Gresham College Lectures

The Rt Hon Sir Peter Gross explores the aspects of and changes in judicial leadership in the 2016 annual Gray's Inn Reading http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/judicial-leadership

History portrays judges as passive umpires, ensuring fair play between litigants at trial before delivering judgement on their disputes. We have over the last thirty years travelled a considerable distance away from that historic picture. In this year's lecture Sir Peter Gross, Lord Justice of Appeal and formerly Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales, considers how the modern judiciary has to now undertake a wide-ranging and active leadership role both inside and outside court and how that role may evolve in the future.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/judicial-leadership

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 1,900 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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In 1635, King Charles I asked his friend, Peter Paul Rubens to adorn the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace with a vast mural cycle glorifying the Stuart dynasty.

The lecture will discuss the importance and impact of Rubens on English culture and society.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/rubens-and-london

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 1,900 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

An overview of Mathematics, Measurement and Money and their evolution over time http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/mathematics-measurement-and-money

THE JOINT LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY/ GRESHAM COLLEGE ANNUAL LECTURE

Throughout its brief history, mathematics has been closely linked with measurement and money. In the ancient settlements the rules of arithmetic and geometry were used to solve problems about the allocation of food and resources. When life became more complex, the use of coined money led to computational problems that required good algorithms for their solution.

Nowadays we rely on mathematics for security, and the links between information and money have become blurred. Can mathematics keep us safe?

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/mathematics-measurement-and-money

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 1,900 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

Close examination of the events leading up to the Iraq War 2003 and detailed analysis of the decision making process by Professor Vernon Bogdanor FBA CBE http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-iraq-war-2003

Britain held her first national referendum in 1975 - on whether we should remain in the European Communities, forerunner of the European Union, which we had joined in 1973. The result was a two to one majority for staying in. Party attitudes were almost the opposite to what they are today. The Labour government favoured staying in, but the party in the Commons and in the country did not. The Conservatives were enthusiastically for staying in. The nationalists in Scotland and Wales favoured leaving.

The referendum was not held solely because the Labour government sincerely wished to discover the views of the British people, but to paper over the cracks of a divided party; nor did the two to one majority indicate widespread popular enthusiasm for Europe. Britain was at that time, economically, the sick man of Europe. One of Britain's European Commissioners, Sir Christopher Soames said that it was no time to leave a Christmas club, let alone the Common Market! In addition, there was considerable deference towards the pro-European political establishment - Harold Wilson, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams and Edward Heath. Neither of these factors are present today.

Populist politicians such as Tony Benn and Enoch Powell tried to stimulate a grass-roots nationalist movement against Europe, such as had defeated the pro-Europeans in Norway in a referendum held in 1972. Such movement did not materialise. Could it do so today?

Are there any lessons to be learnt from the 1975 referendum?

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-iraq-war-2003

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 1,900 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

An extensive overview of the art of Hans Holbein the Younger by Dr Susan Foister: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/hans-holbein-the-younger-a-man-very-excellent-in-making-of-physionamies

Hans Holbein the Younger, portraitist, muralist, designer of jewellery and precious metalware, spent half of his distinguished career in London during the turbulent reign of King Henry VIII.

Arriving in 1526 as a German speaking citizen of the city of Basel, Switzerland, he swiftly rose to become a court painter trusted to provide the likenesses of the King's potential Queens.

This lecture will explore Holbein's work as a resident of the City of London, and examine the tensions between artists of the court and the City as well as the synergies between London and the continent which made the Tudor metropolis a magnet for foreign artists seeking fame and fortune.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/hans-holbein-the-younger-a-man-very-excellent-in-making-of-physionamies

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 1,900 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

Professor Gwen Adshead explores violence, offenders and the criminal personality through the perspective of psychology and psychiatry http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-criminal-mind-the-relationships-between-criminology-and-psychology

A discussion of how the study of psychology and psychiatry relates to the study of criminology. Historically criminals have been defined as a group who are seen as "other" to non-criminals. However, modern thinking has moved away from this with developments in the psychology of criminal rule-breaking and discussions of how individual psychology can assist the understanding of criminal rule-breaking and risk; including approaches to rehabilitation and behavioural change. Professor Adshead suggests that these different discourses have much to offer one another.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-criminal-mind-the-relationships-between-criminology-and-psychology

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 1,900 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

This lecture will explore the extent to which Canaletto built upon the existing visual landscape of London and how much he adapted and innovated works by artists like Samuel Scott to produce stunning aspects of London.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/canalettos-london-legacy

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 1,900 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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In this talk Professor Sir Richard Evans FBA looks at recent and current conspiracy theories research to come up with some surprising answers http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/conspiracy-theories-a-threat-to-democracy

Conspiracy theories seem to be everywhere nowadays, encouraged by the internet, and perhaps also by postmodern scepticism. But are they really more common than they used to be, and if so, do they constitute a threat to democracy, as a number of commentators have argued? Are they indeed more prevalent in democracies than in dictatorships?

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/conspiracy-theories-a-threat-to-democracy

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 1,900 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

Professor Jagjit Chadha evaluates the short- and long-term economic effects should the UK votes to leave the EU on 23 June, 2016: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/assessing-the-economic-risks-from-brexit

In this lecture, Professor Chadha, recently appointed as Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, will consider how to interpret the published analysis on the consequences of a possible Brexit. While most studies (e.g. HMT and OECD) have highlighted the consequences for macroeconomic outcomes in terms of a set of point forecasts of real GDP per household, in this lecture Professor Chadha will consider how exit from the EU may affect the ability of the UK to share risk arising from macroeconomic shocks with the EU and the Rest of the World through trade in goods and assets.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/assessing-the-economic-risks-from-brexit

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 1,900 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

Professor Gwen Adshead looks at the risks factors and the common types of violence, within the context of treatment and therapy issues http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/changing-minds-and-changing-risk

In this talk, I explore the ethical issues that arise when people seek to change their minds. I discuss the political aspects of changing minds; the use of stories and media to create a change. I focus my talk on the process of changing "bad" minds into "better" minds, and the question of whether there is a duty to try and change people's minds when they have offended. I will ask if there is a right to be left alone to make bad choices, using examples from mental health case law.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/changing-minds-and-changing-risk

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 1,900 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