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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Nov 13, 2026 · 11:51
Professor Lintott explains how we connect the many different ways of observing the sky with attempts to understand the nature of what is seen. This lecture was recorded by Chris…
Nov 13, 2026 · 41:41
Of all the components of the environment around British prehistoric monuments, the sky is the one that has changed least across the millennia. This, and the fact that some of the…
Nov 13, 2026 · 38:03
Following on from last year’s lecture at the Festival of Musical Ideas, Professors Lintott and Mermikides will present, demonstrate and critique the idea of ‘astro sonification’,…
Nov 13, 2026 · 34:32
Professors Czerski and Lintott investigate how ocean Earth compares and differs from the other planets we’ve found, and how water worlds in many forms may be more common than…
Nov 13, 2026 · 36:47
Unless it’s Christmas Eve, that chain of lights moving across the sky is probably not Santa’s sleigh but Starlink’s low earth orbit satellites (LEOs). To meet demand for…
Nov 10, 2026 · 44:20
This lecture was recorded by Professor Kate Hill on 14th of October 2026 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London. Kate is Professor of History at the University of Lincoln, UK, where she…
Nov 6, 2026 · 50:21
In the early modern period, it was common practice to praise the mathematical sciences, a typical example being Martinus Hortensius’ Inauguration Speech on the Dignity and the…
Nov 3, 2026 · 53:49
This lecture was recorded by Professor Sir Jim Mallinson on 5th of October 2026 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London. Jim Mallinson is the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University…
Oct 30, 2026 · 44:59
The unipolar world of American military dominance, which characterised the relatively stable 35-year post-Cold War period, is now well and truly over. This lecture reveals how…
Oct 27, 2026 · 45:50
The Irish language has been associated with politicisation and conflict, particularly in the context of contemporary Northern Ireland identity politics. However, debates around…
Oct 23, 2026 · 48:07
This episode of the Gresham College Podcast features a conversation between two Gresham Professors: Melissa Lane, Gresham Professor of Rhetoric and Ronald Hutton, Gresham…
Oct 22, 2026 · 44:15
In this lecture, Professor Marion Turner explores ‘ordinary women’ in English literature, arguing that Chaucer’s 14th-century Wife of Bath was the first such woman: a…
Oct 16, 2026 · 50:10
AI systems are increasingly positioned as supports for anxiety, loneliness, and distress. This lecture examines large language models trained to simulate therapeutic dialogue…
Oct 13, 2026 · 37:03
Where are the stories of great queer love in the Shoah? There are almost none. Anna Hájková explains why the history of same-sex desire in the Shoah, that is, queerness among…
Oct 9, 2026 · 1:00:43
Carbon used to be something that was only mentioned in school chemistry classes, but now it seems to be everywhere: on the news, in political debate, in discussions on health,…
Oct 6, 2026 · 50:47
Our expanding Universe only makes sense if, early on, it expanded rapidly in a period of cosmic inflation. In this lecture, we consider the evidence for this apparently arbitrary…
Oct 2, 2026 · 45:56
This lecture was recorded by Daniel Susskind on the 23nd of September 2026 Dr Daniel Susskind is a writer and economist. He explores the impact of technology, and particularly…
Sep 29, 2026 · 46:44
The Lammy plan to eliminate half of U.K. criminal jury trials has provoked a rebellion among many lawmakers. Recent Palestine Action cases highlight the jury’s moral role, with…
Sep 25, 2026 · 45:19
A stark advert picturing a gravestone chiselled with ‘AIDS: DON’T DIE OF IGNORANCE’ captured the horror of this disease in the 1980s. Now, for HIV-infected people able to access…
Sep 22, 2026 · 52:26
This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on the 15th of September 2026 Alain Goriely is a mathematician with broad interests in mathematical methods, mechanics, sciences, and…
Sep 21, 2026 · 49:20
On a remote mountain top in Chile, scanning the sky with the largest astronomical camera ever built, the Vera Rubin Observatory is conducting the deepest and most sensitive…
Sep 15, 2026 · 49:35
How do we tell stories of past voices through a cello, the voice of its player? This lecture explores what it means to be separated from your voice, and to find it again. Dr Kate…
Sep 11, 2026 · 45:17
This lecture was recorded by Jane Shaw on Monday, 07 Sep 2026. Professor Jane Shaw is Provost of Gresham College and Professor of the History of Religion at the University of…
Sep 4, 2026 · 46:01
This is the Annual Sir Thomas Gresham Lecture. What does modern physics have to say about the meaning of time? Is it a fundamental feature of reality or merely an emergent…
Aug 21, 2026 · 49:27
This lecture was recorded by Professor Milton Mermikides on the 19th of June 2026 Milton Mermikides is a composer, guitarist, technologist, academic and educator in a wide range…
