Tom Kirkwood, Professor of Medicine and head of the Department of Gerontology at the University of Newcastle presents the first of five Reith Lectures investigating new insights from the frontiers of science and the choices and decisions we face in the uncharted territories of a greying world.

In his first lecture, recorded at the Royal Institution, Professor Kirkwood explores the revolution in human longevity. Science, he says, has new things to tell us about the process of ageing. We know now that ageing is neither inevitable nor necessary. We now understand that our cells are not programmed with some unavoidable sell-by date; we are not programmed to die.

To mark the new millennium, this year's Reith Lectures are delivered by five different thinkers, each eminent in a different field. At the end of the run, the Prince of Wales presents his own views on the topic in a roundtable discussion with all five lecturers.

The Millennium Reith Lectures deal with one of the most pressing issues of our time - sustainable development. The fifth lecture, delivered from Delhi, is by the Founder Director of the New Delhi Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, Dr Vandana Shiva.

Dr Vandana Shiva, who is the founder of Navdanya, a national movement promoting diversity and use of native seeds, examines Poverty and Globalisation, and talks about the recognition and legitimisation of authority in society. She believes that we are wrong to be smug about the new global economy and that thinking about the impact of globalisation on the lives of ordinary people is vital to achieving sustainability. world systems should move away from ones based on fear and scarcity, monocultures and monopolies, and appropriation and dispossession.

To mark the new millennium, this year's Reith Lectures are delivered by five different thinkers, each eminent in a different field. At the end of the run, the Prince of Wales presents his own views on the topic in a roundtable discussion with all five lecturers.

The Millennium Reith Lectures deal with one of the most pressing issues of our time - sustainable development. The fourth lecture, delivered from Geneva, is by the Director General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland.

Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland is a qualified medical doctor specialising in child and public health. She is also former Minister of the Environment and Prime Minister of Norway. In her lecture on Health and Population, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland raises issues about accepting and carrying out sustainable behaviour. She believes that issues of women, poverty, education and population are intrinsically linked, and that health should be seen as part of our investment in developing countries, rather than a dividend to be reaped later.

To mark the new millennium, this year's Reith Lectures are delivered by five different thinkers, each eminent in a different field. At the end of the run, the Prince of Wales presents his own views on the topic in a roundtable discussion with all five lecturers.

The Millennium Reith Lectures deal with one of the most pressing issues of our time - sustainable development. The third lecture is by Sir John Browne.

Sir John Browne is Chief Executive Officer of BP Amoco, Britain's largest company and the third largest oil corporation in the world. He is also a trustee of the British Museum and chairman of Stanford Business School's Advisory Council.

Speaking from Edinburgh, Sir John Browne's lecture examines business. He raises issues of stewardship and responsible management, and demonstrates how governments, industry, economy and individuals interact and interconnect in a dynamic fashion. He believes that business plays a fundamental role in delivering sustainable development through the principle of enlightened self-interest, and argues that technology is the key to tackling the growing threat of climate change without undermining economic growth.

To mark the new millennium, this year's Reith Lectures are delivered by five different thinkers, each eminent in a different field. At the end of the run, the Prince of Wales presents his own views on the topic in a roundtable discussion with all five lecturers.

The Millennium Reith Lectures deal with one of the most pressing issues of our time - sustainable development. The second lecture, delivered from Los Angeles is by Tom Lovejoy.

Tom Lovejoy is Chief Biodiversity Advisor for the World Bank and Counsellor at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington. He is a former member of the White House Science Council and UN Environment Programme, and is a specialist in environmental biology of the tropics and Latin American region.

In his lecture about biodiversity, Tom Lovejoy raises issues about our treatment of creation and our status within it. He believes that biodiversity is the best single indicator of an area's long term biological and economic health.

To mark the new millennium, this year's Reith Lectures are delivered by five different thinkers, each eminent in a different field. At the end of the run, the Prince of Wales presents his own views on the topic in a roundtable discussion with all five lecturers.

The Millennium Reith Lectures deal with one of the most pressing issues of our time - sustainable development. The first lecture, delivered from London is by Chris Patten.

Chris Patten is a European Commissioner and was the last Governor of Hong Kong. He was also a UK Minister for Overseas Development and Secretary of State for the Environment

In his lecture, Chris Patten discusses the source of authority, the role of law and the need for accountability. He argues that sustainable development is about much more than environment policy defined in terms of departments, ministers and white papers. It requires a mosaic of institutions, policies and values.

Professor Giddens was director of the London School of Economics and he has been described as 'Britain's best-known social scientist since Keynes'.

In his fifth and final lecture, delivered from London, Professor Giddens examines one of the most powerful energising ideas of the 20th Century; democracy. He argues that rather than thinking of democracy as a fragile flower, easily trampled underfoot, we should see it more as a sturdy plant, able to grow even on quite barren ground. The expansion of democracy is bound up with structural changes in world society, but Professor Giddens believes the furthering of democracy at all levels is worth fighting for and can be achieved. Our runaway world, he says doesn't need less, but more government which only democratic institutions can provide.

Professor Giddens was director of the London School of Economics and he has been described as 'Britain's best-known social scientist since Keynes'.

The lectures are delivered from five major cities around the world, locating the lectures themselves within the cultural variety of the world across which they were broadcast.

In his fourth lecture, delivered from Washington DC, Professor Giddens examines the roles within the family and argues that the persistence of aspects of the traditional family, in many parts of the world is more worrisome than its decline. Professor Giddens believes that the most important forces promoting democracy and economic development in poorer countries are the equality and education of women and it is the traditional family that must be changed to make these possible. Sexual equality is not just a core principle of democracy, he argues, it is also relevant to happiness and fulfilment.

Professor Giddens was director of the London School of Economics and he has been described as 'Britain's best-known social scientist since Keynes'.

The lectures are delivered from five major cities around the world, locating the lectures themselves within the cultural variety of the world across which they were broadcast.

In his third lecture, delivered from Delhi, Professor Giddens looks at the links between tradition and fundamentalism and argues that all traditions are invented traditions. Much of what we think of as traditional, and steeped in the mists of time, is actually a product, at most, of the last couple of centuries, and is often much more recent than that. It is a myth to think of traditions as impervious to change. Traditions, he says, evolve over time, but also can be quite suddenly altered or transformed.

The 1999 Reith Lecturer is Professor Anthony Giddens. Professor Giddens was Director of the London School of Economics and his writings have been used by world leaders, including Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, to develop ideas on what become known as 'The Third Way' in politics. He was Professor of Sociology at the University of Cambridge from 1986-96 and took up the post as Director of the London School of Economics in 1997. He has been described as 'Britain's best-known social scientist since Keynes'.

The lectures are delivered from five major cities around the world, locating the lectures themselves within the cultural variety of the world across which they were broadcast.

In his first lecture, delivered from London, Professor Giddens examines the concept of globalisation and how it has affected our lives.