Stephen Fry Does the 'Knowledge' Audiobook By Stephen Fry cover art

Stephen Fry Does the 'Knowledge'

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Stephen Fry Does the 'Knowledge'

By: Stephen Fry
Narrated by: Stephen Fry
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $4.57

Buy for $4.57

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Stephen Fry presents this intriguing programme charting the history of knowledge, how technology changes our relationship with it, and how we know what we know. Knowledge.

The Google generation thinks it doesn’t need to carry much of it around in its head any more. Much has already been written about the internet changing the way we think and learn. But is knowledge less valuable than it used to be? This absorbing programme explores the concept of ‘knowledge’, drawing on a variety of diverse sources: quiz games, psychology, education, news, trivia shows, satellite navigation and comedy. Featuring cab drivers, philosophers, memory champions and members of the Brains Trust, it looks at topics including cultural relativism, language learning and prodigious feats of memory.

Plus, it attempts to answer such questions as: what constitutes useful knowledge in an era when we can find anything very quickly?; why has 'useless knowledge' gained in currency?; and, if Typhoo put the tea in Britain, should we take the piss out of epistemology?

Packed with interviews, debates and a feast of archive clips from the past three decades, this is an enlightening and entertaining overview of the world of knowledge, both general and specific.

©2011 Stephen Fry (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Popular Culture Social Sciences Funny Witty

Listeners also enjoyed...

Fry's English Delight: Word Games Audiobook By Stephen Fry cover art
Fry's English Delight: Word Games By: Stephen Fry
Starter Villain Audiobook By John Scalzi cover art
Starter Villain By: John Scalzi
Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection Audiobook By Stephen Fry, Washington Irving, M.R. James, Amelia B. Edwards, Robert Louis Stevenson, Algernon Blackwood, Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte Riddell, Bram Stoker cover art
Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection By: Stephen Fry, and others
Stephen Fry in His Own Words Audiobook By Stephen Fry cover art
Stephen Fry in His Own Words By: Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry Presents: Oscar Wilde's Stories For All Ages Audiobook By Oscar Wilde cover art
Stephen Fry Presents: Oscar Wilde's Stories For All Ages By: Oscar Wilde
Stephen Fry Presents a Selection of Anton Chekhov's Short Stories Audiobook By Anton Chekov cover art
Stephen Fry Presents a Selection of Anton Chekhov's Short Stories By: Anton Chekov
A Bit of Fry & Laurie Audiobook By Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie cover art
A Bit of Fry & Laurie By: Stephen Fry, and others
Stephen Fry On The Phone The Complete Radio 4 Series Audiobook By Stephen Fry cover art
Stephen Fry On The Phone The Complete Radio 4 Series By: Stephen Fry
The Four Horsemen Audiobook By Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Stephen Fry - foreword cover art
The Four Horsemen By: Christopher Hitchens, and others
Letters from Father Christmas Audiobook By J. R. R. Tolkien cover art
Letters from Father Christmas By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Making It So Audiobook By Patrick Stewart cover art
Making It So By: Patrick Stewart
Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold Audiobook By William Shakespeare, James Anthony, Stephen Fry - foreword cover art
Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold By: William Shakespeare, and others
Fry's Ties Audiobook By Stephen Fry cover art
Fry's Ties By: Stephen Fry
The Quantum Universe Audiobook By Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw cover art
The Quantum Universe By: Brian Cox, and others
Oscar Wars Audiobook By Michael Schulman cover art
Oscar Wars By: Michael Schulman
Ask a Historian Audiobook By Greg Jenner cover art
Ask a Historian By: Greg Jenner
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Audiobook By Douglas Adams cover art
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy By: Douglas Adams
Stephen Fry Presents...A Selection of Short Stories Audiobook By Hector Hugh Munro cover art
Stephen Fry Presents...A Selection of Short Stories By: Hector Hugh Munro
Something New Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
Something New By: P. G. Wodehouse
#1 in Customer Service Audiobook By Larry Correia cover art
#1 in Customer Service By: Larry Correia

People who viewed this also viewed...