Aug 7, 2026 · 53:07
This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on the 17th of June 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Professor Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol. He took…
Aug 4, 2026 · 52:41
This is the Annual Gray's Inn Reading 2026. The lecture was delivered within three months of Sir Andrew McFarlane’s retirement after 21 years on the Family Bench. Whilst the…
Jul 31, 2026 · 52:18
This lecture was recorded by Professor Daniel Susskind on the 26th of May 2026 Dr Daniel Susskind is a writer and economist. He explores the impact of technology, and…
Jul 28, 2026 · 57:37
The polar regions are still some of the most inaccessible and least touched by humans, but they are deeply linked to the rest of Earth. We will cover the history of exploring…
Jul 24, 2026 · 43:19
This lecture was recorded by Melissa Lane on the 11th of June 2026 Melissa Lane is the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics, Princeton University and is also Associated Faculty in…
Jul 21, 2026 · 50:18
In this last lecture, I will work to wake us from the AI as Overlord spell. We will explore other possible futures, looking first look at the potential of AI fitting in with us:…
Jul 17, 2026 · 44:41
The Americans are very proud of their written constitution. During the first 3/8 of President Trump’s second term of office, the constitution has been severely tested. Where has…
Jul 14, 2026 · 36:41
This lecture was recorded by Dr Di Wang on the 8th of June 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Dr Di Wang is an art historian and curator. Her work focuses on art and culture of…
Jul 10, 2026 · 51:47
This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on the 3rd of June 2026 Professor Chris Lintott is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at…
Jul 3, 2026 · 47:42
This lecture was recorded by Melissa Lane on the 28th of May 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Melissa Lane is the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics, Princeton University and…
Jun 30, 2026 · 45:35
This lecture will focus on independently produced Chinese documentary cinema as it has entered the Anglophone industry market. Using “Plastic China” by the award-winning director…
Jun 23, 2026 · 45:47
This lecture was recorded by Robin May on the 20th of May 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham, and (interim) Chief…
Jun 19, 2026 · 45:24
This lecture focuses on experiences of hiding and help during the Holocaust across Europe, including the German Reich itself, to highlight the significance of surrounding…
Jun 16, 2026 · 46:51
Music and biology are profoundly entwined. The heart beats, footsteps fall into familiar tempi, and even the movement of our limbs follows a natural rhythmic hierarchy—as if we…
Jun 12, 2026 · 58:46
Modern medicine's success in extending lifespans comes at an environmental cost. This lecture explores the pollution from single-use plastics, pharmaceuticals and medical waste,…
Jun 9, 2026 · 44:22
This lecture was recorded by Colva Roney-Dougal on the 11th of May 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Colva Mary Roney-Dougal OBE is a British mathematician specializing in group…
Jun 5, 2026 · 1:01:39
With an academic background in social, cultural anthropology and photography, I have spent the last twenty-five years working on projects that have bridged photographic and…
Jun 2, 2026 · 46:38
This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on the 6th May 2026 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London Professor Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol. He took…
May 29, 2026 · 59:28
Earth is a living planet. But how much life is there, and what is it doing? We will discuss the distribution of biomass on Earth, and compare the effects of microbes, wild…
May 29, 2026 · 40:30
This lecture was recorded by Mieko Kanno on the 5th May 2026 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London Mieko Kanno is a violinist and an academic, active in both capacities as Professor of…
May 22, 2026 · 41:22
This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on the 30th of April 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Clive Stafford Smith JD OBE is a dual UK-US national, the founder and…
May 19, 2026 · 50:42
Tiling involves filling a plane or space with repeated elements, known as tiles. This simple concept is deeply embedded in the natural world and human design, appearing in…
May 15, 2026 · 53:23
This lecture was recorded by Helen Czerski on the 19th of February 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Helen Czerski is a physicist and oceanographer with a passion for science,…
May 12, 2026 · 58:35
New camera technology can help make stunning footage for natural history programmes but the key to success is down to a lot of hard work, planning and a bit of luck. In this…
May 9, 2026 · 41:00
This episode of the Gresham College Podcast features an interview with Robin May, hosted by Jeoffrey Sarpong. Professor Robin May is a Professor of Infectious Disease at the…
