Rock the Academy with the History of Ideas: The BBC, New Media, and Deep Learning

What do John Milton, Schroedinger’s cat, miracles, the Poincare Conjecture, and guilt have in common? Answer: they’re five of the over 270 episodes to date of an extraordinary radio show called “In Our Time.”

This session examines the fascinating case of “In Our Time,” a weekly broadcast on BBC’s Radio 4 that since 2005 has been available worldwide as a podcast. After a quick overview of the show’s origins and construction, I will analyze “In Our Time” along two lines. First, I will analyze how the podcast works as a compelling and easily-imitated example of an open educational resource, and how host Melvyn Bragg has created a simple yet very effective model for how straightforward audio capture can blossom into a truly interactive learning community through blogs, forums, and even a next-day newsletter. Second, I will argue that the particular format of the show offers us a great example of how deep learning operates, with the roles of guests and host serving as role models, literally, for students, faculty, and staff in an educational community—in fact, almost a university in miniature.

See also

• video recording of session
• Wikipedia article with complete season listings
• BBC “In Our Time” website
• “After Our Time” blogsite