28 April 2016	Euclid's Elements	Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics and Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford Serafina Cuomo, Reader in Roman History at Birkbeck, University of London June Barrow-Green, Professor of the History of Mathematics at the Open University
22 September 2016	Zeno's paradoxes	Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics and Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford Barbara Sattler, Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of St Andrews James Warren, Reader in Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge
29 December 2016	Johannes Kepler	David Wootton, Professor of History at the University of York Ulinka Rublack, Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of St John's College Adam Mosley, associate professor in the Department of History at Swansea University
16 February 2017	Maths in the Early Islamic World	Colva Roney-Dougal, Reader in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews Peter Pormann, Professor of Classics & Graeco-Arabic Studies at the University of Manchester Jim Al-Khalili, Professor of Physics at the University of Surrey
6 April 2017	Pauli exclusion principle	Frank Close, Fellow Emeritus at Exeter College, Oxford Michela Massimi, Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Edinburgh Graham Farmelo, Bye-Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge
29 June 2017	Plato's Republic	Angie Hobbs, Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield M.M. McCabe, Professor of Ancient Philosophy Emerita at King's College London James Warren, Fellow of Corpus Christi College and a Reader in Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge
30 November 2017	Carl Friedrich Gauss	Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics and Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford Colva Roney-Dougal, Reader in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews Nick Evans, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Southampton
26 April 2018	Proton	Frank Close, Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Oxford Helen Heath, Reader in Physics at the University of Bristol Simon Jolly, Lecturer in High Energy Physics at University College London
9 May 2019	Bergson and Time	Keith Ansell-Pearson, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick Emily Thomas, Assistant Professor in Philosophy at Durham University Mark Sinclair, Reader in Philosophy at the University of Roehampton
23 May 2019	Kinetic Theory	Steven Bramwell, Professor of Physics at University College London Isobel Falconer, Reader in History of Mathematics at the University of St Andrews Ted Forgan, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Birmingham
23 January 2020	Solar Wind	Andrew Coates,Professor of Physics and Deputy Director in charge of the Solar System at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London Helen Mason, Reader in Solar Physics at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Fellow at St Edmund's College, Cambridge Tim Horbury, Professor of Physics at Imperial College London
5 March 2020	Paul Dirac	Graham Farmelo, Biographer of Dirac and Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge Valerie Gibson, Professor of High Energy Physics at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity College David Berman, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Queen Mary University of London
8 October 2020	Deism	Richard Serjeantson, Fellow and Lecturer in History, Trinity College, University of Cambridge Katie East, Lecturer in History with the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at Newcastle University Thomas Ahnert, Professor of Intellectual History at the University of Edinburgh
15 October 2020	Alan Turing	Leslie Ann Goldberg, Professor of Computer Science and Fellow of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford Simon Schaffer,Professor of the History of Science at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Darwin College Andrew Hodges, Biographer of Turing and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford