Keep it coming!

This podcast presents views supremely illuminating and enlightening from people of superlative intelligence.

I absolutely love this podcast. It’s packed full of interesting talks and I have learnt so much from the series. A massive thanks to all of those involved.

Talk us down why don’t you. More bbc bias. Scraping round looking for support for remain.

No wonder the bbc are losing listeners. Today deleted, the work tonight deleted, now this!

I always listen to this podcast, however the last two by Mr Morpurgo seemed very wrong. The programme is a reflection of a topical event, his last two have been an out and out call to action, the first on refugees and the second calling for a rethink on Europe. Could we get back to thought out points of view?

The BBC is and must continue to be a broad church. A thought for the day is a wonderful idea and opportunity for pause and reflection in a world and media landscape that offers very little space for either.

However the dreary musings of Mr Scruton never provoke in me any feeling other than despair, or thought other than the desire that I could opt out of his pallid conservative whinnying. They compare even less favourably to the consistently brilliant surrealist whimsy of the podcasts written by Will Self. More of that please.

Excellent

The other reviews of this podcast are very odd - nearly all seem to have been written as if David Attenborough were the only contributor. Regrettably this is not the case. He did a series of episodes years ago and hasn't been heard from on this programme since. The usual contributors are Lisa Jardine, David Cannadine and Sarah Dunant. Fortunately Alain de Botton and Joan Bakewell seem to have dropped away. Generally the episodes are mind-numbing. If there's a dull point to be made or a conventional view to be expressed, these contributors can be relied upon to do so. If there's a history of something uninteresting to be strung out over ten minutes, you'll find it here. I find my attention drifting off while they extol the niceness of baking cakes, or the cuteness of teddy bears; I skip forward when they trace the history of British charity shops or US presidential inaugurations.

However, when one of the gems from Clive James, David Attenborough or Will Self has come up, that's entirely different. Clive James is laugh-out-loud funny, self-deprecatingly delightful, always fabulously fun to listen to, even when I disagree with half or more of what he says. I still hugely enjoy listening to it. David Attenborough is a towering mind, and his curiosity and whimsical insights and sheer love of the animal world is compelling. Will Self is a bit of a relevation - an intellectual flick-knife, a thundering, eloquent rager against injustice, selfishness, gluttony, lazy-mindedness, hereditary power and else besides. Compared with the usual suspects on this programme these three contributors are like a lungful of oxygen on leaving a fetid classroom, or waking up from a stupor.

So all in all this podcast is worthwhile, but only for the right episodes.

An aural smorgasbord of thought provoking delights.

I listen to these instead of listening to angry argumentative radio presenters on the news, documentaries .. etc. A well-prepared logical and reasonable debate presented in a civilised grown-up way. Great to listen to instead of the usual indiscriminate radio listening where you can't control what information is hurtled at you. Just right to make you think, keep you updated with current affairs and maintain your sanity.

I love this podcast, bite-size meditations on a variety of subjects, with some delightfully witty, wise and provocative minds. Well worth ten minutes of anyone's time!

Bendigedig

This is a thoughful & wonderful podcast that allows you appreciate what a varied & exceptional life Sir David Attenborough has led and the beautiful sights he has seen. It is a must have podcast for any fan of Natural History & Sir David Attenborough.

I had not heard David atten. Before but now am a fan!

Interesting, and with his usual panache and wit. Marred somewhat by his Darwinist bias, [everyone is entitled to an opinion, of course] but still worth listening to.

This is, by far one of the better podcasts or the best podcast avalible. It is a intresting and informative podcast, with plenty of wit on the side. Anyone who enjoys watching any of his progammes, For example "natures great events" and "The life of mammals", should definitely get this and future podcasts.

It's Attenborough nuff said. Why can't I get previous episodes.

A little gem of a podcast and the ideal way to ease oneself back into monday morning!

It's David Attenborough. What did you expect - rubbish? I expected these to be like a short version of his TV documentaries, but these podcasts are if anything better than that and much more personal. From learning about the Attenborough family's tradition of keeping pet salamanders to the convoluted history of Archaeopteryx, Sir David tells these stories like the world's best dinner guest and we are all lucky to be invited.

An amazing podcast that makes you greatful for the advent of iTunes and iPods.

Ten minutes of insightful, witty and engaging listening. A podcast one actually looks forward to.

Short, intelligent, thoughtful. This podcast should be compulsory.

This is an excellent time out and review of our attitudes and thoughts of the topical stories of the day. This 10 minutes can and does reverberate through ones day, escpecially when the topics are approached from a historical perspective.

Well done Radio 4