Podcasts about Gresham College

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/Y9JR7El863kOur alert systems for identifying safety and security threats have evolved over time. As the threat from wild animals diminished, the perceived threat from other humans increased. To defend our territories and our livelihoods, we began to gather intelligence on our enemies, in the hope that being forewarned would give us an advantage. This lecture explores our use of technologies that have allowed us to keep a closer watch, and the ingenious methods that have been used to counter them.  This lecture was recorded by Victoria Baines on 8th April 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Victoria is IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology.Victoria is a Senior Research Associate of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge, a Senior Research Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group, and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She is also Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University's School of Computing, a former Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University, and was a guest lecturer at Stanford University in 2019 and 2020. She is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford and holds a doctorate from the University of Nottingham. She serves on the Safety Advisory Board of Snapchat, the Advisory Board of cybersecurity provider Reliance Cyber, and is a trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/how-surveillance-worksGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/G_SpC_BV4jAIn the late nineteenth century, Joseph Chamberlain transformed Birmingham with municipal enterprise and urban improvement, but in the last few years, local authorities have been facing serious financial difficulties, and some of the largest, such as Birmingham, have faced the equivalent of bankruptcy. This lecture will ask why British cities have lost the confident civic pride of the Victorian era and are now struggling to provide basic services from a limited financial base. Most importantly: What can be done to regenerate British towns and cities?     This lecture was recorded by Martin Daunton on 24th April 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Professor Martin Daunton is Visiting Gresham Professor of Economic History.He is a British academic and historian. He was Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, between 2004 and 2014. He is Emeritus Professor of Economic History at the University of Cambridge.He has written two books on the history of taxation in Britain – Trusting Leviathan and Just Taxes, and co-edited with colleagues in Berlin a volume of essays on the political economy of public finance in leading OECD countries since the 1970s. His book The Economic Government of the World, 1933 to 2023 was published by Allen Lane in 2023.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/cities-bankruptGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/qz9a4zXIFz0The ancient Druids have long represented some of the most striking and controversial figures in ancient and medieval literature. In this lecture, we will look at the many different ways in which the modern imagination has been inspired by them, both as heroic ancestors and as demonic villains against whom civilisation can be defined. It traces the appearance of different kinds of Druidry as a part of Paganism, and suggests what the particular contribution of that Druidry to modern culture may be.This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on 2nd April 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Ronald is the Gresham Professor of Divinity.He is also Professor of History at the University of Bristol and a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries and the Learned Society of Wales.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/modern-druidsGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/PcNoOjT30VYVaccination has changed the world, saving millions of lives and enabling us to eradicate a lethal disease for the first time in human history – not to mention their critical role in ending the Covid-19 pandemic. This lecture explores how a vaccine actually works, why mRNA vaccines are truly groundbreaking and why we can't simply vaccinate against everything. This lecture was recorded by Robin May on 26th March 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Robin is Gresham Professor of Physic.He is also Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/how-do-vaccines-workGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/H8nG29pO_y4Asteroids were for years considered 'celestial vermin' - objects which got in the way of more interesting fodder for astronomers. Now, they are central to our Solar System's story, representing the building blocks from which planets are made, and capable of telling us the history of the last five billion years. This lecture considers two missions - Lucy, which flies past asteroid Donald Johnson in April 2025, and OSIRIS-ReX, which recently returned from threatening near-Earth asteroid Bennu bearing samples of this unusual world. This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on 23rd April 2025 at Conway Hall, LondonChris is Gresham Professor of Astronomy.He is also a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at New College.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/asteroid-adventuresGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/-TsWDdeQK34Composed by Jerry Herman of Hello, Dolly! fame, ‘I Am What I Am' first appeared in the Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles (1983). As well as gaining importance as a gay anthem during the AIDS crisis, the song has gone on to become a hit for several Black divas including Gloria Gaynor and Shirley Bassey. This lecture was recorded by Dominic Broomfield-McHugh on 3rd of April 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 of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/lgbt-showstopper-i-am-what-i-amGresham 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

