MetaFilter posts tagged with MelvynBragg

On The Origin of Darwin

Alvy Ampersand — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:39:07 -0800

2009 marks not only the 150^th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's On The Origin of Species* but the 200^th anniversary of his birth as well. To celebrate, BBC Radio 4 presents a special series of Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time exploring Darwin's life and work: Episode 1 explores Darwin's unhappy childhood, his time at Cambridge University and his failure to become a priest, episode 2 focuses on Darwin's round the world voyage on the Beagle and the objects and the ideas he bought back, episode 3 looks at the publication of Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, and the controversy it stirred, and episode 4 is set in Down House where Darwin lived out the final years of his life and which became both family home and experiment lab. The BBC also presents Dear Darwin, a collection of letters written to Darwin by modern academics and scientists. If you prefer to read actual correspondence between Darwin and his contemporaries, you may enjoy perusing the Darwin Correspondence Project *.

Philip Pullman's ideas behind His Dark Materials

rongorongo — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:40:33 -0800

Philip Pullman interviewed about the ideas behind "His Dark Materials" [YT,1 hour, South Bank Show,parts 2,3,4,5,6,7]. Inside, and hidden from those who don't want spoilers, are links relating to the ideas raised and about the books generally. References have to start out with the Fall of Man and specifically with Milton's Paradise Lost (Pullman's opinion this book) which gave the series its title and form. Add in some William Blake and especially "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" which Pullman memorised as a child (part of an excellent New Yorker article "Far from Narnia"). Finally Heinrich Von Kliest's essay "On the Marionette Theatre" which sees the fall in a positive light (and which features an un-foolable fighting bear to boot). Growing up his early literary inspirations included Tove Jannson's "Moomins" - for their gentle strangeness, Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" books for their skilful construction and the comics such as The Eagle and Superman for their vivid way of telling a story. An illustration in "A Hundred Million Francs" by Paul Berna might have been the original inspiration for Lyra. "The Balloonist" - by MacDonald Harris serves as a template for Arctic exploration by balloon. Leonardo da Vinci's painting "Lady with an Ermine" and "Young Woman with a Macaw" by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo were inspirations for the look of daemons. A general antipathy to CS Lewis' Narnia ( Pullman on 'The Dark Side of Narnia') - and other books which appeared to be against the idea of growing up - helped shape HDM too. Altough they are fantasy the books have quite a lot of science in them: multiverses, dark matter and communication devices which work on quantum entanglement for example. And if you would wish to follow in the steps of Mary Malone you might want to know about divination using the i-ching too. On writing - Pullman outlines some lessons for aspiring writers and fans of garden sheds interview him on the perfect place to construct your own best-selling trilogy. On religion we have previously had a thread about Pullman's conversation with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Separately he has been called "The Most Dangerous Author in Britain" for his religious views. In the documentary he sites Physicist and atheist Steven Weinberg. For more serious fans Srafopedia is a wiki-based encyclopedia to go with the series and BridgeToTheStars is perhaps the best site for serious addicts. Finally places are important: the gargoyles of Oxford, Jordan college - based on Pullman's alma mater, Exeter College. The (threatened) boatyards of Jericho, Svalbard -the Arctic pearl (from a previous post). And finally, of course, a garden.

The South Bank Show

ClanvidHorse — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:09:21 -0800

The South Bank Show is the longest running arts show on television. Melvyn Bragg has presented an eclectic mix of televisual joy since 1978. SBS has presented in-depth portraits of many different types of artists during this time, covering a huge range of topics. From high art to low art, classical music to pop music, canonical literature to airport blockbusters it has offered some of the most insightful and enjoyable arts programming around. Much youtubery awaits inside Here's are some great episodes for your delectation. Iggy and the Stooges (1,2,3,4,5). J.G. Ballard (1,2,3). Woody Allen (1,2,3,4,5,6). Steve Reich (1,2,3,4,5,6). Sonic Youth (1,2,3). Enjoy!