Episode Details

In this episode of pplpod, we travel back to the 13th century to examine the life of Roger Bacon (c. 1220–1292), the English Franciscan friar and philosopher known to history as Doctor Mirabilis ("Wonderful Teacher"). Was he an isolated genius who invented the modern scientific method, or a misunderstood medieval schoolman surrounded by legends?

We explore Bacon’s incredible range of interests, from his pioneering studies in optics and linguistics to his plea for calendar reform, which anticipated the Gregorian calendar by centuries. We discuss the Opus Majus, the massive encyclopedic work he wrote in secret at the request of Pope Clement IV, which included the first recorded European formula for gunpowder.

The episode also unpacks the wild myths that turned Bacon into a Faust-like wizard in the early modern imagination, including the famous legend that he built a talking mechanical "brazen head". Finally, we look at the reality of his struggles with the Franciscan order, his alleged imprisonment for "suspected novelties," and whether he truly predicted the invention of cars and flying machines.