2008/09

1. Episode 1

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

2008-09-05 • 30 min

2. Episode 2

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

2008-09-12 • 30 min

3. Episode 3

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

2008-09-19 • 30 min

4. Episode 4

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

2008-09-26 • 30 min

5. Episode 5

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

2008-10-03 • 30 min

6. Episode 6

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

2008-10-10 • 30 min

7. Episode 7

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.

2008-10-17 • 30 min

8. Episode 8

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

2008-10-24 • 30 min

9. Episode 9

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

2008-10-31 • 30 min

10. Episode 10

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

2008-11-07 • 30 min

11. Episode 11

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

2008-11-14 • 30 min

12. Episode 12

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

2008-11-21 • 30 min

13. Episode 13

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

2008-11-28 • 30 min

14. Episode 14

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

2008-12-05 • 30 min

15. Episode 15

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

2009-01-30 • 30 min

16. Episode 16

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.

2009-02-06 • 30 min

17. Episode 17

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.

2009-02-13 • 30 min

18. Episode 18

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.

2009-02-20 • 30 min

19. Episode 19

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

2009-02-27 • 30 min

20. Episode 20

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

2009-03-06 • 30 min

21. Episode 21

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.

2009-03-13 • 30 min

22. Episode 22

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

2009-03-20 • 30 min

23. Episode 23

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

2009-04-03 • 30 min

24. Episode 24

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.

2009-04-10 • 30 min

25. Episode 25

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

2009-04-17 • 30 min

26. Episode 26

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.

2009-05-08 • 30 min

27. Episode 27

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

2009-05-22 • 30 min

28. Episode 28

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.

2009-05-29 • 30 min

29. Episode 29

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.

2009-06-05 • 30 min

30. Episode 30

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.

2009-06-12 • 30 min

31. Grand Final

Six contenders battle it out to be crowned champion. Their specialist subjects comprise the Lewis and Clark expedition across America, Britain between the wars, Russian novels from 1831 to 1894, songwriting partnership Rodgers and Hart, the Ryder Cup and American presidents of the 19th century. Presented by John Humphrys.

2009-06-19 • 60 min