Gresham College Lectures

Three new missions arrived at Mars in February 2021, to look at weather, water and life. This lecture looks at new results from the UAE's Hope mission, China's Tianwen-1 and NASA's Perseverance. It will also look at the prospects for the ESA-Russia Rosalind Franklin rover to be launched next year arriving on 10 June 2023. At this exciting time, will we soon be able to answer the gre...

The music we listened to when we were young makes us feel emotional and often nostalgic, transporting us to a particular time and place. Composers over the past 300 years have frequently offered musical tributes to bygone styles - Mozart to Bach, Stravinsky to Tchaikovsky, Sondheim to Ravel, and Barry Manilow to Chopin. This lecture observes how music is a highly effective tool in the promotion of...

In 1623, Charles I (as heir to the throne) made a secret and hazardous trip to Madrid to win the hand of a Spanish princess. For eight months he was the guest of the Spanish king, Philip IV, living in the Alcazar of Madrid. The opportunities to study art, architecture and court ceremonial made a profound impact on the 23-year-old Charles, and it influenced his own taste when two years later he inh...

The Common Law was conceived as a thing comprising beautiful and simple principles. Has English law and procedure lost its way? Where are we to go in the 21st Century? A lecture by The Rt Hon Lord Justice Haddon-Cave The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/law-complexity Gresham College ha...

Due to the Duke of Marlborough's military genius and the crush that Queen Anne had on his wife, the duchess, the Marlboroughs were presented with two of the greatest houses of the age. Blenheim and Marlborough House encapsulate the architectural rivalries and ambitions of patrons and architects illuminating the febrile atmosphere of the last days of the Stuart dynasty. A lecture by Simon Thur...

Nicholas Kenyon looks back at the development of one of the most distinctive buildings of our time, shedding new light on its origins, looking at the changes across the years, and considers the thinking that will guide its renewal for the next 40 years. A lecture by Sir Nicholas Kenyon CBE The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https...

England's Reformation was supposed to bind the nation into a single 'Church of England'. In fact the country was shattered into a kaleidoscope of religious variety. Amid the confusion, a few English people embraced radical possibilities: mystics turned religion into an allegory, separatists created democratic, self-governing communes, utopians explored ideas ranging from pacifism to...

We often think that psychological biases worsen decision making - but they can also be harnessed for good. This talk will discuss how "nudging" can help citizens make better decisions. For example, due to "status quo bias" (inertia), auto-enrolling employees into a pension makes them more likely to save. Due to "loss aversion", punishments for smoking can be more effe...

The Jewish communities of London have a rich musical-liturgical history, stretching back to the mid-17th century. This lecture will consider some of the main musical developments since then, beginning with the Sephardi and Ashkenazi synagogues which stood practically side-by-side in the City of London for 250 years. We will examine the birth of the Anglo-Jewish choral tradition, the split with the...

The Magnetic Resonator Piano invented by Andrew McPherson sees electromagnets suspended above the strings of a regular grand piano, allowing for control of minute details of shimmering resonance, crescendo from silence, and sustained "bowed" sounds that the performer can shape directly from the keyboard scanner while retaining the use of the original mechanism. The instrument transforms...

The screening of witnesses for anonymity in the context of inquests and public inquiries is hugely contentious. Why does putting witnesses behind a screen cause such concern for human rights and civil liberties advocates? What are protective measures? Has there been an increase in such applications? Who makes them? Why do state agents who have done nothing wrong want to hide? What are the benefits...

Were the Crusades an early example of European colonialism? What value did the crusading frontier hold for the knights who fought to defend it? What was the relationship between the Crusades and the knightly culture of chivalry? To answer these questions requires a new approach to the Crusades, one focused as much on cultural production as military encounter. In this lecture, we explore the nexus...

Caroline Lucretia Herschel (1750-1848) was the first woman professional astronomer, and by the time of her death she had been awarded the Royal Astronomical Society Gold Medal and had discovered 8 comets. In this talk Dr Sheila Kanani combines the story of a pioneering woman astronomer, with an account of the science behind comets, asteroids and meteors. This talk will end with a demonstration of...

In 1615 Katharina Kepler, illiterate mother of the astronomer Johannes Kepler, was accused of being a witch. At that time in Germany, there was a witch 'craze'. Over half of the c.50,000 executions in Europe for witchcraft between 1500 and 1700 took place in Germany. During the next 6 years Katharina fought her accusation. The astronomer took over her legal defence in 1620. This lecture...

Mathematics has been used as a tool to understand and control infectious disease for over a century, but Covid-19 brought along a whole epidemic of new challenges. In this joint lecture with the London Mathematical Society we will see some of the maths used in the fight against the pandemic, and also hear some insights into life as a mathematician assisting with policy advice during this unprecede...

Several different schools of philosophy emerged at the same time and shortly after the famous traditions of Platonism and Aristotelianism in ancient Greece. The most significant, which have had a lasting impact on philosophy since antiquity, were Cynicism, Stoicism and Epicureanism, each of which offered a moral programme advocating the best way to live and a more abstract physical, scientific mod...

Toy pianos were first made in the 19th century. This lecture/recital tells the story of an instrument originally marketed at children, that subsequently made a surprising transition into the professional sphere and is currently enjoying unprecedented popularity as a concert instrument in its own right with a growing body of repertoire. This unusual miniature instrument provides a respite from the...

It is now easier to breach the security of people's personal and business lives than perhaps at any time in recent human history. Technology has brought unimaginable speed, scale and reach to hackers. This lecture looks at the consequences of technology on privacy and security, and considers what options there are for the future, including new technologies and regulations such as blockchain a...

At one point in his life, Shostakovich considered the career of a concert pianist. He was talented enough to become a Soviet competitor at the international Chopin Competition of 1927, but he was struck down with acute appendicitis, and he had to leave with only a diploma rather than a major prize. Whether his pain and disappointment soured his relations with the piano we cannot be sure, it is ast...

What the NHS has provided and had to treat over its existence has changed much more radically than most people realise. Some of this change is rightly the domain of politics, but much is driven in response to changing health needs, improvements in medical science and priorities of society. The next two decades of changes in health will be as striking as any seen previously: this lecture will addre...

When black holes merge, the world shakes. Such quakes in space-time are now detectable and indeed the detection of such gravitational waves from cosmic coalescences comprises an entirely new type of astronomy that is completely independent of light itself. A lecture by Katherine Blundell OBE, 19 May The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College webs...

The nature of investment is changing to better reflect the ecosystem of the planet we live on. The days of fossil fuel are numbered by the move to renewable energy. Resources and a healthy environment are finally being seen as core to our future. In this lecture we explore the response of the finance industry and whether green bonds and/or green public procurement can make a difference in deliveri...

Lord Richard Harries has selected 30 images to convey the essential truths of the Christian faith, some ancient and some modern. Drawn from both the West and the East, a few are well-known masterpieces and others will be unfamiliar. He will discuss these with Professor Alec Ryrie, who will join in a discussion on the rich and sometimes fraught relationship between the Christian faith and the visua...

Serial murderer Myra Hindley is often portrayed as an "evil icon". Her crimes of sadistic murder against children continue to shock. There are few artistic sights so terrifying as the giant portrait of Hindley composed of the handprints of children. Sadistic women are uniquely evil: in the entire history of humanity, there are only a few and, even then, they generally offend alongside a...

Knife violence is one of the biggest challenges facing our society. Simulation offers a way to involve young people in exploring the consequences of carrying a knife and responding when incidents occur. Realistic physical simulation invites participants to co-design scenarios that show the effects of a stab wound. Building on over ten years of research, the lecture shows how healthcare and crimina...