Start the Week

Rise and Fall of the City


Listen Later

What would the perfect city look like?

Today more people live in cities than ever before and that shapes the way we think, says sociologist Richard Sennett. He lays out a vision for a city of the future based not on ancient Greece but on new 'open' streets.

Structural engineer Roma Agrawal charts the growth of cities from simple mud huts to the modern metropolis. She tells Amol Rajan about the engineering magic that holds towering city skylines in place, and recalls the eccentric engineers whose visions called our cities into being.

The Chinese built a city for the dead more than two thousand years ago and now its relics are on display again. Historian Edward Burman describes how the Terracotta Army found in a necropolis shows a ruler planning for life after death.

David Farr depicts the siege and destruction of Troy, the great city of the ancient world, in his vast new BBC One drama. He explains how the Trojans coped under ten long years of siege.

Producer: Hannah Sander.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Start the WeekBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

152 ratings


More shows like Start the Week

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,400 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

383 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,853 Listeners

Front Row by BBC Radio 4

Front Row

136 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,827 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

288 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

309 Listeners

Profile by BBC Radio 4

Profile

104 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

489 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,754 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,065 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

899 Listeners

The Forum by BBC World Service

The Forum

277 Listeners

A Point of View by BBC Radio 4

A Point of View

74 Listeners

The Reith Lectures by BBC Radio 4

The Reith Lectures

152 Listeners

Books and Authors by BBC Radio 4

Books and Authors

383 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,984 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,064 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,897 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

244 Listeners

Moral Maze by BBC Radio 4

Moral Maze

76 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

80 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

775 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,024 Listeners