The Ancient History of Computers and Code - Victoria Baines

Gresham College Lectures

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All About Change

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Professional football player Jonathan Jones: Mentorship and Making an Impact in Your Community 22:49

11 days ago22:49

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Jonathan Jones is an NFL cornerback for the Washington Commanders who rose from the undrafted ranks to become two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, a businessman, philanthropist, and licensed pilot. In 2019, Jonathan founded the Jonathan Jones Next Step Foundation in 2019, a platform dedicated to empowering youth through education, professional development, and mentorship. The foundation works to alleviate food insecurity, promote women in stem and sports, and to promote professional development in the communities where he lives. Jay and Jonathan talk about investing in the communities they live in, acknowledging the people who helped you become the person you are, and paying that same investment forward to the next generation. Episode Chapters 0:00 intro 1:24 Building local connections 4:25 Jonathan’s mentors and mentees 10:54 Jonathan’s pride in his mentees’ successes 13:04 how Jonathan chooses his causes 14:08 Jonathan’s support for girls and young women 17:19: Jonathan’s passion for flying 19:40 The Next Step Foundation 20:29 Goodbye For video episodes, watch on www.youtube.com/@therudermanfamilyfoundation Stay in touch: X: @JayRuderman | @RudermanFdn LinkedIn: Jay Ruderman | Ruderman Family Foundation Instagram: All About Change Podcast | Ruderman Family Foundation To learn more about the podcast, visit https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/ Looking for more insights into the world of activism? Be sure to check out Jay’s brand new book, Find Your Fight , in which Jay teaches the next generation of activists and advocates how to step up and bring about lasting change. You can find Find Your Fight wherever you buy your books, and you can learn more about it at www.jayruderman.com .…

about a year ago 46:42

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What links an ancient shipwreck to the textile mills of Northern England? Both contained forerunners of the computing we use today. Computer language and software also have a long history, featuring military research and the repurposing of early programs widely used in manufacturing. This lecture will delve far back into the archives of processing, prediction, difference, and analytical engines, to discover who really made them work.
This lecture was recorded by Victoria Baines on 24th September 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.
Victoria is IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology.
Victoria is a Senior Research Associate of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge, a Senior Research Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group, and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She is also Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University’s School of Computing, a former Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University, and was a guest lecturer at Stanford University in 2019 and 2020. She is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford and holds a doctorate from the University of Nottingham. She serves on the Safety Advisory Board of Snapchat, the Advisory Board of cybersecurity provider Reliance Cyber, and is a trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/history-computers
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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today
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Gresham College Lectures

The Ancient History of Computers and Code - Victoria Baines

Gresham College Lectures

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Gresham College Lectures

1
Documentary Photography in Apartheid South Africa - Tamar Garb 58:39

3 days ago58:39

58:39

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/9tcRtGh7hkM This lecture looks at debates and dialogues that characterise realist photography in Apartheid South Africa (1948-1994) examining the tensions between advocacy, propaganda and the ‘struggle’ on the one hand and the poetics of everyday life on the other. Figures from Ernest Cole and David Goldblatt to Zanele Muholi and Lebohang Kganye will be examined. This lecture was recorded by Tamar Garb on 25th March 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Tamar Garb is Durning Lawrence Professor in the History of Art. Her research interests have focused on questions of gender and sexuality in European art as well as on post-apartheid culture, contemporary art, and the history of lens-based practices in Africa. Key publications include Sisters of the Brush: Women’s Artistic practices in Late Nineteenth Century Paris (1992), Bodies of Modernity: Figure and Flesh in Fin de Siecle France (1996) and,The Painted Face: Portraits of Women in France, 18145-1914 (2007). Her Africa related curatorial projects include: Figures and Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography (V&A, 2011); Distance and Desire: Encounters with the African Archive (Walther Collection, 2015); William Kentridge and Vivienne Koorland: A Conversation in Letters and Lines (Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 2016) and, Beyond the Binary: Santu Mofokeng and David Goldblatt (Walther Collection 2023) The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/documentary-photography-apartheid-south-africa 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 College's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk X: https://x.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/greshamcollege.bsky.social TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Just Ask The Axis: Jimi Hendrix unpicked - Milton Mermikides 49:51

