Back in 1948, Britain was making another difficult transition, moving from the trauma of World War II to the chill of the Cold War. Hoping to give radio listeners some clarity on contemporary affairs, the BBC began airing an annual series of lectures — the Reith Lectures — that featured leading thinkers of the day. 60 years later, the tradition continues, and during this long stretch, some legendary figures have graced the BBC’s airwaves: Michael Sandel, Edward Said, John Searle, John Kenneth Galbraith, George Kennan, and Robert Oppenheimer, just to name a few. (And, yes, the list unfortunately skews heavily male.)
Late last month, the BBC put the complete audio archive online, which gives you access to 240 lectures in total. Where’s the best place to start? How about at the beginning, with the inaugural lectures presented by philosopher Bertrand Russell in 1948. His lecture series, Authority and the Individual, delved into an age old question in political philosophy — the individual and his/her relationship with communities and states. The head of the BBC later groused that Russell spoke “too quickly and had a bad voice.” But the real complaints came from the Soviets, who interpreted Russell’s lectures as an attack on Communism. You can find the lectures here; the first lecture appears at the bottom of the page.
Note: Our Twitter friends around the world said that they could almost universally access the lectures. If you experience any geo-restricting, we apologize in advance.
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I am looking for a copyright free photograph of Mary Wollstonecraft for my book on Women and political thought. Kindly treat it as urgent and respond immediately. Tx
(And, yes, the list unfortunately skews heavily male.)
Unfortunately, really? What was the purpose of this statement? Perhaps they should apologize?
“The list is unfortunately ” skewed” toward males.”
Hilarious!
Should we be more concerned here with
Avon ladies and housewives?
IAmerican men are so pathetic.
Unlikely – Wollstonecraft died in 1797. The earliest photograph was taken in the 1820s and the first portraits very much later.
Strange, can’t access any of these lectures here in Oregon, USA. It says it’s not available in my area.