The Children Act 1989 embodied a change in philosophy by making the child's welfare the courts 'paramount' concern, moving away from the concept of parental rights towards the right of the child. It embraced the idea of shared parental rights and responsibilities and that children are best cared for within their families but not at the expense of suffering avoidable significant harm. Has the Act done right by children since 1989? Has it adapted to the challenges of childhood and society? A lectu...
Jan 31, 2019•52 min
The Stuart age saw a much more systematic approach to the elite patronage of art and architecture. Collectors and connoisseurs were more aware of the effect of their activities and the audiences for them. An integral part of the tumultuous political events of the century was the cultural ambition of the principal players who form the subject of this lecture. A lecture by Simon Thurley, Visiting Professor of the Built Environment 30 January 2019 The transcript and downloadable versions of the lec...
Jan 30, 2019•56 min
The Moon is undoubtedly the next frontier for humanity. The international space agencies are lining up to pursue lunar projects and even develop lunar bases. The potential of the Moon is attracting interest for industrial applications, including mining and tourism. It is essential to avoid many of the mistakes we have made on Earth as we plan the future of lunar exploration. Professor Silk will describe the history of lunar exploration since 1969 and future plans for the Moon. A lecture by Josep...
Jan 30, 2019•52 min
In celebrating 500 years since the birth of Sir Thomas Gresham, Professor Jones will examine how changes since the sixteenth century have affected the evolution of human beings and that of the animals and plants around us. Professor Jones will deal with the accelerating shifts in plants, animals and humans as they cope with human activities, from gold-mining to global warming, and will speculate about where life might be on Gresham's six- hundredth anniversary. A lecture by Steve Jones, Visiting...
Jan 29, 2019•53 min
Villainous atheists were, like witches, stock figures of the European imagination in the Renaissance. But when Shakespeare and his contemporaries put them on the stage, 'atheists' could be uncomfortably compelling. This lecture will explore how the sixteenth century found ways of distancing itself from religion - like Christopher Marlowe, who raged against its moral constraints, or Michel de Montaigne, a devout Catholic who cloistered his faith in one honoured corner of his life where it would n...
Jan 24, 2019•49 min
The UK is considered a world leader in corporate governance, but governance failures are blamed for the loss of trust in business. This talk will discuss rigorous evidence on what optimal governance should look like - including issues such as boardroom diversity, independence of directors, employee representation, and whether directors' fiduciary duty should be to shareholders or all of society. It will conclude that reform is indeed necessary, but on different issues to what is typically argued...
Jan 23, 2019•51 min
Musorgsky's opera Boris Godunov (1872) is set in the 'Time of Troubles', using Pushkin's incisive verse tragedy on the chaotic period preceding the establishment of the Romanovs. Such a work was bound to draw the attention of the censors, and Musorgsky's two versions of the opera also led to various 'improved' versions that conflated scenes from each. Despite all the interference it has suffered, in any of its forms it remains a formidable exploration of power, as well as a highly moving persona...
Jan 22, 2019•54 min
Certain infections have a particular impact on the peripheral nerves as part of their normal disease process. Some infectious effects are predominately on the motor nerves such as polio (currently heading for eradication); these can cause weakness or paralysis. Other infections affect or invade the sensory nerves including leprosy and the common viral infection herpes zoster which initially presents as chickenpox. Some bacteria produce toxins which have powerful effects on the nerves including t...
Jan 16, 2019•57 min
We sometimes hear that 'we know more about Mars than the deep ocean', but is that true? Exploring the deep ocean is a recent enterprise, made possible by new technology in the past two centuries, but what we now know about the dark depths is as remarkable as the unknowns that remain. This lecture examines the deep-sea discoveries that have transformed our understanding of our planet, and the history of exploring the deep ocean that covers most of it. A lecture by Dr Jon Copley, University of Sou...
Jan 15, 2019•47 min
Berners-Lee's World Wide Web (WWW) was not his original aim, which was closer to what we now call the Semantic or Data Web (SW): documents and images where the system itself 'understands' its content as the WWW certainly does not, any more than a television knows what it is showing. Professor Wilks will describe the Semantic Web and its origin in annotation methods from the humanities and will argue the need for this form of AI to manage a lifetime's information on the web. A lecture by Yorick W...
