Gresham College Lectures

Medea, Antigone, Oedipus and Lysistrata - these are just some of the characters from ancient Greek drama who still walk our contemporary stages and haunt our imagination. One of the classical Athenians' most important inventions was the medium of theatre.

From the mid-sixth century BCE they gathered to watch tragedies, and later comedies in their sanctuary of the wine-god Dionysus on the south slope of the Acropolis. This lecture outlines the origins of Greek drama in this historic setting, its architectural development and some of the greatest masterpieces.

A lecture by Edith Hall, Visiting Professor of Classics 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/theatre-dionysus

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

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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

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Where did we come from? This question has always intrigued human thought.

Professor Silk will describe the modern scientist's view of the origin of the cosmos. Here is the sequence: from an uncertain beginning, due to limitations in our knowledge that arise from our ongoing search for a theory that unites quantum theory with gravity, to a primordial ball of fire. Glowing embers condensed from the expanding and cooling fireball to form the billions of galaxies and stars that glitter in the night sky.

A lecture by Joseph Silk, Gresham Professor of Astronomy 28 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/in-the-beginning

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

Alexa, Siri and Cortana are among a number of voice-enabled digital assistants that can not only speak to us but understand us. Sci-fi films had talking computers many years ago.

Why has it taken so long to crack the speech processing puzzle? Why do we find speech processing so effortless and machines find it so daunting? And what progress can we expect in the next few years?

A lecture by Richard Harvey, IT Livery Company Professor of IT 27 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/speech-processing

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

With over 80% of organic carbon being present in the form of cellulose, lignin and starch, it is unsurprising many groups have attempted to use these as feedstock chemicals and materials. Extensive hydrogen bonding makes the plasticisation of starch and the dissolution of cellulose difficult.

This talk shows that the incorporation of a simple salt can lead to a flexible plastic with mechanical properties similar to oil derived plastics. Most importantly these plastics are recyclable and ultimately compostable.

A lecture by Andrew Abbott, University of Leicester 26 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/plastics-potatoes-rubber-rice

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

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The brain is well protected against most infections, but once they get into or around the brain they can cause fatal or serious long-term consequences. Some bacterial, viral and parasitic infections are particularly well adapted to the brain, ranging from meningococcal meningitis and encephalitis to cerebral malaria and sleeping sickness.

Transmission is by several routes including airborne and via mosquitoes and ticks. Control measures including vaccination have reduced the risk of some, but not all, of these very serious infections. This lecture will cover how infections get into the brain, what their effect is and what we can do to prevent and treat them.

A lecture by Chris Whitty CB, Gresham Professor of Physic 21 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/infections-brain

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

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The Romantics invented the modern idea of childhood.

In the third of his lectures on the rhetoric of Romanticism, Jonathan Bate will explore how they did so, with particular emphasis on the role of children in the poetry of Blake and Wordsworth. He will also show how Wordsworth's memory of his own childhood allowed him to invent something else as well: the art of poetic autobiography.

A lecture by Sir Jonathan Bate, Gresham Professor of Rhetoric 20 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/romantic-child

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

Support the show