Epic Talesfrom Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening In 1933, a young classics scholar called Milman Parry made a journey through the hill villages of the Balkans to record poets and singers. He captured an oral tradition that's all but died out - peasant performers who recited epic tales over days from memory without any form of prompt. We'll learn how these ancient tales were remembered and passed down, and travel to the ancient Theatre of Epidaurus in Greece. Featuring archive extracts of traditional stories from the Balkans, Kyrgyzstan, West Africa, and India.
Persuasionfrom Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening From Cicero to Martin Luther King, Jr., over the centuries, great orators have changed our minds, given us hope, and sent us to the barricades. Professor David Hendy of the University of Sussex reveals their rhetorical tricks, and explains why President Obama's sharp ear for dialogue is one of his greatest assets.