7 days ago49:51

49:51

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/rKoYL4yrNsg Despite being cited as one of the most creative and influential guitarists of all time, and his tragically short life, Jimi Hendrix’s playing and composing are yet to be fully analysed. This lecture will demystify his diverse influences and reveal the full range of his extraordinary invention in terms of sonic sculpting, rhythmic feel, fretboard navigation, harmony, and composition. We explore this dazzling creativity from his early playing as a sideman to the Isley Brothers, the Experience albums, the iconic Band of Gypsys project, to the tantalising promise of his ‘Electric Church’ musical vision. This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides on 20th March 2025 at Rich Mix, London. Milton Mermikides is Gresham Professor of Music. He is Associate Professor in Music at the University of Surrey, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/just-ask-axis-jimi-hendrix-unpicked 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The Case for Basic Income - Guy Standing 34:41

10 days ago34:41

34:41

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/cjJSWgvHZKw This lecture puts forth the ethical and economic case for a basic income, enabling financial security and therefore a better quality of life for all. Financial insecurity affects one’s ability to make rational decisions – studies show it even lowers short-term IQ – making it even harder to improve one’s circumstances in the long run. Furthermore, unlike means-tested social assistance schemes like Universal Credit, a basic income does not involve a severe ‘poverty trap’ and thus, contrary to critics, increases the incentive to take low-paying jobs. This lecture includes findings from a series of BI pilots across the world which Dr Standing has been involved in. This lecture was recorded by Guy Standing on 19th March 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Guy Standing is a Professorial Research Associate and former Professor of Development Studies at SOAS University of London. From August 2006 until January 2013, he was Professor of Economic Security at the University of Bath in the UK. Between April 2006 and February 2009, he was also Professor of Labour Economics at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He has written and edited books on labour economics, labour market policy, unemployment, labour market flexibility, structural adjustment policies, social protection policy, rentier capitalism and its predations, and the need to revive the commons. His most recent books are The Politics of Time: Gaining Control in the Age of Uncertainty (2023), The Blue Commons: Rescuing the Economy of the Sea (2022), Battling Eight Giants: Basic Income Now (2020) and Plunder of the Commons: A Manifesto for Sharing Public Wealth (2019). The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/case-basic-income 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 College's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk X: https://x.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: h ttps://instagram.com/greshamcollege Bluesky: h ttps://bsky.app/profile/greshamcollege.bsky.social TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greshamcollege Support Us: h ttps://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

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The Turbulent Brain: Rhythms and Waves - Alain Goriely 56:21

14 days ago56:21

56:21

Despite its quiet appearance, the brain is the seat of complicated wave dynamics. Indeed, cognitive processes are carried out through communications between neurons, leading to synchronisation and oscillations at different frequencies that can be recorded. Together, these oscillations also create waves that propagate through different regions. Apart from this electrical activity, the brain is also the siege of slow chemical waves that can cause migraine and mechanical waves arising from trauma. In this lecture, we will study the influence of all these waves on brain function. This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on 18th March 2025 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/turbulent-brain-rhythms-and-waves 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 College's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk X: https://x.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/greshamcollege.bsky.social TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Banned Books and Freedom of Expression - Rachel Potter 45:37

21 days ago45:37

45:37

The right to free expression is severely threatened in many places in the world, yet it has also never been so passionately defended. This lecture focuses on the recent history of banned literature. It considers the changing nature of literary censorship, arguments in defence of free expression, why literary writers have so frequently pushed the boundaries of the acceptable, and the impact of technology on censorship and free speech. This lecture was recorded by Rachel Potter on 12th March 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Rachel Potter is Professor of Modern Literature at the University of East Anglia. She writes on literature and censorship, free expression and writers organisations, modernist literature and early twentieth century culture. Rachel completed her PhD at King's College, Cambridge, where she also studied for her undergraduate degree. Prior to her PhD she took the MA in 'Critical Theory' at the University of Sussex. Before joining UEA in September, 2007, she taught for seven years at Queen Mary, University of London. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/banned-books 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 College's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk X: https://x.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/greshamcollege.bsky.social TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Trust Issues: When Financial "Experts" Have Other Plans - Raghavendra Rau 58:14

