Human IntelligenceSeries 2Episodes Episode guide

Back up to: Human Intelligence

1. Perfectionists: Martha Graham

   Martha Graham was to modern dance what Picasso was to painting.

   Next on

   Friday13:45

   BBC Radio 4
2. Perfectionists: Leonardo Da Vinci

   The quintessential Renaissance man, artist Leonardo da Vinci was curious about everything.

   Next on

   Thursday13:45

   BBC Radio 4
3. Perfectionists: Al-Khwarizmi

   Al-Khwarizmi laid the groundwork for the modern world in setting down the rules of algebra

   Next on

   Wednesday13:45

   BBC Radio 4
4. Perfectionists: Simone Weil

   Simone Weil was a perfectionist of ethics, calling on us to attend to others’ suffering.

   Next on

   Tomorrow13:45

   BBC Radio 4
5. Perfectionists: Isambard Kingdom Brunel

   Isambard Kingdom Brunel wanted all his work to be the best, but it came at a cost.

   Next on

   Today13:45

   BBC Radio 4
6. Exiles: Ovid

   Ovid was Rome’s funniest, wittiest poet. How was his mind shaped by exile?
7. Exiles: Sor Juana Inés De La Cruz

   How did exile enable a self-taught intellectual and proto-feminist to do her best work?
8. Exiles: Marie Curie

   Marie Curie had to go into exile to do her work, but she never forgot where she came from.
9. Exiles: Ishi

   The mind of Ishi: how one man worked to preserve the knowledge of an entire community.
10. Exiles: Karl Marx

    Exploring the mind of Karl Marx, a revolutionary political thinker and philosopher.
11. Live from Hay Literary Festival 2025

    Naomi Alderman and guests celebrate Human Intelligence at the Hay Literary Festival.
12. Recluses: Nikola Tesla

    Is the mind of Nikola Tesla worthy of such an extensive legacy?

    Next on

    Fri 23 Jan 202613:45

    BBC Radio 4
13. Recluses: Li Qingzhao

    Inside the mind of China’s greatest female poet: Li Qingzhao.

    Next on

    Thu 22 Jan 202613:45

    BBC Radio 4
14. Recluses: Michel de Montaigne

    What can we learn from the mind of Montaigne who invented the concept of the essay?

    Next on

    Wed 21 Jan 202613:45

    BBC Radio 4
15. Recluses: Ibn Khaldun

    How did philosopher Ibn Khaldun invent a theory to explain the rise and fall of dynasties?

    Next on

    Next Tuesday13:45

    BBC Radio 4
16. Recluses: Emily Bronte

    How did the writing of accomplished author Emily Bronte benefit from her reclusive nature?

    Next on

    Next Monday13:45

    BBC Radio 4
17. Perfectionists

    Thinkers who searched for perfection weren’t always easy to work with.

    Next on

    Saturday21:00

    BBC Radio 4
18. Exiles

    Exile shaped all these thinkers - and they never forgot where they’d come from.