En nuestro anterior podcast grabado precisamente el 21 de abril, fecha en la que oficialmente murió el papa Francisco les empezamos a hablar de los constructores de números. No encontramos casual que el papa falleciese exactamente ese dia, ya que no es un día cualquiera. Es el Natalis Romae, el aniversario fundacional de Roma, ciudad que desde hace más de dos mil años ha sido el epicentro del poder político, religioso y simbólico de Occidente. Y precisamente hoy, en esta fecha cargada de ritual y resonancia, muere el Papa Francisco. En plena resurrección de Jesucristo, uno muere y el otro renace. ¿Casualidad? En este podcast, ya sabéis que no creemos en ellas. Hoy, en Buscadores de la Verdad, vamos a descifrar lo que muchos pasarán por alto: la profunda e inquietante importancia del número 8 en la vida, el legado y la muerte del Papa. Francisco fue el primer Papa jesuita, el primero procedente de América, el Papa de la Agenda 2030, de las vacunas, de la simplificación de los rituales. Un Papa atípico. Y, como veremos, un Papa marcado por el 8 desde el principio hasta el final. Nació un 17 de diciembre de 1936. Fallece un 21 de abril de 2025. 88 años y 125 días después. Un doble 8 y un 1+2+5 = 8. El símbolo del infinito. El equilibrio kármico. El reinicio del ciclo. Pero no acaba ahí: convertido en el octavo Papa enterrado en Santa María la Mayor, bajo un escudo papal alterado misteriosamente para exhibir una estrella de ocho puntas, su historia está plagada de estos guiños numéricos que parecen trazados por una mano invisible. En este episodio vamos a hablar de arquitectura oculta, de rituales milenarios, de cómo la elite que gobierna entre bambalinas utiliza los números y los símbolos como herramientas para construir la realidad. Y en este caso, el número 8 aparece como la clave de todo. Porque cuando entiendes el lenguaje oculto de los que mandan, sabes que todo está diseñado. Desde las fechas, hasta los funerales. Desde los escudos hasta los silencios del Vaticano. El 21 de abril, Roma celebra su nacimiento... y el Vaticano entierra a su Papa más simbólico. La era de Francisco se cierra en un ciclo perfecto, sellado con un 8. ¿Qué se abre ahora? ¿Qué nuevo paradigma se está gestando en la sombra? Prácticamente desde el principio de este podcast, en el UTP8 Universo fractal ya tratamos la importancia de los números y como estos crean la realidad que vivimos. Son, como dijimos en el anterior podcast, los ladrillos del universo. Leere unos pasajes de la tesina “Los conjuntos numéricos a través de la historia” de Veronica Valdez: “En el pasado la matemática fue considerada una ciencia relacionada directamente a las cantidades, en relación con las magnitudes (desde la geometria); a los números (desde la aritmética) o a la generalización de los dos (desde el álgebra). Las primeras nociones de número y la acción de contar datan de la prehistoria. La causa que originó el desarrollo de este conocimiento en el hombre primitivo fue su necesidad de proteger sus bienes, la adaptación a los ciclos que la madre naturaleza le imponía le aseguraban su alimentación. El hombre prehistórico plasmó los primeros indicios matemáticos en sus vasijas (dibujos geométricos) y sus primeros sistemas de cálculos se basaron en el uso de los dedos de las manos o la utilización del cuerpo, este método resulta evidente al ver que muchos de los sistemas de numeración son de base 5 o 10.” Fueron los egipcios en el tercer milenio antes de cristo los que desarrollan unas matemáticas más avanzadas llegando a plantear problemas complejos como el calculo de superficies, lo cual era vital para el reparto de la tierra fértil fecundada por las crecidas del Nilo. La tierra se movia y cambiaba ligeramente de aspecto y era imprescindible para que reinase el orden que dicho reparto fuera lo mas ajustado a derecho posible. Luego los romanos mejoraron hasta cierto aspecto el uso de jeroglíficos de los egipcios por simples letras. En ese momento se seguía utilizando todavía el sistema babilónico que consistía en escribir en tablillas de arcilla utilizando un palito en forma de cuña. Una cuña apuntaba hacia abajo y la otro hacia la izquierda. El problema consistia en que era un sistema con solo 60 números, lo cual limitaba mucho el calculo mental. Los babilonios utilizaban, eso si, la forma en que cada dígito tenia un valor disitinto dependiendo de la posición que ocupase. El primer sistema matematico que utilizo al mismo tiempo el principio posicional y el cero fue el sistema de los mayas. “En este sistema 1 kin (sol) representa un día, 20 kines forman un huinal. Como 20 huinales representan 400 días, lo cual es mucho mayor que la duración exacta del año (este sistema fue utilizado para cálculos astronómicos), los mayas llamaron tun a 18 huinales, o 360 días. Excepto por este nivel, el resto del sistema es vigesimal.” “No se tiene conocimiento con exactitud cómo surgió, pero se sabe que fue un sistema de numeración mejorado por los hindúes y los árabes lo llevaron a Europa. De esta forma a las cifras se las llamó árabes debido a su origen, de la misma manera que escribirlas de derecha a izquierda (unidad, decena, centena, etc.) Hacia el año 976 Gerberto Aurillac (futuro Papa) conoce las primeras cifras en España, que ya estaba influenciada por la cultura musulmana, pero su influencia fue limitada. En el siglo XII se conoce las primeras traducciones al latin de las obras de un matemático árabe al- Jwarizmi, de quien se conocen los términos algoritmo y guarismo; de esta forma las cifras árabes comienzan a introducirse en el círculo culto europeo. En el año 1202, Fibonacci publica el "Libro del ábaco" que acopía y amplia las cifras y los procedimientos de cálculo utilizados por los árabes. Durante este siglo se consolidó la aritmética decimal sobre todo en los concerniente a las actividades comerciales. Sin embargo el método árabe y sus ventajas para calcular debieron sortear varios inconvenientes por parte de los calculistas de la época que ante la amenaza de un nuevo método mucho más sencillo, que atentaba supuestamente a su fuente de trabajo, recurrieron a estrategias bajas como hacer correr el rumor que el sistema de cálculo árabe tan sencillo, debía tener algo de magia o un cierto poder demoníaco. Esta acusación fue astutamente utilizada en la época de la Inquisición. Recién a fines del siglo XVI con Montaigne comenzó a abrirse paso nuevamente el sistema de numeración árabe y finalmente se generalizó con la Revolución Francesa. A partir de dicho momento histórico se comenzó a utilizar al 10 como base del sistema métrico decimal.” Con todo este resumen vengo a comentar que el enorme poder de los números estaba en poquísimas manos hasta bien entrado siglo 16 y que para ese entonces muchos de los secretos y la simbología que escondían estos paso a ser solo aprendido en las sectas, en las logias y en las futuras universidades que estaban también creadas por los mismos. LA EDUCACION según Lord Bertrand Russell en su obra "La Perspectiva Científica", 1931, nos dice: "Los jesuitas proporcionan una clase de educación a los niños que han de ser hombres corrientes en el mundo, y otra distinta a áquellos que han de llegar a ser miembros de la Compañía de Jesús. De análoga manera, los gobernantes científicos proporcionarán un género de educación a los hombres y mujeres corrientes, y otro diferente a aquéllos que hayan de ser el poder científico. Los hombres y mujeres corrientes es de esperar que sean dóciles, diligentes, puntuales, de poco pensar y que se sientan satisfechos. Por otro lado, aquellos niños y niñas que estén destinados a ser miembros de la clase gobernante, recibirán una educación muy diferente. Serán seleccionados, algunos antes de nacer, otros durante los primeros tres años de vida, y unos pocos entre los tres y seis años. Toda la ciencia conocida se aplicará al desarrollo simultáneo de su inteligencia y de su voluntad. ….." Y es que para todos la ciencia ha sido creada supuestamente por científicos, ¿no? Uno de los parangones mundiales es la Royal Society fundada el 28 de noviembre de 1660 en Londres. Sus fundadores fueron un grupo de 12 científicos y pensadores, entre los que destacan Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins y William Petty. Lo que no nos cuentan es que el milenarismo y la cábala estaba en los orígenes de la Royal Society. Pero como escribió Boyle, los científicos, "sacerdotes de la naturaleza", habrían de adquirir, durante el milenio, "un conocimiento mucho mayor del que Adán pudo tener del maravilloso universo de Dios". Esta afirmación supone que, en la expectativa de Boyle, la ciencia permitiría alcanzar un estadio más avanzado que el presupuesto por la condición adánica, y acceder, en cierto modo, a la condición divina. Con palabras de la serpiente a Eva, ya había asegurado Bacon en la Nueva Atlántida que algún día los hombres serían como dioses, y ésta habría de ser, decía Lewis Mumford, "la meta final no declarada de la ciencia moderna”. (Noble 1999, pág 88). Dentro de la UNED (la universidad a distancia en España) podemos leer un texto titulado “LA ROYAL SOCIETY Y LA MASONERÍA” que dice asi: “La Royal Society se origina cuando doce hombres cultivados adoptaron la costumbre, poco después de 1640, de reunirse esporádicamente en Londres para conversar y discutir en la residencia de uno de ellos o bien en una taberna próxima al Gresham College. Al poco tiempo, bajo patrocinio del monarca, decidieron crear una asociación para el estudio de los mecanismos de la naturaleza. Para asegurarse de que los dogmas no fueran un obstáculo, desterraron de sus asambleas toda discusión de tintes religiosos y políticos. Y eso a pesar de que los doce fundadores diferían tanto en cuestiones políticas y religiosas, como en experiencia científica y rango social. Entre los nombres de los primeros miembros de la Royal Society se encuentran científicos que dieron nombre a sus descubrimientos; así, la Ley de Hooke, la Ley de Boyle, la construcción de Huygens, las leyes de Newton, el movimiento browniano, y esto sin contar a científicos de menor talla como Christopher Wren, John Eveyn, John Wilkins, Elias Ashmole, John Flamsteed o Edmund Halley. Sin embargo, los hombres que fundaron esta Sociedad no sólo fueron los primeros científicos, sino, al mismo tiempo, los últimos "magos". De hecho, Ashmole pertenecía a una sociedad de rosacruces y practicaba la astrología, Newton estudió y escribió acerca de los conceptos alquímicos de los rosacruces, y Hooke llevó a cabo experimentos con arañas y cuernos de unicornio.” Mucho antes John Dee, el asesor de la reina Isabel I de Inglaterra aunque no participó directamente en la creación de la Royal Society, su legado como defensor de las matemáticas, la navegación y el conocimiento empírico influyó en el ambiente intelectual que dio lugar a esta institución. Su reputación como "mago" y las acusaciones de nigromancia reflejan la percepción de sus prácticas herméticas y adivinatorias, que, aunque controvertidas, eran parte de su búsqueda de conocimiento universal. Recordemos que hoy dia podemos ver en el museo de Londres su piedra de obsidiana negra donde el mismo reconocía que veía a seres de otro mundo con los que decia comunicarse. Dee creo el alfabeto enoquiano, también conocido como el "lenguaje angélico" o "alfabeto mágico" desarrollado por Dee y su colaborador Edward Kelley durante sus sesiones de videncia (scrying) en la década de 1580. Mientras Isabel I valoraba a Dee como consejero (eligió la fecha de su coronación en 1559 basándose en sus cálculos astrológicos), otros lo veían como un charlatán peligroso. Su casa fue saqueada tras su partida a Europa en 1583, y bajo Jacobo I, enemigo de la brujería, Dee perdió ese trato de favor. Su imagen como "mago" inspiró personajes como Próspero en La Tempestad de Shakespeare y perduró en la cultura popular, como en la ópera de Damon Albarn o la canción de Iron Maiden “El Alquimista”. Termino esta entradilla con otro texto de Lord Bertrand Russell extraído de su obra, "El Impacto de la Ciencia en la Sociedad", 1951: "Aunque esta ciencia será estudiada con diligencia, deberá reservarse estrictamente a la clase gobernante. Al populacho no habrá de permitírsele saber cómo fueron generadas sus convicciones. Una vez perfeccionada la técnica, cada gobierno que haya estado a cargo de la educación por una generación, podrá controlar a sus sujetos de forma segura, sin la necesidad de recurrir a ejércitos ni policías. Actualmente, la población del mundo crece a razón de unos 58.000 individuos por día. La guerra, hasta ahora, no ha tenido un gran efecto en este crecimiento, que continuó a lo largo de cada una de las dos guerras mundiales... La guerra hasta la fecha ha sido decepcionante al respecto... pero quizás la guerra bacteriológica resultare más efectiva. Si una peste negra se propagare una vez en cada generación, los sobrevivientes podrían procrear libremente sin llenar al mundo demasiado... La situación seguramente sería poco placentera, pero, ¿qué importa?" ………………………………………………………………………………………. Imagina por un momento que entras en una antigua ciudad del sur de Italia, hace más de dos mil quinientos años. Calles de piedra, templos consagrados a dioses griegos... y una puerta. Una puerta modesta, sin adornos ostentosos, pero con una inscripción grabada con precisión geométrica: "No entre aquí quien no sepa geometría”. Estás ante la escuela de los pitagóricos, una de las sociedades más enigmáticas de la historia antigua. Fundada por Pitágoras de Samos, no era solo una escuela de matemáticas, como a veces se enseña en las aulas. Era una hermandad. Una especie de secta del conocimiento, donde los números eran algo más que herramientas: eran divinidades, principios cósmicos, claves para entender el alma del universo. Los pitagóricos creían que todo en la naturaleza —el movimiento de los astros, los ciclos vitales, incluso la música— respondía a proporciones numéricas. El número uno simbolizaba la unidad, el origen. El dos, la dualidad, lo femenino. El tres, la perfección. El cuatro, la justicia. Y el diez... el número perfecto, resultado de sumar 1+2+3+4. Un número sagrado. Este triángulo tiene cuatro filas y, si las cuentas todas, suma diez puntos. Ese número —el 10— era considerado el número perfecto por los pitagóricos, porque resultaba de la suma de los cuatro primeros números naturales: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10 Pero esto no era solo una curiosidad matemática. Cada número tenía un significado simbólico y cosmológico: 1 representaba la unidad, el origen, el punto de partida de toda existencia. 2 simbolizaba la dualidad: luz y oscuridad, masculino y femenino, arriba y abajo. 3 era la tríada perfecta, el equilibrio entre los opuestos (principio muy común también en filosofías orientales). 4 simbolizaba la estabilidad, los cuatro elementos (tierra, agua, aire y fuego), las cuatro estaciones, los puntos cardinales. Así, la Tetraktys se convertía en un resumen místico del universo: todo lo que existe puede explicarse a través de esta progresión sagrada. No era un simple dibujo. Los pitagóricos juraban sobre la Tetraktys, como otros juran sobre la Biblia o una constitución. Su fórmula era: "Juro por el que entregó a nuestra alma la Tetraktys, fuente que contiene en sí la raíz y fuente de la eterna naturaleza." ¿Lo notas? No están hablando solo de matemáticas. Están hablando de la naturaleza eterna, de algo fundamental que estructura el cosmos. Este juramento era una especie de sacramento, una alianza con la armonía universal. Utilizaban símbolos que aún hoy reconocemos. La estrella pentagonal, también conocida como pentagrama, era para ellos un emblema de perfección y salud. Cada ángulo de la estrella formaba la razón áurea, ese número casi mágico que sigue apareciendo en la naturaleza, en la arquitectura, en el arte… y, para algunos, incluso en el diseño de logotipos de poderosas organizaciones contemporáneas. Y aquí es donde la cosa se pone interesante. Los pitagóricos dividían a sus miembros en dos categorías: los akusmáticos, que solo escuchaban y obedecían sin cuestionar, y los matemáticos, que accedían a las enseñanzas ocultas. Este modelo jerárquico, basado en el secreto y la iniciación progresiva, suena familiar. Muy familiar. ¿A qué otras organizaciones te recuerda? Algunas sociedades secretas modernas —como ciertas logias masónicas— han heredado no solo la estructura iniciática, sino también muchos símbolos y conceptos pitagóricos. La estrella de cinco puntas, el ojo que todo lo ve, el uso de números y proporciones sagradas, la idea de que el verdadero conocimiento no debe estar al alcance de todos, sino reservado para una élite que lo custodia. La Tetraktys no desapareció con la caída de los pitagóricos. Su simbolismo se filtró a través de corrientes esotéricas posteriores. Por ejemplo: En la Cábala judía, el Árbol de la Vida también parte de una estructura numérica y jerárquica del universo. En la masonería, aunque no se usa directamente la Tetraktys, la idea del triángulo sagrado, la progresión simbólica del número y la veneración de la geometría sagrada están muy presentes. En el hermetismo y el neoplatonismo, se reutiliza el simbolismo pitagórico para hablar de los planos de existencia, del alma y del conocimiento secreto. Incluso en el mundo moderno, algunos investigadores creen que ciertos símbolos corporativos y arquitectónicos siguen patrones de proporción y estructura que tienen su origen, directa o indirectamente, en la Tetraktys. La Tetraktys no era un dibujo bonito. Era una clave esotérica. Un mandala numérico. Una representación del orden invisible que rige el universo. Para los pitagóricos, entenderla era un paso hacia la iluminación intelectual y espiritual. Y ahora, volvamos a los números. Porque hay una historia que suele pasar desapercibida en los libros de texto... Se cuenta que los pitagóricos sabían más de lo que enseñaban. Por ejemplo, que ocultaron deliberadamente conceptos como los números negativos. ¿Por qué? Porque esos números, que hoy usamos sin pensar, eran perturbadores. ¿Cómo podía existir algo menos que nada? ¿Cómo explicar al pueblo llano la idea de restar una cantidad mayor a una menor y obtener un resultado real, aunque invisible? La respuesta fue simple: lo escondieron. Evitaron esas operaciones, redefinieron los problemas, o simplemente los consideraron imposibles. Para ellos, un universo perfecto no podía contener números "erróneos", "oscuros" o "negativos". Así de poderosa era su creencia en la armonía matemática del mundo. Y ahora piensa en esto: ¿cuántas cosas damos hoy por verdaderas sin entenderlas? ¿Cuántas ideas nos han sido negadas por parecer “imposibles”? La sombra de los pitagóricos es alargada. Y si miras con atención, quizá todavía la veas en las instituciones que dirigen el conocimiento, en los rituales simbólicos que acompañan actos de poder, o incluso… en las matemáticas que se enseñan en nuestras escuelas. Porque como decía otro sabio antiguo: la ignorancia no es falta de información, sino la imposición del silencio. ………………………………………………………………………………………. Los terrenos donde se construyó Washington, D.C., eran parte de una zona conocida como "Rome" (Roma) antes de que se estableciera la capital de Estados Unidos. Este nombre se debe a que, en el siglo XVII, un terrateniente llamado Francis Pope, quien era propietario de una parcela en la zona, nombró su propiedad "Rome" en un guiño humorístico a la ciudad de Roma, Italia, y al río Tíber, comparándolo con el río Anacostia o el Potomac. Incluso se dice que Pope se autoproclamó "Papa de Roma" en tono jocoso. Cuando se decidió construir la nueva capital federal en 1790, los terrenos de "Rome" fueron parte de las tierras cedidas por Maryland para crear el Distrito de Columbia. Sin embargo, el nombre "Rome" cayó en desuso con el desarrollo de la ciudad planificada por Pierre Charles L'Enfant y la adopción del nombre "Washington" en honor a George Washington. El hombre que recibió el encargo de diseñar la nueva capital de Estados Unidos en 1791 fue Pierre Charles L’Enfant, un arquitecto y urbanista nacido en Francia que había luchado en la Guerra de Independencia estadounidense junto a George Washington. Era un apasionado de la arquitectura monumental y tenía una visión muy clara: la ciudad debía ser una representación del nuevo orden del mundo. Aunque no hay registros definitivos que lo identifiquen como masón —al contrario que muchos de sus contemporáneos como George Washington, Benjamin Franklin o Thomas Jefferson—, su diseño está repleto de símbolos que son clave en la tradición masónica y pitagórica. Esto ha llevado a muchos estudiosos a pensar que, si no era miembro formal de la masonería, al menos estaba fuertemente influenciado por ella. Cuando observamos desde el aire (o en un plano detallado) el trazado urbano de Washington D.C., comienzan a aparecer formas geométricas muy específicas que nos indican el uso de la geometría sagrada en el plano de la ciudad: La estrella de cinco puntas Una de las figuras más debatidas del diseño de Washington es la estrella pentagonal (el pentagrama), que muchos dicen puede verse trazando líneas entre la Casa Blanca, el Capitolio, y varios otros puntos clave como el Washington Monument y el Jefferson Memorial. El pentagrama es un símbolo ancestral que los pitagóricos veneraban como representación del equilibrio, la salud y la proporción áurea. Los masones lo heredaron y lo usan como símbolo del hombre perfecto, microcosmos del universo. La escuadra y el compás Estos dos instrumentos, esenciales en la arquitectura, son símbolos masónicos por excelencia. La escuadra representa la rectitud moral y el compás, los límites que uno debe imponer a sus pasiones. En el plano de Washington, las avenidas diagonales que cruzan la cuadrícula ortogonal tradicional parecen estar trazadas con escuadra y compás. Por ejemplo, Pensylvania Avenue y Maryland Avenue se cruzan formando ángulos casi rituales, como si fuesen dibujadas con instrumentos de aprendiz de logia. El triángulo y la Tetraktys Al unir algunos de los puntos clave de la ciudad se forman triángulos equiláteros y escaleno, que recuerdan tanto a la Tetraktys pitagórica como al Delta radiante masónico, el triángulo con el ojo que todo lo ve en su interior. Washington D.C. no fue construida al azar. Su disposición recuerda más a la de un templo iniciático que a la de una ciudad práctica. Cada monumento, cada calle y cada eje visual parece tener una función simbólica. La ciudad se convierte así en un espacio ritualizado, diseñado para canalizar no solo el poder político, sino el espiritual. Esto concuerda con la visión de muchos de los Padres Fundadores, que eran masones y creían en una forma de deísmo ilustrado, donde Dios no era el dios de una religión concreta, sino el Gran Arquitecto del Universo, la divinidad racional que había creado el cosmos a través de leyes matemáticas y geométricas. Hay quienes consideran todas estas conexiones como meras coincidencias. Pero otros —historiadores, ocultistas, arquitectos, e incluso funcionarios del propio Capitolio— han reconocido que la influencia masónica en el diseño de Washington D.C. no puede negarse. George Washington, masón de alto grado, puso la primera piedra del Capitolio en una ceremonia masónica el 18 de septiembre de 1793, vistiendo su delantal de logia. La colocación de monumentos, obeliscos (como el del Washington Monument) y referencias astrológicas refuerzan la idea de que la ciudad está alineada no solo con principios políticos, sino con principios cósmicos. Washington sigue siendo una ciudad codificada. Muchos de sus símbolos están a la vista, pero pocos los reconocen. El diseño original de L’Enfant fue alterado con el tiempo, sí, pero los patrones geométricos centrales permanecen. Y algunos sostienen que el espíritu de los antiguos pitagóricos, con su amor por los números sagrados y la geometría divina, vive hoy en las estructuras de poder moderno… solo que oculto entre calles, columnas y monumentos. ………………………………………………………………………………………. Bueno y me despido con algunas de mis ultimas Frases_UTP, ya saben, esas perlas que voy soltando de vez en cuando y que tienen agrupadas en Twitter bajo ese hastag: “Somos jockeys ocasionales de almas inmanentes, montando a galope los corceles efímeros de nuestra existencia terrenal, en un fugaz viaje donde el viento del tiempo susurra nuestra impermanencia y la tierra guarda el eco de nuestras huellas pasajeras." “Tanto el sabio como el ignorante pueden tomar malas decisiones, pero solo el ignorante no admite haberlas tomado.” “Si trabajas el presente nunca sentirás vergüenza por el pasado y te sentirás orgulloso en el futuro.” ………………………………………………………………………………………. Conductor del programa UTP Ramón Valero @tecn_preocupado Un técnico Preocupado un FP2 IVOOX UTP http://cutt.ly/dzhhGrf BLOG http://cutt.ly/dzhh2LX Ayúdame desde mi Crowfunding aquí https://cutt.ly/W0DsPVq Invitados Dra Yane #JusticiaParaUTP @ayec98_2 Médico y Buscadora de la verdad. Con Dios siempre! No permito q me dividan c/izq -derecha, raza, religión ni nada de la Creación. https://youtu.be/TXEEZUYd4c0 …. soros triplehijueputa @soroshijueputa2 En contra de un sistema corrupto al servicio de la élite globalista …. José Antonio @jasava7 Mensajero de la Nueva Era. Librepensador y escritor. Ciudadano del Mundo. Derecho Natural. DDHH. Paz, equidad y fraternidad. Jinete en lucha por un Mundo Mejor. …. SirGalahad @Sirgalahad79 Mi honor se llama lealtad. …. LaJessi @LaJessibot Donde hay bromas hay verdades | Qué no te engañen la pena es la novia del pene #NoTeRaye #TweetStar Filósofa del barrio #CBD No me llames cani o #tekillyulabida …. Ernesto @Ernesto22596980 A mi me paga Putin EXPEDIENTE ROYUELA …. Luz Madeleine Munayco @lecabel8 ………………………………………………………………………………………. Enlaces citados en el podcast: AYUDA A TRAVÉS DE LA COMPRA DE MIS LIBROS https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2024/11/16/ayuda-a-traves-de-la-compra-de-mis-libros/ UTP8 Universo fractal https://www.ivoox.com/utp8-universo-fractal-audios-mp3_rf_9991951_1.html El Papa y Roma… https://x.com/ElHiloRojoTV/status/1914235914999521647 Hilo sobre el papa https://x.com/tecn_preocupado/status/1914770003712467453 Féretro de papa Francisco como bandera de España https://x.com/ayec98_2/status/1915421017083711970 Capilla ardiente papa Francisco como sexo femenino https://x.com/ayec98_2/status/1915173455655215303 UTP268 Matematicas Vorticiales: Explorando el Tejido del Universo https://www.ivoox.com/utp268-matematicas-vorticiales-explorando-tejido-del-universo-audios-mp3_rf_121126662_1.html UTP272 Matemáticas Vorticiales: los vórtices de la vida https://www.ivoox.com/utp272-matematicas-vorticiales-vortices-vida-audios-mp3_rf_122197421_1.html ………………………………………………………………………………………. Música utilizada en este podcast: Tema inicial Heros ………………………………………………………………………………………. Epílogo ÚRSULA - AGUA DE LIMÓN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKfs8GIorhc