May 8, 2026 · 49:30
This lecture was recorded by Robin May on the 22nd of April 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham, and (interim)…
May 5, 2026 · 53:24
Watch the Q&A session: https://youtu.be/gj4d75_Clgg In this lecture, we look at proposals to limit AI powers and impacts, so bad outcomes are outweighed by social benefits from…
May 1, 2026 · 50:57
In the future, we may face ‘structural’ technological unemployment in the labour market – where there is no longer enough work to occupy the human workforce. This lecture…
Apr 28, 2026 · 52:51
Londoners who helped create the world's largest English dictionary. She has unearthed a fascinating group of people across all social classes who represent some of the most…
Apr 24, 2026 · 45:26
This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides on the 15th of April 2026 at LSO, London Milton Mermikides is a composer, guitarist, technologist, academic and educator in a wide…
Apr 21, 2026 · 28:44
Moving the conversation on social mobility out of the boardroom and into the mainstream, the Lady Mayor Dame Susan Langley will set out her ambition to connect people with…
Apr 17, 2026 · 48:45
This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on the 3rd of March 2026 at Barnard’s Inna Hall, London Alain Goriely is a mathematician with broad interests in mathematical methods,…
Apr 14, 2026 · 43:40
This lecture was recorded by Melissa Lane on the 12th of March 2026 at Barnard’s Inna Hall, London Melissa Lane is the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics, Princeton University…
Apr 10, 2026 · 42:21
This lecture was recorded by Stafford Smith on the 19th of March 2026 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London Clive Stafford Smith JD OBE is a dual UK-US national, the founder and director…
Apr 8, 2026 · 48:33
100 years ago this year, Edwin Hubble published the first conclusive evidence that there were galaxies beyond the Milky Way. This lecture, using new results from our latest space…
Apr 3, 2026 · 49:11
This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on the 10th of March 2026 at Barnard’s Inna Hall, London Professor Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol. He took…
Mar 31, 2026 · 36:42
This lecture was recorded by Professor Melissa Lane on 5th March 2026 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London. Melissa Lane is the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics, Princeton University…
Mar 27, 2026 · 45:46
Hatred is one of the most destructive human emotions, responsible for some of the greatest atrocities that humans have committed against each other. But why did it evolve in the…
Mar 24, 2026 · 45:28
In this lecture, we glimpse our best selves and compare that to a world where we lose everything of ourselves to AI. We are glorious creations that revel in agency, freedom and…
Mar 20, 2026 · 50:09
It used to be taken for granted that satire uses nasty means to good ends: it ridicules its targets in order to bring about reform. However, in recent years, the role of satire…
Mar 17, 2026 · 49:44
Right now, the technological challenge we are most likely to face in the labour market is ‘frictional’ technological unemployment – where there is plenty of work available, but…
Mar 14, 2026 · 37:40
This episode of the Gresham College Podcast features an interview with Antony Penrose, hosted by Jeoffrey Sarpong. Antony Penrose is a film maker, photographer, author, artist,…
Mar 13, 2026 · 56:24
What is it that makes an image stick in our memory against our will? People find many of Lee Miller’s combat photographs have this indelible quality, and of these the most…
Mar 10, 2026 · 54:08
Since Pythagoras, we have imagined the universe as a vast, resonant instrument—a cosmic harmony waiting to be heard. From Holst’s orchestral visions of the planets to Tuvan…
Mar 6, 2026 · 52:05
Economic history has been written by men, for men and about men, giving the impression that – until recently – the economy was “just for men”. This lecture rescues from obscurity…
Mar 3, 2026 · 59:49
Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/Hwl0YRRaHgE Why did coastal homeowners lose insurance while UK energy bills spiked after Russia’s invasion? Because risks started…
Feb 27, 2026 · 57:44
Our digital world's convenience masks a heavy environmental cost. This lecture explores the destructive rare earth mineral mining powering our devices, the vast energy…
Feb 24, 2026 · 41:10
How can the visual arts be used to promote peace? Professor Mitchell investigates how the visual arts can not only incite violence, but also bear witness, reveal dangerous…
Feb 20, 2026 · 52:18
This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on 13th February 2026 at Bernard’s Inn Hall, London Alain Goriely is a mathematician with broad interests in mathematical methods,…
Feb 17, 2026 · 44:23
This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on the 9th of February 2026 at Bernard’s Inn Hall, London Clive Stafford Smith JD OBE is a dual UK-US national, the founder and…
