Why ‘In Our Time’ will save you in seminars

Bethan McGrath speaks exclusively to Victoria Brignell, one of the producers of the popular BBC Radio 4 show

You might not have listened to it, but you certainly should – BBC Radio 4’s show In Our Time has been likened to university seminars on more occasions than one. Listening to the show, the resemblance is obvious; a panel of experts are assembled for each episode, who, along with the host, Melvyn Bragg, discuss a topic in just 45 minutes. The conversation is intense, and you really must pay attention to follow, but it’s never so academic that you feel lost along the way (a feeling that we’ve had in one lecture too many). With topics ranging from the Industrial Revolution, to Frida Kahlo, to microbiology, and hundreds of podcasts to listen to on the In Our Time website (bbc. co.uk/radio4/inourtime), it’s more than likely that you’ll find a discussion by leading academics on a topic you’re studying. You might also find that one of your lecturers pops up in an episode or two. If you’re looking for ways to procrastinate without the guilt, or listen to a stellar introduction to a topic you’re going to be studying this year, have a browse of In Our Time’s podcasts, and expand your mind whilst doing the ironing or something equally mundane (lol jokes, students don’t iron). In this interview, I chat to Victoria Brignell, a producer of In Our Time, about what it’s like to work on a BBC Radio 4 show, and why the show holds such an appeal for students.

Bethan: How has your career led you to produce a BBC Radio 4 show?

Victoria: As a teenager, my plan was to become a newspaper reporter so, after studying Classics at the University of Cambridge, I then completed a postgraduate diploma in newspaper journalism at Cardiff University. However, having failed dismally to obtain a newspaper job (I still have the pile of rejection letters I received), I was delighted and surprised when I gained a place in January 1999 on a BBC production traineeship aimed at disabled people (I’m a tetraplegic wheelchair user). Over the last 16 years I’ve been lucky enough to work on various Radio 4 programmes including Start the Week, Woman’s Hour and You and Yours, before arriving at In Our Time. In my opinion, being a producer on In Our Time is a real privilege and I find it gratifying to think that my BBC career began just three months after In Our Time first hit the airwaves.

B: In what ways is the programme suited to a student audience?

V: In Our Time began on October 15th 1998. More than 680 editions have now been made and all of them are available to listen to or download via the In Our Time website. Each episode of In Our Time is like a university seminar and we tackle a huge range of subjects. To give you a taste of what we offer, this year we have examined Jane Eyre, dark matter, the California Gold Rush and Sappho, to name but a few. Our back catalogue even includes programmes on eunuchs and the Kama Sutra. Whatever subject a student is studying, there is likely to be an edition that is relevant.

In Our Time is also known for giving a voice to women. In the last five years alone, we have had 14 all-female panels of guests

B: How do you gather information for each episode?

V: People who listen to In Our Time often assume that there is a huge team of BBC staff behind the scenes. In fact, just three of us are involved – Simon, the senior producer; myself, the junior producer; and Ingrid, the production coordinator. We have regular meetings with Melvyn (about once every 6-8 weeks) in which we consider what topics will be covered in the next tranche of programmes. Many of the ideas come from academics and listeners as well as Melvyn and the production team. Once the list of subjects has been decided, we book the guests, usually several weeks in advance. Academics lead busy lives so it’s important to approach them before their diaries become too full. Simon and myself then carry out detailed, hour-long research calls on the phone with each guest. The information we gain from these conversations subsequently forms the basis of the briefing notes we write for Melvyn. Don Pollacco, Professor of Astronomy at Warwick University, comments: “In Our Time is one of the most respected academic radio programmes available anywhere in the world. I thought it a real honour to be invited onto the show twice to talk about the subject I love. The show is put together in a most professional way. Preparations for the programme start months in advance of the live broadcast – and it shows. The production team always seem to find the most important points to focus on. Overall, it is definitely one of the highlights of my career.”

B: How do you source academics for the programme?

V: Our guests are chosen because they are leading authorities in their field, engaging communicators and passionate about their knowledge. We only book people who hold positions at universities or leading museums because it is felt that this gives them extra authority and credibility. As well as Don Pollacco, a number of other Warwick University academics have been guests on In Our Time including Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics and Tim Lockley, Reader in American Studies. In Our Time is also known for giving a voice to women. In the last five years alone, we have had 14 all-female panels of guests who have discussed subjects like the number ‘e’, the An Lushan Rebellion and the Icelandic Sagas.

Whatever subject a student is studying, there is likely to be an edition that is relevant.

B: Do you think the brevity of the episodes is limiting, or is their condensed form helpful to the flow of discussion?

V: At the end of each programme there’s often much material that the guests have not had a chance to discuss. This can be frustrating. However, what In Our Time aims to do is to provide listeners with a “taster” of each subject. It acts as a gateway to topics that listeners may not have encountered before. We always publish a list of books on our website to accompany each episode so that listeners can do more research for themselves, if their interest has been sparked. Frankly, I would rather leave listeners wanting more than overload them with more content than they can face at once! And if you download the podcast, you get some added extras in the form of the studio post-programme discussion amongst Melvyn and the guests.

B: Do you think there is an inexhaustible supply of topics to discuss?

V: We have more than 600 topics in our ideas list and the list is growing all the time, so we won’t run out of subjects any time soon! On 3rd December we’ll be broadcasting a topic chosen by a listener – so do please send in your ideas. The closing date is October 29th.