Dr Jessica Frazier from the Department of Religious Studies is speaking on BBC Radio 4 as part of a series of programmes entitled ‘A History of Ideas’ with Melvyn Bragg. Each week, Melvyn Bragg is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question.

On Monday 12 January at 12.04, Jessica is joining Melvyn to discuss How did Everything Begin? This will be followed by a second programme entitled ‘Jessica Frazier on Creation Myths’ on Tuesday 13 January at 12.04; in which Jessica looks at how different cultures deal with the most fundamental questions. With the help of Ram Aithal from Birmingham’s Shri Venkateswara Hindu Temple and the renowned science fiction writer Ursula K Le Guin, Jessica asks if the wonder of the great Creation myths can increase our understanding. Can they help us make sense of the data that modern science is gathering from the beginning of time?

Jessica can also be heard with Melvyn Bragg on In Our Time on 5 February talking about the Buddhist Emperor Ashoka the Great. Jessica has been a frequent contributor on In Our Time and previous discussions on the Bhagavad Gita, the Kama Sutra, and Hindu concepts of creation can be heard online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/episodes/player

Further information about the History of Ideas programmes can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04xp4w8