Gresham College
The Irish Question and the Ulster Question: Then and Now
updated
youtu.be/S4GPeNd4slc
The first lecture in the series considers the most famous telescope of all, the Hubble space telescope. A project more than forty years in the making, Hubble overcame an initial disaster with a misshapen mirror to drive a revolution in every part of astronomy, providing iconic views of everything from a comet crashing into Jupiter to a surprisingly vibrant, distant Universe. This lecture focuses in particular on what Hubble has revealed about the life - and death - of stars.
youtu.be/7VlhYHHbrdM
For centuries scientists have tried to identify what is special about the human brain. How do we approach this problem from a mathematical standpoint? The first hypothesis is that bigger is better, in some sense.
In this introductory lecture, scaling laws and simple ideas from statistics will be used to study this problem, both in humans and animals, as well as uncover some basic principles that govern brain size and test hypotheses connecting intelligence to size in humans and animals..
This episode is part of a series called 'Morals & Markets'.
Visiting Prof. of Economic History, Martin Daunton has conversations with three authors whose books have interrogated the underlying assumptions on economics.
Episode 2 sees Martin sit down with Avner Offer, author of 'The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn'.
Support the show (gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation)
Support the show (gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation)
youtu.be/S4GPeNd4slc
The first lecture in the series considers the most famous telescope of all, the Hubble space telescope. A project more than forty years in the making, Hubble overcame an initial disaster with a misshapen mirror to drive a revolution in every part of astronomy, providing iconic views of everything from a comet crashing into Jupiter to a surprisingly vibrant, distant Universe. This lecture focuses in particular on what Hubble has revealed about the life - and death - of stars.
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A lecture by Marina Frolova-Walker
This 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. Discover how the piano became a middle-class status symbol and how modernists of the 1910s-20s reinterpreted it. Presented from the perspective of a music historian, this lecture will delve into the roots of the “Women at the Piano” genre and reveal how these paintings offer a window onto women’s music-making.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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A lecture by Professor Luke A. Nichter
The 1968 Presidential Election remains the most divisive in modern U.S. history, with Democrat Hubert Humphrey, Republican Richard Nixon, and independent George Wallace at the forefront, and outgoing President Lyndon Johnson working behind the scenes. This lecture explores the striking parallels between 1968 and the 2024 Election, drawing on previously unexplored archives and numerous interviews. It challenges conventional views, revealing how the 1968 campaign set a new standard and tone for electoral battles, offering a compelling preview of the current political landscape.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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We often think of immunity as being a human, or at least mammalian, phenomenon. But in fact almost all living organisms have some form of immune system. In this lecture we’ll lift the lid on the astonishingly diverse immune mechanisms used by bacteria, amoebae, nematodes and many other microbial forms of life in their constant battle against viruses and each other.
This lecture was recorded by Robin May on 2nd October 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London
Robin is Gresham Professor of Physic.
He is also Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham.
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:
gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/evolution-future
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Robin is Gresham Professor of Physic.
He is also Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham.
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:
gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/evolution-future
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
In a year of elections, climate change is emerging as a divisive political issue, and in many countries for the first time. This may be partly a consequence of past efforts to keep it apolitical through over-reliance on stealth policies and technocratic institutions. This lecture will discuss the need political debate about climate and the calls for an emphasis on “third way” climate solutions, designed to appeal to the broadest possible electoral coalition.
This lecture was recorded by Myles Allen on 1st October 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.
Myles is the Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment.
Myles is also is currently Director of the Oxford Net Zero initiative. He was awarded the Appleton Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics in 2010, and in 2022 a CBE for services to climate change attribution, prediction and net zero. In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/net-zero-conversation
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: twitter.com/greshamcollege
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While Lycurgus of Sparta and Solon of Athens are now the best-known lawgivers of Greek antiquity, there were many others, from king Minos in Crete to Zaleucus and Charondas in southern Italy. This lecture explores the specific roles attributed to Greek lawgivers in fact and legend, revealing how and why they captured later political imaginations – with mention of how some even set laws to music.
This lecture was recorded by Melissa Lane on 26th September 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.
Melissa is also the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics, Princeton University and is also Associated Faculty in the Department of Classics and Department of Philosophy. Previously she was Senior University Lecturer at Cambridge University in the Faculty of History and Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge.
