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PODCAST

Gresham College Lectures

Gresham College

Gresham College has been providing free public lectures since 1597, making us London"s oldest higher education institution. This podcast offers our recorded lectures that are free to access from the Gresham College website, or our YouTube channel.

education

All Episodes

58:53

‘Is it in Pevsner?’: A Short History of the...

Gresham College Lectures ·

2025/02/04

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/LUyFLOUi-D4 This lecture traces the history of this famous series by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, starting from its conception in 1947. It describes the research and writing of the original forty-six volumes for England and the extension of the books to Scotland, Wales and Ireland. It then assesses their significance alongside a reflection on the 2024 achievement of the full updating of the English series. This lecture was recorded by Charles O'Brie...

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42:24

Writing Laws: Hammurabi to Solon - Melissa Lane

Gresham College Lectures ·

2025/01/31

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/t6kkq6dI6hcWhen and why do written laws emerge in ancient societies? This lecture will consider these questions in light of evidence including the law code of Hammurabi; the earliest attestation of written laws in Greek (found in Dreros on Crete); and the full-blown commitment to written laws by the Athenian lawgiver Solon. Such cases will be used to explore how writing bears on the the functions of law more generally, in light of debates in co...

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52:48

Touching the Sun - Chris Lintott

Gresham College Lectures ·

2025/01/24

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/pXoU-nZmhn8Despite its familiarity, the Sun is a very different presence from the friendly yellow circle in children's paintings. Our star is a broiling mass of plasma, with its powerful magnetic fields, twisted by its rotation, capable of producing dramatic events of spectacular beauty and power. Using results from NASA's Parker Solar Probe - the fastest moving human-made object ever - and ESA's Solar Orbiter, this spectacular lecture takes a ...

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56:11

Science-based Targets, Greenwashing and...

Gresham College Lectures ·

2025/01/22

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/lQBdqGrfWKUOver half the world’s largest companies have a net zero strategy. But what stops “Science-based Targets” from becoming box-ticking exercises too often immune to environmental scrutiny? Instead of decarbonizing companies and financial portfolios, this lecture will discuss the need to focus on decarbonizing products and services themselves so that companies must explain how they plan to stop what they sell from causing global warming. ...

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42:35

Writing a British Constitution - Clive Stafford Smith

Gresham College Lectures ·

2025/01/17

Recently, the UK has got into a muddle over how to approach Scottish independence and Brexit. What can we learn from the U.S. which took much of its system from the theory behind the U.K. structure: the King as the Executive; a Legislature made up of the House of Commons balanced by the House of Lords; and the judiciary? And what role should the judiciary play? Have the British got confused about the notion of ‘Parliamentary Supremacy’, deciding that this meant that Parliament was supreme not...

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47:18

The Modern Goddess - Ronald Hutton

Gresham College Lectures ·

2025/01/15

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/0ZK1Y1QnFDgThis looks at how and why a particular form of the non-Christian divine feminine came to take over the Western European imagination from the beginning of the nineteenth century. This was a great goddess representing the natural world, or the moon and stars, or both. It traces the development of belief in the importance of this being, and her impact not only on creative literature but upon the developing disciplines of ancient history...

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48:55

Who’s Afraid of Robots? - Victoria Baines

Gresham College Lectures ·

2025/01/10

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/d6Ao4KmGXBcArtificial Intelligence is a very recent invention…or is it? Humans have been fascinated by intelligent machines for thousands of years. Some exist only in our collective imagination, in art and literature. Others have seen the light of day as mechanical marvels, although a few were later exposed as elaborate frauds. The robots of today might not be what our ancestors imagined. This lecture argues that the relationship between humans...

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52:24

Women at the Piano: A History Through Images - Marina...

Gresham College Lectures ·

2025/01/07

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/f6Z9L2dnxSAThis lecture explores the emergence of the "femme au piano" genre in 19th-century French painting, depicted by artists like Renoir, Van Gogh, and Matisse. What suddenly made this topic so popular, and what does it tell us about the role of women in music-making at the time? Tracing the genre's roots from the Italian Renaissance clavichord depictions to Vermeer’s Dutch domestic scenes, and 18th-century harpsichord portraits. Dis...

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50:07

The US Constitution: A Catalogue of Complaints about...

Gresham College Lectures ·

2025/01/03

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/wpF0oB9Mz-0The US Constitution, both in its structural element and the Bill of Rights, reflect a catalogue of colonial complaints about the British system as well as centuries of evolution in the law. In general terms, contrary to the slightly complacent attitude of the British legal authorities. This lecture will demonstrate, most of the original complaints still hold true. This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on 7th November 2024...

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40:20

How Does Our Immune System Protect Us? - Robin May

Gresham College Lectures ·

2024/12/31

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/JCTgxcPu78IThe human immune system rivals the brain in its complexity. Billions of cells coordinate their activity with amazing precision to protect us from infection. Immune cells can respond to millions of different pathogens within seconds and yet rarely respond to a false alarm. This lecture explores how cells achieve this, what happens when they go wrong and how you can keep your own immune system in top condition.This lecture was recorded...

