Public intellectuals are no longer household names. Why not?

I recently wrote for TheArticle about the passing of a generation of public intellectuals and cultural figures who emerged in the 1970s and who have recently died or reached their nineties or even a century.

The examples I chose were the late Bryan Mageeand André Previn, George Steiner and Paul Johnson (both 90) and James Lovelock (100). Between them they covered a wide range of interests, from classical music and science to philosophy, history and literary criticism. Their passing is symptomatic of a larger cultural shift: the end of a golden age of great popularisers. Of course, there are others I could have mentioned: Sir David Attenborough (93), Melvyn Bragg (80 later this year) and many more.

If I was to choose a single year that summed up that period, it would be 1978. In 1978 George Steiner gave the first Bronowski Memorial Lecture, “Does Truth Have a Future?”. It was broadcast on the BBC, published by The Listenerand later in an anthology of writings about science. The Listener also published Bryan Magee’s 15 interviews with leading philosophers that was broadcast on the BBC asMen of Ideas, also in 1978. That was the same year that Jonathan Miller and Patrick Uden made their famous series, The Body in Question(BBC), the BBC showed a six-part drama documentary, The Voyage of Charles Darwinand ITV started showing The South Bank Show, presented by one of the greatest popularisers of all, Melvyn Bragg, still going strong on In Our Time.

Who has replaced them? The TV historians David Starkey and Simon Schama are not much younger, both in their mid-70s, so strictly speaking they are part of the same generation. Also, choosing historians is a bit too easy. There are many major historians who appear on television addressing huge subjects, from the British Empire to Churchill and the two World Wars. Among themare Niall Ferguson, Andrew Roberts and Max Hastings: all lively, provocative popularisers talking about Big History.

Perhaps the one who has lately had the most impact is David Olusoga (49), Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. He also co-presented Civilisations with Mary Beard, as well as a number of programmes about the history of slavery, Windrush and soldiers from the colonies who fought in the World Wars. He and his TV colleagues have opened up a previously unknown history for mainstream British audiences.

But even with history there is a problem. In 2014 no TV channel had the ambition to produce a major documentary series on The First World War to compare with memorable series like The Great War (BBC, 1964), The World at War(Thames, 1973-4) or The Cold War(CNN/BBC, 1998), each over 2o hour-long episodes. No one has given Olusoga even ten programmes to tell the history of slavery or colonialism.

Apart from the historians, who else is there? The classicist Mary Beard (64), has written almost twenty books, has presented numerous BBC documentaries, including the BBC’s prestige arts series, Civilisations,and engaged in live debates about Greece and Rome with, among others, Boris Johnson at Intelligence Squared.

Since 2011, the physicist Jim Al-Khalili, a Fellow of the Royal Society, has interviewed almost 200 leading scientists for Radio 4’s The Life Scientific, has presented about 30 TV programmes and has written a number of popular science books. His radio programme has introduced some fascinating scientists to listeners over almost a decade. Another physicist, Professor Brian Cox, is also a regular face on TV, presenting numerous programmes about physics and space, mainly for the BBC.

Then there is radio, now enjoying a renaissance in the age of the podcast. In Our Time(Radio 4) has covered more than 800 subjects since 1998. It is the most formidably highbrow programme on the BBC, recently covering subjects from Thomas Browne and The Mytilenian Debate to Lorca. Also on Radio 4, Michael Sandel from Harvard Law School has drawn mainstream audiences to moral and political debates at a high level. Fast-talking and super-smart, he has presented The Public Philosopher for several years — a model of intelligent, accessible broadcasting.

There are, then, still places in broadcasting for serious debate, especially on Radio 4, and there are documentary programmes on history and science. There is a new generation of fluent and lively thinkers and cultural figures who appear on these programmes.

The question, though, is more about impact. The World at War changed the way a generation thought, not only about the Second World War but also the Holocaust. Magee presented 30 programmes on BBC TV about leading philosophers, from Wittgenstein to Sartre, interviewing many who were still alive. There has been nothing like it since on British TV. André Previn, the Principal Conductor at the LSO, appeared regularly on the TV as a celebrity as well as a conductor. Can you even name the current conductor of the LSO, or indeed of any leading orchestra today?

It’s a question of ambition and commitment. There are the subjects, there are the presenters and speakers, and there may even be the audience (In Our Time now attracts two million listeners every week). But the TV executives are panicking. They are frightened of Netflix. Their ratings are falling. They are losing confidence in themselves and their audiences. No guts, no glory. That will be their epitaph.