Sarah Hart is a mathematician who is interested, not just in the maths itself, but also its connections to other areas of culture and art. She's done an amazing number of things throughout her career — from research in pure mathematics and heading up a maths department, to being the first woman Gresham Professor of Geometry and President of the British Society for the History of Mathematics.  Sarah has also written a fascinating book, called Once upon a time: The wondrous connections between mathematics and literature, and she gave a talk at this year's Cambridge Festival, with the intriguing title Life in Lilliput – The Mathematics of Fictional Realms. The talk was the contribution to the Festival of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (INI). Sarah also participates in the Modern History of Mathematics research programme that is currently taking place at the INI. In this episode of Living proof, produced in collaboration with the INI, Sarah tells us about the many things she has done and how they all fit together, and gives some advice for budding mathematicians of all ages: keep pursuing all the things you love doing, and one day it may turn out that they all fit together. To find out more about some of the things mentioned in this podcast see the fllowing links: Sarah Hart: Once upon a prime — In this episode of our Maths on the Move podcast Sarah talks about her book and the connections between maths and literature. Maths in three minutes: Groups — This article gives a brief introduction to Sarah's research area. Life in Lilliput – The Mathematics of Fictional Realms — Click this link to watch a recording of Sarah's Cambridge Festival talk at the INI. Sarah Hart at Gresham College — Click this link to watch Sarah's Gresham College public lectures. This podcast forms part of our collaboration with the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (INI) – you can find all the content from the collaboration here. The INI is an international research centre and our neighbour here on the University of Cambridge's maths campus. It attracts leading mathematical scientists from all over the world, and is open to all. Visit www.newton.ac.uk to find out more.

