Gresham College Lectures

This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on the 3rd of June 2026 Professor Chris Lintott is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at New College. Having been educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge and University College London, his research now ranges from understanding how galaxies form and evolve, to using machine learning to find the most unusual thi...

This lecture was recorded by Melissa Lane on the 28th of May 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Melissa Lane is the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics, Princeton University and is also Associated Faculty in the Department of Classics and Department of Philosophy. Previously she was Senior University Lecturer at Cambridge University in the Faculty of History and Fellow of King’s College, Camb...

This lecture will focus on independently produced Chinese documentary cinema as it has entered the Anglophone industry market. Using “Plastic China” by the award-winning director Wang Jiuliang as a case study, I will explore what the implications of cross-border collaborations are for documentary form and content, and how this may encourage a particular set of viewer responses. This will allow me...

This lecture was recorded by Robin May on the 20th of May 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham, and (interim) Chief Scientist at the UK Health Security Agency, Robin May was appointed Gresham Professor of Physic in May 2022. Between July 2020 and September 2025 he served as Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (FSA...

This lecture focuses on experiences of hiding and help during the Holocaust across Europe, including the German Reich itself, to highlight the significance of surrounding societies for the survival of Jews. In a broad comparative analysis, going beyond a focus on individual rescuers and getting away from generalisations about supposed ‘national characteristics’, Mary Fulbrook illuminates how local...

Music and biology are profoundly entwined. The heart beats, footsteps fall into familiar tempi, and even the movement of our limbs follows a natural rhythmic hierarchy—as if we shape music in our image. The rise and fall of breath, the cadence of laughter, and the wail of a cry all carry musical gestures, woven into our being. Yet our bodies do not just dictate music—they respond to it, from calmi...

Modern medicine's success in extending lifespans comes at an environmental cost. This lecture explores the pollution from single-use plastics, pharmaceuticals and medical waste, questioning whether we can sustain this model. It examines the impact of drugs and their metabolites on ecosystems, the carbon footprint of healthcare and the ethical dilemma of balancing individual health with planet...

This lecture was recorded by Colva Roney-Dougal on the 11th of May 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Colva Mary Roney-Dougal OBE is a British mathematician specializing in group theory and computational algebra. She is Professor of Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews, where she is first female Head of Pure Mathematics. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are...

With an academic background in social, cultural anthropology and photography, I have spent the last twenty-five years working on projects that have bridged photographic and archival research. I have witnessed the power of photography as a means to connect communities. I have experienced first-hand the benefits to participants of enabling an emotional connection and inspiring a sense of validation,...

This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on the 6th May 2026 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London Professor Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol. He took degrees at Cambridge and then Oxford Universities, and was a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. He is now a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries and the Learned Society of Wale...

Earth is a living planet. But how much life is there, and what is it doing? We will discuss the distribution of biomass on Earth, and compare the effects of microbes, wild animals, domesticated animals. The aim of this lecture is to provide concrete examples of how life is woven in with the rest of the planetary engine, expanding the importance of biodiversity from sentiment alone to a matter of s...

This lecture was recorded by Mieko Kanno on the 5th May 2026 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London Mieko Kanno is a violinist and an academic, active in both capacities as Professor of Artistic Research in Music Performance at the Sibelius Academy, the University of the Arts Helsinki. Her main interest concerns artistic musical practice as a field and vocation in contemporary settings, with topics ranging...

This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on the 30th of April 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Clive Stafford Smith JD OBE is a dual UK-US national, the founder and director of  the Justice League a non-profit human rights training centre focused on fostering the next generation of advocates.  The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham Co...

Tiling involves filling a plane or space with repeated elements, known as tiles. This simple concept is deeply embedded in the natural world and human design, appearing in structures as varied as the hexagonal wax cells of a beehive and decorative wallpapers. While regular hard tiles—geometric shapes with straight edges that fit together without gaps or overlaps—are common in human-made designs, n...

This lecture was recorded by Helen Czerski on the 19th of February 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Helen Czerski is a physicist and oceanographer with a passion for science, sport, books, creativity, hot chocolate and investigating the interesting things in life.  She is a Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University College London and her research focus is the physi...

New camera technology can help make stunning footage for natural history programmes but the key to success is down to a lot of hard work, planning and a bit of luck. In this lecture we take a ‘behind the scenes’ look at some of the highs and lows of making television natural history documentaries. This lecture was recorded by George McGavin on the 3rd of October 2017 Professor McGavin is a British...

This episode of the Gresham College Podcast features an interview with Robin May, hosted by Jeoffrey Sarpong. Professor Robin May is a Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham, and (interim) Chief Scientist at the UK Health Security Agency. We cover what's actually happening in your brain when you lose someone, why grief is hardwired from childhood, whether animals grie...

This lecture was recorded by Robin May on the 22nd of April 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham, and (interim) Chief Scientist at the UK Health Security Agency, Robin May was appointed Gresham Professor of Physic in May 2022. Between July 2020 and September 2025 he served as Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (F...

Watch the Q&A session: https://youtu.be/gj4d75_Clgg In this lecture, we look at proposals to limit AI powers and impacts, so bad outcomes are outweighed by social benefits from the technology. I’ll explain design processes (such as Human-Centred AI and Responsible AI) and technological approaches for AI system qualities like trustworthiness, explainability and “human in the loop”.  We will exp...

In the future, we may face ‘structural’ technological unemployment in the labour market – where there is no longer enough work to occupy the human workforce. This lecture explains how such a phenomenon is possible at all, particularly given that repeated bouts of automation anxiety in the past have turned out to be wrong. Understanding this challenge is critical given recent claims by the leaders...

Londoners who helped create the world's largest English dictionary. She has unearthed a fascinating group of people across all social classes who represent some of the most interesting contributors to the Dictionary from all parts of this great city one hundred and fifty years ago. From a pornographer living in Bloomsbury who sent in sex words, to a servant in Eaton Square, a suffragist in St...

This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides on the 15th of April 2026 at LSO, London Milton Mermikides is a composer, guitarist, technologist, academic and educator in a wide range of musical styles and has collaborated with artists and scientists as diverse as Evelyn Glennie, Tim Minchin, Pat Martino, Peter Zinovieff, John Williams and Brian Eno. Son of a CERN nuclear physicist, he was raised...

Moving the conversation on social mobility out of the boardroom and into the mainstream, the Lady Mayor Dame Susan Langley will set out her ambition to connect people with opportunity and “unsquare” the Square Mile: ensuring nobody has to fit in a certain box to thrive in the UK’s financial capital. Joined by an expert panel, she’ll ask how we can change people’s view of the City and break down ba...

This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on the 3rd of March 2026 at Barnard’s Inna Hall, London Alain Goriely is a mathematician with broad interests in mathematical methods, mechanics, sciences, and engineering. He is well known for his contributions to dynamical systems, mathematical biology, as well as fundamental and applied mechanics. He is particularly well known for the development of a...

This lecture was recorded by Melissa Lane on the 12th of March 2026 at Barnard’s Inna Hall, London Melissa Lane is the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics, Princeton University and is also Associated Faculty in the Department of Classics and Department of Philosophy. Previously she was Senior University Lecturer at Cambridge University in the Faculty of History and Fellow of King’s College, Cambri...