24 days ago58:14

58:14

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/0jSUfa0LQAo This lecture examines agency problems in various relationships, including between investors and fund managers, and within financial intermediaries. This lecture was recorded by Raghavendra Rau on 3rd February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Raghu is the Mercers School Memorial Professor of Business He is also the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/trust-issues-when-financial-experts-have-other-plans 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 College's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk X: https://x.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/greshamcollege.bsky.social TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Carbon Offsetting: Does It Really Work? - Myles Allen 51:53

28 days ago51:53

51:53

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/MB73qh4pIYM Offsets, politely called carbon credit markets, are essential to many net-zero strategies, yet remain highly controversial. They seem an efficient solution for “unavoidable” emissions – but who decides what is unavoidable? This lecture will discuss several plans to achieve our climate goals, from emission compensation schemes to tackling fossil fuels by planting trees. This lecture was recorded by Myles Allen on 4th March 2025 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 of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/carbon-offsetting-does-it-really-work 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: h ttps://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Is the First Amendment the greatest right of all? - Clive Stafford Smith 59:06

5 weeks ago59:06

59:06

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/W5EKhMWdjP4 In this lecture we will discuss a hierarchy of rights. Is the American First Amendment the most important of all, given its five foundational rights – no establishment of religion; free exercise of religion; freedom of speech and the press; the right peaceably to assemble; the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. How might this apply to the UK? This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on 27th February 2025 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 of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/first-amendment 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-toda y Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The Biggest Cosmic Map - Chris Lintott 45:12

5 weeks ago45:12

45:12

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/TRCkgDWKTdY Mapping the stars is, perhaps, the oldest of astronomical pursuits, but it has been perfected by the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, which is providing an exquisitely precise map showing the positions and movements of the nearest two billion stars. Starting with a history of mapping the cosmos, this lecture describes the new and dynamic history of our Milky Way galaxy that results, and will move to explaining the dynamic and growing nature of our galaxy. This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on 26th February 2025 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. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/biggest-cosmic-map 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: h ttps://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: h ttps://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Data: A Love Story for the Ages - Victoria Baines 50:21

6 weeks ago50:21

50:21

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/7mW52bW23go It has become something of a cliché to say that data is the new oil. That isn’t the full story. For centuries it has proved itself to be infinitely re-usable. It has enabled the creation and reinforcement of collective memory. It has been documented in innumerable formats, from maps to databases, taxonomies, and infographics. We make sense of the world through the technology we use to process and visualise data. This lecture is an exploration of our enduring love for it. This lecture was recorded by Victoria Baines on 25th February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Victoria is IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology. Victoria is a Senior Research Associate of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge, a Senior Research Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group, and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She is also Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University’s School of Computing, a former Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University, and was a guest lecturer at Stanford University in 2019 and 2020. She is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford and holds a doctorate from the University of Nottingham. She serves on the Safety Advisory Board of Snapchat, the Advisory Board of cybersecurity provider Reliance Cyber, and is a trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/data-love-story-ages 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The Return of the Horned God - Ronald Hutton 45:42

6 weeks ago45:42

45:42

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/IAilwM_WdbI Until the nineteenth century, the favourite ancient pagan gods in Western culture were those related to human qualities and activities. During that century, especially in Britain, attention switched to a horned divinity associated with the countryside and wild nature, usually personified as the Greek Pan. This lecture explores how and why this happened, and the impact on British culture, when the full subversive potential of this deity as a force for personal liberation became realised. It also shows how the image subsequently evolved from a classical god into an archetype. This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on 19th February 2025 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/return-horned-god 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: h ttps://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Green Immunity – How Do Plants Fight Infection? - Robin May 45:34

6 weeks ago45:34

45:34

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/Et8_myknHq8 Most of us rarely think about plant immunity. But, like us, plants can distinguish between different pathogens, trigger a ‘bespoke’ immune response and retain a memory of past infections to boost future immunity. However, plant immune systems also exhibit enviable features like the ability to inherit immunological memory from a parent, or to warn distant individuals of an impending pathogen attack. This lecture investigates how they do all of this and more without a single white blood cell. This lecture was recorded by Robin May on 29th January 2025 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/green-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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Unwritten Laws? Legacies from Antigone and Lycurgus - Melissa Lane 46:35

