Gresham College Lectures

Space science is one of HM Government's 'eight great technologies'. In this lecture I will explain the mathematics behind satellites, showing how they are controlled, how they are sent to distant planets and how they transmit and receive data over vast distances.

I will also explain how GPS systems work and show how General Relativity plays a vital role in making GPS systems so accurate. I will finish by showing a link between space science and Origami.

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

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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Samuel Palmer, in his Shoreham period in the 1820s and 30s, seized on the long tradition of classical pastoral landscapes, and wrested it into an English idiom. He effectively ‘naturalised’ a foreign import, bringing an idyll to life in a Kentish valley, with sheep, shepherds and cornfields under a harvest moon, and the village church nestling in the fold of the hills.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/english-landscape-samuel-palmer-and-the-pastoral

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

Why did Lenin’s Bolsheviks take power in October 1917? The earlier (February) revolution and the hopes it raised, the complex realities of power, and the political and social history of Russia leading up to the coup will be explored, asking why liberal or parliamentary government already appeared unrealistic.

Why was Lenin’s role so crucial? Who were his supporters, and what did they make of his plans? How, as a Marxist, did he justify the seizure of power and would the October Revolution have been possible without him? How in this centenary year, are these events being commemorated in Putin’s Russia?

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

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

Organic food production is environmentally benign, better for animal welfare, has human health benefits and tastes better - or so say its proponents. Conversely, detractors allege that the rising global population cannot be fed without using artificial fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides, that the environmental impact is slight and manageable, and that 'organic' consumers are being duped by farmers.

With a global market approaching £70 billion, there's a lot at stake. Including some 'blind taste tests', the environmental science evidence behind organic farming will be reviewed, exploring facts and debunking a few myths.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/organic-food-rooted-in-lies

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

We will carefully outline the categories of savings held by households and link that to the operation of financial intermediaries in providing loanable funds.

We shall ask whether the allocation of savings and the availability of funds provides the right mix of short and long term loans for households and firms.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/mobilising-savings-for-investment

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

One year ago, Donald Trump won the American presidency - the first president in modern times to be elected without any previous political experience. Few predicted his election. Indeed, he entered the Republican primaries as a rank outsider. How is his electoral success to be explained?

The US has a long history of populism, but no populist has won the nomination of a major party since William Jennings Bryan in 1896. In the past, populist insurgencies have heralded party realignment. Will the election of Trump do the same?

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-2016-us-president-election-one-year-on

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

Why did Lenin's Bolsheviks take power in October 1917? The earlier (February) revolution and the hopes it raised, the complex realities of power, and the political and social history of Russia leading up to the coup will be explored, asking why liberal or parliamentary government already appeared unrealistic.

Why was Lenin's role so crucial? Who were his supporters, and what did they make of his plans? How, as a Marxist, did he justify the seizure of power and would the October Revolution have been possible without him? How in this centenary year, are these events being commemorated in Putin's Russia?

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

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

Samuel Palmer, in his Shoreham period in the 1820s and 30s, seized on the long tradition of classical pastoral landscapes, and wrested it into an English idiom. He effectively 'naturalised' a foreign import, bringing an idyll to life in a Kentish valley, with sheep, shepherds and cornfields under a harvest moon, and the village church nestling in the fold of the hills.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/english-landscape-samuel-palmer-and-the-pastoral

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

One year ago, Donald Trump won the American presidency - the first president in modern times to be elected without any previous political experience. Few predicted his election. Indeed, he entered the Republican primaries as a rank outsider. How is his electoral success to be explained?

The US has a long history of populism, but no populist has won the nomination of a major party since William Jennings Bryan in 1896. In the past, populist insurgencies have heralded party realignment. Will the election of Trump do the same?

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-2016-us-president-election-one-year-on

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 Luther was close to death he reportedly exclaimed: ‘Living I was your plague O Pope, Dead I will be your Death.’

This lecture marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his famous 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral. It will focus on the passions that drove Luther throughout his life, including the use of images by the artist Lucas Cranach to create a distinctive visual style to convey his message.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/martin-luther-and-his-crusade-against-the-pope

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