Gresham College Lectures

During the last thirty years, the name of Hildegard of Bingen (d. 1179) composer, abbess and naturalist, has been gradually rescued from obscurity, notably by recordings of her works. The lecture will provide an opportunity to hear some of Hildegard’s most impressive compositions but also to explore more widely the phenomenon of the medieval female composer. For while Hildegard was unique, she was not alone; the richness of the musical remains she has left eclipse every competitor, and yet there were many other female mystics who created rhapsodic spiritual song whose works have not survived. Many of them are little known, but here they will step into the light.

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

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

Capital should flow from countries with low marginal rates of return to countries with high marginal rates of return. The former tend to be high income countries, where investment possibilities have been exhausted, and the latter are low income countries, with a wealth of opportunities, and yet capital flows the other way, why? Can we explain the pattern of capital flows?

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/why-doesnt-capital-flow-from-high-to-low

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

With the in/out Europe vote to come (or having gone) what will the result mean for Human Rights? How is or has the debate been framed?

The lecture will present a review of what has happened in the courts since 2015, with an opportunity for debate.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/human-rights-whether-in-europe-or-out

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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Inspirational talk by Professor Joseph Silk FRS on the giant clusters of galaxies dominated by dark matter http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-dark-side-of-the-universe
Dark matter dominates the contents of the universe. The Milky Way is full of dark matter. Is dark matter an as yet undiscovered particle? The search for dark matter focuses on deep underground and large telescopes on the earth and in space. The most massive objects in the universe are giant clusters of galaxies that are dominated by dark matter.
Clusters are dark matter telescopes and amplify background galaxy images. Clusters are used to map the distribution of dark matter throughout the universe.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-dark-side-of-the-universe
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

It will be argued that fundamental research into astronomy, cosmology and particle physics is a luxury that humankind cannot do without. This cultural, technological and scientific returns of such an enterprise far outweigh the costs.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/why-society-needs-astronomy-and-cosmology

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 exploration of some spectacular failures of modern day computer-aided systems, which fail to take into account the real-world http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/computers-people-and-the-real-world
Almost nobody wants an IT system. What they want is a better way of doing something, whether that is buying and selling shares on the Stock Exchange, flying an airliner or running a hospital. So the system they want will usually involve changes to the way people work, and interactions with physical objects and the environment. Drawing on examples including the new programme for IT in the NHS, this lecture explores what can go wrong when business change is mistakenly viewed as an IT project.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/computers-people-and-the-real-world
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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This lecture opens by exploring the relation between religion and morality, looking at some issues raised by writers such as Iris Murdoch and C. S. Lewis, including whether ethics can be "read off" nature, and whether some transcendent ground is necessary for ethics. We consider whether science is able to offer a firm basis for morality, engaging recent works such as Sam Harris's Landscape of Faith (2010), and Alex Rosenberg's The Atheist's Guide to Reality (2011).

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/religion-morality-and-meaning-how-do-we-know-whats-right-to-do

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

The story of the most productive collaborations in mathematical history: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/hardy-littlewood-and-ramanujan

The collaboration between G.H. Hardy (1877-1947) and J.E. Littlewood (1885-1977) was the most productive in mathematical history. Dominating the English mathematical scene for the first half of the 20th century, they obtained results of great influence, most notably in analysis and number theory. Into their world came the brilliant and intuitive mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), who left India to work with Hardy until his untimely death at the age of 32.

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

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

With over 5000 species of plants - many of them medicinal or otherwise 'useful' to our lives - Chelsea Physic Garden still serves the same purpose almost 350 years after it was founded by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries.

This lecture will revisit its past; some of the antique technologies pioneered there as well as profile some of its notable people and, of course, plants.

Part of the Mondays at One Gardens Series

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/are-you-interested-or-discounted-long-term-social-finance

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 the political turmoil that went on in Britain in the lead up to the Falklands War in 1982: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-falklands-war-1982

In 1982, Argentina, which had long claimed the Falklands, invaded the islands and declared sovereignty over them. The Conservative government, led by Margaret Thatcher, sent a task force to recover the islands. Despite some public scepticism and considerable logistical difficulties, they were recaptured. Success in the Falklands helped exorcise memories of Suez. It played a major part in the Conservative landslide election victory of 1983 and so contributed to the success of what came to be called Thatcherism.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-falklands-war-1982

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