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61:05

Who's Minding the Store? Corporate Rules to Align...

Gresham College Lectures ·

2024/12/27

This lecture will explore corporate governance mechanisms designed to address agency problems, including executive compensation, boards of directors, and shareholder activism. Additionally, it will examine how solutions addressing one agency problem might create another. This lecture was recorded by Raghavendra Rau on 5th November 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, LondonRaghu is the Mercers School Memorial Professor of BusinessHe is also the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at Cambridg...

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54:07

Unwrapping Irving Berlin’s "White Christmas" -...

Gresham College Lectures ·

2024/12/24

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/LW0DLhTxfCEThis festive lecture explores the unusual roots of the song ‘White Christmas’ and its role in establishing the concept of the commercial Christmas song. It will explain how the song’s release during the summer months hints at how its potential as an enduring seasonal classic was not anticipated, and then examine how the music and lyrics helped it to resonate in a time of war. The lecture will also consider Berlin’s patriotism and his...

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58:49

Magical Mystery Tour: The Invention of The Beatles -...

Gresham College Lectures ·

2024/12/20

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/VeJxEXZfT2YThis lecture analyses the ‘psychedelic era’ of the Beatles, from Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band to Let it Be, a period of staggering musical invention and experimentalism. We explore the mechanics behind the magic, untangling the layers of harmony, melody, lyrics, structure and technology, and how these all combine in ways both accessible and ground-breaking. This ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ pulls back the curtain on these timeless ...

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42:53

Much Ado About Numbers: Shakespeare’s Mathematical...

Gresham College Lectures ·

2024/12/17

Shakespeare lived in a period of exciting mathematical innovations, from arithmetic to astronomy, and from probability to music. Remarkably, many of those innovations are mentioned, or at least hinted at, in his plays. Rob Eastaway will explore the surprising ways in which mathematical ideas connect with Shakespeare and reveals that the playwright could be as creative with numbers as he was with words. Along the way you will discover surprising new mathematical insights on the Elizabethan wor...

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50:11

Messaging and Signals - Victoria Baines

Gresham College Lectures ·

2024/12/13

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/pP3FzqYcMOAWe communicate when we have information to share. The development of signals from signs visible over short distances to wireless transfer of billions of data-heavy messages worldwide is full of surprising characters, none more so than the Hollywood starlet who made Wi-Fi and GPS possible and received public recognition only in the final few years of her life. This lecture traces the development of technologies for messaging and signa...

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50:53

Houston, we have a problem: how the fossil fuel...

Gresham College Lectures ·

2024/12/10

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/6hEOINeTYTUAs the leaders of the oil and gas industry flew into Houston for CERAWeek, 2024, oil was over $80 per barrel and demand higher than ever. There was little discussion of “transitioning away from fossil fuels” as agreed at COP28 in Dubai. In the run-up to COP29, this lecture will set out the critical need to change the narrative, so those with the ability and resources to solve the climate problem have less incentive to shuffle r...

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45:56

Black Holes and Bangs - Chris Lintott

Gresham College Lectures ·

2024/12/06

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/dvvOi_nUCRMSpace itself is wobbly. We exist on a choppy sea, its surface roiled by disturbances caused by the movements of black holes hundreds of millions of light-years away. The detection of these 'gravitational waves' by observatories such as LIGO is a story of scientific persistence and precision engineering, resulting in a completely new way of looking at the cosmos. The lecture will highlight the latest results from LIGO's observing run,...

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50:07

How Inequality Affects Mental Health - Lade Smith

Gresham College Lectures ·

2024/12/03

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/UzxyNc8vuNsTraditional risk factors for mental illness include genetics, perinatal factors, substance use, negative life events, trauma and organic disorders. Yet, more recently, it has been found that higher rates of mental illness are also seen in minoritised and marginalised groups. This lecture outlines the different types of discrimination – personally mediated, structural/institutional and internalised – and the evidence linking these wit...

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42:15

Saints & Liars: The Stories of Americans Who Saved...

Gresham College Lectures ·

2024/11/29

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/Tt_xU005mikThis Lecture unveils the hidden history of Americans who risked their lives to save others during WWII. These intrepid people travelled the globe to aid victims of Nazi Germany and its allies, often staying to rescue as many as possible when the victims’ peril turned lethal. Discover the stories of these individuals, particularly women who embraced the independence and transformative impact of their relief efforts. This lecture highl...

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53:36

Why believe in Conspiracy Theories? - Peter Knight

Gresham College Lectures ·

2024/11/27

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/EyU7TCE1QJQWith Brexit, the US presidential election and the Covid pandemic, conspiracy theories now seem to be everywhere. It’s commonly argued that the internet has fuelled their popularity, leading to a loss of faith in mainstream media, science, democracy and even truth itself. But what if the rise of conspiracy theories is a symptom rather than the cause of a collapse of trust in civic institutions?This lecture was recorded by Peter Knight...

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187 results

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