Gresham College Lectures

Nov 19 2024 2848 ep. 54 mins 609

Gresham College Lectures Podcast artwork

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

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The Convoluted Brain: Wrinkles and Folds - Alain Goriely

Nov 19 2024 49 mins

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/_Q_30OIPzXwThe 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

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

Nov 15 2024 51 mins

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/leCxdECjyDMReducing 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

Why Writing Women Back into History Matters - Janina Ramirez

Nov 12 2024 50 mins

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/IJT3B9WZntcRediscovering 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 wome

The Origins of Modern Paganism - Ronald Hutton

Nov 08 2024 46 mins

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/sYqJomnunFgThe 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 a

Does the UK have a Water Crisis? - Carolyn Roberts

Nov 05 2024 138 mins

The management of water supplies, flooding and water pollution in the UK is currently the subject of great controversy, and public interest has never been higher. Following a short introduction by Professor Carolyn Roberts, this focused day will include three debates in which experts will discuss contrasting views on the nature of a specific problem, and how it might be solved. Aud

Is Trump the same Nixon in 1968? - Luke A. Nichter

Nov 04 2024 46 mins

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/D3Lz-M1P9VkThe 1968 Presidential Election remains the most divisive in modern U.S. history, with Democrat Hubert Humphrey, Republican Richard Nixon, and independent George Wallace at the forefront, and outgoing President Lyndon Johnson working behind the scenes. This lecture explores the striking parallels between 1968 and the 2024 E

What is a Puzzle Canon? The Divine Trickery of J.S. Bach - Milton Mermikides

Nov 03 2024 46 mins

Behind the sublime precision and expressive power of Bach’s music lies a mischievous spirit. From puzzle canons (where the performer must solve a riddle to reach the score), melodies that run upside-down and backwards against themselves, hidden symbols, endless loops, to the embedding of numbers and names into the music, this lecture explores Bach’s ingenious trickery. Unravell

Why Does Britain Have a Housing Crisis? - Martin Daunton

Oct 30 2024 54 mins

This lecture was recorded by Martin Daunton on 22nd October 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Martin is Visiting Professor of Economic History.Martin was also Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, between 2004 and 2014, and he is Emeritus Professor of Economic History at the University of Cambridge.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:Gresham Co

The Sondheim Showstopper: ‘Send in the Clowns - Dominic Broomfield McHugh

Oct 25 2024 52 mins

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/gtCsGQ14nU0This lecture examines ‘Send in the Clowns’, probably the most commercially successful song written by the revered Stephen Sondheim. Yet it confounds the expectations of a showstopper by being written for an actress of limited singing ability, the late Glynis Johns. This lecture reflects on how it works in the context t

How do we secure Europe? - Catherine Ashton

Oct 22 2024 43 mins

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/YltPv0VUFgQWith the ongoing war in Ukraine, long-term planning for security in Europe is essential. What will be the role of NATO, EU enlargement, and the support of the UK to ensure a Europe of peace and prosperity? Against the backdrop of Russian aggression, potential changes in US policy and rising populism, what elements will con