Having previously held visiting appointments at Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford, she will be Isaiah Berlin Visiting Professor in the History of Ideas in the Faculties of Philosophy and History at Oxford University, and a Visiting Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in Michaelmas Term 2024.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/singing-laws
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on 19th September 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.
Clive is the Gresham Professor of Law
He is the founder and director of the Justice League a non-profit human rights training centre focused on fostering the next generation of advocates. He also teaches part time at Bristol Law School and Goldsmiths as well as running a summer programme for 35 students in Dorset, his home. He has received all kinds of awards in recognition of his work, including an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for “services to humanity” in 2000. He has been a member of the Louisiana State Bar since 1984.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/human-rights-law-0
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: twitter.com/greshamcollege
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What is modern Paganism, and how does it relate to witchcraft, Druidry and other phenomena? This lecture is designed to answer that question, and in doing so to provide an overview of the different traditions that make up Paganism today. It will show what they have in common, and what makes each one unique. It will suggest the ways in which Paganism differs from other religious traditions and what it has especially to offer the modern world. It will also address the question of its relationship with ancient paganism.
This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on 18th September 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London
Ronald is the Gresham Professor of Divinity.
He is also Professor of History at the University of Bristol and a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries and the Learned Society of Wales.
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:
gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/modern-paganism
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: twitter.com/greshamcollege
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For centuries scientists have tried to identify what is special about the human brain. How do we approach this problem from a mathematical standpoint? The first hypothesis is that bigger is better, in some sense.
In this introductory lecture, scaling laws and simple ideas from statistics will be used to study this problem, both in humans and animals, as well as uncover some basic principles that govern brain size and test hypotheses connecting intelligence to size in humans and animals..
This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on 17th September 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London
Alain is Gresham Professor of Geometry.
He is currently the Director of the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2022.
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:
gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/big-brain
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction – a new star discovered in 1604
04:22 What is a supernova?
05:47 1987 discovery of new supernova in Chile
10:27 How supernovae cause new stars
12:17 Why we need space telescopes
18:11 How Hubble was launched in 1990
22:48 The star Betelgeuse
24:38 What is a planetary nebula?
27:27 Hubble was almost a failure
33:50 Hubble’s beautiful images
35:37 What Hubble has taught us about star formation
39:42 ‘Pillars of Creation’
40:37 New telescopes like JWST, HWO, Roman
42:28 Conclusion – The legacy of Hubble
This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on 11th September 2024 at Conway Hall, London
Chris is Gresham Professor of Astronomy.
He is also a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at New College.
Watch the Q&A session here: youtu.be/UqvTDzrs2Sc
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:
gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/mirror-sky
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: twitter.com/greshamcollege
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Many puzzles have a long history, such as water pouring puzzles, where you need to measure (for example) one pint of water equipped only with an eight-pint and a five-pint jug. The mathematics behind the solution has many useful applications.
Meanwhile, paradoxes such as: “some men shave themselves; those that do not shave themselves are shaved by the barber: who shaves the barber?” lead us to deep questions about set theory.
An excerpt taken from a lecture by Professor Sarah Hart called 'Mathematical Puzzles and Paradoxes'
Governments increasingly use detention as a central component of immigration and asylum policy. The lecture addresses several important questions.
What does immigration detention look like? How is it a reflection of those societies that tolerate its use and the policies that support and endorse its expansion? What place does it have in the journeys of those migrating across borders today?
An excerpt taken from a lecture by Dr Greg Constantine called 'The Human Cost of Immigration Detention'
We often change our minds after we decide to do something. In finance and business though, if you think you might like to change your mind you will have to pay your counterparty so that your right to change your mind is agreed in advance.
But how much is the right to change your mind worth? Option pricing is the art of determining the value of this right.
An excerpt taken from a lecture by Professor Raghavendra Rau called 'Option Pricing Theory Explained'
How are refugees protected in English law?
This lecture traces the history of refugee protection, the limits of the Refugee Convention, and changes to the law in recent decades that have made refugees’ lives increasingly difficult. The Government’s latest tranche of policies: the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and the Rwanda offshoring scheme, are particularly brutal.
Is it time to reverse anti-refugee policies and create safe and legal routes for refugees to reach the UK, without a number cap?