Jan 15, 2019•52 min
What happens when we listen to music that incarnates a divine presence? From our early ancestors, whose listening in the caves of Europe 40 millennia ago opened up gateways to other worlds, sacred places have developed special acoustics for spiritual encounters across religious traditions from Buddhism to Christianity. That means special modes of listening, and unique musical repertoires: simultaneously directed outwards, towards the heavens, and inwards, sounding out the spaces that are sometim...
Jan 14, 2019•59 min
London was crucially dependent on continental Europe for its economic resilience in the mid-sixteenth century, and Sir Thomas Gresham's fortune piggy-backed off the special relationship with Antwerp. But the Reformation put the relationship under real strain. This wasn't a sixteenth-century Brexit (the division was within Christendom), but it posed similar challenges. How did England cope? A lecture by Dr Ian Archer, Keble College Oxford 9 January 2019 The transcript and downloadable versions of...
Jan 09, 2019•55 min
The 2019 Annual Lord Mayor's Event The 2019 Annual Lord Mayor's Gresham Lecture will explore the so called 'digital skills crisis' and question whether this may present an opportunity? As the digital era unfolds and the future demands for talent become evident, what are the implications for our system of education? Could the future provide for a more balanced approach to skills-based learning and the chance to at last draw on all of our talent? In short, we've seen new initiatives, but are more ...
Jan 08, 2019•42 min
One of the biggest advances in modern technology has been the development of GPS systems which allow us to find our position to very high precision. GPS is just the latest advance in the science of navigation, which has had a profound effect on human civilisation. This talk will show how mathematics has played a vital role in making navigation as accurate as it is today and the impact that this has had on us all. Indeed it is one of the few areas where Einstein's general theory of relativity dir...
Jan 08, 2019•57 min
At 3.00 pm on Christmas Eve, millions of listeners around the world will tune in to the live radio relay of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge. In this lecture, Jeremy Summerly reverently and enthusiastically celebrates the centenary of the world's most famous carol service and, with the help of live musical examples from the St Luke's Carollers, he traces the early history of this Christmas spectacular. A lecture by Jeremy Summerly, Royal Academy ...
Dec 13, 2018•48 min
Executive pay is a controversial topic that is arguably the primary cause behind mistrust in business. Various remedies have been proposed but, just like in medicine, diagnosis precedes treatment. Many of the concerns are based on hand-picked examples and myths rather than rigorous data. Evidence will be presented on which aspects of pay are working well and which are indeed dysfunctional, and on how pay should be reformed. A lecture by Alex Edmans, Gresham Professor of Business 12 December 2018...
Dec 12, 2018•52 min
When Daniel Defoe rode through the Lake District in the early 18th century, he described the area as 'the wildest, most barren and frightful of any that I have passed over in England.' But for Victorians such as Matthew Arnold and John Ruskin, the Lakes offered a landscape of supreme beauty. How did this change come about? Jonathan Bate will follow in the footsteps of the 18th-century inventors of the 'picturesque' and show how Wordsworth shaped the vision of his native region, leading to the fo...
Dec 11, 2018•46 min
Most of us have witnessed or had personal dealings with violent people. Why do they act as they do? How have British and American commentators during the past two centuries understood violent behaviour? The media incites anxieties about personal vulnerability; widespread innumeracy leads many people to misread crime-statistics; and an expectation of greater civility makes its breach so much more frightening. What can we do to reduce levels of violence in our society? A lecture by Joanna Bourke, ...
Dec 06, 2018•44 min
The consultation is the focal point of medicine. A clinician and a patient, held together in a relationship of care, collaborate in identifying that patient's needs and finding a solution. Scientific knowledge and clinical skill only make sense in the context of that interaction. Each consultation is unique, a close-up live performance with a very small audience. After describing key elements of the consultation, an expert in a different kind of close-up live performance will be introduced - Wil...
Dec 05, 2018•51 min
Half of all child deaths are associated with under-nutrition, with devastating impacts and far-reaching health consequences. Left unchecked, under-nutrition will potentially create an inter-generational, self-reinforcing pathogenic cycle of violence and behavioural disruption, that can spread around the world through human migration. Eradicating malnutrition requires that more nutritious food is accessible to the poor and vulnerable. Beyond this, there is a deeper question. Is it possible to res...
