When did In Our Time first air on BBC Radio 4?
In Our Time first broadcast on the 15th of October 1998. Melvyn Bragg presented the programme from that first episode, and it has aired weekly on Thursday mornings at 9 a.m. ever since.
Questions about In Our Time (radio series)
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who presented In Our Time and why did Melvyn Bragg leave?
Melvyn Bragg presented In Our Time from its debut on the 15th of October 1998. On the 3rd of September 2025 he announced his retirement from the programme, and on the 3rd of December 2025 the BBC named Misha Glenny as his successor, with Glenny taking over from the 15th of January 2026.
How many episodes has In Our Time broadcast?
In Our Time passed its 1,000th episode in September 2023. The programme runs weekly throughout the year except for a summer break of approximately eight to ten weeks between July and September.
How many listeners does In Our Time attract each week?
In Our Time attracts a weekly audience exceeding two million listeners. When the show launched, the Thursday morning slot it inherited was drawing around 600,000 listeners; by September 1999 Bragg had grown that figure to 1.5 million.
Who won the In Our Time greatest philosopher poll in 2005?
Karl Marx won the 2005 In Our Time listener poll for greatest philosopher in history, receiving 27.9% of the 30,000 votes cast. David Hume came second with 12.7%, and Ludwig Wittgenstein finished third with 6.8%.
When did In Our Time become available as a podcast?
In Our Time became the first BBC podcast in 2004, available through the BBC website and iTunes for one week after each broadcast. Since 2011, every episode in the archive has been available to download individually as a podcast.