Feb 13, 2026 · 47:01
Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/9ozYDQFkfaY When death occurs, the state has a duty to investigate. Every death must be registered locally with a cause of death. And…
Feb 10, 2026 · 45:41
Sometime in 2026, we will discover our 10000th exoplanet, a world around a distant star. This population of worlds has proved remarkably diverse, but hasn’t produced any world…
Feb 6, 2026 · 46:25
Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/fuk6LYeOCDQ I have two pet dogs; they are happy, wagging their tails and reacting well when I come home from work. They are well fed;…
Feb 3, 2026 · 56:54
Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/_HJt1zjecCo The major environmental challenge of our time is framed in terms of what happens in our atmosphere, and specifically what…
Jan 30, 2026 · 45:53
The cult of Mithras was by far the most famous of the mystery religions of the Roman Empire: private societies of worshippers devoted to a particular deity. It was supposed to…
Jan 27, 2026 · 46:31
Grieving is a uniquely human emotion – or is it? Is the apparent attachment of elephants or orcas to the bodies of dead relatives a sign of grief, or simply an instinctive…
Jan 23, 2026 · 49:07
Constable’s painting The Cornfield celebrates its bicentenary in 2026. How has it aged? This is a landscape that has acquired iconic status – a marker of national identity -- as…
Jan 20, 2026 · 48:49
Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/3B58-fA2b-4 "Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings." — Kandinsky How do we ‘see’…
Jan 16, 2026 · 51:18
ChatGPT, the AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, was the fastest growing app in history. But this achievement, as sudden and remarkable as it might seem, was simply the most recent…
Jan 6, 2026 · 40:08
One of the first executive orders issued by President Trump in January was EO 14164 designed to “restore the death penalty”, though actually aimed at far more (including making…
Jan 5, 2026 · 1:00:16
During the fifty years since the launch of the Viking spacecraft to Mars, our view of the red planet has changed from hostile desert to a world which was once covered in water,…
Dec 30, 2025 · 45:58
This lecture looks at the 'surreal' art of the Early Netherlandish painter Jheronimus Bosch within its historical and cultural context. Although Bosch’s terrifying visions of…
Dec 26, 2025 · 43:56
Hecate started as the ruling goddess of the Asian region of Caria, and got taken over by the Greeks as the only one able to operate in every realm of the cosmos. This then gave…
Dec 23, 2025 · 43:47
In this lecture, Tsang examines the strategic goals and direction of travel China’s supreme leader, Xi Jinping, has set for the country and its people. He highlights what China’s…
Dec 19, 2025 · 35:46
How should we get organised for our later years? With just a little preparation while we are fit and healthy, we can express our wishes for more difficult times. There are simple…
Dec 16, 2025 · 38:12
Laughter is an incredibly powerful and yet mysterious emotion. We laugh with delight, but also surprise. We laugh at jokes, but also at embarrassment. Why? What subconscious…
Dec 15, 2025 · 55:24
Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/Lv5h-Pp1r6s Looking at the plant world, one discovers beautiful and fascinating structures in the shape and arrangement of leaves,…
Dec 9, 2025 · 56:53
Wittgenstein wrote: “If a lion could talk, we would not understand it”. That is, as lions and humans are not of the same material, they could not say anything meaningful to each…
Dec 5, 2025 · 50:19
Limitarianism holds that it is immoral to have personal wealth above a certain level. Is this idea compatible with capitalism? Defenders of capitalism have argued that it is not,…
Dec 2, 2025 · 50:04
In this lecture, Mark Taubert, who chairs the national DNACPR policy for Wales, and is a palliative care clinician, reviews current practices. He will encourage you to consider…
Nov 28, 2025 · 44:54
Pan started as a shepherds’ god in a wild and backward area of Greece, but became one of the best-known in the Greek and Roman world. This was partly because the leading city of…
Nov 25, 2025 · 45:51
Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/oQeUePfTrEQ The Royal Historical Society Colin Matthew Memorial Lecture. In April 1945, British forces liberated the Bergen-Belsen…
Nov 21, 2025 · 53:18
China has important islands of technological excellence, even dominance, but these islands exist in a sea of macroeconomic imbalances and headwinds. Xi Jinping is adamant that by…
Nov 18, 2025 · 54:23
We often talk about living on a blue planet, but when we think we’re talking about the ocean we’re generally only discussing what’s in it: fish, whales, pollution and ships. But…
Nov 14, 2025 · 51:33
Do animals make music? Are the languages of whales and birds truly songs? To answer this, we must first understand what we mean by music as human animals—and how it might emerge…
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