7 weeks ago46:35

46:35

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/gQdabAQT3Jw Sophocles’ Antigone refers to “unwritten laws,” as does Thucydides’ Pericles. From the late fifth century BCE, the idea that laws are more effective when learned by memory and observation than when put into writing, forms a distinctive current in political reflections. Plutarch would even claim that the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus had prohibited the writing down of his laws. This lecture will present Greek authors’ reflections on the interplay between writing and orality remain relevant to debates about ethical formation today. This lecture was recorded by Melissa Lane on 20th February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Melissa Lane is Gresham Professor of Rhetoric. 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 of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/unwritten-laws-legacies-antigone-and-lycurgus 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The Value of Public Space - Liza Fior 36:56

8 weeks ago36:56

36:56

As we navigate towns and cities, public spaces are all around us. These offer a respite from our often-busy routines. Public spaces are more than just the leftover areas between buildings; they depend on how interests are designed and negotiated, and its success is measured by the interactions that take place in it: the passage of the sun, the root of trees, and even the way they are used by children. However, these areas are constantly threatened by the way local and commercial funding invest in it. Using recent projects, primarily in London and North America, this lecture will invite audiences to think about public space beyond the space between and around buildings; to view public spaces, their design and their constructions, under a new light. This lecture was recorded by Liza Fior on 28th January 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Liza Fior is a founding Partner of muf architecture/art, and Professor of Architecture and Spatial Practice at the University of the Arts London. She was previously a visiting professor at Yale University. muf architecture/art are internationally acclaimed for their hyper-local approach to design; exclusively working in the public realm - including on streetscapes, parks and open spaces, buildings masterplans, temporary commissions and furniture. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/public-space 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: h ttps://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The UK’s Generational Wealth Gap - Mike Brewer 50:32

8 weeks ago50:32

50:32

The UK's income inequality has remained stable since the 1990s, but household wealth has nearly doubled, mainly driven by soaring house prices. This has widened the wealth gap between generations, with younger people less likely to own homes. Furthermore, weak income growth since the mid-2000s has disproportionately affected younger cohorts. This lecture unpacks these economic trends to reveal how they have created tensions between generations by exacerbating disparities in their respective living standards. This lecture was recorded by Mike Brewer on 18th February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Mike is Interim Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Department of Social Policy at the LSE. Between 2011 and 2020, he was a Professor of Economics at the University of Essex. He has also worked at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and HM Treasury. Mike is interested in all aspects of inequality in income and wealth, including the role of the labour market and the tax and benefit system. He also has a long background in using microsimulation methods. He is the author of a book, What Do We Know And What Should We Do About Inequality?, published by SAGE in 2019. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/uks-generational-wealth-gap 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Why Does Britain Have a Water and Sewage Crisis? - Martin Daunton 58:26

8 weeks ago58:26

58:26

The discharge of raw sewage into rivers, and the financial problems of major water companies, have become serious political and social concerns for the public. British cities have faced similar challenges in the past, most notoriously with the ‘Great Stink’ in London in 1858 that led to the construction of Bazalgette’s sewer. Consequently, many cities took utilities into public ownership in the late nineteenth century in what is termed ‘gas and water socialism’. Why did this happen, and why were utilities returned to private ownership in the later twentieth century? The lecture will conclude by assessing the success or failure of the current system of regulated private ownership. Should there be a return to public ownership? This lecture was recorded by Martin Daunton on 11th February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Professor Martin Daunton is Visiting Gresham Professor of Economic History. He is a British academic and historian. He was Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, between 2004 and 2014. He is Emeritus Professor of Economic History at the University of Cambridge. He has written two books on the history of taxation in Britain – Trusting Leviathan and Just Taxes, and co-edited with colleagues in Berlin a volume of essays on the political economy of public finance in leading OECD countries since the 1970s. His book The Economic Government of the World, 1933 to 2023 was published by Allen Lane in 2023. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/water-sewage-crisis 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The Hidden Risks of "I Know Something You Don't" - Raghavendra Rau 56:33

