In this episode, Marina Warner introduces the fairy tale, a form of literature that has had the power to enchant us and spark our imaginations for hundreds of years.

Learn more about Fairy Tale: A Very Short Introduction here:

Marina Warner is a writer, historian, cultural critic, and novelist. She is a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, an Honorary Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the British Academy.

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In this episode, Laura Marcus introduces one of the most popular written forms, the autobiography, form that offers understanding of the ways in which lives have been lived and fundamental accounts of what it means to be a self in the world.

Learn more about Autobiography : A Very Short Introduction here:

Laura Marcus is Goldsmiths’ Professor of English Literature and Fellow of New College at Oxford. She is also a Fellow of the British Academy. Marcus has published widely on nineteenth and twentieth-century literature and culture, with books on autobiography, Virginia Woolf, modernist writing and literature and film.

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In this episode, Paul Klenerman introduces the immune system, central to all human health and area of continual focus in medical research.

Learn more about The Immune System: A Very Short Introduction here:

Paul Klenerman is Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Research Fellow and Professor of Immunology at the University of Oxford. He is also Immune Theme Lead at the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.

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In this episode, Kimberly Reynolds introduces children’s literature, which not only encompasses picture books, pop-ups, and novels, but has modernised to also include online games and eBooks.

Learn more about Children’s Literature: A Very Short Introduction here:

Kimberley Reynolds is Professor of Children’s Literature in the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics at Newcastle University. She was President of the International Research Society for Children’s Literature (2003 – 2007).

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In this episode, Catriona Kelly introduces Russian literature centred around the figure of Alexander Pushkin that permeates into national culture.

Learn more about Russian Literature: A Very Short Introduction here:

Catriona Kelly is a Professor of Russian, University of Oxford and Fellow of New College and Lecturerer at Merton College.

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In this episode, Joachim Whaley introduces the Holy Roman Empire, once described by Voltaire as ‘neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire’, as its history and significance is often misunderstood.

Learn more about The Holy Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction here:

Joachim Whaley is Professor of German History and Thought at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of several books on religious toleration in early modern Germany and on the Holy Roman Empire in the early modern period, all of which have been translated into German. He has written numerous articles on the religious and intellectual history of the German lands in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 2015.

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In this episode, Dana Arnold introduces art history, which encompasses the study of the history and development of painting, sculpture, and the other visual arts.

Learn more about Art History: A Very Short Introduction here:

Dana Arnold is Professor in Art History at the University of East Anglia, UK. She has published extensively on art and architectural history, especially in relation to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Her work has been published into many languages and enjoys a world-wide following. You can hear more from Dana Arnold with ‘10 Things to Know about Art History’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Oh5TjZZmbU

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In this episode, Julian Baggini introduces atheism, wrongly considered to be a negative, dark, and pessimistic belief characterized by a rejection of values and purpose and a fierce opposition to religion.

Learn more about Atheism: A Very Short Introduction here:

Julian Baggini is the editor of The Philosophers’ Magazine.

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In this episode, Julia Simner introduces synaesthesia, a neurological condition that gives rise to a ‘merging of the senses’, in which words can be tasted and colours can be heard.

Learn more about Synaesthesia: A Very Short Introduction here:

Julia Simner is a neuropsychologist and researcher in the field of synaesthesia research and multi-sensory processing. Her education and career have taken her to the Universities of Oxford, Toronto, Edinburgh and Sussex, and she now runs the Synesthesia and Sensory Integration lab at the University of Sussex. She is the Science Officer for the UK Synaesthesia Association, Director of the ERC-funded MULTISENSE project, and Director of the Savant Network.

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In this episode, Miri Rubin introduces the Middle Ages, a term coined around 1450 to describe a thousand years of European history.

Learn more about The Middle Ages: A Very Short Introduction here:

Miri Rubin is Professor of Medieval History at Queen Mary University of London and Head of the School of History. She has taught at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, and has held visiting positions in Paris, Princeton, and New York. Her research has explored areas of the religious cultures of medieval Europe, and has been influenced by an interdisciplinary approach which had benefited from the use of textual, visual and musical sources.

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