Dec 04, 2018•46 min
Over the past 150 years medical science has developed beyond all recognition yet there is a huge gap between these scientific developments on the one hand, and our understanding of the psychological demands of medical work on the other. This lack of psychological mindedness permeates the profession from selection into medical school onwards and results in worrying levels of mental distress amongst doctors, and ultimately poorer outcomes for patients. A lecture by Dr Caroline Elton, Occupational ...
Dec 03, 2018•44 min
2018 saw a seismic change in the willingness of women to speak out about sexual abuse they had suffered at work and the willingness of others to hear and act on it. This year (2018) saw the creation of a #metoo movement called 'Behind the Gown' created by a group of barristers committed to tackling sexual harassment at the Bar. This lecture frankly confronts the anecdotal evidence and suggests ways in which we can learn from it. A lecture by Jo Delahunty QC, Gresham Professor of Law 29 November ...
Nov 29, 2018•53 min
Medea, Antigone, Oedipus and Lysistrata - these are just some of the characters from ancient Greek drama who still walk our contemporary stages and haunt our imagination. One of the classical Athenians' most important inventions was the medium of theatre. From the mid-sixth century BCE they gathered to watch tragedies, and later comedies in their sanctuary of the wine-god Dionysus on the south slope of the Acropolis. This lecture outlines the origins of Greek drama in this historic setting, its ...
Nov 29, 2018•53 min
Where did we come from? This question has always intrigued human thought. Professor Silk will describe the modern scientist's view of the origin of the cosmos. Here is the sequence: from an uncertain beginning, due to limitations in our knowledge that arise from our ongoing search for a theory that unites quantum theory with gravity, to a primordial ball of fire. Glowing embers condensed from the expanding and cooling fireball to form the billions of galaxies and stars that glitter in the night ...
Nov 28, 2018•43 min
Alexa, Siri and Cortana are among a number of voice-enabled digital assistants that can not only speak to us but understand us. Sci-fi films had talking computers many years ago. Why has it taken so long to crack the speech processing puzzle? Why do we find speech processing so effortless and machines find it so daunting? And what progress can we expect in the next few years? A lecture by Richard Harvey, IT Livery Company Professor of IT 27 November 2018 The transcript and downloadable versions ...
Nov 27, 2018•59 min
With over 80% of organic carbon being present in the form of cellulose, lignin and starch, it is unsurprising many groups have attempted to use these as feedstock chemicals and materials. Extensive hydrogen bonding makes the plasticisation of starch and the dissolution of cellulose difficult. This talk shows that the incorporation of a simple salt can lead to a flexible plastic with mechanical properties similar to oil derived plastics. Most importantly these plastics are recyclable and ultimate...
Nov 26, 2018•51 min
The brain is well protected against most infections, but once they get into or around the brain they can cause fatal or serious long-term consequences. Some bacterial, viral and parasitic infections are particularly well adapted to the brain, ranging from meningococcal meningitis and encephalitis to cerebral malaria and sleeping sickness. Transmission is by several routes including airborne and via mosquitoes and ticks. Control measures including vaccination have reduced the risk of some, but no...
Nov 21, 2018•53 min
The Romantics invented the modern idea of childhood. In the third of his lectures on the rhetoric of Romanticism, Jonathan Bate will explore how they did so, with particular emphasis on the role of children in the poetry of Blake and Wordsworth. He will also show how Wordsworth's memory of his own childhood allowed him to invent something else as well: the art of poetic autobiography. A lecture by Sir Jonathan Bate, Gresham Professor of Rhetoric 20 November 2018 The transcript and downloadable v...
Nov 20, 2018•49 min
The rousing finale of Mikhail Glinka's patriotic A Life for the Tsar (1836) guaranteed it a place as the traditional season opener in Russian opera houses. A Life was a powerful and attractive presentation of the Romanov dynasty's foundation myth, but it is also considered the first true Russian opera, since its predecessors relied heavily on foreign models. A century later, with a modified libretto and a new title, it was given a new lease on life as an equally patriotic Soviet opera, Ivan Susa...
Nov 20, 2018•50 min
Shh! You're in a classical concert - quiet! What has become, in the 20th and 21st centuries, a musical tradition of as-quiet-as-possible, cough-free contemplation and passive disengagement in concert halls was not always that way. In fact, it wasn't ever that way: the way that audiences listen is inscribed in the fabric of music of the last millennium in Western classical music, a spectrum that encompasses everything from silent meditation to explosive applause. In this lecture, we will introduc...
Nov 19, 2018•1 hr
