This year's Reith lecturer is the British social anthropologist Professor Edmund Leach. He is the current Provost of King's College, Cambridge and throughout his academic career he has challenged received notions about cultural change. He explores the notion of 'relational structures' in his Reith series entitled 'A Runaway World?' In this lecture entitled 'Ourselves and Others', Professor Edmund Leach asks why we kill each other. Where does our fear of the 'Other' come from? He explores how sep...
Nov 26, 1967•31 min
Professor John Kenneth Galbraith is the Paul M Warburg Professor of Economics at Harvard University and is the author of 'The Affluent Society'. In his Reith series entitled 'The New Industrial State', he explores the economics of production. In this lecture entitled 'The Role of the State', Professor Galbraith explores the relationship states have with large Corporations. He argues that the state and private industry are moving closer together and warns there is a danger that the state could be...
Dec 04, 1966•29 min
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Robert Gardiner discusses the issues of race in his Reith series entitled 'A World of Peoples'. Born in Ghana, he has worked as the Head of the Ghana Civil Service, is a former Deputy Executive Secretary for the Economic Commission for Africa and has authored the book 'Development of Social Administration'. In this lecture entitled 'Economic Meetings', Robert Gardiner explores how economic inequalities affect race relations...
Nov 28, 1965•29 min
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Robert Gardiner discusses the issues of race in his Reith series entitled 'A World of Peoples'. Born in Ghana, he has worked as the Head of the Ghana Civil Service, is a former Deputy Executive Secretary for the Economic Commission for Africa and has authored the book 'Development of Social Administration'. In this lecture entitled 'Contemporary Racial Moods', Robert Gardiner explains why the concept of race resists precise...
Nov 21, 1965•30 min
Leading British industrialist and pioneer of automation Sir Leon Bagrit continues his Reith lectures. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Elliott Automation Ltd, one of the first companies in Europe devoted to automation, and speaks on this topic in his series entitled 'The Age of Automation'. In this lecture entitled 'Automation: Industrial and Economic Consequences', Sir Bagrit asks how we can put automation into practice at a national level. How should it be assimilated in the lives o...
Dec 13, 1964•24 min
This year's Reith lecturer is Dr Albert E Sloman, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex. He was previously Gilmour Professor of Spanish at Liverpool University and Dean of the Faculty of Arts. Dr Sloman explores what is needed to make an institute for higher education in Essex in his series entitled 'A University in the Making'. In this lecture entitled 'The Fulfilment of Lives', Dr Sloman explores how the newly built University of Essex will create accommodation for its students. Putting f...
Dec 01, 1963•29 min
Professor of Psychological Medicine at the University of Edinburgh Professor George Carstairs contemplates the patterns of social anthropology in his Reith series 'This Island Now'. In this lecture entitled 'Vicissitudes of Adolescence', Professor Carstairs explores how violence and sex have been linked to teenage behaviour. Are adolescents more sexually promiscuous? Are teenagers more aggressive? To answer these questions he discusses his own field research in India to compare Hindu communities...
Nov 25, 1962•28 min
African affairs writer and lecturer Margery Perham discusses the effects of colonialism in tropical Africa. In 1939 she became the first female fellow of Nuffield College at Oxford University before being appointed as Director of the Oxford Institute of Colonial Studies in 1945. In her Reith series entitled 'The Colonial Reckoning', she highlights problems of colonial rule. In this lecture entitled 'The Problem of White Settlement', she considers the problem of the European colonists, and the de...
Dec 07, 1961•29 min
African affairs writer and lecturer Margery Perham discusses the effects of colonialism in tropical Africa. In 1939 she became the first female fellow of Nuffield College at Oxford University before being appointed as Director of the Oxford Institute of Colonial Studies in 1945. In her Reith series entitled 'The Colonial Reckoning', she highlights problems of colonial rule. In this lecture entitled 'African Nationalism', she explores the positive side of anti-colonialism, which is emancipation. ...
Nov 23, 1961•29 min
This year's lecturer is the first and current Professor of Art History at Oxford University, Edgar Wind. The German-born British professor specialises in iconology in the Renaissance era. In his Reith Series entitled 'Art and Anarchy', Edgar Wind explores the concepts of creative energies produced through turmoil. In this lecture entitled 'The Mechanization of Art', Edgar Wind considers how machines have influenced art. He untangles conflicting opinions of how mechanics have influenced the produ...
