Gresham College Lectures

One of the biggest advances in modern technology has been the development of GPS systems which allow us to find our position to very high precision. GPS is just the latest advance in the science of navigation, which has had a profound effect on human civilisation.

This talk will show how mathematics has played a vital role in making navigation as accurate as it is today and the impact that this has had on us all. Indeed it is one of the few areas where Einstein's general theory of relativity directly impacts on our lives.

A lecture by Chris Budd, Gresham Professor of Geometry 8 January 2019

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/maths-where-we-are

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Support the show

When Daniel Defoe rode through the Lake District in the early 18th century, he described the area as ‘the wildest, most barren and frightful of any that I have passed over in England.’ But for Victorians such as Matthew Arnold and John Ruskin, the Lakes offered a landscape of supreme beauty. How did this change come about?

Jonathan Bate will follow in the footsteps of the 18th-century inventors of the ‘picturesque’ and show how Wordsworth shaped the vision of his native region, leading to the foundation of the National Trust and the idea of a National Park.

A lecture by Sir Jonathan Bate, Gresham Professor of Rhetoric 11 December 2018

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/romantic-leakes-wordsworth-beatrix-potter

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

At 3.00 pm on Christmas Eve, millions of listeners around the world will tune in to the live radio relay of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge.

In this lecture, Jeremy Summerly reverently and enthusiastically celebrates the centenary of the world’s most famous carol service and, with the help of live musical examples from the St Luke’s Carollers, he traces the early history of this Christmas spectacular.

A lecture by Jeremy Summerly, Royal Academy of Music 13 December 2018

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/carols-kings-centenary

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Most of us have witnessed or had personal dealings with violent people. Why do they act as they do? How have British and American commentators during the past two centuries understood violent behaviour? The media incites anxieties about personal vulnerability; widespread innumeracy leads many people to misread crime-statistics; and an expectation of greater civility makes its breach so much more frightening. What can we do to reduce levels of violence in our society?

A lecture by Joanna Bourke, Visiting Professor of History 6 December 2018

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/understanding-violent-people

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

The consultation is the focal point of medicine. A clinician and a patient, held together in a relationship of care, collaborate in identifying that patient's needs and finding a solution. Scientific knowledge and clinical skill only make sense in the context of that interaction. Each consultation is unique, a close-up live performance with a very small audience.

After describing key elements of the consultation, an expert in a different kind of close-up live performance will be introduced - Will Houstoun, a leading magician. After watching Will perform, similarities and differences will be explored through conversation.

A lecture by Roger Kneebone, Visiting Professor of Medical Education 5 December 2018

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/dissecting-consultation

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Half of all child deaths are associated with under-nutrition, with devastating impacts and far-reaching health consequences. Left unchecked, under-nutrition will potentially create an inter-generational, self-reinforcing pathogenic cycle of violence and behavioural disruption, that can spread around the world through human migration. Eradicating malnutrition requires that more nutritious food is accessible to the poor and vulnerable. Beyond this, there is a deeper question.

Is it possible to restore the cognitive loss resulting from malnutrition, using new artificial intelligence and cognitive models?

A lecture by Jacqueline McGlade, Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment 4 December 2018

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/childhood-malnutrition

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Over the past 150 years medical science has developed beyond all recognition yet there is a huge gap between these scientific developments on the one hand, and our understanding of the psychological demands of medical work on the other.

This lack of psychological mindedness permeates the profession from selection into medical school onwards and results in worrying levels of mental distress amongst doctors, and ultimately poorer outcomes for patients.

A lecture by Dr Caroline Elton, Occupational Psychologist 3 December 2018

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/missing-from-medical-training

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

At 3.00 pm on Christmas Eve, millions of listeners around the world will tune in to the live radio relay of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge.

In this lecture, Jeremy Summerly reverently and enthusiastically celebrates the centenary of the world's most famous carol service and, with the help of live musical examples from the St Luke's Carollers, he traces the early history of this Christmas spectacular.

A lecture by Jeremy Summerly, Royal Academy of Music 13 December 2018

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/carols-kings-centenary

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Support the show

Executive pay is a controversial topic that is arguably the primary cause behind mistrust in business. Various remedies have been proposed but, just like in medicine, diagnosis precedes treatment. Many of the concerns are based on hand-picked examples and myths rather than rigorous data.

Evidence will be presented on which aspects of pay are working well and which are indeed dysfunctional, and on how pay should be reformed.

A lecture by Alex Edmans, Gresham Professor of Business 12 December 2018

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/executive-pay-fixed

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Support the show

2018 saw a seismic change in the willingness of women to speak out about sexual abuse they had suffered at work and the willingness of others to hear and act on it. This year (2018) saw the creation of a #metoo movement called 'Behind the Gown' created by a group of barristers committed to tackling sexual harassment at the Bar.

This lecture frankly confronts the anecdotal evidence and suggests ways in which we can learn from it.

A lecture by Jo Delahunty QC, Gresham Professor of Law 29 November 2018

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/sexual-harrassment-bar

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege