On Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 5:02 AM, Sean Doyle <sdo...@gmail.com> wrote: > I agree. Bragg is often surprised at what his guests say (e.g., that Malory > of "Le Morte Darthur" was a "thug") - he obviously prepares for his podcast > but he doesn't try to script/control his guests too much (except in in the > interest of time). The variety of topics is wonderful. I wish that the > science/math ones went deeper but almost all of the presentations on history > or literature are new to me.
Bragg's genuine interest in Philosophy and History shows through, though he does lean a tad heavily on British history, after all it is a BBC4 show. Bragg's general bewilderment at science and maths is typical of a life human-scientific [0]. When discussing Galen or Avicenna his love for history can be seen guiding a principally scientific discussion on medicine, into all sorts of interesting nooks. On the topic of galaxies and milky ways he turns mute as a toad and lets his guests ramble on - I have learned not to bother listening to them unless I'm out of listening material. [0] humantific ought to be a word, but it's now a trademarked brand-name - leading separately to the question of what happens to the brand-name when say the Oxford English Dictionary decides to make it a word.