Dec 11, 1960•29 min
This year's lecturer is the first and current Professor of Art History at Oxford University, Edgar Wind. The German-born British professor specialises in iconology in the Renaissance era. In his Reith Series entitled 'Art and Anarchy', Edgar Wind explores the concepts of creative energies produced through turmoil. In this lecture entitled 'The Fear of Knowledge', Edgar Wind challenges the idea that intellect hurts the artistic imagination. This prejudice, which artists themselves have rarely sha...
Dec 04, 1960•29 min
This year's Reith lecturer is the Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy at University College London, Peter Brian Medawar. His work on graft rejection and the discovery of acquired immune tolerance has been fundamental to the practice of tissue and organ transplants. In his Reith lecture series entitled 'The Future of Man', Professor PM Medawar considers how humans will continue to evolve in the future. In his sixth lecture entitled 'The Future of Man', Professor PM Medawar discusses the ...
Dec 20, 1959•29 min
This year's Reith Lecturer is Professor Bernard Lovell, the first Director of the Jodrell Bank Experimental Observatory, and Professor of Radio Astronomy at Manchester University. During the Second World War, he helped to develop radar systems for aircrafts, for which he received an OBE in 1946. He delivers six lectures on the wonders of the solar system in his series entitled 'The Individual and the Universe'. In his final lecture entitled 'The Origin of the Universe 2', Professor Bernard Lovel...
Dec 14, 1958•32 min
This year's Reith Lecturer is Professor Bernard Lovell, the first Director of the Jodrell Bank Experimental Observatory, and Professor of Radio Astronomy at Manchester University. During the Second World War, he helped to develop radar systems for aircrafts, for which he received an OBE in 1946. He delivers six lectures on the wonders of the solar system in his series entitled 'The Individual and the Universe'. In his fifth lecture entitled 'The Origin of the Universe 1', Professor Bernard Lovel...
Nov 07, 1958•29 min
This year's Reith Lecturer is American adviser, diplomat, political scientist, and historian George Frost Kennan. He is best known as "the father" of the USA Containment Policy and is a leading authority on the Cold War. In his series 'Russia, the Atom, and the West', he considers the relationship between the two superpowers Russia and the USA. In his fourth lecture entitled 'The Military Problem', Professor Kennan discusses the military aspect of the West's conflict with Soviet power. He consid...
Dec 01, 1957•29 min
This year's Reith Lecturer is American adviser, diplomat, political scientist, and historian George Frost Kennan. He is best known as "the father" of the USA Containment Policy and is a leading authority on the Cold War. In his series 'Russia, the Atom, and the West', he considers the relationship between the two superpowers Russia and the USA. In his third lecture entitled 'The Problem of Eastern and Central Europe', Professor Kennan considers why disagreements about frontiers and the political...
Nov 24, 1957•30 min
This year's Reith Lecturer is the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh Sir Edward Appleton. From 1939 to 1949 he was Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and in 1947 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the knowledge of the ionosphere, which led to the development of radar. In his Reith series entitled 'Science and the Nation', he considers the importance of science. In his sixth lecture entitled 'Science and Edu...
Dec 16, 1956•29 min
This year's Reith Lecturer is the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh Sir Edward Appleton. From 1939 to 1949 he was Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and in 1947 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the knowledge of the ionosphere, which led to the development of radar. In his Reith series entitled 'Science and the Nation', he considers the importance of science. In his fifth lecture entitled 'Industrial Scie...
Dec 09, 1956•15 min
This year's Reith lecturer is Dr Nikolaus Pevsner, the German-born British scholar of history of art and architecture, and author of the county guide series, The Buildings of England (1951–74). In this series, Pevsner explores the qualities of art which he regards as particularly English, as illustrated in the works of several English artists, and what they say about the English national character. In his final lecture, Dr Pevsner examines the particular aspects of Englishness which he believes ...
Nov 27, 1955•29 min
This year's Reith lecturer is Dr Nikolaus Pevsner, the German-born British scholar of history of art and architecture, and author of the county guide series, The Buildings of England (1951–74). In this series, Pevsner explores the qualities of art which he regards as particularly English, as illustrated in the works of several English artists, and what they say about the English national character. In his sixth and penultimate Reith lecture, Dr Pevsner describes the attitude of the English Roman...
