Podcasts by 10-Minute Talks
The world’s leading professors explain the latest thinking in the humanities and social sciences in just 10 minutes.
Further podcasts by The British Academy
Podcast on the topic Gesellschaft und Kultur
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Tragedy and Postcolonial Literature from 2021-12-29T14:59:39
In this talk, Ato Quayson shares insights drawn from his book Tragedy and ...
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Hypermasculine leadership from 2021-12-29T14:03:49
In this talk, Georgina Waylen discusses hypermasculine leadership within the context of the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The politics of humiliation from 2021-12-29T12:32:12
The modern history of humiliation is different from the history of public shaming; both share certain features and practices, but differ as to intentions and goals. In this talk, Ute Frevert arg...
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Paradoxes of the Roman Arena from 2021-12-29T11:57:40
In this talk, Professor Kathleen Coleman FBA highlights certain paradoxes at the root of Roman civilisation, speci...
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Public finances and the Union since 1707 from 2021-12-29T11:16:37
In this talk, Professor Julian Hoppit FBA introduces his new book, Listen
The making of Oliver Cromwell from 2021-12-28T16:15
Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) is, in terms of sheer achievement, the greatest English commoner of all time and yet remains a deeply controversial figure. He represented himself, apparently compell...
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Poetry as Experience from 2021-12-28T16:00
In this talk, Derek Attridge addresses the question: "What is a poem's mode of existence?" Using a poem by William Wordsworth as an example, he argues that poems are not fixed lines of words but...
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Disastrous: thoughts on a pandemic inspired by ancient astrology from 2021-09-08T12:00
In this talk, Jane Lightfoot considers what a particular corner of the classical world, astrology, thought about disease – how it classified it, what mental models it built around it, and how it...
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The 1951 UN Refugee Convention: its origins and significance from 2021-07-28T13:00
In this talk, Peter Gatrell discusses the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, signed in Geneva on 28 July 1951. He explains the circumstances leading up to the Refugee ...
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Syntax: where the magic happens from 2021-07-21T10:00
Syntax is the cognitive system that underlies the patterns found in the grammar of human languages. In this talk, David Adger explains what syntax as an area of study is, why he finds it importa...
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Looking at sign languages from 2021-07-14T13:00
This talk introduces research on the sign languages of deaf communities: natural, complex human languages, both similar to and different from spoken languages. It includes discussion of sign lan...
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The Shogun’s Silver Telescope: The East India Company and the English quest for Japan from 2021-07-07T10:00
Over the winter of 1610-11, a magnificent telescope was built in London. It was almost two metres long, cast in silver and covered with gold. This was the first telescope ever produced in such a...
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Crèvecœur: What is an American? from 2021-06-30T13:00
J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur (1735-1813) was a farmer as well as a complex thinker of the contradictions of American identity as described in his famous Letters from an American Farmer and, m...
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Goods and possessions in late medieval England from 2021-06-23T10:00
Goods and possessions offer us ways into understanding how late medieval people saw the world and their position in it. In this talk, Christopher Woolgar discusses objects of daily life, their s...
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Writing the history of the British Academy from 2021-06-16T10:00
The British Academy is the UK's national academy for the humanities and social sciences and was founded in 1902. In this talk, Professor Sir David Cannadine discusses undertaking the task of wri...
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The Early Foucault from 2021-06-09T11:49:06
In this talk Stuart Elden discusses his new book, The Early Foucault and the research he did on the first period of Michel Foucault’s career. In particular, he highlights what ...
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George II Augustus von Welf, British King and German Prince-Elector from 2021-05-26T10:00
George II, King of Great Britain and Ireland and Elector of Hanover from 1727-60, was considered short-tempered and uncultivated, but during his reign presided over a great flourishing in his ad...
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The Spectre of War - International Communism and the Origins of World War II from 2021-05-19T10:00
Why was there no alliance to block Hitler from launching aggression in Europe? The usual explanation given is that the British led by Neville Chamberlain were so averse to the thought of war tha...
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Women and mental health – talking about feelings from 2021-05-12T10:00
During the COVID-19 pandemic women’s mental health has been a topic of concern as women have disproportionately carried the burden of care. In this talk, Lynn Abrams explores the links between a...
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Napoleon and God from 2021-05-05T10:00
Napoleon had no religion, but he spent much of his career dealing with it. In this talk to mark the bicentenary of his death, William Doyle discusses how Napoleon saw that the upheavals of the F...
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Choosing a title – George Eliot and 'The Mill on the Floss' from 2021-04-28T10:00
By late 1859, when she had almost finished writing her second novel, The Mill on the Floss, George Eliot was still unsure of its final title. Two other possible titles, ‘Sister Maggie’ ...
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More than one language - why bilingualism matters from 2021-04-21T10:00
Research shows that multilingualism in any languages, regardless of prestige or worldwide diffusion, can provide a range of linguistic, cognitive, and social benefits at all ages. It enables com...
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The miners’ strike of 1984-85 from 2021-04-14T10:00
The miners’ strike of 1984-85 can be considered the last great battle of the organised industrial working class in the UK. The defeat of the strike led to deindustrialisation, the rapid closure ...
