The Shape of Things That Came

Available for over a year

HG Wells' 1933 classic looks back from the year 2106, in a purported history of the years 1929 to 2105, received from the future in dreams. When this programme was aired in 2021 - 92 years into the timescale of the book and with 84 more to go - poet and Professor of Radio, Sean Street, explored the text to establish what Wells got right, what he got wrong - and what may turn out to be prophetic. With the aid of contemporary news bulletins, audio archives – including Orson Welles - and with expert help from Christopher Frayling and Andy Sawyer, Sean navigates through Wells' future past Readings by Jenny Lane. Producer: Andy Cartwright A Soundscape production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 2017 and revised in 2021.