Genius of the Modern World: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Historian Bettany Hughes retraces the lives of three great thinkers whose ideas shaped the modern world: Karl Marx, Frederick Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud.

Born in the 19th century, they lived through a time when old certainties were breaking down. Regimes were overthrown by mass uprisings, science was undermining religious authority. Their challenge was to figure out what makes us human in a fast-evolving world.

Series details

• Title: Genius of the Modern World
• Format: Documentary
• Language: English
• Genres: History
• Premiere date: 2016-06-16
• Final broadcast date listed: 2016-06-30
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: BBC Four
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 17819
• IMDb ID: tt5840122
• TVDB ID: 313293

Cast and credited roles

• Bettany Hughes — Presenter

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2016-06-16; final listed air date 2016-06-30; episode order: 3.

Source and licence

Adapted from Genius of the Modern World on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.