2008/09

E1. Episode 1

Sep 5, 2008 · 30m

New series John Humphrys quizzes on Simon Raven, Newcastle United, Edward IV and Laurence Olivier.

E2. Episode 2

Sep 12, 2008 · 30m

Specialisms tonight are Billy the Kid, the Short Stories of Saki, the Great Western Railway and the films of John Carpenter. With John Humphrys.

E3. Episode 3

Sep 19, 2008 · 30m

John Humphrys asks about Noor Inayat-Khan, Ferdinand Magellan, Edith Wharton and Mods

E4. Episode 4

Sep 26, 2008 · 30m

Questions on the late Stuart age, Steely Dan, boxer Joe Frazier and Robert Parker's Spenser novels.

E5. Episode 5

Oct 3, 2008 · 30m

John Humphrys asks questions on subjects including Arthur Conan Doyle's Challenger novels.

E6. Episode 6

Oct 10, 2008 · 30m

Specialist subjects this week include Rasputin, the Gospels of the New Testament, and West Indies Test cricket. John Humphrys asks the questions.

E7. Episode 7

Oct 17, 2008 · 30m

John Humphrys poses the questions as four contestants test their specialist knowledge of Stax Records, the Romney Marsh novels of Monica Edwards, German battleship the Bismarck and the Welsh castles of Edward I.

E8. Episode 8

Oct 24, 2008 · 30m

Specialist subjects include Scottish mathematician James Clerk Maxwell and the Mitford sisters.

E9. Episode 9

Oct 31, 2008 · 30m

Tonight's specialist topics include the Harry Palmer novels and folk singer Tom Paxton.

E10. Episode 10

Nov 7, 2008 · 30m

Tonight's specialist topics comprise the Victoria Cross, chess player Bobby Fischer, the Le Mans 24-hour race, and the life of Thomas Cochrane.

E11. Episode 11

Nov 14, 2008 · 30m

Tonight's specialist subjects include the Coventry blitz and the Merthyr Rising of 1831.

E12. Episode 12

Nov 21, 2008 · 30m

Specialist topics comprise the cricketer Ian Botham, the Munros of Scotland, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming.

E13. Episode 13

Nov 28, 2008 · 30m

Topics tonight include rare breeds of British farm animals, Ghenghis Khan and Gothic architecture.

E14. Episode 14

Dec 5, 2008 · 30m

Topics comprise WC Fields, Jonathan Creek, Tacitus and the life and career of Keith Moon.

E15. Episode 15

Jan 30, 2009 · 30m

Tonight's four specialist subjects are the Ashes series of 1902, AE Housman, British punk rock and the Trans-Siberian Railway. With John Humphrys.

E16. Episode 16

Feb 6, 2009 · 30m

Tonight's specialist subjects are the Peninsular War, pop singer Morrissey, the history of Chichester Cathedral in West Sussex, and the Great Fire of London. John Humphrys asks the questions.

E17. Episode 17

Feb 13, 2009 · 30m

Tonight's specialist subjects are actor Sidney Poitier, British Trotskyism, number one hit singles, and the life and career of model and actress Edie Sedgwick. John Humphrys asks the questions.

E18. Episode 18

Feb 20, 2009 · 30m

John Humphrys presents the general knowledge quiz, in which the specialist subjects tonight are the history of Chester Zoo, the Father Brown stories, Edward Carson and Tony Hancock.

E19. Episode 19

Feb 27, 2009 · 30m

Tonight's four specialist subjects are John Wesley, Seinfeld, Kazimir Malevich and the Wars of the Roses. John Humphrys poses the questions.

E20. Episode 20

Mar 6, 2009 · 30m

Specialist subjects are the Battle of Coronel and the Falklands War, British birds, sculptor Barbara Hepworth, and Anglo-Saxon kings 871-1016.

E21. Episode 21

Mar 13, 2009 · 30m

In the first semi-final John Humphrys asks questions on Scott's last expedition, Blake's 7, the School stories of PG Wodehouse and the Popish Plot.

E22. Episode 22

Mar 20, 2009 · 30m

Tonight's specialist subjects are Jackie Stewart, the novels of Wendy Holden, Honore de Balzac and Kraftwerk. John Humphrys poses the questions.

E23. Episode 23

Apr 3, 2009 · 30m

Tonight's specialist subjects are the novels of George Orwell, musician Gram Parsons, Italian politics and composer Dmitri Shostakovich.

E24. Episode 24

Apr 10, 2009 · 30m

Tonight's subjects are the Battle of Coronel and the Falklands War, British birds, sculptor Barbara Hepworth , and Anglo-Saxon kings from 871 to 1016.

E25. Episode 25

Apr 17, 2009 · 30m

In tonight's semi-final the specialised subjects are Scott's last expedition, cult TV series Blake's 7, the School stories of PG Wodehouse and the Popish Plot

E26. Episode 26

May 8, 2009 · 30m

Four contenders compete for a place in the final. Tonight's specialist subjects comprise film director Fritz Lang, tennis legend Billie Jean King, Private Eye magazine and the life and work of Robert Maxwell.

E27. Episode 27

May 22, 2009 · 30m

Tonight's specialist subjects for the four semi-finalists comprise the Bonaparte dynasty, former prime minister Herbert Asquith, glam rock band Slade and the life and writings of Gilbert White. With John Humphrys

E28. Episode 28

May 29, 2009 · 30m

Tonight's specialist subjects for the four semi-finalists comprise the life and works of Mozart, the ghost stories of MR James, planets of the solar system and Norwich City FC. Presented by John Humphrys.

E29. Episode 29

Jun 5, 2009 · 30m

Specialist subjects in the fifth semi-final are Doctor Who in the 1970s, former US president John F Kennedy, singer/songwriter Billy Bragg and the Montalbano novels of Andrea Camilleri. John Humphrys hosts.

E30. Episode 30

Jun 12, 2009 · 30m

Tonight's specialist subjects are poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, the life of Paddy Mayne, Northampton Town FC and the life and work of Alfred Russel Wallace.