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The nature of friendship from 2021-04-07T10:00
What is it to be friends with someone? Why do we have friends? What do they do for us? In this talk, Robin Dunbar provides evidence that friendships are good for us, the relationship between the...
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Spinoza on philosophising from 2021-03-31T10:00
Philosophy, as Spinoza understands it, is the art of learning to live as joyfully and securely as we can. But because we can only practice this art collectively, philosophising is always a part...
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The history of Belfast, a strange case of shared identity and sectarian division from 2021-03-24T13:00
In this talk, Marianne Elliot reflects on the existence and history of a 'shared space' Belfast identity, focusing particularly on the 1940s and 1950s, but also on post-Good Friday Agreement eff...
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What does the Good Friday Agreement mean? from 2021-03-24T13:00
As the Good Friday Agreement moves closer and closer to centre stage in Anglo-Irish relations, and potentially to UK-EU relations post-Brexit, how it is interpreted will become even more content...
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Dealing with the past in Northern Ireland from 2021-03-24T13:00
Dealing with the past in relation to the Northern Ireland conflict is a politically sensitive topic often characterised by more heat than light. In this talk, Kieran McEvoy discusses the UK gove...
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China’s 14th Five Year Plan – the bold and the beautiful from 2021-03-17T10:00
Every five years since 1953, the Chinese Communist Party has produced a strategic blueprint setting out the broad framework and specific targets meant to guide policy and performance nationwide,...
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In praise of Queen Astrid of Norway from 2021-03-10T10:00
In this talk, Judith Jesch introduces Astrid, a Swedish princess married to King, later Saint, Olaf of Norway, and her remarkable political intervention to ensure that her stepson succeeded to t...
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The power of stories and the practice of rhetoric from 2021-03-03T10:00
With the rise of the internet and social media, the performance of storytelling and the arts of oratory have returned to centre stage. In this talk ahead of Listen
The death of John Keats and his early reputation from 2021-02-24T10:00
In this talk to mark the bicentenary of the Romantic poet John Keats’ death on 23rd February 1821 in Rome, Nicholas Roe takes us back to the hours, days, and weeks immediately afterwards as well...
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The origins of Stonehenge from 2021-02-17T10:00
Where did Stonehenge come from? In this talk Mike Parker Pearson investigates the origins of Stonehenge, its stones and their transportation as well as speculating on the motives behind the crea...
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Charles Darwin and ideas of evolution from 2021-02-10T22:00
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution changed the way we think about our place in the world, although it took some time for its full implications to sink in. In this talk, Peter Bowler argues tha...
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Saladin and the Crusades: medieval and modern perspectives from 2021-02-03T10:00
What has been the legacy of the Crusades in Europe and across the Muslim world in modern times? Why is the evolution of the Saladin legend throughout history so remarkable? In this talk, Carole ...
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Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and warnings from Hannah Arendt from 2021-01-27T09:16:17
In The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) the political thinker Hannah...
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Atheism in debate from 2021-01-20T10:00
Heralded as the exponents of a 'new atheism', critics of religion such as Richard Dawkins are highly visible and vocal today. In this talk, David Fergusson explains the growing interest in the s...
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Religion, theology and the ultimate nature of reality from 2020-12-16T10:00
In this talk, Keith Ward argues that most sophisticated religions are correct in thinking that there exists a spiritual dimension of reality based on wisdom, compassion and bliss as well as addr...
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Racism and religion in America – sin and the elusive 'problem of seeing' from 2020-12-09T10:30
The Unites States remains unusually religious as a country, but the issue of American racism is inextricably, and very problematically, related to its theological past. The history of white Amer...
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The Hitler Conspiracies from 2020-12-02T10:00
Conspiracy theories are becoming more popular and more widespread in the twenty-first century. Nowhere have they become more obvious than in revisionist accounts of the history of the Third Reic...
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The function of cynicism at the present time from 2020-11-25T10:15:48
Broadly described, a cynic (in the primary modern sense) is a person given to casting doubt on the motives that drive other people. Often disparaged, cynicism is nevertheless part of the range o...
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Domestic and sexual violence during COVID-19 from 2020-11-11T09:39:06
Pandemics throughout history have provided stark reminders of how the vulnerable can be exploited and abused and COVID-19 is no different.
In this talk, Joanna Bourke outlines how the p...
Science hasn't refuted free will from 2020-11-04T10:17:13
It is often suggested that free will is an illusion and a left-over from an outdated worldview; and that the idea of free will has no place in modern science. In this talk, Christian List argues...
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Early Medieval Wales – a matter of identity from 2020-10-28T11:31
How did people in early medieval Wales live? And how did their lives change between the departure of the Romans in the early fifth century AD and the coming of the Normans to Wales over 600 year...
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What defenders of the slave trade have to teach us from 2020-10-21T10:39:21
The eighteenth-century writers who tried to mount a principled defence of the slave trade look like monsters to us today - quite rightly. But before we get on our high horses to condemn them, it...
