Lung disease, heart disease, stroke, dementia and learning difficulties have been associated with different forms of air pollution including gasses and particulate matter. It is a difficult policy area because there is an economic and social cost to tackling it, so there is a trade-off. This lecture will consider the evidence for different forms of air pollution causing diseases, and outline some of the potential solutions. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available fr...
Apr 25, 2018•50 min
In the past, these were of two types (1) Breakaway parties such as the Liberal Unionists before the First World War and the SDP in the 1980s or (2) Extremist parties such as the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s and the Communist Party. Most of them have been unsuccessful. The United Kingdom Independence Party is an exception. In 2015, UKIP showed itself the most successful minor party in British history, winning one-eighth of the vote. Since then, it has been in decline. What is the explan...
Apr 24, 2018•1 hr 3 min
We all find ourselves in crowds every so often. Whilst human behaviour in general can be very hard to predict, it is possible, to a certain extent, to predict the behaviour of large numbers of people in a crowd. In this lecture I will explain the mathematics behind herding and flocking and will use this to shed some insight into how crowds of people behave. I will then show how this is helpful for the designers of sports stadia, the police, the home office and even retail stores. The transcript ...
Apr 24, 2018•55 min
There are large disparities in economic performance at the regional level in the UK. We need to consider what kinds of policies might raise regional performance and the extent which directed industrial policies and infrastructure spending might be employed to iron out differences in regional performance. The evidence will be considered. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/regional-in...
Apr 19, 2018•52 min
London is home to two of the oldest working theatres in the world both founded by Charles II's patents. They shaped a whole quarter of London, and continue to do so today. In a second lecture on 'Buildings in the West End of London', Professor Thurley looks at the significance and impact of these great institutions on the development of London. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the...
Apr 18, 2018•51 min
Against the backdrop of King John's ignominy and the political challenge posed by Magna Carta, which encouraged demands for greater representation in parliament, King Henry III used art, architecture and apparel to exalt his authority and to communicate his divinely-ordained status on a scale never previously seen in England. This lecture considers how Henry used art to justify monarchy at the dawn of what is commonly termed the 'parliamentary state'. The transcript and downloadable versions of ...
Apr 12, 2018•51 min
Time's mysteries seem to resist comprehension and what remain can stretch even the most profound philosopher. Professor Tallis seeks to rescue time from the jaws of physics, examining the claims that time is merely the fourth dimension of space-time, that there is a 'passage' of time or that time has a direction or arrow. He restores tenses and our sense of 'now' that are often denied or ignored by physicists and connects these with our unique human freedom. For most of us, time is composed of m...
Apr 10, 2018•45 min
Human beings often make frequent hand movements whilst they are talking. There has been considerable psychological debate about their function, but it is now clear that they often convey core parts of the underlying message. Since we have little conscious awareness of these movements, they can be particularly revealing. We control what we say, but find it difficult, or impossible, to control the content and form of these movements. Their form and 'meaning' may not match the accompanying speech a...
Apr 04, 2018•53 min
There are strong reasons to believe that the survival of life on the Earth is under threat. Human activity is one example that we are able to control, at least in principle. We might irreversibly pollute, or destroy the planet with thermonuclear devices. Epidemics might become uncontrollable. Asteroid impact could devastate the Earth, although preventive measures might detect and monitor orbits of potential killer asteroids. Longer term, the sun will evolve into a red giant and expand to a hundr...
Apr 04, 2018•55 min
After Stalin's death in 1953, successive leaders tried to find ways to revitalise the Soviet regime and rethink its promises to the Soviet people. Life within a system no longer based on terror and intense industrial transformation (yet still striving to reach communism) offered citizens strange alternatives. The commemoration of Bolshevism hampered attempts to enthuse the population about the Soviet future. Khrushchev, Brezhnev and Gorbachev tried to re-infuse the spirit of revolution as well a...
