Gresham College Lectures

Gresham College Lectures

Gresham College

Episodes 1,000
Avg. Duration 54m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.5 (34)
Since Oct 2017
Latest Episode Mar 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every Few Days
Format
Episodic
Consistency
62%
Hosting
feeds.buzzsprout.com

About This Podcast

Gresham College has been providing free public lectures since 1597, making us London's oldest higher education institution. This podcast offers our recorded lectures that are free to access from the Gresham College website, or our YouTube channel.

Podcasting 2.0 Features

funding

Social Media

Explore Statistics

Recent Episodes

How Women Made the Global Economy - Dr Victoria Bateman

Mar 06, 2026 52m

Economic history has been written by men, for men and about men, giving the impression that – until recently – the economy was “just for men”. This lecture rescues from obscurity the many female…

Climate Risk and Insurance - Raghavendra Rau

Mar 03, 2026 59m

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/Hwl0YRRaHgEWhy did coastal homeowners lose insurance while UK energy bills spiked after Russia’s invasion? Because risks started moving together. In…

The Price of Pixels: Unmasking the Environmental Impact of Our Digital Lives - Ian Mudway

Feb 27, 2026 57m

Our digital world's convenience masks a heavy environmental cost. This lecture explores the destructive rare earth mineral mining powering our devices, the vast energy consumption of data centres…

Peacebuilding through the visual Arts - Jolyon Mitchell

Feb 24, 2026 41m

How can the visual arts be used to promote peace? Professor Mitchell investigates how the visual arts can not only incite violence, but also bear witness, reveal dangerous memories, transform…

The Shape of Shells: She Sells Self-Similar Spiral Seashells on the Seashore - Professor Alain Goriely

Feb 20, 2026 52m

This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on 13th February 2026 at Bernard’s Inn Hall, LondonAlain Goriely is a mathematician with broad interests in mathematical methods, mechanics, sciences, and…

Pictures from Afghanistan: Are we making the same mistakes? - Clive Stafford Smith

Feb 17, 2026 44m

This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on the 9th of February 2026 at Bernard’s Inn Hall, LondonClive Stafford Smith JD OBE is a dual UK-US national, the founder and director of the…

Death Investigation: What Do Coroners Do? - Peter Thornton

Feb 13, 2026 47m

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/9ozYDQFkfaYWhen death occurs, the state has a duty to investigate. Every death must be registered locally with a cause of death. And now, more than…

Alien Earths: What Makes Us Special? - Professor Chris Lintott

Feb 10, 2026 45m

Sometime in 2026, we will discover our 10000th exoplanet, a world around a distant star. This population of worlds has proved remarkably diverse, but hasn’t produced any world like our own. We ask…

Will You Be AI’s Pet? - Matt Jones

Feb 06, 2026 46m

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/fuk6LYeOCDQI have two pet dogs; they are happy, wagging their tails and reacting well when I come home from work. They are well fed; have good…

An Ocean of Air - Helen Czerski

Feb 03, 2026 56m

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/_HJt1zjecCoThe major environmental challenge of our time is framed in terms of what happens in our atmosphere, and specifically what are called…

Mithras: Master of Mystery - Ronald Hutton

Jan 30, 2026 45m

The cult of Mithras was by far the most famous of the mystery religions of the Roman Empire: private societies of worshippers devoted to a particular deity. It was supposed to have come from Persia,…

Why Do We Grieve? - Robin May

Jan 27, 2026 46m

Grieving is a uniquely human emotion – or is it? Is the apparent attachment of elephants or orcas to the bodies of dead relatives a sign of grief, or simply an instinctive behaviour without emotional…

Constable's "The Cornfield": A Bicentenary Harvesting - Professor Malcolm Andrews

Jan 23, 2026 49m

Constable’s painting The Cornfield celebrates its bicentenary in 2026. How has it aged? This is a landscape that has acquired iconic status – a marker of national identity -- as a representation of…

Music of Light and Colour - Milton Mermikides

Jan 20, 2026 48m

Watch the Q&A session here:  https://youtu.be/3B58-fA2b-4"Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings." — KandinskyHow do we ‘see’ music, or ‘hear’…

Economics and Artificial Intelligence - Daniel Susskind

Jan 16, 2026 51m

ChatGPT, the AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, was the fastest growing app in history. But this achievement, as sudden and remarkable as it might seem, was simply the most recent chapter in a…

Donald Trump and the Death Penalty - Clive Stafford Smith

Jan 06, 2026 40m

One of the first executive orders issued by President Trump in January was EO 14164 designed to “restore the death penalty”, though actually aimed at far more (including making the prison conditions…

From Mars with Love: Postcards from 50 Years of Exploring The Red Planet - Chris Lintott

Jan 05, 2026 1h

During the fifty years since the launch of the Viking spacecraft to Mars, our view of the red planet has changed from hostile desert to a world which was once covered in water, and which may just…

Life, Death and Judgement in the Art and Times of Hieronymus Bosch (d. 1516) - Sophie Oosterwijk

Dec 30, 2025 45m

This lecture looks at the 'surreal' art of the Early Netherlandish painter Jheronimus Bosch within its historical and cultural context. Although Bosch’s terrifying visions of sin, death, and the…

Hecate: Mistress of Magic - Ronald Hutton

Dec 26, 2025 43m

Hecate started as the ruling goddess of the Asian region of Caria, and got taken over by the Greeks as the only one able to operate in every realm of the cosmos. This then gave her special…

Where Is China Heading under Xi Jinping? - Steve Tsang

Dec 23, 2025 43m

In this lecture, Tsang examines the strategic goals and direction of travel China’s supreme leader, Xi Jinping, has set for the country and its people. He highlights what China’s new de facto state…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Gresham College Lectures have?

Gresham College Lectures has published 1000 episodes since October 2017, covering topics in Education, History.

Is Gresham College Lectures still active?

Gresham College Lectures is currently highly active with new episodes every few days. Average episode length is 54m.

Similar Podcasts