An excerpt taken from a lecture by Professor Leslie Thomas KC called 'Refugees: English Law's Protection or Persecution?'
Music is a temporal art, unfolding like a ribbon and transforming our experience of time itself.
This lecture demonstrates how music harnesses our unique and intricate listening faculties creating a complex interplay between sounding events and our internal predictions. This forms a predictive tapestry whereby the listener - usually unconsciously - ‘explains’ temporal events in reference to multi-layered streams of expectational waves.
How musicians exploit such expressive opportunities is explored in a wide range of musical styles.
An excerpt taken from a lecture by Professor Milton Mermikides called 'The Poetry of Prediction: Musical Time, Rhythm and Groove'
There have been two major revolutions in how we look at the sky - the shift beyond the optical to other wavelengths, particularly the radio, and the increasing attention paid to how objects change over time.
We start with the discovery of pulsars by Jocelyn Bell Burnell, explore how a microwave oven bamboozled astronomers, and discuss the latest research on Fast Radio Bursts, mysterious events detected in galaxies billions of light-years away.
An excerpt taken from a lecture by Professor Chris Lintott called 'Pulsars, Microwave Ovens and the Radio Sky'
Why have people believed in dragons, and what were they actually? Is there a difference between Western and Eastern dragons, in a global perspective, and if so, why?
Has the Western attitude to dragons changed in the modern era? Did Christianity give rise to a different idea of what a dragon should be?
An excerpt taken from a lecture by Professor Ronald Hutton called 'Dragons: A History'
gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/satirical-cartoons-history
Examining the work of Swift, Hogarth, Gillray, David Low and Ronald Searle, this lecture by celebrated cartoonist Martin Rowson will also examine the role cartoons play in giving offence. Covering the Danish Cartoons scandal and the Charlie Hebdo massacre, this talk will also look at Martin Rowson's own cartoon output over the past 40 years.
An excerpt taken from a lecture by Martin Rowson called 'Satirical Cartoons: A History'
Our understanding of autism has changed over the last forty years.
Historically, autism was diagnosed based on narrow criteria. Today, while still defined by social and communication difficulties, rigid interests and repetitive behaviours, the autism spectrum is far wider, and the historical under-diagnosis of women and girls is being addressed.
‘Autisms’ are more often discussed as neurodivergence rather than a single ‘disorder’ to be treated.
An excerpt taken from a lecture by Professor Francesca Happé CBE called 'Changes in the Concept of Autism'
The species we recognise as our own - anatomically modern humans - has existed for only 300,000 years, a blink of an eye in evolutionary terms. And yet during that time our species has been shaped by strong evolutionary forces, often unwittingly as an indirect result of human activities.
An excerpt taken from a lecture by Professor Robin May called 'A 300,000-Year History of Human Evolution'
This lecture was recorded by Bernardine Evaristo OBE on 25th June 2024 at LSO St Luke's Church, London
Bernardine Evaristo won the Booker Prize 2019 with her eighth book, Girl, Woman, Other, the first black woman and black British person to win it. It was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller for five weeks, spending 44 weeks in the Top 10.
It has sold over a million copies in the English language is a bestseller in many other languages. The author of essays, journalism, literary criticism, poetry and drama, her other novels include Blonde Roots, Soul Tourists, Lara and The Emperor’s Babe.
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:
gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/thomas-gresham-24
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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This is an annual lecture given by Gresham College
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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A lecture by Professor Martin Elliott, Provost of Gresham College.
This is an annual lecture given by the Provost of Gresham College.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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A lecture by Professor Alain Goriely FRS, Gresham Professor of Geometry.
We perceive the world through the processing of information given by our senses. Sometimes, this processing is faulty, leading to illusions: shapes or sounds that we perceive differently from their physical reality. These illusions have delighted children and scientists alike for centuries.
This lecture reveals how simple geometric illusions can be modelled mathematically, based on our understanding of how visual signals are coded and decoded by the brain, leading to a better understanding of how we process information.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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A lecture by Professor Raghavendra Rau, Gresham Mercers’ School Memorial Professor of Business.
Ever feel like the financial world works against you? This lecture discusses "behavioural finance" – how our brains get tricked by money matters. We explore how to use these insights to your advantage, navigate conflicts of interest with financial "experts," and make smarter decisions for yourself and your investments.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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A lecture by Professor Milton Mermikides, Gresham Professor of Music.
