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In Human Intelligence, Naomi Alderman dissects the minds of brilliant thinkers from the past; examining the myriad ways in which humans think and realising that great minds don't, in fact, think alike.

Updated: weekly
Episodes available: indefinitely

Episodes to download

  •

    Travellers: Aristotle

    Fri 28 Mar 2025

    The very first scientist, who thought every part of the world could be a place of learning

  • Travellers: Ida Pfeiffer

    Thu 27 Mar 2025

    A 19th-century solo female traveller who opened up the idea of travel for everyone.

  • Travellers: Sir Patrick Manson

    Wed 26 Mar 2025

    'Mosquito Manson' found a travelling parasite and unravelled a medical mystery.

  • Travellers: Jean Rhys

    Tue 25 Mar 2025

    A novelist whose sequel to Jane Eyre turned storytelling on its head

  • Travellers: The Buddha

    Mon 24 Mar 2025

    A young prince who journeyed towards enlightenment

  • Manhattan Project: Albert Einstein

    Fri 21 Mar 2025

    How a world famous pacifist jump-started the Manhattan Project and revolutionised science.

  • Manhattan Project: Lise Meitner

    Thu 20 Mar 2025

    The woman who discovered nuclear fission but would have nothing to do with the bomb.

  • Manhattan Project: John von Neumann

    Wed 19 Mar 2025

    The game theory pioneer who made the information age possible.

  • Manhattan Project: Niels Bohr

    Tue 18 Mar 2025

    A scientific genius who saw poetry in the subatomic world

  • Manhattan Project: J Robert Oppenheimer

    Mon 17 Mar 2025

    The father of the atom bomb who longed to be an all-American hero.

  • Collectors: Charles Darwin

    Fri 24 Jan 2025

    A life-long collector of curiosities, Darwin saw massive significance in tiny changes.

  • Collectors: Samuel Johnson

    Thu 23 Jan 2025

    Working in chaos at a desk strewn with papers, 'Dictionary Johnson' left a great legacy.

  • Collectors: Pamphila

    Wed 22 Jan 2025

    A prolific historian from ancient Greece 鈥� female, freelance and working from home.

  • Collectors: Denis Diderot

    Tue 21 Jan 2025

    The Enlightenment encyclopaedist; the ultimate interdisciplinary thinker.

  • Collectors: Sei Sh艒nagon

    Mon 20 Jan 2025

    The author of a Japanese masterpiece who saw the beauty and absurdity in everyday life.

  • Teachers: Diogenes

    Fri 17 Jan 2025

    The irascible Greek thinker who lived in a barrel and argued for a simpler happier life.

  • Teachers: Peter Ramus

    Thu 16 Jan 2025

    A radical teacher who believed passionately in knowledge and education for all.

  • Teachers: Mary Somerville

    Wed 15 Jan 2025

    A remarkable 19th-century polymath inspired by the natural world and the universe beyond.

  • Teachers: Maimonides

    Tue 14 Jan 2025

    The celebrated medieval philosopher who reconciled faith and reason.

  • Teachers: Michael Faraday

    Mon 13 Jan 2025

    An obsessive, meticulous intellect that gave us ideas behind world-changing technology.

  • Disruptors: Malcolm X

    Fri 10 Jan 2025

    Naomi Alderman explores the mind of Malcolm X and his role in black nationalism in the US.

  • Disruptors: Martin Luther

    Thu 9 Jan 2025

    Naomi Alderman explores the mind of Martin Luther, who inspired the Protestant Reformation

  • Disruptors: Mary Wollstonecraft

    Wed 8 Jan 2025

    Naomi Alderman explores the mind of the brilliant feminist pioneer, Mary Wollstonecraft.

  • Disruptors: George Washington

    Tue 7 Jan 2025

    Naomi Alderman explores the mind of the first US president, George Washington.

  • Disruptors: Socrates

    Mon 6 Jan 2025

    Naomi Alderman explores the mind of Socrates, the original disruptor.

  • What Is Human Intelligence?

    Fri 20 Dec 2024

    Naomi Alderman looks at brilliant minds from the past.

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