In Our Time: Philosophy - Podcast Rankings and reviews

Melvin Bragg is a host from a different era: knighted for his public radio work, a writer himself, he prepares extensively for each program and holds the guests to a much higher standard than do hosts in almost all other podcasts around these days. Yes he is direct and sometimes rude, probably more so to female guests than male guests (although it’s obvious that some of his favorites are women, eg Angie Hobbes), but at least some instances are actually maneuvers whereby he keeps the guests on topic and in check. The intelligence and articulateness of some of his repeating guests are stunning: I can spend all day listening to Marcus du Sautoy and Ian Stewart on math, Edith Hall on Ancient Greece, or Anthony Grayling on philosophy, and he brings on sometimes independent researchers with extremely unconventional and yet interesting ideas. I take notes on each program as they are so dense in contents. Dislikers can go listen to politically correct hosts politely interview a carefully curated list of racially and ethnically diverse guests (I say this as a colored woman academic), but I take In Our Time with its actual focus on intelligent inquiry and genuine curiosity any day.

I look forward to the show because I’ve always learn a lot in the most engaging way. The host is always to be relied on for asking questions to bring the best out of the panel. The subject matter is always intriguing and interesting. It is one of my favorite shows for intellectual challenge and content. I always feel smarter after I listen to it!

This show provides a rigorous introduction to a variety of philosophies, making for an easy listen. It provides a great refresher for those with some previous knowledge of the subject(s) but it might move too fast for the uninitiated. My only complaint is that frequently the main host moves too quickly through points, particularly during his introductions to the subject of the day. But the rewind button exists, so I can’t really complain.

Most of the programs and conversations are very good. The guests and Melvynn usually have a great chemistry.

I do have a criticism, which is that Melvynn tends to interrupt guests during inopportune times, just as they are getting to share a relevant or important point.

Other than that, the conversations are usually very interesting, and flow quite well.

I cannot stand how frequently this man interrupts and speaks over women in this podcast. It is distracting, especially when this behavior isn’t mirrored with male guests. Lovely subject matter and guests, however, I can’t stand the host.