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Why laughter matters from 2020-10-14T06:51:27
In this 10-Minute Talk, cognitive neuroscientist Sophie Scott introduces her pioneering research into laughter. She talks about why we laugh, laughter’s role in social interactions and how laugh...
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Britain and Europe in a Troubled World from 2020-10-07T10:28:04
Is Britain a part of Europe? Ahead of the publication of his latest book Britain and Europe in a Troubled World, Vernon Bogdanor untangles the history of Britain’s complex relationship with Euro...
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The crisis of the meritocracy - why Britain has needed more and more education from 2020-09-30T09:35:14
Before the Second World War, only about 20% of the population had any secondary education or only a few percent went to university; today secondary education has long been universal and 50% go t...
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COVID-19 and inequalities from 2020-09-23T10:35:31
The COVID-19 pandemic has been unequal and complex in its social and economic impact. It has amplified existing inequalities and has created new insecurities some of which threaten to persist in...
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Entrepreneurship from 2020-09-16T09:30:39
In this talk, Rajesh Chandy discusses a topic he has been studying for several years: entrepreneurship. What is entrepreneurship? What are its drivers? And why does it matter to all of us – entr...
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COVID-19 public inquiry - a case of when, not if? from 2020-09-09T10:51:57
The pandemic of 2020 has caused untold disruption around the world, and the United Kingdom has suffered particularly seriously. What kind of public accounting will there be for the way in which ...
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Religion and the history of terrorism from 2020-09-01T12:26:18
In this 10-Minute Talk Richard English asks four questions about religion and terrorism: Should religion be seen as a cause for terroristic violence or a restraining influence upon it? Is religious...
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Art historian, professor, writer, spy – the extraordinary story of Anthony Blunt from 2020-09-01T12:24:15
In November 1979, Margaret Thatcher exposed the distinguished art historian Anthony Blunt as a former Soviet spy - part of the infamous Cambridge Spy Ring who traded secrets with Moscow during t...
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War, revolution and pandemic 1918-19 from 2020-09-01T12:21:46
The 'Spanish Flu' of 1918-19 remains the most devastating pandemic of modern times, possibly killing up to 100 million people world wide. The loss of life massively exceeded the numbers killed d...
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Keeping a diary in 1941 from 2020-09-01T12:18:47
How do people manage when their lives are utterly transformed by circumstances beyond their control? Fiona Stafford discusses a diary kept by a woman in 1941, whose new normal involved rationing, r...
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The life and work of Elizabeth Barrett Browning from 2020-09-01T12:01:11
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) was one of the most popular poets of the Victorian period, remembered for her challenging poetry and courage of her views. In this 10-Minute Talk Isobel Ar...
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Climate and war from 2020-09-01T11:57:21
The idea that climate change has caused, and will cause, war has been embraced by journalists and politicians, popular science writers and academics alike. However, this concept is not new. In t...
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America first and American fascism from 2020-09-01T11:44:56
As ongoing protests against racial injustice and police brutality in the United States are met with militarised police action, tear gas, the National Guard, and threats of military intervention ...
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Westminster Abbey - A Church in History from 2020-09-01T11:41:17
Westminster Abbey has a fascinating history to tell. As well as being a place of worship, it is an architectural masterpiece and treasure house of artefacts; the final resting place for some of ...
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Theatre marketing and ballads in the time of Shakespeare from 2020-09-01T11:32:27
Why are Shakespeare plays filled with songs – not all of them relevant to the story? In this 10-Minute Talk, Tiffany Stern discusses sales of printed songtexts in Shakespeare’s London. She asks ...
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Parenting for a digital future from 2020-09-01T11:28:07
Reflecting on years spent talking to parents, teachers and children about the influx of digital technologies in their lives, Sonia Livingstone will dispel some popular myths about screen time al...
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Can watching films be good for us? from 2020-09-01T11:24:39
As a film historian, Ian Christie has become increasingly interested in how audiences respond to films, which we can now view in so many different ways. Having taken part in a large empirical st...
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Philosophy in prison from 2020-09-01T11:10:54
If a society is measured by how it treats its worst off, we have reason to think hard and well about how we manage the lives of those in prison. Philosophy – in particular, the collaborative doi...
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Music and wellbeing from 2020-09-01T11:02:09
Music can keep us physically, emotionally, and socially strong. But just how does music help? In this talk Tia DeNora considers everyday musical engagement as a way of regulating emotion, holdin...
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How disabled people achieve good lives in three African countries from 2020-09-01T10:58:46
Tom Shakespeare discusses how people with a range of physical and sensory disabilities in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia have achieved educational, employment and family success. Drawing on the findin...
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China's good war from 2020-09-01T10:51:58
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Asia as well as Europe. Today's China is drawing on its collective memory of the war against Japan to shape its politics at h...
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Making the real Thomas Cromwell stand up from 2020-09-01T10:49:16
Revd Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch Kt FBA talks about how to understand Thomas Cromwell, even though so many of his own letters have vanished from his vast surviving archive.
Speaker: Revd...
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