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/9tcRtGh7hkMThis lecture looks at debates and dialogues that characterise realist photography in Apartheid South Africa (1948-1994) examining the tensions between advocacy, propaganda and the ‘struggle' on the one hand and the poetics of everyday life on the other. Figures from Ernest Cole and David Goldblatt to Zanele Muholi and Lebohang Kganye will be examined. This lecture was recorded by Tamar Garb on 25th March 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Tamar Garb is Durning Lawrence Professor in the History of Art. Her research interests have focused on questions of gender and sexuality in European art as well as on post-apartheid culture, contemporary art, and the history of lens-based practices in Africa.Key publications include Sisters of the Brush: Women's Artistic practices in Late Nineteenth Century Paris (1992), Bodies of Modernity: Figure and Flesh in Fin de Siecle France (1996) and,The Painted Face: Portraits of Women in France, 18145-1914 (2007). Her Africa related curatorial projects include: Figures and Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography (V&A, 2011); Distance and Desire: Encounters with the African Archive (Walther Collection, 2015); William Kentridge and Vivienne Koorland: A Conversation in Letters and Lines (Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 2016) and, Beyond the Binary: Santu Mofokeng and David Goldblatt (Walther Collection 2023) The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/documentary-photography-apartheid-south-africaGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/rKoYL4yrNsgDespite being cited as one of the most creative and influential guitarists of all time, and his tragically short life, Jimi Hendrix's playing and composing are yet to be fully analysed. This lecture will demystify his diverse influences and reveal the full range of his extraordinary invention in terms of sonic sculpting, rhythmic feel, fretboard navigation, harmony, and composition. We explore this dazzling creativity from his early playing as a sideman to the Isley Brothers, the Experience albums, the iconic Band of Gypsys project, to the tantalising promise of his ‘Electric Church' musical vision.This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides on 20th March 2025 at Rich Mix, London.Milton Mermikides  is Gresham Professor of Music.He is Associate Professor in Music at the University of Surrey, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/just-ask-axis-jimi-hendrix-unpickedGresham 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

