Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | A Scholar's Mission | 20200831 | 20250210 (BBC7) 20250211 (BBC7) | A Tudor scholar is entrusted by Henry the Eighth with a mission. Today, the knowledge they hold on behalf of society is under attack as never before. Read by Anthony Head Produced by Jill Waters A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2020. Henry VIII entrusts a scholar with a mission. Henry VIII entrusts a scholar with a mission – the story of the fight to preserve knowledge. Read by Anthony Head. A 3000-year journey through the destruction of knowledge and the fight against all the odds to preserve it. Richard Ovenden, director of the Bodleian Library, explains how attacks on libraries and archives have been a feature of history since ancient times, but have increased in frequency and intensity during the modern era. Libraries are far more than stores of literature, through preserving the legal documents such as Magna Carta and records of citizenship they also support the rule of law and the rights of citizens. At once a powerful history of civilisation and a manifesto for the vital importance of physical libraries in our increasingly digital age, Burning the Books is also a very human story animated by an unlikely cast of adventurers, self-taught archaeologists, poets, freedom-fighters - and, of course, librarians and the heroic lengths they will go to preserve and rescue knowledge. Richard Ovenden demonstrates fundamentally how knowledge of the past still has so many valuable lessons to teach us and we ignore it at our peril. Abridged by Si n Preece The director of Oxford's Bodleian Library explores a world of literature. |
| 02 | Records And Libraries | 20200901 | 20250211 (BBC7) 20250212 (BBC7) | The importance of records and libraries to good government. Today, the knowledge they hold on behalf of society is under attack as never before. Read by Anthony Head Produced by Jill Waters A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2020. The importance of records and libraries to good government – the story of the fight to preserve knowledge. Read by Anthony Head. A 3000-year journey through the destruction of knowledge and the fight against all the odds to preserve it. Richard Ovenden, director of the Bodleian Library, explains how attacks on libraries and archives have been a feature of history since ancient times, but have increased in frequency and intensity during the modern era. Libraries are far more than stores of literature, through preserving the legal documents such as Magna Carta and records of citizenship they also support the rule of law and the rights of citizens. At once a powerful history of civilisation and a manifesto for the vital importance of physical libraries in our increasingly digital age, Burning the Books is also a very human story animated by an unlikely cast of adventurers, self-taught archaeologists, poets, freedom-fighters - and, of course, librarians and the heroic lengths they will go to preserve and rescue knowledge. Richard Ovenden demonstrates fundamentally how knowledge of the past still has so many valuable lessons to teach us and we ignore it at our peril. Abridged by Si n Preece The history of deliberate attacks on recorded knowledge. Read by Anthony Head. |
| 03 | Keep Or Cull? | 20200902 | 20250212 (BBC7) 20250213 (BBC7) | Decisions of what to keep and what to cull. The knowledge they hold on behalf of society is under attack as never before. Read by Anthony Head Produced by Jill Waters A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2020. Decisions of what to keep and what to cull – the story of the fight to preserve knowledge. Read by Anthony Head. A 3000-year journey through the destruction of knowledge and the fight against all the odds to preserve it. Richard Ovenden, director of the Bodleian Library, explains how attacks on libraries and archives have been a feature of history since ancient times, but have increased in frequency and intensity during the modern era. Libraries are far more than stores of literature, through preserving the legal documents such as Magna Carta and records of citizenship they also support the rule of law and the rights of citizens. Today, the knowledge they hold on behalf of society is under attack as never before. At once a powerful history of civilisation and a manifesto for the vital importance of physical libraries in our increasingly digital age, Burning the Books is also a very human story animated by an unlikely cast of adventurers, self-taught archaeologists, poets, freedom-fighters - and, of course, librarians and the heroic lengths they will go to preserve and rescue knowledge. Richard Ovenden demonstrates fundamentally how knowledge of the past still has so many valuable lessons to teach us and we ignore it at our peril. Abridged by Si n Preece The history of deliberate attacks on recorded knowledge. Read by Anthony Head. |
| 04 | Theft Of Knowledge | 20200903 | 20250213 (BBC7) 20250214 (BBC7) | Aspects of the theft of knowledge. Today, the knowledge they hold on behalf of society is under attack as never before. Read by Anthony Head Produced by Jill Waters A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2020. Aspects of the theft of recorded information. Aspects of the theft of recorded information – the story of the fight to preserve knowledge. Read by Anthony Head. A 3000-year journey through the destruction of knowledge and the fight against all the odds to preserve it. Richard Ovenden, director of the Bodleian Library, explains how attacks on libraries and archives have been a feature of history since ancient times, but have increased in frequency and intensity during the modern era. Libraries are far more than stores of literature, through preserving the legal documents such as Magna Carta and records of citizenship they also support the rule of law and the rights of citizens. At once a powerful history of civilisation and a manifesto for the vital importance of physical libraries in our increasingly digital age, Burning the Books is also a very human story animated by an unlikely cast of adventurers, self-taught archaeologists, poets, freedom-fighters - and, of course, librarians and the heroic lengths they will go to preserve and rescue knowledge. Richard Ovenden demonstrates fundamentally how knowledge of the past still has so many valuable lessons to teach us and we ignore it at our peril. Abridged by Si n Preece The history of deliberate attacks on recorded knowledge. Read by Anthony Head. |
| 05 | The Future | 20200904 | 20250214 (BBC7) 20250215 (BBC7) | The future and the preservation of information that relates to all of us and the way we live. Today, the knowledge they hold on behalf of society is under attack as never before. Concluded by Anthony Head. Producer: Jill Waters A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2020. The future and the preservation of information that relates to us and the way we live. The future and the preservation of information that relates to all of us and the way we live. Concluded by Anthony Head. A 3000-year journey through the destruction of knowledge and the fight against all the odds to preserve it. Richard Ovenden, director of the Bodleian Library, explains how attacks on libraries and archives have been a feature of history since ancient times, but have increased in frequency and intensity during the modern era. Libraries are far more than stores of literature, through preserving the legal documents such as Magna Carta and records of citizenship they also support the rule of law and the rights of citizens. At once a powerful history of civilisation and a manifesto for the vital importance of physical libraries in our increasingly digital age, Burning the Books is also a very human story animated by an unlikely cast of adventurers, self-taught archaeologists, poets, freedom-fighters - and, of course, librarians and the heroic lengths they will go to preserve and rescue knowledge. Richard Ovenden demonstrates fundamentally how knowledge of the past still has so many valuable lessons to teach us and we ignore it at our peril. Read by Anthony Head Abridged by Si n Preece The history of deliberate attacks on recorded knowledge. Read by Anthony Head. |