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Isaiah Berlin

Isaiah Berlin (1909–1997), founding President of Wolfson College, University of Oxford, is regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century. He was famous as an extempore lecturer, and his inimitable speaking style is well illustrated in this series of podcasts.

# Episode Title Description People Date
20 Some Sources of Romanticism: 6 – The Lasting Effects The sixth and last of Isaiah Berlin's famous 1965 Mellon Lectures Isaiah Berlin 21 Nov 2021
19 Some Sources of Romanticism: 5 – Unbridled Romanticism The fifth of Isaiah Berlin's famous 1965 Mellon Lectures Isaiah Berlin 21 Nov 2021
18 Some Sources of Romanticism: 4 – The Restrained Romantics The fourth of Isaiah Berlin's famous 1965 Mellon Lectures Isaiah Berlin 21 Nov 2021
17 Some Sources of Romanticism: 3 – The True Fathers of Romanticism The third of Isaiah Berlin's famous 1965 Mellon Lectures Isaiah Berlin 21 Nov 2021
16 Some Sources of Romanticism: 2 – The First Attack on Enlightenment The second of Isaiah Berlin's famous 1965 Mellon Lectures Isaiah Berlin 27 Oct 2021
15 Capturing Genius: Editing Isaiah Berlin Howard Burton talks to Henry Hardy, Fellow of Wolfson and author of ‘In Search of Isaiah Berlin: A Literary Adventure’, about being the principal editor of one of the twentieth century’s most captivating public intellectuals Henry Hardy, Howard Burton 30 Sep 2021
14 Some Sources of Romanticism: 1 – In Search of a Definition The first of Isaiah Berlin's famous 1965 Mellon Lectures Isaiah Berlin 07 Sep 2021
13 The Impact of Marx on the Nineteenth Century Lecture by Isaiah Berlin on 5 October 1964 to the conference on ‘One Hundred Years of Revolutionary Internationals’ held at Stanford University to mark the centenary of the First International Working Men’s Association Isaiah Berlin 03 Sep 2021
12 Political Judgement A 1957 BBC Third Programme talk by Isaiah Berlin on the distinctiveness of the understanding and judgement we deploy in human affairs, especially in the field of politics Isaiah Berlin 03 Sep 2021
11 Anna Akhmatova reading her poems about Isaiah Berlin in Oxford in 1965 This podcast is in Russian. This short recording includes 'Cinque' and other poems inspired by the poet's meetings with Isaiah Berlin. Anna Akhmatova 23 May 2014
10 The Origins of Cultural History: 1 – Two Notions of the History of Culture: The German versus the French Tradition Isaiah Berlin gives the first of his Gauss Seminars at Princeton University on 'The Origins of Cultural History', 19 February 1973 Isaiah Berlin 31 Jul 2013
9 The Origins of Cultural History: 2 – Geisteswissenschaft and the Natural Sciences: Vico versus Descartes Isaiah Berlin gives the second of his three Gauss Seminars at Princeton University on 'The Origins of Cultural History', 20 February 1973 Isaiah Berlin 31 Jul 2013
8 The Origins of Cultural History: 3 – The Origins of the Conflict: Political Lawyers, Classical Scholars, Narrative Historians Isaiah Berlin gives the third of his three Gauss Seminars at Princeton University on 'The Origins of Cultural History', 22 February 1973 Isaiah Berlin 31 Jul 2013
7 Two Enemies of the Enlightenment: 3 – Joseph de Maistre Isaiah Berlin gives the third of his four Woodbridge Lectures at Columbia University, New York, 27 October 1965 Isaiah Berlin 31 Jul 2013
6 Two Enemies of the Enlightenment: 2 – J. G. Hamann Isaiah Berlin gives the second of his four Woodbridge Lectures at Columbia University, New York, 26 October 1965 Isaiah Berlin 31 Jul 2013
5 A Very Personal Impression: Isaiah Berlin This talk was given at Wolfson College on 28 May 2009 as part of the 'Lives and Works' series of lectures Alan Ryan 03 Jun 2009
4 From Communism to Zionism: Moses Hess (1957) 1957 Lucien Wolf Memorial Lecture. Lecture on the Jewish philosopher Moses Hess, one of the founders of Zionism and a committed Socialist. Berlin also discusses Hess’s evolution as a philosopher, from International Socialism to Zionism. Isaiah Berlin 15 Apr 2009
3 A Fire at Sea (1957) Isaiah Berlin introduces and reads his translation of Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev's short story 'A Fire at Sea', in which Turgenev recounts an embarrassing episode from his youth. Originally broadcast on the BBC Third Programme on 23 July 1957. Isaiah Berlin 15 Apr 2009
2 Alexander Herzen: His Opinions and Character (1955) Lecture on Alexander Herzen, philosopher and founder of Russia’s first free press. Berlin discusses Herzen’s passionate belief in individual liberty and his distaste for the new violent radicalism in the Russia of his time. Isaiah Berlin 15 Apr 2009
1 Freedom and Its Betrayal: 2 – Jean Jacques Rousseau (1952) Berlin lectures on Rousseau's 'On the Social Contract' and discusses his anti-intellectualism, his idealism of Nature, and the worryingly authoritarian implications of his philosophy. Originally broadcast on the BBC Third Programme in 1952. Isaiah Berlin 14 Apr 2009