9 weeks ago56:33

56:33

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/7pvF4FdbYWU This lecture explores how information asymmetry leads to adverse selection and moral hazard, with a focus on their presence in financial markets and institutions such as insurance and credit markets. It will examine how regulations intended to solve a particular set of issues might exacerbate problems, potentially resulting in financial crises or other disastrous events. This lecture was recorded by Raghavendra Rau on 20th January 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Raghu is the Mercers School Memorial Professor of Business He is also the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/hidden-risks 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: h ttps://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Is Your Money Safe? Unveiling Hidden Conflicts in Finance - Raghavendra Rau 54:29

10 weeks ago54:29

54:29

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/gWJmpSO4WZI Finance involves a group of people attempting to make rational decisions on valuation, but people are complicated. People can be self-interested, they can make mistakes, or, in stark contrast, they can act altruistically. This lecture will introduce the concept of agency problems in the finance sector, focusing on the conflicts that arise between different groups of stakeholders. It will discuss examples of fraud, insider trading and other types of human behavior that can reduce the public's trust in the markets. This lecture was recorded by Raghavendra Rau on 21st October 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Raghu is the Mercers School Memorial Professor of Business He is also the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/hidden-conflicts-finance 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: h ttps://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The Connected Brain: Network and Communication - Alain Goriely 56:25

10 weeks ago56:25

56:25

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/bKMV8i9Mq40 The brain is mostly organised in small modular regions connected to each other. Typically, each region performs different cognitive tasks, from image processing to language. This organisation leads us to model the brain as a network, the ‘brain connectome’. This fundamental view of the brain has become a central paradigm for neurosciences linking topological properties of networks to brain functions. This lecture presents ideas from graph theory to study this network and understand the way that the brain learns and operates. This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on 4th February 2025 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/connected-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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: h ttps://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Breaking the Fourth Wall of Sound: The Paradox of Screen Music - Milton Mermikides 54:38

11 weeks ago54:38

54:38

Sound and music hold a strange and powerful role in film, TV and video games, aiding narrative and emotional impact. They can even exist in the world of ‘the film’ – heard by the characters – or in the world of the audience. Music can even break the fourth wall, travelling through and blurring these conventionally separate worlds. By examining films through history from Blazing Saddles, Elf, The Truman Show to Birdman, we explore this ‘fantastical gap’ and its transformative effect on the audience. This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides on 16th January 2025 at Rich Mix, London. Milton Mermikides is Gresham Professor of Music. He is Associate Professor in Music at the University of Surrey, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/sceen-music 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: h ttps://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
‘Is it in Pevsner?’: A Short History of the ‘Buildings of …' Series - Charles O'Brien 58:53

11 weeks ago58:53

58:53

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'Brien on 5th December 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Charles O’Brien FSA is Listing and Architectural Research Director at Historic England. Until 2022 he was the joint Series Editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides. He graduated with a degree in History of Art from University College London before joining the series in 1997, where he worked fulltime on the research, writing and editing of the new editions. As author and co-author he has written the revised volumes to East London, Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough,Hampshire and Surrey. He is a former Commissioner of Historic England and former chair of their London Advisory Committee and has served as an adviser to government on local heritage. He is also a liveryman of the Mercers Company and member of their Heritage and Arts Committee The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/pevsner-buildings 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Writing Laws: Hammurabi to Solon - Melissa Lane 42:24

12 weeks ago42:24

42:24

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/t6kkq6dI6hc When 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 contemporary legal philosophy. This lecture was recorded by Melissa Lane on 23rd January 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Melissa Lane is Gresham Professor of Rhetoric. 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 of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/writing-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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: h ttps://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Touching the Sun - Chris Lintott 52:48

13 weeks ago52:48

52:48

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/pXoU-nZmhn8 Despite 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 new look at the mysteries of the Sun, and its effects on the Earth. This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on 15th January 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. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/touching-sun 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: h ttps://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Science-based Targets, Greenwashing and Brownscraping: Net Zero in the Private Sector - Myles Allen 56:11

13 weeks ago56:11

56:11

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/lQBdqGrfWKU Over 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. This lecture was recorded by Myles Allen on 14th January 2025 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 of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/net-zero-private 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: h ttps://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Writing a British Constitution - Clive Stafford Smith 42:35