Now over 50 years old, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon remains the perfect example of a concept album.
Blending cyclical forms, jazz and modal harmony, experimental electronics, multi-layered guitars, studio techniques and haunting lyrics, this lecture examines why this album has retained its popularity, critical success, and enduring influence.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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A lecture by Professor Robin May, Gresham Professor of Physic.
Our understanding of the human immune system today is vastly different from that of 50 years ago. This knowledge has led to immune-based therapies that would have seemed like science fiction to our grandparents: monoclonal antibodies, T-cell therapies, anti-cancer vaccines, precision immune suppression – the list is endless.
In this lecture, we look to the future and ask, “What next for immunity?”
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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A lecture by Professor Myles Allen, Gresham Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment.
We have to stop fossil fuels from causing global warming – before the world stops using fossil fuels. There’s only one solution: safe and permanent disposal of one tonne of carbon dioxide for every tonne still generated by burning fossil fuels. But how do we achieve this without overheating the planet or stoking political conflicts?
This lecture presents a simple answer: make carbon dioxide disposal a licensing condition of the sale and use of fossil fuels.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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This is an annual lecture given by Gresham College with Gray's Inn on a topical legal interest.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Melissa Lane, Gresham Professor of Rhetoric.
How have lawgivers featured in modern revolutions?
This lecture considers key moments in revolutions, including seventeenth-century Britain, eighteenth-century France and (what would become) the United States, and twentieth-century Iran.
The appeal to lawgivers (including ancient ones from many cultures) in revolutionary visions and in consolidating new constitutions is a striking feature of modern politics.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Robin Wilson, Emeritus Gresham Professor of Geometry.
How long is the coastline of Britain? What is a rhombicuboctahedron? Which US president proved Pythagoras’s theorem?
These and many other intriguing questions are addressed in this lecture on renowned mathematical equations and their history. The selected equations span various areas of mathematics and cover a timeline of 4000 years, from early geometry to fractal art.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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A lecture by Professor Raghavendra Rau, Gresham Mercers’ School Memorial Professor of Business.
Why do smart people make dumb financial choices? This lecture explores the surprising link between our psychology and money mistakes. We will see how fear, overconfidence, and even our desire to be liked can cloud our judgment, especially when dealing with financial "experts". Learn how these psychological blind spots worsen conflicts of interest, and how to make smarter financial decisions, free from emotional influence.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Melissa Lane, Gresham Professor of Rhetoric.
For many modern thinkers, the lawgiver has been important as a founding figure of civic identity and cultural values. Rousseau analysed the legacies of Solon and Lycurgus, believing in the need for a lawgiver to make a true social contract possible. By contrast, Nietzsche felt it necessary to seek a lawgiver in history who was also a poet and prophet.
This lecture uses their perspectives and others to explore how the figure of the lawgiver has encapsulated key debates in modern political philosophy.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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A lecture by Professor Chris Lintott, Gresham Professor of Astronomy.
The JWST is the most expensive and powerful telescope astronomers have ever constructed. Its launch in 2021 started a new phase in our exploration of the cosmos, with the observatory's golden mirrors producing instantly iconic images of the Solar System's giant planets, nearby star-forming regions and galaxies, and our distant universe.
The lecture includes the latest news from its studies of the early universe, a place lit up by what appears to have been a much more spectacular burst of activity than anyone expected.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
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A lecture by Professor Clive Stafford Smith JD OBE, Gresham Professor of Law.
The U.S. Constitution had to be formed through debate before it could be ratified. Mirroring this, a British constitution must emerge through debates held by the next generation.
This lecture indicates schools are a good environment to foster this. For students, there are many contentious issues that tap into discussions at the heart of writing a constitution. Students being punished for swearing raises questions of limits to free speech. Students wishing to intervene when an unpopular peer is bullied would be empowered by constitutional duty obliging them to do so.
Schools tend to be authoritarian institutions, benevolent or otherwise, and can either provoke students to develop ideas on power structures and recognise the need for their own rights and duties, or condition them to accept the status quo.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Victoria Baines, Gresham IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology.
Is it moral to steal data?
Throughout history, authorities have struggled to manage individuals’ urges to speak out against injustice and malpractice. IT has given us new means to obtain and publish data that others may wish to protect or even conceal. To some, hackers are heroes. To others, they are criminals.