Nov 20, 1955•29 min
This year's Reith lecturer is Dr Nikolaus Pevsner, the German-born British scholar of history of art and architecture, and author of the county guide series, The Buildings of England (1951–74). In this series, Pevsner explores the qualities of art which he regards as particularly English, as illustrated in the works of several English artists, and what they say about the English national character. Dr Pevsner explores the 'Decorated Style', which seems in every respect to be the opposite of the ...
Nov 13, 1955•29 min
This year's Reith lecturer is Dr Nikolaus Pevsner, the German-born British scholar of history of art and architecture, and author of the county guide series, The Buildings of England (1951–74). In this series, Pevsner explores the qualities of art which he regards as particularly English, as illustrated in the works of several English artists, and what they say about the English national character. In his fourth lecture, Dr Pevsner examines the Perpendicular style, formed in England in about 133...
Nov 06, 1955•29 min
This year's Reith lecturer is Dr Nikolaus Pevsner, the German-born British scholar of history of art and architecture, and author of the county guide series, The Buildings of England (1951–74). In this series, Pevsner explores the qualities of art which he regards as particularly English, as illustrated in the works of several English artists, and what they say about the English national character. In his third lecture, Dr Pevsner examines the work of the portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds (17...
Oct 30, 1955•29 min
This year's Reith lecturer is Dr Nikolaus Pevsner, the German-born British scholar of history of art and architecture, and author of the county guide series, The Buildings of England (1951–74). In this series, Dr Pevsner explores the qualities of art which he regards as particularly English, as illustrated in the works of several English artists, and what they say about the English national character. In his second lecture, Dr Pevsner considers the 'Englishness' of the artist and satirist Willia...
Oct 23, 1955•29 min
This year's Reith lecturer is Dr Nikolaus Pevsner, the German-born British scholar of history of art and architecture, and author of the county guide series, The Buildings of England (1951–74). In this series, Dr Pevsner explores the qualities of art which he regards as particularly English, as illustrated in the works of several English artists, and what they say about the English national character. In his first lecture, Dr Pevsner examines the reasons for the study of history of art. He argue...
Oct 16, 1955•28 min
This year's Reith Lecturer is the Chairman of Lloyds Bank, Sir Oliver Franks. He is the former Provost of Queen's College, Oxford, and the former Professor of Moral Philosophy at University of Glasgow. He was the British Ambassador in Washington, DC, between 1948 and 1952, and has been described as "one of the founders of the post-war world". He delivers his Reith series entitled 'Britain and Tide of World Affairs'. In his third lecture entitled 'The Atlantic Bridge', Sir Oliver explores the rel...
Nov 21, 1954•30 min
This year's Reith Lecturer is American theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer. Professor of Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, he has been described as the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project while Director of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory between 1943–45. In his Reith lectures entitled 'Science and the Common Understanding', he examines the impact of quantum and atomic theory on society. In his sixth and final lecture entitled 'The Science...
Dec 20, 1953•31 min
This year's Reith Lecturer is British historian Arnold J Toynbee. The former Director of Studies at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, he is currently the Koraes Professor of History at London University. He considers how Europe interacts with other countries in his Reith Lecture series entitled 'The World and the West'. In his fifth lecture entitled 'The Psychology of Encounters', Professor Toynbee examines ways in which countries respond to new cultures. He argues that the most impo...
Dec 14, 1952•31 min
This year's Reith Lecturer is British lawyer Lord Radcliffe. He was Director-General of the Ministry of Information during the Second World War, and is most famous for his role in Partition, the division of the British Indian Empire, His work led directly to the creation of Pakistan and India as independent nations. He examines the features of democratic society, and considers the problematic notions of power and authority in his series of seven Reith Lectures entitled 'Power and the State'. In ...
Dec 02, 1951•29 min
The inaugural Reith Lecturer is the philosopher, mathematician, and social reformer Bertrand Russell. One of the founders of analytic philosophy and a Nobel Laureate, he is the author of Principia Mathematica, and the bestselling History of Western Philosophy, written in 1946. His Reith lecture series is entitled 'Authority and the Individual'. In his final lecture, entitled 'Individual and Social Ethics', he relates social and political doctrines to the individual ethics by which people guide t...
Jan 30, 1949•29 min
