Gresham College Lectures

Do businesses exist to make profits, or to serve a purpose? This talk will present rigorous evidence showing there need be no trade-off between purpose and profit, contrary to conventional wisdom. It will then turn to the practical 'so what?'. How can we embed purpose in the heart of business so that it extends far beyond a mission statement.The talk will highlight how change cannot be piecemeal but involves holistic reform across many dimensions of a company.A lecture by Professor Alex Edmans, Gresham Professor of Business 3 October 2018The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/purposeful-businessGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show

The most compact objects that shine in the universe are neutron stars. Black holes are even more compact objects that we view indirectly as matter accretes and heats up around them.Professor Silk will describe the state of our knowledge of neutron stars and black holes, and how new observations of gravity waves are poised to revolutionise this field.A lecture by Professor Joseph Silk, Gresham Professor of Astronomy 3 October 2018The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/astronomy-gravitational-wavesGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show

There was no intellectually sophisticated or articulate 'atheism' in the Middle Ages, but there was plenty of raw scepticism and incredulity. Church courts regularly heard blasphemy cases which went as far as outright denial of God.This lecture will take a tour of medieval unbelief, showing how and why some medieval people defied the powerful orthodoxies of their day: fired not by intellectual or philosophical doubts but by suspicion that 'God' was being used to swindle and manipulate them.A lecture by Professor Alec Ryrie, Gresham Professor of Divinity 27 September 2018The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/atheist-medieval-europeGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show

Antibiotic resistance has emerged as an issue that threatens public health around the world. Even simple operations may no longer be possible due to the risk of lethal infection. What is less well-known is the role of environmental components in amplifying resistance. Heads of State have pledged to tackle the problem but current policies are proving inadequate. A shift in thinking is needed with citizen scientists getting involved and prevention the best cure.A lecture by Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment 25 September 2018The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/antibiotic-resistance-citizens-helpGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show

The earliest London-made films showed the Victorian city doing everyday business, before its fictional screen image became increasingly shadowy and sinister. Gothic or 'gaslight' visions of London have remained popular with cinema audiences, providing a fictional and often eerie counterpoint to the growth of the modern city.A lecture by Professor Ian Christie, Visiting Professor in the History of Film and Media 24 September 2018The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/gothic-london-ancient-city-on-screenGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show

Tudor England was a dangerous place for the wealthy and powerful. The cultural ambitions of the elite open a window into contemporary attitudes. A lecture by Professor Simon Thurley CBE, Visiting Professor of the Built Environment 19 September 2018The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/painting-patronage-politics-tudorsGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport the show

"What is 'Romanticism'? Jonathan Bate goes in search of what Isaiah Berlin described as 'the greatest single shift in the consciousness of the West'.A lecture by Sir Jonathan Bate CBE FBA, Gresham Professor of Rhetoric 18 September 2018The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/origins-of-romanticismGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport the show

It has become the conventional wisdom that the rule of law is a necessary ingredient of economic progress. Along with an independent judiciary, individual rights, a free media, free association, strong political parties and a rich civil society, government policy asserts that the rule of law is found in all successful countries and sustainable economies, and consequently should be promoted abroad.After examining this assumption, the lecture will explore how the rule of law contributed to Britain's economic development from the early nineteenth century.The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-grays-inn-reading-the-rule-of-law-good-for-the-economyGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport the show

THE PROVOST'S LECTURE Terrorism has become one of the most destructive and worrying aspects of life in 21st-century European cities. Seemingly random and unpredictable attacks have placed us all at risk of injury or death. How new is this phenomenon? Is terrorism more widespread and more dangerous than it has been in the past? This lecture takes the long view and examines the nature and impact of terrorism in Europe since the nineteenth century.The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/terrorism-in-historical-perspectiveGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport the show

THE SIR THOMAS GRESHAM ANNUAL LECTURE 2018 The scientific evidence for climate change will be examined, describing how simulations of the Earth's weather and climate are constructed and how these can be used to make assessments of what our climate and weather might be like in the coming decades. Based on this scientific evidence it will be argued that climate change may well be one of the defining challenges of the twenty-first century, and that how we respond will determine our future prosperity, health and well-being and the sustainability of Earth's natural environment.The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/climate-change-a-defining-challenge-for-the-21st-centuryGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport the show