This is The Threads, the podcast that traces the threads of ideas through science, art, literature and history. Join me, Gary, as I try to illuminate the links between different areas of human thought and expression that sometimes seem completely separate. Have you ever wondered why a certain revolutionary idea appeared in a certain place and time and not another? What cultural influences made the great intellectuals of history who they were? Or how science, philosophy and art have changed each other? 

Well, this podcast aims to delve into the stories of some of the biggest ideas in the world, such as

•  the shape of the universe and how different cultural knowledge systems have enabled alternative conceptions of it; 
• How western european values influenced the early understanding of ancient humanity, and why those views have changed;
• How the invention of the novel created an art form that went on to influence scientific and philosophical thinking in a wide variety of ways;
• How the effects of philosophical movements can be seen in artistic expression;
• And how differing attitudes to religious practice can both enable and repress scientific thinking.

It’s tempting to see the history of science as a huge pile of knowledge that just keeps getting bigger, but the reality is far more interesting. The people doing science are just like everyone else: They get inspired by nature, music and art, they get attached to their own pet theories, they subscribe to belief systems that are normative in their communities, and their personal feelings towards other people can affect whether they accept or reject those people’s ideas. This has left unexplored traces all over the history of knowledge where surprising influences have come together to bring about creative theories and paradigm changes that eventually become so embedded in our collective understanding of the world that we rarely even notice their existence.

You’ve probably heard of some of the biggest names in philosophy - names like Plato, John Locke, Karl Marx, Thomas Aquinas, Confucius, ibn Sina, Noam Chomsky - but every influential thinker stands on the shoulders of giants. Instead of looking at the lives and views of individuals, or attempting to illustrate a particular period of time, I intend to instead take the ideas themselves and talk about how someone throughout the history of humanity would have seen and understood them. And to do that, we can’t rely on direct philosophical writings themselves. Fiction and art can provide fascinating windows into how people understand the world.

So join me for the first few episodes. We’re going to take a look at the centre of the universe, conceptions of prehistoric humans, the relationship between coffee and science, the Frankenstein myth and its relationship with scientific practice, the curious relationship between early modern law and natural philosophy, among others. 

Subscribe to The Threads, and join me for knowledge, storytelling, big ideas, and plenty of speculation. There’ll be ancient civilisations, huge cultural revolutions, cosmic shifts in thought, epic poems, and more.

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