Programme Index

Discover 11,128,835 listings and 279,694 playable programmes from the BBC

Book of the Week

Periodic Tales

Episode 1

Duration: 18 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW

By Hugh Aldersey-Williams

Everything is made from them: the elements are the universal and fundamental ingredients of all matter. But beyond the laboratory, released from the periodic table in which Dmitiri Mendeleev organised them according to the number of protons in their atoms, they reveal other meanings and tell other stories. Hugh Aldersey-Williams explores 'the curious lives of the elements' through history, literature, science and art.

Mankind has always sought to venerate the rare and the precious, as well as being drawn magpie-like to that which is bright and shiny. First it was gold and then it was platinum.

Reader : Michael Maloney

Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4. Show less

About this data

This data is drawn from the data stream that informs BBC's iPlayer and Sounds. The information shows what was scheduled to be broadcast, meaning it was/is subject to change and may not be accurate. More