It is testament to the brilliance and popularity of In Our Time, the highbrow Radio 4 discussion show created in 1998 by Melvyn Bragg, that the BBC conducted multiple auditions for the role of his successor.<\/p>\n
The net was cast wide, many big names were approached (including, it is thought, Stephen Fry) and a handful of experienced radio hands are understood to have auditioned, some more than once. And on Wednesday it was announced that the prized gig has gone to the journalist, broadcaster and author Misha Glenny, an expert on eastern Europe and the author of books including McMafia: Seriously Organised Crime, later adapted into a hit BBC drama starring James Norton.<\/p>\n
Glenny, 67, will be familiar to Radio 4 listeners as the presenter of the station\u2019s The Invention Of \u2026 series \u2014 which explores the histories and origins of different nations and cultures \u2014 as well as The Secret History of the World and The Rise and Rise of the Microchip.<\/p>\n
\u2022 I\u2019ve listened to every episode of In Our Time. These are the 15 best<\/a><\/p>\n Glenny\u2019s first edition of In Our Time will air on January 15, although the BBC has not yet revealed what its subject will be. He described his appointment as \u201ca huge honour\u201d and praised Bragg\u2019s \u201cextraordinary stewardship and his forensic curiosity\u201d. He also promised to bring his own \u201cdeep curiosity about the world and the ideas that shape it\u201d.<\/p>\n Bragg, who presented more than 1,000 editions of the programme on subjects ranging from bird migration to St Paul, Fermat\u2019s last theorem and the moon before stepping down this year, gave Glenny his blessing. \u201cIt has been an extraordinary privilege to present In Our Time for so many years and I am delighted that Misha will be taking on the role,\u201d he said. \u201cHis breadth of knowledge and gift for clear, engaging conversation make him ideally suited to guide these discussions into the future. I wish him and the programme every success.\u201d<\/p>\n Glenny will talk about his plans for the show in a special edition of the Today programme to be guest-edited by Bragg on Christmas Eve. For many, the Cumbrian will be a hard act to follow. The Radio 4 controller, Mohit Bakaya, admitted that \u201cit\u2019s hard to imagine In Our Time without Melvyn\u201d. One BBC insider compared Glenny\u2019s new gig to that undertaken in 2013 by David Moyes when he succeeded Alex Ferguson, who had been Manchester United\u2019s most successful manager during his 26-year tenure.<\/p>\n