02: Nietzsche | Genius of the Modern World

01: Marx | Genius of the Modern World

Bettany Hughes retraces the lives of thinkers whose ideas shaped the modern world. Drawing on expert opinion and new evidence, she look...

03: Freud | Genius of the Modern World

Bettany Hughes travels to Vienna on the trail of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. Freud's influence surrounds us. In our v...

Capitalism | Genius of the Modern World

The woe of society according to Marx was western life was based on capitalism and that while our ''species essence'' is productive, i...

Das Kapital | Genius of the Modern World

Bettany and an economic journalist use the example of an 1860s 9-year-old boy who worked a 15-hour shift every day as the benchmark ...

Dream analysis | Genius of the Modern World

Freud's interpretation of dreams as being an important window into the unconscious mind.

Dreams | Genius of the Modern World

Bettany explores how Freud believed our unconscious desires were expressed through our dreams but also filtered through to our everyday l...

Early Life | Genius of the Modern World

Bettany Hughes looks at the early bourgeois life of Karl Marx in Prussia.

Economic Organisations | Genius of the Modern World

From slavery to the industrial revolution, Marx and Engels realise that its economic organisations that drive the change ...

Engels | Genius of the Modern World

Engels was also from a bourgeois Prussian family and shared similar views on capitalism.

Evaluation of Freud's theories | Genius of the Modern World

Evaluations of Freud's work, was he too subjective or is there an element of truth in his theories of the subcons...

Hysteria | Genius of the Modern World

In 1896, Freud debuted his Seduction Theory which was met with resounding scepticism, and just a year later even he himself debunked it...

Later Life | Genius of the Modern World

In 1849, Marx went to London and lived in the slums of Soho with his wife and four children, where he was spied on by Prussian spies.

Libido | Genius of the Modern World

Freud expanded the idea of sex away from the simple act, evolving the concept to eroticism, attraction, excitement and everything in betw...

Oedipus Complex | Genius of the Modern World

The Oedipus Complex is born from a Greek tragedy where Oedipus kills his father, marries his mother and has children with her.

Spread Of The Communist Ideology | Genius of the Modern World

The Bolshevik Revolution kickstarted the shift towards communism, but Russia didn't have the predicted variable...

The Communist Manifesto | Genius of the Modern World

In 1847, poor crop growth leading to famine brought political unrest which inspired the commissioning of Marx and Engels...

The Ego | Genius of the Modern World

Bettany discusses Freud's notion of the ''death drive'', part of the human condition to undo the bonds of life.

The Oedipus complex | Genius of the Modern World

Freud saw in himself that the Oedipus complex can have an impact on behaviour.

Unconsciousness | Genius of the Modern World

At the heart of Freud's thinking, was how and why discomforting past thoughts become repressed, and he believed the unconscious ...

Young Hegelians | Genius of the Modern World

Marx joined a group of young debaters and philosophers who endlessly discussed the theories of the recently deceased George Hege...

03: War of the Words | Divine Women

Bettany Hughes discovers how the Dark Ages turned out to be a golden age for a few remarkable women.

Evaluation of Freud's theories | Genius of the Modern World

Evaluations of Freud's work, was he too subjective or is there an element of truth in his theories of the subcons...

The path of self denial | Genius of the Ancient World

Before developing the Middle Way, the Buddha spent six years pursuing a life of self denial with other ascetics.

The Roman Empire | Learning Zone

Bettany Hughes explains why the Romans were keen to invade Britain.

South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission | What's the Point of Forgiveness?

How forgiveness was used in the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World

Bettany Hughes visits seven of the most famous ancient and modern Buddhist locations in the world: seven wonders that give an insight int...