Open Culture - Bertrand Russell & Other Big Thinkers in BBC Lecture Series (Free)

Very cool - more goodness from Open Culture. The BBC has put the complete audio archive of the Reith Lectures online, which gives you access to 240 lectures in total, including Michael Sandel, Edward Said, John Searle, John Kenneth Galbraith, George Kennan, and Robert Oppenheimer, and of course, philosopher Bertrand Russell (1948), with his lecture series, Authority and the Individual.

Bertrand Russell & Other Big Thinkers in BBC Lecture Series (Free)

July 6th, 2011

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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Tags: Open Culture, BBC, audio archives, Reith Lectures, 240 lectures, Michael Sandel, Edward Said, John Searle, John Kenneth Galbraith, George Kennan, Robert Oppenheimer, philosophers, scientists, Bertrand Russell, Authority and the Individual, Philosophy, history, Psychology, society, Science