One thing we all have in common is that we did maths at school. Those of us from the English speaking world most likely also did Shakespeare at school. Do these two things have anything in common? It turns out that they do! Our friend Rob Eastaway, author and Director of the amazing Maths Inspiration project, has written a book called Much Ado About Numbers: Shakespeare's mathematical life and times. In this episode of Maths on the Move, Rob tells us about some of the many instances of maths appearing in Shakespeare's work. He also tells us about the mathematical climate that Shakespeare lived in. Among other things, it included a mathematical revolution, saw music as a subfield of maths, and gave rise to the word "trivial" so much beloved by mathematicians. The book is out in paperback now.   To find out more about some of the topics mentioned in this episode, see the following links: The fabulous positional system is an article exploring the nature of our number system. Rob's Gresham College lecture explores some of the topics mentioned in this podcast and in his book. Maths Inspiration runs inspiring and interactive maths shows for teenagers. Finally, here are reviews of some of Rob's books: The hidden mathematics of sport (with John Haigh) Maths for mums and dads (with Mike Askew) More maths for mums and dads (with Mike Askew) How long is a piece of string? (with Jeremy Wyndham) Mindbenders and brain teasers (with David Wells) How to take a penalty (with John Haigh) How many socks make a pair?

Watch the Q&A session here:  https://youtu.be/cjJSWgvHZKwThis lecture puts forth the ethical and economic case for a basic income, enabling financial security and therefore a better quality of life for all. Financial insecurity affects one's ability to make rational decisions – studies show it even lowers short-term IQ – making it even harder to improve one's circumstances in the long run. Furthermore, unlike means-tested social assistance schemes like Universal Credit, a basic income does not involve a severe ‘poverty trap' and thus, contrary to critics, increases the incentive to take low-paying jobs. This lecture includes findings from a series of BI pilots across the world which Dr Standing has been involved in.This lecture was recorded by Guy Standing on 19th March 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Guy Standing is a Professorial Research Associate and former Professor of Development Studies at SOAS University of London. From August 2006 until January 2013, he was Professor of Economic Security at the University of Bath in the UK. Between April 2006 and February 2009, he was also Professor of Labour Economics at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He has written and edited books on labour economics, labour market policy, unemployment, labour market flexibility, structural adjustment policies, social protection policy, rentier capitalism and its predations, and the need to revive the commons. His most recent books are The Politics of Time: Gaining Control in the Age of Uncertainty (2023), The Blue Commons: Rescuing the Economy of the Sea (2022), Battling Eight Giants: Basic Income Now (2020) and Plunder of the Commons: A Manifesto for Sharing Public Wealth (2019).The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/case-basic-incomeGresham 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

Despite its quiet appearance, the brain is the seat of complicated wave dynamics. Indeed, cognitive processes are carried out through communications between neurons, leading to synchronisation and oscillations at different frequencies that can be recorded. Together, these oscillations also create waves that propagate through different regions. Apart from this electrical activity, the brain is also the siege of slow chemical waves that can cause migraine and mechanical waves arising from trauma. In this lecture, we will study the influence of all these waves on brain function.This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on 18th March 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Alain is Gresham Professor of Geometry.He is currently the Director of the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2022.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/turbulent-brain-rhythms-and-wavesGresham 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

The right to free expression is severely threatened in many places in the world, yet it has also never been so passionately defended. This lecture focuses on the recent history of banned literature. It considers the changing nature of literary censorship, arguments in defence of free expression, why literary writers have so frequently pushed the boundaries of the acceptable, and the impact of technology on censorship and free speech.This lecture was recorded by Rachel Potter on 12th March 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Rachel Potter is Professor of Modern Literature at the University of East Anglia. She writes on literature and censorship, free expression and writers organisations, modernist literature and early twentieth century culture.Rachel completed her PhD at King's College, Cambridge, where she also studied for her undergraduate degree. Prior to her PhD she took the MA in 'Critical Theory' at the University of Sussex. Before joining UEA in September, 2007, she taught for seven years at Queen Mary, University of London. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/banned-booksGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/0jSUfa0LQAoThis lecture examines agency problems in various relationships, including between investors and fund managers, and within financial intermediaries. This lecture was recorded by Raghavendra Rau on 3rd February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, LondonRaghu is the Mercers School Memorial Professor of BusinessHe is also the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/trust-issues-when-financial-experts-have-other-plansGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/MB73qh4pIYMOffsets, politely called carbon credit markets, are essential to many net-zero strategies, yet  remain highly controversial. They seem an efficient solution for “unavoidable” emissions – but who decides what is unavoidable? This lecture will discuss several plans to achieve our climate goals, from emission compensation schemes to tackling fossil fuels by planting trees.This lecture was recorded by Myles Allen  on 4th March 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Myles is the Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment.Myles is also  is currently Director of the Oxford Net Zero initiative. He was awarded the Appleton Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics in 2010, and in 2022 a CBE for services to climate change attribution, prediction and net zero. In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/carbon-offsetting-does-it-really-workGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/W5EKhMWdjP4In this lecture we will discuss a hierarchy of rights. Is the American First Amendment the most important of all, given its five foundational rights – no establishment of religion; free exercise of religion; freedom of speech and the press; the right peaceably to assemble; the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. How might this apply to the UK?This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on 27th February 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/first-amendmentGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/TRCkgDWKTdYMapping the stars is, perhaps, the oldest of astronomical pursuits, but it has been perfected by the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, which is providing an exquisitely precise map showing the positions and movements of the nearest two billion stars. Starting with a history of mapping the cosmos, this lecture describes the new and dynamic history of our Milky Way galaxy that results, and will move to explaining the dynamic and growing nature of our galaxy.This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on 26th February 2025 at Conway Hall, LondonChris is Gresham Professor of Astronomy.He is also a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at New College.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/biggest-cosmic-mapGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/7mW52bW23goIt has become something of a cliché to say that data is the new oil. That isn't the full story. For centuries it has proved itself to be infinitely re-usable. It has enabled the creation and reinforcement of collective memory. It has been documented in innumerable formats, from maps to databases, taxonomies, and infographics. We make sense of the world through the technology we use to process and visualise data. This lecture is an exploration of our enduring love for it.This lecture was recorded by Victoria Baines on 25th February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Victoria is IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology.Victoria is a Senior Research Associate of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge, a Senior Research Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group, and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She is also Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University's School of Computing, a former Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University, and was a guest lecturer at Stanford University in 2019 and 2020. She is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford and holds a doctorate from the University of Nottingham. She serves on the Safety Advisory Board of Snapchat, the Advisory Board of cybersecurity provider Reliance Cyber, and is a trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/data-love-story-agesGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/Et8_myknHq8Most of us rarely think about plant immunity. But, like us, plants can distinguish between different pathogens, trigger a ‘bespoke' immune response and retain a memory of past infections to boost future immunity. However, plant immune systems also exhibit enviable features like the ability to inherit immunological memory from a parent, or to warn distant individuals of an impending pathogen attack. This lecture investigates how they do all of this and more without a single white blood cell.This lecture was recorded by Robin May on 29th January 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Robin is Gresham Professor of Physic.He is also Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/green-immunityGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/IAilwM_WdbIUntil the nineteenth century, the favourite ancient pagan gods in Western culture were those related to human qualities and activities. During that century, especially in Britain, attention switched to a horned divinity associated with the countryside and wild nature, usually personified as the Greek Pan. This lecture explores how and why this happened, and the impact on British culture, when the full subversive potential of this deity as a force for personal liberation became realised. It also shows how the image subsequently evolved from a classical god into an archetype.This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on 19th February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Ronald is the Gresham Professor of Divinity.He is also Professor of History at the University of Bristol and a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries and the Learned Society of Wales.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/return-horned-godGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/gQdabAQT3JwSophocles' Antigone refers to “unwritten laws,” as does Thucydides' Pericles. From the late fifth century BCE, the idea that laws are more effective when learned by memory and observation than when put into writing, forms a distinctive current in political reflections. Plutarch would even claim that the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus had prohibited the writing down of his laws. This lecture will present Greek authors' reflections on the interplay between writing and orality remain relevant to debates about ethical formation today. This lecture was recorded by Melissa Lane on 20th February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Melissa Lane is Gresham Professor of Rhetoric.Melissa is also the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics, Princeton University and is also Associated Faculty in the Department of Classics and Department of Philosophy. Previously she was Senior University Lecturer at Cambridge University in the Faculty of History and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge.Having previously held visiting appointments at Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford, she will be Isaiah Berlin Visiting Professor in the History of Ideas in the Faculties of Philosophy and History at Oxford University, and a Visiting Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in Michaelmas Term 2024.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/unwritten-laws-legacies-antigone-and-lycurgusGresham 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

