Humanly Possible by Sarah Bakewell (Omnibus)

Prize-winning writer Sarah Bakewell explores 700 years of humanist freethinking, enquiry and hope.

It begins in Tuscany in the 1300s where life is uncertain and conflict and hostilities are rife. Into this febrile atmosphere come Petrarch and Boccaccio.

Omnibus of five episodes abridged by Richard Hamilton.

Read by Emma Fielding.

* In this series, we encounter Petrarch and Boccaccio who look back to the ancients for models of good living based on friendship, wisdom and the power of words.

* Then we encounter Erasmus and find out about his views on education and civility.

* We'll also come across Wilhelm von Humboldt who re-designed Prussia's education system in the nineteenth century and ensured that it was founded on principles of mutual kindness and liberty.

* Moving on to the mid-19th century we meet Darwin who with his ground breaking theories on evolution, and the writings of TH Huxley gave rise to scientific humanism.

* In the concluding episode, the 20th century's humanists are compelled to confront the horrors of the WWII and its far-reaching consequences.

Sarah Bakewell is the award-winning author of 'How to Live' and 'At the Existentialist Cafe'. Here Bakewell delves into the lives of the thinkers who throughout history have set about understanding what it means to be human, and so created the school of thought that we know today as humanism.

Producer: Elizabeth Allard

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2023.