Mar 28, 2018•44 min
Where do the ghosts in Shakespeare come from? And what about the magic? In this lecture, Jonathan Bate will summon up the ghosts of Old Hamlet, the victims of Richard III and Julius Caesar, revealing their origins in the bloody plays of Seneca. He will then show how such figures from classical mythology as Theseus and Medea provide a key to the association between supernatural powers and Shakespearean art. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham Col...
Mar 27, 2018•50 min
There have been dramatic changes in our scientific understanding of the universe in the last hundred years. It used to be thought that the universe was eternal; now it is thought that it came into being in the 'Big Bang'. So what does this say about the trustworthiness of science? What are the implications of the Big Bang for our understanding of ourselves? Is the universe meaningless? or is there some way of developing a 'big picture' of reality that helps us decide our place and purpose in the...
Mar 27, 2018•56 min
Posters in shops and on trucks shout 'carbon neutral business', and more organisations are boasting of reducing their environmental impact by using environmentally-friendly, responsibly sourced materials. And yet we also have diesel car emission frauds, the hoax of 'degradable' plastic, and a fashion industry that claims to be sustainable whilst suggesting that we buy new clothes each season. There are green marketing scams, and dubious data being deployed to benefit shareholders. Are global bus...
Mar 22, 2018•55 min
When the most famous diarist in English, Samuel Pepys, accompanied Charles II back to London for the Restoration of the monarchy he was given the task of carrying the king's guitar. From this moment on, the instrument had a the royal seal of approval and some of the best guitar playing in Europe was heard at Whitehall. Court ladies had themselves portrayed with a guitar on their lap like a musical pet; actors and actresses played them in comedies and guitar-masters made a living teaching the dau...
Mar 21, 2018•52 min
Many televisions, baby monitors, central heating and even light-bulbs are already connected to the internet but this is only the start. Over the next few years, many billions of devices will be connected and machine-to-machine data will become the main internet traffic. Why is this happening? How will all this data be processed? And what are the benefits and the risks? The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.u...
Mar 20, 2018•54 min
In the traditional model of finance, households saved and firms borrowed through financial intermediaries. Those financial intermediaries might be banks or pension funds but the experience of intermediation in the UK does not encourage the thought that long term finance can easily be located. Do we need a Development Bank? The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-structure-of-finance ...
Mar 15, 2018•57 min
Everyone is different, and treatment options increasingly reflect that. As we understand more about our genetic makeup, our varying response to conventional therapies means that we can design drugs and build devices tailored for individuals ('bespoke' rather than 'ready made'). This lecture considers the challenges that the NHS and its suppliers face in employing personalised medicine. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https:/...
Mar 14, 2018•55 min
Descriptions and reconstructions of houses can illuminate other histories and provide a sense of the relationships between people and places. Edwardian architecture in particular provides a fascinating commentary on broader historical themes - not only in its use of style and its remodelling of old buildings but also in the range of new activities it provided for, from 'servantless' country and seaside cottages to motor houses, gardens and hobbies rooms. Looking at the furnishing and operation o...
Mar 13, 2018•50 min
Quantum science has been one of the most successful and useful theories ever invented. Indeed quantum technology was added as the ninth of the original eight great technologies. However, quantum mechanics is also, at the same time, one of the most mysterious, and in many ways most bizarre of all scientific theories. Some of the maths of quantum science will be explained, demonstrating its vital role in modern technology. We will also look at its applications to quantum computing and ask question...
Mar 13, 2018•58 min
In recent years, the reputation of the financial services and related professional services industries has been corroded by a series of scandals. In 2017, the largest ever decline in trust across the institutions of government, business, media and NGOs was reported. In the light of the 2016 Brexit vote, it is clear that trust amongst society and commerce is more important than ever. The City has a responsibility to regain the trust of the society it is here to serve. This talk and panel discussi...
Mar 08, 2018•1 hr 4 min
In 1887 the influential arts-and-crafts book illustrator Walter Crane published The Baby's Own Aesop, bringing the homespun wisdom of ancient Greek peasants to a new generation of children. This lecture uses these fables to tackle the least attractive feature of ancient Greece - institutionalised slavery. Beneath the semi-legendary figure of Aesop himself, a barbarian sold to a Greek slave-owner in the 6th century BCE, lie tens of thousands of his real-life equivalents. The lecture asks how the ...
