Gresham College Lectures

Dive into the mysteries of the universe's end! Explore the lifecycle of our Sun, Earth's fate, and the enigma of dark energy. Learn about cosmic expansion, the Big Crunch, and the role of entropy in shaping our universe's destiny. Chris Lintott discusses mind-bending concepts like Boltzmann brains and the potential of universes reproducing. Reflect on the philosophical implications of a bleak cosmic future as music weaves through these profound ideas. It's a journey that leaves you pondering both the universe's end and its intricate beginnings.

Matt Jones, a computer scientist at Swansea University, dives into the intriguing intersection of AI and human life. He explores themes like whether AI will enhance or diminish human achievement, and what the rapid progress of AI means for our future. Jones contrasts human creativity with machine output, raising questions about trust in AI systems. He touches on risks like deepfakes, advocates for empowering technology, and reasons for hope, suggesting a more optimistic future for human-AI collaboration.

Written in the era of the founding of Gresham College, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream portrays the hypnotic dreaminess of a fairy world in which the real and the fantastic are blurred. This lecture explores how the innate musicality of Shakespeare’s original has provoked adaptations across the centuries, including Ashton and Balanchine’s ballets based on Mendelssohn’s incidental music for the play, Britten’s opera, Purcell’s masque The Fairy Queen, Henze’s Eighth Symphony and Elvis Costello’s Il Sogno. What is it about Shakespeare’s fairies that have inspired such diverse musical responses?This lecture was recorded by Professor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh on 22nd September  2025 at Conway Hall, London.Dominic Broomfield-McHugh is Gresham Visiting Professor of Film and Theatre Music. He is also Professor of Music at the University of Sheffield and is a graduate of King's College London. His scholarship focuses on the American musical on stage and screen, and he has published eight books including Loverly: The Life and Times of 'My Fair Lady' (OUP, 2012), The Letters of Cole Porter (Yale, 2019) and The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical (2022). He is Associate Producer of the PBS documentary Meredith Willson: America's Music Man and has appeared on all the main BBC television and radio stations as well as NPR in America. He has given talks and lectures at the Sydney Opera House, New York City Center, the Library of Congress, New York Public Library, Sadler's Wells, and Lincoln Center, among many others.The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/musical-fairiesGresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/Website:  https://gresham.ac.ukTwitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollegeInstagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport the show

This lecture looks at the evolution of Guantánamo Bay, first as a focal point of Haitian immigration in 1991 (Gitmo 1.0), to the more famous detention of terror suspects in 2002 (Gitmo 2.0), and back to immigration in 2025. We will explore how Gitmo 3.0 is probably already over, and how we were able to head it off so quickly through legal challenges. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the U.S. is “actively searching” for countries to accept migrants deported from the U.S., with both El Salvador and Rwanda under consideration. We will discuss how lessons from legal action around Guantánamo Bay might translate to other settings.This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on 18th September 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Clive is the Gresham Professor of LawHe is the founder and director of  the Justice League a non-profit human rights training centre focused on fostering the next generation of advocates.  He also teaches part time at Bristol Law School and Goldsmiths as well as running a summer programme for 35 students in Dorset, his home. He has received all kinds of awards in recognition of his work, including an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for “services to humanity” in 2000. He has been a member of the Louisiana State Bar since 1984.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/guantanamoGresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-todayWebsite:  https://gresham.ac.ukTwitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollegeInstagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-todaySupport the show

The reflection of my right hand in a mirror is a left hand that looks similar yet is very different from the right. Many natural structures such as proteins, climbing vines, and seashells exhibit the same property known as chirality. Some of these objects are clearly left-handed, some are right-handed, some are both. The ultimate origin of chirality is one of Nature's great mysteries. In this talk, I will discuss the general problem of determining the chirality of an object and how it impacts all branches of science.This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on 16th September  2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Professor Alain Goriely FRS is Gresham Professor of Geometry.He is also a mathematician known for dynamical systems, mathematical biology, and mechanics. He developed the mathematical theory of biological growth and is Director of the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. His work spans plant tendrils, seashells, umbilical cords, brain modelling, and applied mathematics outreach.The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/shape-handsGresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/Website:  https://gresham.ac.ukTwitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollegeInstagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport the show

Professor Helen Czerski, an oceanographer and Associate Professor at UCL, explores the intricate dynamics of Earth as a life support system. She discusses how energy flows from the Sun and the importance of recycling Earth's finite atoms. Her insights on breaking waves and bubbles reveal their crucial role in ocean processes. Czerski also emphasizes the significance of seeing humans as integrated components of Earth's systems while highlighting the two unbreakable rules of our planet: the necessity of energy flow and atom recycling.

Daniel Susskind, a research professor and economist at King’s College London, delves into 'automation anxiety'—the fear that technology will take away jobs. He traces this concern from the Luddites to modern-day protests against driverless cars. Susskind discusses how, despite past anxieties, history shows that new technologies often create different types of work. He highlights the decline in job quality and rising inequalities, emphasizing the need to rethink what work means in an AI-driven world.

In this engaging discussion, Sarah Hart, a renowned mathematician and the first woman Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, explores Galileo’s intriguing 1588 lectures on Dante’s Inferno. She delves into the synergy between poetry and mathematics, showcasing historical connections that paved the way for significant mathematical ideas. Hart reveals how Galileo deduced the shape of Hell and inspired interdisciplinary thinking, blending artistic perspective with geometric principles, while also touching on musical influences on group theory. This captivating blend of culture and math underlines the beauty and creativity inherent in both fields.

The lecture shares perspectives from global history, comparative politics, and international relations to revaluate whether the twentieth-century collapse of European colonialism was as definitive as often portrayed. It suggests that, while in some ways, ending European Empires remade our contemporary world, in others processes of decolonization are far from complete.This lecture was recorded by Martin Thomas on the 9th of April 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, LondonMartin is Professor of Imperial History and Director of the Centre for Histories of Violence and Conflict at the University of Exeter.He was awarded a Philip Leverhulme prize for outstanding research in 2002 and has been both a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellow and a fellow of the Independent Social Research Foundation. He has also held visiting fellowships at Sciences Po., Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Studies in Amsterdam.He is the author of twelve books on various aspects of decolonization, French foreign and colonial policy, colonial security services, violence and colonialism. His most recent book is The End of Empires and a World Remade: A Global History of Decolonization (Princeton University Press, 2024).The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/world-decolonizationGresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham College's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website:  https://gresham.ac.ukX: https://x.com/GreshamCollegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollegeInstagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollegeBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/greshamcollege.bsky.social TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greshamcollegeSupport Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-todaySupport the show

Adam Hanieh, a Professor of Political Economy at the University of Exeter, dives into the complex interplay between oil, decolonisation, and the climate crisis. He discusses how oil shaped national independence movements and the emergence of OPEC, revealing the deep-rooted connections between energy and global power dynamics. Hanieh challenges the narrative of a green transition, emphasizing the ongoing reliance on fossil fuels and the geopolitical tug-of-war surrounding oil resources, making a compelling case for understanding our current climate emergency.