14 weeks ago42:35

42:35

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 just to the King, but to the judiciary too? This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on 1st January 2025 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 of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/british-constitution 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The Modern Goddess - Ronald Hutton 47:18

14 weeks ago47:18

47:18

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/0ZK1Y1QnFDg This 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 and archaeology. It also confronts the problem of the different kinds of politics represented by this figure. This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on 8th January 2025 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/modern-goddess 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: h ttps://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: h ttps://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: h ttps://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Who’s Afraid of Robots? - Victoria Baines 48:55

15 weeks ago48:55

48:55

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/d6Ao4KmGXBc Artificial 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 and machines has always been complex, and that we still can’t decide whether we really want them to be like us. This lecture was recorded by Victoria Baines on 7th January 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Victoria is IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology. Victoria is a Senior Research Associate of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge, a Senior Research Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group, and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She is also Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University’s School of Computing, a former Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University, and was a guest lecturer at Stanford University in 2019 and 2020. She is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford and holds a doctorate from the University of Nottingham. She serves on the Safety Advisory Board of Snapchat, the Advisory Board of cybersecurity provider Reliance Cyber, and is a trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/afraid-robots 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Women at the Piano: A History Through Images - Marina Frolova-Walker 52:24

15 weeks ago52:24

52:24

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/f6Z9L2dnxSA 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. This lecture was recorded by Marina Frolova-Walker on 10th December 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Marina is Gresham Emerita Professor of Music. Marina Frolova-Walker, a Russian-born British musicologist and music historian, was Visiting Gresham Professor of Russian Music in 2018-19 and Gresham Professor of Music 2019-23. She is Professor of Music History and Director of Studies in Music at Clare College, Cambridge. She is a specialist in the Russian music of the 19th and 20th centuries. She has published extensively on Russian music and is a well-known lecturer and broadcaster for BBC Radio 3. Among her many awards and appointments, she is a Fellow of the British Academy and was awarded the Edward Dent Medal in 2015 by the Royal Musical Association for her achievements in musicology. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/women-piano 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The US Constitution: A Catalogue of Complaints about Britain - Clive Stafford Smith 42:35

16 weeks ago42:35

42:35

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/wpF0oB9Mz-0 The 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 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 of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/us-constitution 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
How Does Our Immune System Protect Us? - Robin May 40:20

16 weeks ago40:20

40:20

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/JCTgxcPu78I The 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 by Robin May on 27th November 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/immune-protection 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Who's Minding the Store? Corporate Rules to Align Interests - Raghavendra Rau 1:01:05

17 weeks ago1:01:05

1:01:05

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, London Raghu is the Mercers School Memorial Professor of Business He is also the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/corporate-rules 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Unwrapping Irving Berlin’s "White Christmas" - Dominic Broomfield-McHugh 54:07

17 weeks ago54:07

54:07

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/LW0DLhTxfCE This 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 active role in the Second World War. This lecture was recorded by Dominic Broomfield-McHugh on 12th December 2024 at Conway Hall, London. Dominic is Gresham Visiting Professor of Film and Theatre Music. Dominic is also Professor of Music at the University of Sheffield and is Associate Producer of the PBS documentary Meredith Willson: America's Music Man and has appeared on all the main BBC television and radio stations as well as NPR in America. He has given talks and lectures at the Sydney Opera House, New York City Center, the Library of Congress, New York Public Library, Sadler's Wells, and Lincoln Center, among many others The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/unwrapping-irving-berlins-white-christmas 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Magical Mystery Tour: The Invention of The Beatles - Milton Mermikides 58:49

18 weeks ago58:49

58:49

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/VeJxEXZfT2Y This 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 tracks, illuminating the craft of their transporting effects. This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides on 12th September 2024 at LSO St Luke's, London. Milton Mermikides is Gresham Professor of Music. He is Associate Professor in Music at the University of Surrey, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/magical-mystery-tour 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Much Ado About Numbers: Shakespeare’s Mathematical Life and Times - Rob Eastaway 42:53