This lecture asks, in an era of mass leaks and high-profile whistleblowing, who decides whether data thieves are to be protected or prosecuted? Are the old rules still fit for purpose in the digital age?
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Ronald Hutton, Gresham Professor of Divinity.
Pagan witchcraft, especially in its first publicly apparent form of Wicca, is the most familiar and notorious form of modern Paganism. It is a counter-cultural religion of astonishing boldness, based on feminism, love of nature, personal growth and the redemption of the traditional figure of the witch.
This lecture looks at its origins and the roots of its success across the Western world, given it flouts so many conventions. It also discusses what modern Pagan witches actually do, and why they do it.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Robin May, Gresham Professor of Physic.
Whether you are human or computer, viruses can ruin your day, so taking steps to avoid them is important.
This lecture asks whether there are similarities between human immunity and computer immunity? Can we use discoveries in one system to help protect against infections in the other? Might we one day take our laptops for regular vaccinations, or run a ‘software update’ on our own immune systems to avoid an emerging pathogen?
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Alain Goriely FRS, Gresham Professor of Geometry.
Diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s are devastating neurological conditions that typically occur at old age and lead to systematic dementia and debilitating symptoms. The underlying mechanisms of these diseases are poorly understood. Yet, a striking feature of these conditions is the characteristic pattern of invasion throughout the brain, leading to well-codified disease stages associated with various cognitive deficits and pathologies.
This lecture shows how mathematical modelling can be used to predict dementia’s progression by unravelling some of its universal features.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Milton Mermikides, Gresham Professor of Music.
This lecture delves into musical forms which rely on the most economical of materials and concepts. From Steve Reich’s adoption of rhythmic cycles and phasing in Ewe drumming to the expressive power of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s music, we explore how profound effect can emerge from such apparent simplicity.
This lecture unpacks the processes behind celebrated minimalist works and reveals the quiet and elegant mechanisms underpinning their musical power.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Myles Allen, Gresham Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment.
Diet and agriculture are borderline untouchable “third rail” issues in the climate debate. But with the global food system contributing up to an extra degree of warming by 2100, they cannot be ignored. Sensible policies are hindered by carbon footprinting conventions that distort the impact of methane – in both directions.
This lecture explains how understanding methane’s true impact shows that a sustainable livestock industry could be compatible with a stable climate, although it would still need radical change.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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A lecture by Professor Chris Lintott, Gresham Professor of Astronomy.
Asteroids were for years considered 'celestial vermin' – objects which got in the way of more interesting fodder for astronomers. Now, they are central to our Solar System's story, the building blocks from which planets are made, and capable of telling us the history of the last five billion years.
This lecture considers two missions – Lucy, which flies past asteroid DonaldJohanson in April 2025, and OSIRIS-ReX, which recently returned from the threateningly near-Earth asteroid Bennu carrying samples of this unusual world.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of the City of London
This is an annual lecture given by the Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of the City of London
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Clive Stafford Smith JD OBE, Gresham Professor of Law.
Regarding the US Constitution, there is a major split between the Originalists (typically conservatives) and those who believe in an organic document that grows with the times. There have been enormous changes since 1789 – the internet is just one example – and the document must change one way or the other.
This lecture explores some of the unenumerated rights that might be added. These are not without their own subjective cultural elements. For example, Europeans are much more focused on ‘privacy’ than Americans, and it is debatable whether free speech is truly consistent with privacy.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Victoria Baines, Gresham IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology.
Our alert systems for identifying safety and security threats have evolved over time. As the threat from wild animals diminished, the perceived threat from other humans increased. To defend our territories and our livelihoods, we began to gather intelligence on our enemies, in the hope that being forewarned would give us an advantage.
This lecture explores our use of technologies that have allowed us to keep a closer watch, and the ingenious methods that have been used to counter them.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
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A lecture by Professor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh, Visiting Professor of Film and Theatre Music.
Composed by Jerry Herman of Hello, Dolly! fame, ‘I Am What I Am’ first appeared in the Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles (1983).
As well as gaining importance as a gay anthem during the AIDS crisis, the song has gone on to become a hit for several Black divas including Gloria Gaynor and Shirley Bassey.
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds.
To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
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