As we navigate towns and cities, public spaces are all around us. These offer a respite from our often-busy routines. Public spaces are more than just the leftover areas between buildings; they depend on how interests are designed and negotiated, and its success is measured by the interactions that take place in it: the passage of the sun, the root of trees, and even the way they are used by children. However, these areas are constantly threatened by the way local and commercial funding invest in it.Using recent projects, primarily in London and North America, this lecture will invite audiences to think about public space beyond the space between and around buildings; to view public spaces, their design and their constructions, under a new light.This lecture was recorded by Liza Fior on 28th January 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Liza Fior is a founding Partner of muf architecture/art, and Professor of Architecture and Spatial Practice at the University of the Arts London. She was previously a visiting professor at Yale University.muf architecture/art are internationally acclaimed for their hyper-local approach to design; exclusively working in the public realm - including on streetscapes, parks and open spaces, buildings masterplans, temporary commissions and furniture. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/public-spaceGresham 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 UK's income inequality has remained stable since the 1990s, but household wealth has nearly doubled, mainly driven by soaring house prices. This has widened the wealth gap between generations, with younger people less likely to own homes. Furthermore, weak income growth since the mid-2000s has disproportionately affected younger cohorts. This lecture unpacks these economic trends to reveal how they have created tensions between generations by exacerbating disparities in their respective living standards.This lecture was recorded by Mike Brewer on 18th February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Mike is Interim Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Department of Social Policy at the LSE. Between 2011 and 2020, he was a Professor of Economics at the University of Essex. He has also worked at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and HM Treasury. Mike is interested in all aspects of inequality in income and wealth, including the role of the labour market and the tax and benefit system. He also has a long background in using microsimulation methods. He is the author of a book, What Do We Know And What Should We Do About Inequality?, published by SAGE in 2019.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/uks-generational-wealth-gapGresham 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 discharge of raw sewage into rivers, and the financial problems of major water companies, have become serious political and social concerns for the public. British cities have faced similar challenges in the past, most notoriously with the ‘Great Stink' in London in 1858 that led to the construction of Bazalgette's sewer. Consequently, many cities took utilities into public ownership in the late nineteenth century in what is termed ‘gas and water socialism'. Why did this happen, and why were utilities returned to private ownership in the later twentieth century? The lecture will conclude by assessing the success or failure of the current system of regulated private ownership. Should there be a return to public ownership?This lecture was recorded by Martin Daunton on 11th February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Professor Martin Daunton is Visiting Gresham Professor of Economic History.He is a British academic and historian. He was Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, between 2004 and 2014. He is Emeritus Professor of Economic History at the University of Cambridge.He has written two books on the history of taxation in Britain – Trusting Leviathan and Just Taxes, and co-edited with colleagues in Berlin a volume of essays on the political economy of public finance in leading OECD countries since the 1970s. His book The Economic Government of the World, 1933 to 2023 was published by Allen Lane in 2023.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/water-sewage-crisisGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/7pvF4FdbYWUThis lecture explores how information asymmetry leads to adverse selection and moral hazard, with a focus on their presence in financial markets and institutions such as insurance and credit markets. It will examine how regulations intended to solve a particular set of issues might exacerbate problems, potentially resulting in financial crises or other disastrous events.This lecture was recorded by Raghavendra Rau on 20th January 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, LondonRaghu is the Mercers School Memorial Professor of BusinessHe is also the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/hidden-risksGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/gWJmpSO4WZIFinance involves a group of people attempting to make rational decisions on valuation, but people are complicated. People can be self-interested, they can make mistakes, or, in stark contrast, they can act altruistically. This lecture will introduce the concept of agency problems in the finance sector, focusing on the conflicts that arise between different groups of stakeholders. It will discuss examples of fraud, insider trading and other types of human behavior that can reduce the public's trust in the markets.This lecture was recorded by Raghavendra Rau on 21st October 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, LondonRaghu is the Mercers School Memorial Professor of BusinessHe is also the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/hidden-conflicts-financeGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/bKMV8i9Mq40The brain is mostly organised in small modular regions connected to each other. Typically, each region performs different cognitive tasks, from image processing to language. This organisation leads us to model the brain as a network, the ‘brain connectome'. This fundamental view of the brain has become a central paradigm for neurosciences linking topological properties of networks to brain functions. This lecture presents ideas from graph theory to study this network and understand the way that the brain learns and operates.This lecture was recorded by Alain Goriely on 4th February 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Alain is Gresham Professor of Geometry.He is currently the Director of the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2022.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/connected-brainGresham 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

Sound and music hold a strange and powerful role in film, TV and video games, aiding narrative and emotional impact. They can even exist in the world of ‘the film' – heard by the characters – or in the world of the audience. Music can even break the fourth wall, travelling through and blurring these conventionally separate worlds. By examining films through history from Blazing Saddles, Elf, The Truman Show to Birdman, we explore this ‘fantastical gap' and its transformative effect on the audience.This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides on 16th January 2025 at Rich Mix, London.Milton Mermikides  is Gresham Professor of Music.He is Associate Professor in Music at the University of Surrey, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/sceen-musicGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/LUyFLOUi-D4This lecture traces the history of this famous series by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, starting from its conception in 1947. It describes the research and writing of the original forty-six volumes for England and the extension of the books to Scotland, Wales and Ireland. It then assesses their significance alongside a reflection on the 2024 achievement of the full updating of the English series.This lecture was recorded by Charles O'Brien on 5th December 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Charles O'Brien FSA is Listing and Architectural Research Director at Historic England. Until 2022 he was the  joint Series Editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides.He graduated with a degree in History of Art from University College London before joining the series in 1997, where he worked fulltime on the research, writing and editing of the new editions. As author and co-author he has written the revised volumes to East London, Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough,Hampshire and Surrey. He is a former Commissioner of Historic England and former chair of their London Advisory Committee and has served as an adviser to government on local heritage. He is also a liveryman of the Mercers Company and member of their Heritage and Arts CommitteeThe transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/pevsner-buildingsGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/t6kkq6dI6hcWhen and why do written laws emerge in ancient societies? This lecture will consider these questions in light of evidence including the law code of Hammurabi; the earliest attestation of written laws in Greek (found in Dreros on Crete); and the full-blown commitment to written laws by the Athenian lawgiver Solon. Such cases will be used to explore how writing bears on the the functions of law more generally, in light of debates in contemporary legal philosophy. This lecture was recorded by Melissa Lane on 23rd January 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Melissa Lane is Gresham Professor of Rhetoric.Melissa is also the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics, Princeton University and is also Associated Faculty in the Department of Classics and Department of Philosophy. Previously she was Senior University Lecturer at Cambridge University in the Faculty of History and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge.Having previously held visiting appointments at Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford, she will be Isaiah Berlin Visiting Professor in the History of Ideas in the Faculties of Philosophy and History at Oxford University, and a Visiting Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in Michaelmas Term 2024.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/writing-lawsGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/pXoU-nZmhn8Despite its familiarity, the Sun is a very different presence from the friendly yellow circle in children's paintings. Our star is a broiling mass of plasma, with its powerful magnetic fields, twisted by its rotation, capable of producing dramatic events of spectacular beauty and power. Using results from NASA's Parker Solar Probe - the fastest moving human-made object ever - and ESA's Solar Orbiter, this spectacular lecture takes a new look at the mysteries of the Sun, and its effects on the Earth. This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on 15th January 2024 at Conway Hall, LondonChris is Gresham Professor of Astronomy.He is also a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at New College.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/touching-sunGresham 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