18 weeks ago42:53

42:53

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 world. This lecture was recorded by Rob Eastaway on 9th October 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Rob Eastaway is best known as the author of several bestselling popular maths books, including Why Do Buses Come in Threes? and Maths On the Back of an Envelope. With Mike Askew, he wrote Maths for Mums & Dads, a book that helps parents to understand the new methods being used to teach maths. The American edition was published in 2010 entitled Old Dogs, New Math. Rob has given hundreds of maths talks across the world to audiences of all ages, including several family lectures at the Royal Institution, and he is Director of Maths Inspiration, a programme of interactive lecture shows for teenagers, held in theatres across the UK. From 2019 to 2023 he was the puzzle adviser for New Scientist magazine. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/bshm-25 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: h ttps://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Messaging and Signals - Victoria Baines 50:11

19 weeks ago50:11

50:11

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/pP3FzqYcMOA We 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 signals, from wireless to wired and back again. This lecture was recorded by Victoria Baines on 29th October 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Victoria is IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology. Victoria is a Senior Research Associate of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge, a Senior Research Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group, and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She is also Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University’s School of Computing, a former Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University, and was a guest lecturer at Stanford University in 2019 and 2020. She is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford and holds a doctorate from the University of Nottingham. She serves on the Safety Advisory Board of Snapchat, the Advisory Board of cybersecurity provider Reliance Cyber, and is a trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/messaging-and-signals 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Houston, we have a problem: how the fossil fuel industry is risking our future - Myles Allen 50:53

19 weeks ago50:53

50:53

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/6hEOINeTYTU As 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 responsibility onto those (like you) who do not. This lecture was recorded by Myles Allen on 26th November 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 of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/fossil-fuel-industry 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Black Holes and Bangs - Chris Lintott 45:56

20 weeks ago45:56

45:56

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/dvvOi_nUCRM Space 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, discuss the nature of black holes - the most mysterious of astronomical objects - and explain how the gold in your jewellery was made. This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on 4th December 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. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/black-holes-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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
How Inequality Affects Mental Health - Lade Smith 50:07

20 weeks ago50:07

50:07

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/UzxyNc8vuNs Traditional 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 with an increased risk of mental illness. This lecture was recorded by Lade Smith on 21st November 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. SDr Shubulade (Lade) Smith CBE is the President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.Having trained in General Psychiatry and worked in Forensic Psychiatry, she is now the Lead for the Acute Forensic Pathway of the South London Partnership and Clinical Director of the Forensic Services at SLaM. In 2019, Lade was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to Forensic Intensive Psychiatric care and was awarded Psychiatrist of the Year by the Royal College of Psychiatrists She is also the former Clinical and Strategic Director of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, providing medical leadership for the team developing mental health policy and guidelines. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/inequality-mental-health 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: h ttps://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Saints & Liars: The Stories of Americans Who Saved Endangered People from the Nazis - Debórah Dwork 42:15

21 weeks ago42:15

42:15

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/Tt_xU005mik This 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 highlights how luck, timing, and spontaneous decisions shaped their fates, urging us to reframe the way we think about, analyse, and write about the past. This lecture was recorded by Debórah Dwork on 20th November 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Debórah Dwork is the Director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at the Graduate Center – City University of New York. Recipient of the Annetje Fels-Kupferschmidt Award (2022) bestowed by the Dutch Auschwitz Committee, and the International Network of Genocide Scholars Lifetime Achievement Award (2020), Debórah Dwork has been, inter alia, a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and a Senior Scholar-in-Residence at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She sits on many advisory boards and serves as Scholar Advisor to The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, Department of Global Communications, United Nations. Above all, Professor Dwork is a teacher and mentor, committed to training the next generation of Holocaust scholars. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/saints-and-liars 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: h ttps://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Why believe in Conspiracy Theories? - Peter Knight 53:36

21 weeks ago53:36

53:36

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/EyU7TCE1QJQ With 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 on 14th November 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Peter Knight is a Professor of American Studies at the University of Manchester, and has held visiting fellowships at New York University, Harvard, Leiden University and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies in Amsterdam. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/conspiracy-theories 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The Ancient History of Computers and Code - Victoria Baines 46:42

