The History of Timekeeping

Greg Jenner is joined by Professor Viv Gardner and comedian Morgan Rees in 19th-century Wales to learn about the fabulous, theatrical life of Henry Cyril Paget. Born into an important aristocratic family – his ancestor had been Wellington’s second-in-command at Waterloo – Henry h ...  Show more

Greg Jenner is joined by Professor Yangwen Zheng and comedian Hugh Dennis to learn about the global history of tea, and how it became Britain’s national drink. Despite its popularity in the UK, much of our tea is grown in India and Kenya, while the tea plant itself is native to C ...  Show more

Timekeeping—the ancient art of measuring the moments that shape our lives. From sundials and water clocks to mechanical marvels and atomic precision, humanity’s quest to track time has driven innovation and connected civilizations. But how did this journey begin, and how has our ...  Show more

Many of us can find the time of day quickly and accurately but where did the idea of time keeping originate and how did our ancestors manage without the instant access we take for granted today?From ancient shadow and water clocks to the latest super accurate optical clocks, Brid ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of mankind’s attempt to understand the nature of time. At the end of the 19th century, H.G.Wells imagined travelling through time in The Time Machine; “The palpitation of night and day merged into one continuous greyness; the sky took o ...  Show more

Dr Becky and Izzie dust-down the Supermassive Tardis to explore the history of astronomy. From fossilised baboon bones and baby lamas to Einstein and black holes, the Supermassive team discovers how we came to understand the Universe the way we do today. Editor Richard talks to a ...  Show more