Send us a textIn this third podcast exploring the underlying assumptions of economics, Victoria Bateman explains how economists have ignored the importance of sex and gender.  She argues that the status and freedom of women are central to making the west rich, overtaking other parts of the world that had long been ahead.  She shows hot obsession with women's bodily modesty has made women dependent on men, and how this cult of modesty has changed over time and between countries.  She calls for a fundamental change in modern economics which has neglected women, lacked historical understanding, and ignored the wider social sciences.  Victoria Bateman studied economics at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford,  She returned to Cambridge in2009 as Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, before leaving to become an independent scholar and consultant.  Her work links economic history and economics, and above all the role of women.  She is a regular broadcaster, contributor to newspapers, public speaker.   Books we discuss are:The Sex Factor: How Women Made the West Rich Cambridge, 2019.Naked Feminism: Breaking the Cult of Female Modesty Cambridge, 2023. https://www.vnbateman.com/Gresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/lQBdqGrfWKUOver half the world's largest companies have a net zero strategy. But what stops “Science-based Targets” from becoming box-ticking exercises too often immune to environmental scrutiny? Instead of decarbonizing companies and financial portfolios, this lecture will discuss the need to focus on decarbonizing products and services themselves so that companies must explain how they plan to stop what they sell from causing global warming. This lecture was recorded by Myles Allen  on 14th January 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Myles is the Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment.Myles is also  is currently Director of the Oxford Net Zero initiative. He was awarded the Appleton Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics in 2010, and in 2022 a CBE for services to climate change attribution, prediction and net zero. In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/net-zero-privateGresham 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

Recently, the UK has got into a muddle over how to approach Scottish independence and Brexit. What can we learn from the U.S. which took much of its system from the theory behind the U.K. structure: the King as the Executive; a Legislature made up of the House of Commons balanced by the House of Lords; and the judiciary? And what role should the judiciary play? Have the British got confused about the notion of ‘Parliamentary Supremacy', deciding that this meant that Parliament was supreme not just to the King, but to the judiciary too?This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on 1st January 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/british-constitutionGresham 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

Coincidences may seem like random occurrences to many of us – but not to a mathematician. Sarah Hart is professor of geometry at Gresham College and professor emerita of mathematics at Birkbeck, University of London. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why we so often look for coincidences in our lives — and why that's a mathematically futile endeavor — why the blind luck behind lottery wins might not be so blind after all, and why revealing this magic with numbers makes the phenomenon all the more interesting. Her article, “The surprising maths that explains why coincidences are so common,” was published in New Scientist.

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/0ZK1Y1QnFDgThis looks at how and why a particular form of the non-Christian divine feminine came to take over the Western European imagination from the beginning of the nineteenth century. This was a great goddess representing the natural world, or the moon and stars, or both. It traces the development of belief in the importance of this being, and her impact not only on creative literature but upon the developing disciplines of ancient history and archaeology. It also confronts the problem of the different kinds of politics represented by this figure.This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on 8th January 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Ronald is the Gresham Professor of Divinity.He is also Professor of History at the University of Bristol and a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries and the Learned Society of Wales.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/modern-goddessGresham 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 world will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II later this year. Richard J. Evans helps us understand the murderous leaders of Nazi Germany, and the people at every level of German society who did their bidding. Evans is an historian of modern Germany and modern Europe and is the preeminent historian of the Third Reich today. He has published over 20 books in the field, including his trilogy on the Third Reich. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society, the Royal Society of Literature and the Learned Society of Wales, and an Honorary Fellow of Gonville and Caius College Cambridge, Birkbeck, University of London, and Jesus College Oxford. In 2022, he was made an Honorary Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He has been Vice-Master and Acting Master of Birkbeck, University of London, Chairman of the History Faculty in the University of Cambridge. He currently serves as Provost of Gresham College in London and a visiting Professor of History at Birkbeck University of London.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/d6Ao4KmGXBcArtificial Intelligence is a very recent invention…or is it? Humans have been fascinated by intelligent machines for thousands of years. Some exist only in our collective imagination, in art and literature. Others have seen the light of day as mechanical marvels, although a few were later exposed as elaborate frauds. The robots of today might not be what our ancestors imagined. This lecture argues that the relationship between humans and machines has always been complex, and that we still can't decide whether we really want them to be like us.This lecture was recorded by Victoria Baines on 7th January 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Victoria is IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology.Victoria is a Senior Research Associate of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge, a Senior Research Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group, and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She is also Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University's School of Computing, a former Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University, and was a guest lecturer at Stanford University in 2019 and 2020. She is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford and holds a doctorate from the University of Nottingham. She serves on the Safety Advisory Board of Snapchat, the Advisory Board of cybersecurity provider Reliance Cyber, and is a trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/afraid-robotsGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here:  https://youtu.be/f6Z9L2dnxSAThis lecture explores the emergence of the "femme au piano" genre in 19th-century French painting, depicted by artists like Renoir, Van Gogh, and Matisse. What suddenly made this topic so popular, and what does it tell us about the role of women in music-making at the time? Tracing the genre's roots from the Italian Renaissance clavichord depictions to Vermeer's Dutch domestic scenes, and 18th-century harpsichord portraits. Discover how the piano became a middle-class status symbol and how modernists of the 1910s-20s reinterpreted it. Presented from the perspective of a music historian, this lecture will delve into the roots of the “Women at the Piano” genre and reveal how these paintings offer a window onto women's music-making.This lecture was recorded by Marina Frolova-Walker  on 10th December 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Marina is Gresham Emerita Professor of Music.Marina Frolova-Walker, a Russian-born British musicologist and music historian, was Visiting Gresham Professor of Russian Music in 2018-19 and Gresham Professor of Music 2019-23. She is Professor of Music History and Director of Studies in Music at Clare College, Cambridge. She is a specialist in the Russian music of the 19th and 20th centuries. She has published extensively on Russian music and is a well-known lecturer and broadcaster for BBC Radio 3. Among her many awards and appointments, she is a Fellow of the British Academy and was awarded the Edward Dent Medal in 2015 by the Royal Musical Association for her achievements in musicology.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/women-pianoGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/wpF0oB9Mz-0The US Constitution, both in its structural element and the Bill of Rights, reflect a catalogue of colonial complaints about the British system as well as centuries of evolution in the law. In general terms, contrary to the slightly complacent attitude of the British legal authorities. This lecture will demonstrate, most of the original complaints still hold true. This lecture was recorded by Clive Stafford Smith on 7th November 2024 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/us-constitutionGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/JCTgxcPu78IThe human immune system rivals the brain in its complexity. Billions of cells coordinate their activity with amazing precision to protect us from infection. Immune cells can respond to millions of different pathogens within seconds and yet rarely respond to a false alarm. This lecture explores how cells achieve this, what happens when they go wrong and how you can keep your own immune system in top condition.This lecture was recorded by Robin May on 27th November 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Robin is Gresham Professor of Physic.He is also Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/immune-protectionGresham 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

This lecture will explore corporate governance mechanisms designed to address agency problems, including executive compensation, boards of directors, and shareholder activism. Additionally, it will examine how solutions addressing one agency problem might create another. This lecture was recorded by Raghavendra Rau on 5th November 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, LondonRaghu is the Mercers School Memorial Professor of BusinessHe is also the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/corporate-rulesGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/LW0DLhTxfCEThis festive lecture explores the unusual roots of the song ‘White Christmas' and its role in establishing the concept of the commercial Christmas song. It will explain how the song's release during the summer months hints at how its potential as an enduring seasonal classic was not anticipated, and then examine how the music and lyrics helped it to resonate in a time of war. The lecture will also consider Berlin's patriotism and his active role in the Second World War. This lecture was recorded by Dominic Broomfield-McHugh on 12th December 2024 at Conway Hall, London.Dominic is Gresham Visiting Professor of Film and Theatre Music.Dominic is also Professor of Music at the University of Sheffield and 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 othersThe transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/unwrapping-irving-berlins-white-christmasGresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/VeJxEXZfT2YThis lecture analyses the ‘psychedelic era' of the Beatles, from Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band to Let it Be, a period of staggering musical invention and experimentalism. We explore the mechanics behind the magic, untangling the layers of harmony, melody, lyrics, structure and technology, and how these all combine in ways both accessible and ground-breaking. This ‘Magical Mystery Tour' pulls back the curtain on these timeless tracks, illuminating the craft of their transporting effects.This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides on 12th September 2024 at LSO St Luke's, London.Milton Mermikides  is Gresham Professor of Music.He is Associate Professor in Music at the University of Surrey, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/magical-mystery-tourGresham 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