22 weeks ago46:42

46:42

What links an ancient shipwreck to the textile mills of Northern England? Both contained forerunners of the computing we use today. Computer language and software also have a long history, featuring military research and the repurposing of early programs widely used in manufacturing. This lecture will delve far back into the archives of processing, prediction, difference, and analytical engines, to discover who really made them work. This lecture was recorded by Victoria Baines on 24th September 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Victoria is IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology. Victoria is a Senior Research Associate of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge, a Senior Research Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group, and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She is also Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University’s School of Computing, a former Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University, and was a guest lecturer at Stanford University in 2019 and 2020. She is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford and holds a doctorate from the University of Nottingham. She serves on the Safety Advisory Board of Snapchat, the Advisory Board of cybersecurity provider Reliance Cyber, and is a trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/history-computers 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The Convoluted Brain: Wrinkles and Folds - Alain Goriely 49:42

22 weeks ago49:42

49:42

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/_Q_30OIPzXw The human brain has a very distinct and complex appearance with valleys and ridges folding over themselves. The same convolutions are found in large mammals, but not in smaller ones. This observation suggests that size and geometry play a role. Yet, these beautiful shapes have defied a complete description or understanding. This lecture will address questions stemming from this picture: How do these shapes emerge? How are they arranged? Simple mathematical models can help us understand the emergence of these beautiful patterns during development as well as their pathology. This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on 12th November 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: https://www.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: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/ Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The Health Gap: Achieving Social Justice in Public Health - Michael Marmot 51:55

23 weeks ago51:55

51:55

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/leCxdECjyDM Reducing health inequalities is a matter of social justice. Strategies must address the social gradient in health, and efforts should extend beyond healthcare to address the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. This lecture argues economic circumstances, while important, are not the sole drivers of health inequalities, and closing the health gap will take evidence-based action across the whole of society. This lecture was recorded by Michael Marmot on 6th November 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Sir Michael Marmot has been Professor of Epidemiology at University College London since 1985, and is Director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity. He served as President of the British Medical Association (BMA) in 2010-2011, and as President of the World Medical Association in 2015. He is President of the Asthma + Lung UK. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Honorary Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and of the Faculty of Public Health; an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy; and of the Royal Colleges of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Paediatrics and Child Health, and General Practitioners. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/health-gap 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: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/ Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
Why Writing Women Back into History Matters - Janina Ramirez 50:41

23 weeks ago50:41

50:41

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/IJT3B9WZntc Rediscovering remarkable historical figures such as the Birka Warrior Woman, Hildegard of Bingen, and King Jadwiga offers a fresh perspective to understand an era often dismissed as 'nasty, brutish, and short'. Rather than being exceptions, this lecture will reveal the considerable influence and power held by medieval women and shed light on the gradual erosion of female agency over subsequent centuries. Through their rediscovery, it will interrogate traditional historical narratives and construct more nuanced, inclusive accounts that reflect the richness, complexity, and diversity of the past. This lecture was recorded by Janina Ramirez on 5th November 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London. Professor Janina Ramirez is a lecturer, researcher, author and broadcaster. She is Research Fellow in History of Art at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, and Visiting Professor in Medieval Studies at the University of Lincoln. Her most recent book, 'Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages Through the Women Written out of it', was an instant Sunday Times number 1 best-seller, Waterstones Book of the Month and Book of the Year. Janina is a patron of many organisations, including NSEAD, the Stained Glass Society and Oxford Festival of the Arts, and an ambassador for the Centre for Peace Keeping and Democracy. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society for the Arts. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/women-history 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: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/ Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show…

Gresham College Lectures

1
The Origins of Modern Paganism - Ronald Hutton 46:40

24 weeks ago46:40

46:40

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/sYqJomnunFg The deeper exploration of Paganism begins with its roots in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and the question of how ancient paganism was regarded then. It considers the mainstream views of that paganism in that period, which veered between regarding it as a religion of ignorance, tyranny and bloodshed, and one of great artistic and literary achievements that prepared the way for Christianity. It goes on to show how new ideas about it developed amongst radicals, which preserved the admiration for the accomplishments of ancient paganism while throwing away the caveats. This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on 30th October 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: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/origins-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: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/ Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show…

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The Ancient History of Computers and Code - Victoria Baines