Meeting of Minds
TV Show| Title | Meeting of Minds |
| User score | 10 |
| Release date | Jan 10, 1977 |
| Release date of last episode | May 3, 1981 |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Director | Steve Allen |
| Production country | US |
| Series status | Ended |
| Seasons count | 4 (List of episodes) |
| Episodes count | 24 |
| Run time | 60 min. |
Meeting of Minds is a television series, created by Steve Allen, which aired on PBS from 1977 to 1981. The show featured guests who played significant roles in world history. Guests would interact with each other and host Steve Allen, discussing philosophy, religion, history, science, and many other topics. It was conceptually quite similar to the Canadian television series Witness to Yesterday, created by Arthur Voronka, which preceded Meeting Of Minds to the air by three years. Steve Allen actually appeared on a 1976 episode of Witness to Yesterday as George Gershwin, one year before Meeting Of Minds premiered. As nearly as was possible, the actual words of the historical figures were used. The show was fully scripted, yet the scripts were carefully crafted to give the appearance of spontaneous discussion among historic figures. Guests included: Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Paine, Francis Bacon, Thomas Jefferson, Voltaire, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Daniel O'Connell, Catherine II, and Oliver Cromwell. Typically, each episode would be split into two parts, broadcast separately, with most or all of the guests introduced over the course of the first part, and the discussions continuing into the second part. A total of 24 episodes were produced.
Latest episodes
List of episodesS4.E6 ∙ Margaret Sanger/Mahatma Gandhi/Adam Smith, Part 2
May 3, 1981
S4.E5 ∙ Margaret Sanger/Mahatma Gandhi/Adam Smith, Part 1
Apr 26, 1981
S4.E4 ∙ Leonardo da Vinci/William Blake/Niccolo Paganini, Part 2
Apr 19, 1981
S4.E3 ∙ Leonardo da Vinci/William Blake/Niccolo Paganini, Part 1
Apr 12, 1981
S4.E2 ∙ Catherine the Great/Oliver Cromwell/Daniel O'Connell, Part 2
Apr 5, 1981
S4.E1 ∙ Catherine the Great/Oliver Cromwell/Daniel O'Connell, Part 1
Mar 29, 1981
S3.E6 ∙ Empress Theodora/Bertrand Russell/St. Augustine/Thomas Jefferson, Part 2
Jun 30, 1979
S3.E5 ∙ Empress Theodora/Bertrand Russell/St. Augustine/Thomas Jefferson, Part 1
Jun 23, 1979
S3.E4 ∙ Shakespeare on Love, Part 2
Jun 16, 1979
S3.E3 ∙ Shakespeare on Love, Part 1
Jun 9, 1979
S3.E2 ∙ Elizabeth B. Browning/Aristotle/Machiavelli/Sun Yat-sen, Part 2
Jun 2, 1979
S3.E1 ∙ Elizabeth B. Browning/Aristotle/Machiavelli/Sun Yat-sen, Part 1
May 26, 1979
S2.E6 ∙ Susan B. Anthony/Socrates/Sir Francis Bacon/Emiliano Zapata, Part 2
Apr 10, 1978
S2.E5 ∙ Susan B. Anthony/Socrates/Sir Francis Bacon/Emiliano Zapata, Part 1
Apr 3, 1978
S2.E4 ∙ Empress Tz'u-hsi/Cesare Beccaria/Frederick Douglass/Marquis de Sade, Part 2
Mar 27, 1978
S2.E3 ∙ Empress Tz'u-hsi/Cesare Beccaria/Frederick Douglass/Marquis de Sade, Part 1
Mar 20, 1978
S2.E2 ∙ Florence Nightingale/Plato/Martin Luther/Voltaire, Part 2
Mar 13, 1978
S2.E1 ∙ Florence Nightingale/Plato/Martin Luther/Voltaire, Part 1
Mar 6, 1978
S1.E6 ∙ Emily Dickinson/Attila the Hun/Charles Darwin/Galileo, Part 2
Feb 14, 1977
S1.E5 ∙ Emily Dickinson/Attila the Hun/Charles Darwin/Galileo, Part 1
Feb 7, 1977