Shakespeare lived in a period of exciting mathematical innovations, from arithmetic to astronomy, and from probability to music. Remarkably, many of those innovations are mentioned, or at least hinted at, in his plays. Rob Eastaway will explore the surprising ways in which mathematical ideas connect with Shakespeare and reveals that the playwright could be as creative with numbers as he was with words. Along the way you will discover surprising new mathematical insights on the Elizabethan world.This lecture was recorded by Rob Eastaway on 9th October 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Rob Eastaway is best known as the author of several bestselling popular maths books, including Why Do Buses Come in Threes? and Maths On the Back of an Envelope. With Mike Askew, he wrote Maths for Mums & Dads, a book that helps parents to understand the new methods being used to teach maths. The American edition was published in 2010 entitled Old Dogs, New Math. Rob has given hundreds of maths talks across the world to audiences of all ages, including several family lectures at the Royal Institution, and he is Director of Maths Inspiration, a programme of interactive lecture shows for teenagers, held in theatres across the UK. From 2019 to 2023 he was the puzzle adviser for New Scientist magazine.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/bshm-25Gresham 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

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/pP3FzqYcMOAWe communicate when we have information to share. The development of signals from signs visible over short distances to wireless transfer of billions of data-heavy messages worldwide is full of surprising characters, none more so than the Hollywood starlet who made Wi-Fi and GPS possible and received public recognition only in the final few years of her life. This lecture traces the development of technologies for messaging and signals, from wireless to wired and back again.This lecture was recorded by Victoria Baines on 29th October 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Victoria is IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology.Victoria is a Senior Research Associate of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge, a Senior Research Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group, and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She is also Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University's School of Computing, a former Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University, and was a guest lecturer at Stanford University in 2019 and 2020. She is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford and holds a doctorate from the University of Nottingham. She serves on the Safety Advisory Board of Snapchat, the Advisory Board of cybersecurity provider Reliance Cyber, and is a trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/messaging-and-signalsGresham 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

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Austrian-British economist Friedrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom (1944) in which Hayek (1899-1992) warned that the way Britain was running its wartime economy would not work in peacetime and could lead to tyranny. His target was centralised planning, arguing this disempowered individuals and wasted their knowledge, while empowering those ill-suited to run an economy. He was concerned about the support for the perceived success of Soviet centralisation, when he saw this and Fascist systems as two sides of the same coin. When Reader's Digest selectively condensed Hayek's book in 1945, and presented it not so much as a warning against tyranny as a proof against socialism, it became phenomenally influential around the world. With Bruce Caldwell Research Professor of Economics at Duke University and Director of the Center for the History of Political EconomyMelissa Lane The Class of 1943 Professor of Politics at Princeton University and the 50th Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College in LondonAndBen Jackson Professor of Modern History and fellow of University College at the University of OxfordProducer: Simon TillotsonReading list:Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free Markets Since the Depression (Harvard University Press, 2012)Bruce Caldwell, Hayek's Challenge: An Intellectual Biography of F.A. Hayek (University of Chicago Press, 2004)Bruce Caldwell, ‘The Road to Serfdom After 75 Years' (Journal of Economic Literature 58, 2020)Bruce Caldwell and Hansjoerg Klausinger, Hayek: A Life 1899-1950 (University of Chicago Press, 2022)M. Desai, Marx's Revenge: The Resurgence of Capitalism and the Death of Statist Socialism (Verso, 2002)Edward Feser (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Hayek (Cambridge University Press, 2006)Andrew Gamble, Hayek: The Iron Cage of Liberty (Polity, 1996)Friedrich Hayek, Collectivist Economic Planning (first published 1935; Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2015), especially ‘The Nature and History of the Problem' and ‘The Present State of the Debate' by Friedrich HayekFriedrich Hayek (ed. Bruce Caldwell), The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents: The Definitive Edition (first published 1944; Routledge, 2008. Also vol. 2 of The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek, University of Chicago Press, 2007)Friedrich Hayek, The Road to Serfdom: Condensed Version (Institute of Economic Affairs, 2005; The Reader's Digest condensation of the book)Friedrich Hayek, ‘The Use of Knowledge in Society' (American Economic Review, vol. 35, 1945; vol. 15 of The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek, University of Chicago Press) Friedrich Hayek, Individualism and Economic Order (first published 1948; University of Chicago Press, 1996), especially the essays ‘Economics and Knowledge' (1937), ‘Individualism: True and False' (1945), and ‘The Use of Knowledge in Society' (1945)Friedrich Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty (first published 1960; Routledge, 2006) Friedrich Hayek, Law. Legislation and Liberty: A new statement of the liberal principles of justice and political economy (first published 1973 in 3 volumes; single vol. edn, Routledge, 2012)Ben Jackson, ‘Freedom, the Common Good and the Rule of Law: Hayek and Lippmann on Economic Planning' (Journal of the History of Ideas 73, 2012)Robert Leeson (ed.), Hayek: A Collaborative Biography Part I (Palgrave, 2013), especially ‘The Genesis and Reception of The Road to Serfdom' by Melissa LaneIn Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

The Nature of Christian Doctrine: Its Origins, Development, and Function (Oxford UP, 2024) offers a groundbreaking account of the origins, development, and enduring significance of Christian doctrine, explaining why it remains essential to the life of Christian communities. Noting important parallels between the development of scientific theories and Christian doctrine, Alister E. McGrath examines the growing view of early Christianity as a 'theological laboratory'. We can think of doctrinal formulations as proposals submitted for testing across the Christian world, rather than as static accounts of orthodoxy. This approach fits the available evidence much better than theories of suppressed early orthodoxies and reinforces the importance of debate within the churches as a vital means of testing doctrinal formulations. McGrath offers a robust critique of George Lindbeck's still-influential Nature of Doctrine (1984), raising significant concerns about its reductionist approach. He instead provides a more reliable account of the myriad functions of doctrine, utilising Mary Midgley's concept of 'mapping' as a means of coordinating the multiple aspects of complex phenomena. McGrath's approach also employs Karl Popper's 'Three Worlds', allowing the theoretical, objective, and subjective aspects of doctrine to be seen as essential and interconnected. We see how Christian doctrine offers ontological disclosure about the nature of reality, while at the same time providing a coordinating framework which ensures that its various aspects are seen as parts of a greater whole. Doctrine provides a framework, or standpoint, that allows theological reality to be seen and experienced in a new manner; it safeguards and articulates the core vision of reality that is essential for the proper functioning and future flourishing of Christian communities. Alister E. McGrath served as Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford, and subsequently as Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion. He initially studied natural sciences at Oxford and holds a special interest in how scientific method can illuminate aspects of Christian theology. He also served as Professor of Divinity at Gresham College, London, a position established in 1597. He has delivered the Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, the Hulsean Lectures at the University Cambridge, and the Gifford Lectures at the University Aberdeen. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The Nature of Christian Doctrine: Its Origins, Development, and Function (Oxford UP, 2024) offers a groundbreaking account of the origins, development, and enduring significance of Christian doctrine, explaining why it remains essential to the life of Christian communities. Noting important parallels between the development of scientific theories and Christian doctrine, Alister E. McGrath examines the growing view of early Christianity as a 'theological laboratory'. We can think of doctrinal formulations as proposals submitted for testing across the Christian world, rather than as static accounts of orthodoxy. This approach fits the available evidence much better than theories of suppressed early orthodoxies and reinforces the importance of debate within the churches as a vital means of testing doctrinal formulations. McGrath offers a robust critique of George Lindbeck's still-influential Nature of Doctrine (1984), raising significant concerns about its reductionist approach. He instead provides a more reliable account of the myriad functions of doctrine, utilising Mary Midgley's concept of 'mapping' as a means of coordinating the multiple aspects of complex phenomena. McGrath's approach also employs Karl Popper's 'Three Worlds', allowing the theoretical, objective, and subjective aspects of doctrine to be seen as essential and interconnected. We see how Christian doctrine offers ontological disclosure about the nature of reality, while at the same time providing a coordinating framework which ensures that its various aspects are seen as parts of a greater whole. Doctrine provides a framework, or standpoint, that allows theological reality to be seen and experienced in a new manner; it safeguards and articulates the core vision of reality that is essential for the proper functioning and future flourishing of Christian communities. Alister E. McGrath served as Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford, and subsequently as Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion. He initially studied natural sciences at Oxford and holds a special interest in how scientific method can illuminate aspects of Christian theology. He also served as Professor of Divinity at Gresham College, London, a position established in 1597. He has delivered the Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, the Hulsean Lectures at the University Cambridge, and the Gifford Lectures at the University Aberdeen. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history