Mar 08, 2018•52 min
Based on new research into the origins of St. James's, Simon Thurley looks into the ingredients that went into making a court quarter there and the way it formed a blueprint for the new West End of London. This is the first of two lectures by Professor Thurley on 'Buildings in the West End of London.' The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/palace-park-and-square-st-jamess-and-the-birth-...
Mar 07, 2018•55 min
Between 1886 and 1914, British politics was dominated by the Irish Question, and the Irish nationalist party exerted considerable pressure on British governments. Since 1974, the rise of the SNP has brought the Scottish Question into the forefront of British politics, and in 1998, legislation provided for devolution to the non-English parts of the United Kingdom. There remain, nevertheless, strong pressures for Scottish independence, and in Wales there is a lively nationalist party, Plaid Cymru....
Mar 06, 2018•1 hr
FULBRIGHT LECTURE What's in a shadow? Danger and death? Or the vital life-force of whatever object casts it? Are shadows seductive nothings or truth-telling images of repressed sexuality and violence? Starting with literary examples from Dickens, this lecture will untangle the complexity of shadow-meaning by exploring how artists have used shadows since ancient times. Works by Van Eyck, Masaccio, Leonardo, Munch, Picasso, Sargent, Hopper, and many others will be discussed. The transcript and dow...
Mar 05, 2018•50 min
Sexual abuse is always an abuse of power. It can be opportunistic or premeditated; furtive intra-familial abuse or acts shared online. It can be multigenerational and inter-sex: grandmother to grandson; father to daughter; sibling to sibling. The victim may become an abuser. What can break the cycle? What effect do these cases have on the professionals involved? How does the family justice system confront these emotive and complex cases? This lecture contains details that some may find distressi...
Mar 01, 2018•53 min
How have the British and American armed forces been taught to fight and kill in conflicts from 1914 to the present? What role have psychology and technology played in military training? How do combatants contribute to, and endure, harsh military drills? Social and cultural life in the barracks will be explored, including 'rites of passage' in preparing soldiers for battle. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham....
Feb 28, 2018•48 min
Matter consists of a mêlée of elementary particles. There are protons and neutrons, made up of quarks, and many other short-lived massive particles. All atoms consist of protons, neutrons and an accompanying cloud of electrons - then there are electrons, muons and neutrinos, as well as the massless particles - photons. The very early universe is a unique laboratory for studying the rarest of particles. We see the faded brilliance of the fiery past, and can assemble clues that enable us to trace ...
Feb 28, 2018•56 min
It is well known that Shakespeare lived in an age of monarchy and wrote powerfully in his English history plays about the duties of the sovereign. In this lecture, Jonathan Bate will tell another, forgotten story: of how Shakespeare was also fascinated by Roman political models, especially the theory of civic duties expounded by Cicero, who appears as a character in Julius Caesar. He will also show how Shakespeare looked to Horace for a model of the public role of the writer. The transcript and ...
Feb 27, 2018•48 min
Stereoscopic photography rapidly became a worldwide craze after the Great Exhibition of 1851. Cheap viewers and mass-produced stereographs brought startlingly vivid images within reach of a mass audience, making this the form in which most people first encountered photography - a fact largely ignored in conventional photographic history. Like the commercial suppliers of Magic Lantern slides, stereograph publishers offered systematic coverage of many subjects, even claiming that to 'visit' remote...
Feb 26, 2018•52 min
Asthma, an intermittent disease, is the commonest lung disease in the UK. The second is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), now the 4th leading cause of death globally. In both a combination of environmental and genetic factors are important, although for COPD smoking is the biggest risk factor. This lecture will consider trends and advances in these two diseases, and the chronic genetic lung disease cystic fibrosis. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available...
Feb 21, 2018•52 min
