Please Expand

In this episodes we talk about an obscure group of professionals called "Antiquaries" ,whose intellectual activities became increasingly relevant in the period from 1789 -1851. We discuss the changing self-image of the English; the antiquaries made the Gothic central to English identity; and it is to the antiquaries that we owe the canonisation of Shakespeare. We grapple with questions concerning historical authenticity, the role of creativity in historical narratives, and ultimately wonder whether the histories we get are simply the ones that we need.

I interview John Barton on “The History of the Bible: The Book and its Faiths”, with my guest J. A. Velasco. We grapple with some challenging issues surround the Bible. We discuss problems surrounding the authorship of the various books of the bible; we talk about the role that divine inspiration can play in our comprehension of the Bible; and we try to unpack the kinds of moral truths that one can reasonably take away from the Bible.

I interview Greg Woolf on "The Life and Death of Ancient Cities", with my guest J. A. Velasco. We talk about three main themes of Greg's book. First, we discuss the innovative evolutionary framework through which Greg has chosen to discuss the phenomenon of urbanisation. Second, we talk about the claim that inequality between people grew as urban centres expanded. We investigate whether there was less inequality in rural settings or whether the appearance of no inequality is simply due to the difficulties in inferring inequality from the archaeological record. Third, we reflect on the nature of urban centres and grapple with the possibility that urban centres necessarily require poorer centres around them from which they can draw cheap resources that can sustain that kind of life in urban centres.

After the interview I chat with J about the first two issues. We question the cogency of investigating urbanisation through an evolutionary framework and ask about the role of free will; we talk about the kinds of inequality that might be inferred from the archaeological record and why inequality might grow within urban centres.

Make sure to check out my website, www.pleaseexpand.com, for more information about upcoming episodes, and follow me on twitter @pleasexpand for updates.

I interview David Wootton on "The Invention of Science". We talk about what science is and how science came about in the 16th century. We look at the rise of perspective painting; Columbus's discovery of America; and the invention of the printing press. We discuss the significance of Galileo's discovery of the phases of Venus and David's notion of "killer facts"; and we discuss the impact of David's arguments for contemporary academic history of science as well as the Kuhnian legacy.

After the interview I focus on two concepts that we look at in the interview: the issue of incommensurability in Kuhn and David's notion of path dependency. For more discussion of "The Invention of Science", check out the Forum page on the website: https://www.pleaseexpand.com/forum. I look forward to hearing what you have to say about it!

I interview Seb Falk on "The Light Ages", with my guest J. A. Velasco. We get right to the core of Seb's book and discuss whether people in the middle ages were doing science; we talk about whether people in the middle ages saw themselves as collaborating and competing with each other; and, finally, we look at some fascinating individuals and how they thought about the world, from Robert Grosseteste, Roger Bacon, Petrus Alphonsi, and Ibn al-Haytham.

After the interview I spend some time with J unpacking the concept of medieval science and think further about what it means for an activity to be "scientific". For more discussion on "The Light Ages", check out the Forum page on my website: https://www.pleaseexpand.com/forum. I look forward to hearing what you have to say about it!

I interview David Abulafia on "The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Ocean", winner of the Wolfson History Prize. We discuss topics such as why some island nations are better than navigating than others; how important trade was to motivating maritime travel; how seriously we should take the intentions of Christian missionaries in the New World; the concept of discovery and its role in the history of the oceans; and just how much our relation to the Oceans has changed in recent years.

After the interview I spend some time unpacking the concept of discovery and thinking further about what it means for something to be discovered. For more discussion on "The Boundless Sea", check out the Forum page on my website: https://www.pleaseexpand.com/forum. I look forward to hearing what you have to say about it!

Welcome to Please Expand! In this introductory episode I talk about what Please Expand is, how you can get involved with it, and how you can support it.