University of Cambridge

What is the likely impact of trade wars and how has the tension between protectionism and free trade played out in history? A panel discussion with: Dr Marc-William Palen, historian at the University of Exeter and author of 'The 'Conspiracy' of Free Trade: The Anglo-American Struggle over Empire and Economic Globalisation, 1846–1896'; Dr Meredith Crowley, a Reader in International Economics in the...

Professor David Runciman, Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge and author of How Democracy Ends, argues that, far from following the familiar pattern of military takeover or collapse in the rule of law, it is likely that democracy will fail in the 21st century in ways that we are not yet familiar with and that rather than implosion, it may sim...

Cooperation and violence are opposite poles of human experience. Some societies, institutions and places are highly violent, while others promote cooperation and mutual respect. Four experts discuss core ideas about the root causes of these differences, and how research can help us to better address different forms of violence. • What makes some societies more violent than others? Manuel Eisner •...

Best-selling author Tara Westover talks to Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman about her memoir, Educated, which tells of her experiences growing up in rural Idaho, raised by a radical, survivalist father who was intensely paranoid about government interference in the lives of his family. In the book she writes of how, through the pursuit of knowledge, she evolved into a 'new self'. She says: 'You c...

With huge internal and external pressures facing the European Union, including the rise of nationalist and populist movements of all types across Europe - both inside the EU and outside, as well as the power struggle going on for control of Europe, can it survive? With Ian Kearns, co-founder of the European Leadership Network and author of Collapse: Europe after the European Union, Dr Julie Smith,...

This panel reflects on mystical experiences in epilepsy and what they can teach us about empathy, personal reflection, and how different traditions of faith or non-faith can intersect in big questions about the nature of personal experience. This panel includes experts on the psychology of religion and people who have had mystical seizures. By using a rare and unusual phenomena that has implicatio...

In this podcast, Peter Clarke, Professor Emeritus of Modern British History, discusses Theresa May’s leadership of the Conservative Party, her approach to the Brexit negotiations, and what he thinks will be the outcome of her Chequers deal when it is eventually put to parliament later this year. Prof Clarke is a Fellow and former Master of Trinity Hall. Recorded at the end of October 2018.

Why do fundamentalist beliefs and practices function as they do? Why are they so attractive? How should we distinguish between fundamentalism, extremism, radicalism and orthodoxy? Professor Kim Knott, Lancaster University, Ed Kessler MBE, Woolf Institute, Cambridge, and Tobias Müller, Woolf Institute and POLIS, University of Cambridge, present their reflections on fundamentalisms, particularly in...

The dangers of the dark web are explored in a discussion that looks at how anonymous users can purchase illegal firearms and drugs on this hidden part of the internet. The challenges this poses and what could be done to manage its impact are also examined. • Giacomo Persi Paoli is a research leader at RAND Europe in the Defence, Security and Infrastructure Group, where he leads the National Securi...

Hello and welcome to We are the University. A podcast about the people who make Cambridge University unique. I’m your host Nick Saffell. In this episode we meet James Biddulph, the headmaster of the University of Cambridge Primary School. We talk about the school’s character and vision, how a trip to Nepal helped him realise that he wanted to teach as a career and we find out how he inspires the t...

Ed Bullmore - Inflamed mind: A radical new approach to depression by University of Cambridge

Terri Apter - Passing Judgment: praise and blame in everyday life by University of Cambridge

Lucy Delap - Men and Feminism by University of Cambridge

Clive Wilkins with Professor Nicky Clayton - The Moustachio Quartet - An exploration of memory by University of Cambridge

Helen Castor - Elizabeth I: a study in insecurity by University of Cambridge

Cecilia Brassett, Emily Evans and Isla Fay - The Secret Language of Anatomy by University of Cambridge

Ottoline Leyser: Thinking without a brain - how plants decide what to do by University of Cambridge

Dr Sujit Sivasundaram - The history of islands and their contribution to the modern world by University of Cambridge

Shruti Kapila - India, empire and the invention of terror in the 20th century by University of Cambridge

Hatice Gunes - Demystifying the human-like robot by University of Cambridge

Professor Wendy Ayres-Bennett - The menace of monolingualism by University of Cambridge

Dacia Viejo Rose - War on culture: the politics of reconstructing cultural heritage by University of Cambridge

Lucy van de Wiel - Freezing fertility: How reproductive ageing is changing in the 21st century by University of Cambridge

Sarah Nouwen - Peacemaking: What's law got to do with it? by University of Cambridge

Diane Coyle - How do we know how well off we are? by University of Cambridge