Fry's English Delight: Word Games Audiobook By Stephen Fry cover art
Fry's English Delight: Word Games By: Stephen Fry
Fry's Ties Audiobook By Stephen Fry cover art
Fry's Ties By: Stephen Fry
A Bit of Fry & Laurie Audiobook By Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie cover art
A Bit of Fry & Laurie By: Stephen Fry, and others
Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection Audiobook By Stephen Fry, Washington Irving, M.R. James, Amelia B. Edwards, Robert Louis Stevenson, Algernon Blackwood, Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte Riddell, Bram Stoker cover art
Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection By: Stephen Fry, and others
Stephen Fry in His Own Words Audiobook By Stephen Fry cover art
Stephen Fry in His Own Words By: Stephen Fry
The Four Horsemen Audiobook By Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Stephen Fry - foreword cover art
The Four Horsemen By: Christopher Hitchens, and others
Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold Audiobook By William Shakespeare, James Anthony, Stephen Fry - foreword cover art
Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold By: William Shakespeare, and others
P. G. Wodehouse Volume 2 Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
P. G. Wodehouse Volume 2 By: P. G. Wodehouse
Stephen Fry On The Phone The Complete Radio 4 Series Audiobook By Stephen Fry cover art
Stephen Fry On The Phone The Complete Radio 4 Series By: Stephen Fry
The Complete Novels of Charles Dickens: All 15 Novels & The Christmas Stories Audiobook By Charles Dickens, Dr Peter Orford - introduction cover art
The Complete Novels of Charles Dickens: All 15 Novels & The Christmas Stories By: Charles Dickens, and others
Great Expectations Audiobook By Charles Dickens cover art
Great Expectations By: Charles Dickens
The Charles Dickens Collection: 10 Novels Audiobook By Charles Dickens cover art
The Charles Dickens Collection: 10 Novels By: Charles Dickens
Lilith Audiobook By Nikki Marmery cover art
Lilith By: Nikki Marmery
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Narrated by Stephen Fry) Audiobook By J.K. Rowling cover art
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Narrated by Stephen Fry) By: J.K. Rowling
Good Omens Audiobook By Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett cover art
Good Omens By: Neil Gaiman, and others
The Fyodor Dostoyevsky Complete Collection Audiobook By Fyodor Dostoyevsky cover art
The Fyodor Dostoyevsky Complete Collection By: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection Audiobook By Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen Fry - introductions cover art
Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection By: Arthur Conan Doyle, and others
Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey Audiobook By Homer, W. H. D. Rouse - translator cover art
Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey By: Homer, and others
Most relevant  
What exactly is knowledge, who has it, how can we use it best and why is it so important? These are the questions that Stephen Fry poses in this BBC radio special. And the test subject he uses is the London Taxi-driver, some one who can take you anywhere in the maze of London's streets with only the most vague information. Fry does a wonderful job narrating this subject with the wry enthusiasm he is known for. Unfortunately, the subject is too large for the hour long time frame the BBC granted him. In the end the listener is given a whimsy and not an education on this unique subject. It reminds me of Orson Welles description of his film version of Macbeth: this is a charcoal sketch of a great masterpiece.

Some knowledge concerning knowledge

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Stephen was at his very best so for the entertainment value, yes I would

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I don't think you can

What does Stephen Fry bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His ability to make the some what soso sound bloody exciting.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the book more because of the way Stephen read it rather than the subject itself.

Allo Guvna

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A short treatise on knowledge. Entertaining and a fun way to fritter away some time.

A Random Thing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Disclaimer: I really enjoy Stephen Fry so I start off biased. I think his voice and humor are wonderful.

This was a story I expected to be about knowledge as a general concept but it quickly talked about the mental rigors of being a taxi driver… then smartly turned towards what I originally thought the discussion would be. I enjoyed the examples and storytelling, but mostly that it never tells me what to think. It was a wonderful hour with Stephen Fry.

An Enjoyable, quick journey

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

interesting, intriguing, fun but very brief. perhaps purposely?! we wouldn't want to have too much knowledge...

fun but short

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Mr Fry is an entirely interesting talent.
I have loved, and found vital, his books on Mythos and Heros. This book is a curio. Thought provoking. Curious. A bit odd. Charming? Yes!

love Stephen. subject? Intriguing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

what is knowledge and who gets to decide the facts? these are questions which need answers. Stephen Fry does a great job of narration as usual.

a great short story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The author reviews the subject of "knowlege" by considering the actual examination of "The Knowledge" required to license London taxi drivers (brutal), and going on to consider the different things we mean by "knowledge", assisted by short clips from various BBC quiz and educational media. Fun, informative.

Knowledge - what is it?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This was not what I expected. It turned out to be a comedy short about Stephen Fry’s spots on a show. Only a bit of history about how knowledge has grown.

A Show Short

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.