In this episode of pplpod, we explore the remarkable life of William Herschel, the German-born musician who became one of the most important astronomers in history. The episode follows Herschel from his early years as a teenage oboe player in Hanover, through his flight to England after the Battle of Hastenbeck, and into his successful musical career in Bath, where he worked as an organist, concert director, and composer. The discussion traces how his study of musical harmony led him toward mathematics, optics, and eventually astronomy, showing how his search for order in sound became a search for order in the universe. It also examines his obsession with building better telescopes, including the dangerous and exhausting process of casting, grinding, and polishing speculum-metal mirrors by hand.

The episode also dives into Herschel’s greate ...