The BBC releases In Our Time in free-to-download MP3 format...
I was planning to post about this last week, but I got distracted with something. Hope you can forgive me. Anyway, a while ago BBC Radio and Music Interactive (where I hang out during the day for cash) released Radio 4's Reith Lectures in DRM-free MP3 format for people to download. It was something that we were all terribly proud to be able to be associated with.
Well now the department has gone one better. There's this show on Radio 4 called In Our Time that's concerned with the history of ideas. Each week Melvyn Bragg brings together three guests (serious guests at the top of their fields) and they have a discussion around the major themes. It's kind of awesome if you're interested in science or history. Just to give you an example of the kind of things that they cover there have been programmes on:
- The Origins of Life with Richard Dawkins, Richard Corfield and Linda Partridge
- Cryptography with Simon Singh, Fred Piper and Lisa Jardine
- Homer's Odyssey with Simon Goldhill, Edith Hall and Oliver Taplin
- Hysteria with Juliet Mitchell, Rachel Bowlby and Brett Kahr
- Dreams with V S Ramachandran, Mark Solms and Martin Conway
And if that lot doesn't whet your appetite, then nothing will. Now all of this stuff has been available online for people to listen to using the BBC RadioPlayer (you can launch it from here), but now it's got even better. Starting from shortly after last week's episode, now you can download and listen to the whole programme in non-DRM'd, easy to understand, iPod (and other media player) -compatible MP3 format! The latest episode (about the origins of Electricity, and featuring Simon Schaffer, Patricia Fara and Iwan Morus) is currently available for download here. And if you particularly enjoy it then you can explore the subject further with the BBC reading list.
How neat is that? You loving this as much as we are yet?
Comments
Please stay on-topic, informative and polite. I reserve the right to remove comments for whatever vague capricious reasons seem reasonable at the time.
This is wonderful!
What I don't understand is why have the download up only for 7 days?
→ Posted by: Prashant at November 8, 2004 12:01 AM
I've been meaning to ask you to kiss whoever is responsible for this for me. It's like...like...oh my.
Now, if I ask really nicely, can they convert the archives too? And then make a torrent of a zip of them all? Please?
I know, I know...
→ Posted by: Ben Hammersley at November 8, 2004 12:17 AM
I was disappointed to see that it's only the most recent episode. I guess it's back to the old 'mplayer -dumpstream' method to get the Dawkins episode. It's going onto the iPod for tomorrow and then, hopefully, I'll be loving this as much as you are.
→ Posted by: Rory Parle at November 8, 2004 12:20 AM
You know, I just received an iPod as a gift today, and this is like getting a second one for free...thank you!
And also as someone who has spent considerable time in Europe I just want to say I am sincerely sorry to everyone -- at least my city came in on the side of reality based government.
→ Posted by: Liz Tracey at November 8, 2004 2:30 AM
I was thrilled to see this! The sound quality is quite far from broadcast radio though.
The next step would be to try out the free formats again. I'm still waiting for the Ogg Vorbis to come back.
For these programs it would be ideal to use Ogg Speex!
→ Posted by: Jonas at November 8, 2004 12:14 PM
Thanks to Dan for getting the heads up out earlier, but after downloading two bits I am hooked. This is a great step forward. If this becomes permanent form there are some definite needs, such as a central listing of what is available for download. Along the same line a RSS feed announcing what is available for download would be fantastic and inline with the usually wonderful BBC products.
→ Posted by: vanderwal at November 8, 2004 12:35 PM
Great stuff.
I'll second the request for some way to get a handle on everything that is available would be good, and also some sort of archive for older broadcasts.
Onwards and upwards!
→ Posted by: Gordon at November 9, 2004 11:47 AM
I've a problem. I've got a Mac and I want to know how can I download mp3 files from the BBC in order to listen them in my ipod? Please, help
When I download one of them, I only can hear it with my browser (Saffari) but I can't find the file in my computer.
What is the problem?
→ Posted by: NACHO MOJÓN at November 9, 2004 1:19 PM
I'm all in favour of the BBC dabbling with the mp3 stuff. I know they are hamstrung with other copyright stuff as far as their music programming but more comedy/reviews as mp3 would be great.
I'm a heavy user of the ram streams and have even gone as far as manually recording them as mp3's - this would free me from my desks and have freedom to roam with my 'pod.
Lets go one step further than RSS feed of new shows. I want an audio Tivo/Sky+ application that will collect and make a playlist of my favourite shows! Aim high.
Also found a great link to an
online Dictionary of the History of Ideas on coudal.com. Scarily interesting, if you like that kinda thing.
loving your work Tom.
→ Posted by: Dan at November 10, 2004 2:00 PM
Splendid! Wish the Odyssey one were up though...
→ Posted by: Kevin Marks at November 11, 2004 3:01 AM
Also available as a Podcast. Link
→ Posted by: Ankit at November 14, 2004 11:12 AM
I'd love a copy of the Odyssey one too. Does anyone know any way of getting even a boring cassette copy?
→ Posted by: David H at December 21, 2004 12:03 PM
Something seems to have gone wrong with the In Our Time MP3s over the Xmas break... The most recent episode was Faust, however the episode that is offered for download is the previous week's episode (2nd law of thermodynamics).
Can you find out what has gone wrong!
→ Posted by: Salim Fadhley at December 29, 2004 12:12 AM
The downloaded mp3 of In Our Time plays perfectly on my XP computers. but it is the only .mp3 that I have encountered that won't play on my PDA (iPaq 5450, with the latest windows media player available for that operating syste, v. 8,5)
Anybody know why?
→ Posted by: David Colquhoun at January 18, 2006 4:22 PM
Does anyone have the episode on Human Evolution from 16 Feb 06? I downloaded it but it's only 21 mins long and I would really like to hear the rest.
→ Posted by: Tom at February 25, 2006 6:22 PM
Have you seen this before? It's a number guessing game: http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/guessthenumber.html. I guessed 48123, and it got it right! Pretty neat.
→ Posted by: Merideth Carleton at February 26, 2006 12:34 AM