Gresham College Lectures

New camera technology can help make stunning footage for natural history programmes but the key to success is down to a lot of hard work, planning and a bit of luck. In this lecture we take a ‘behind the scenes’ look at some of the highs and lows of making television natural history documentaries.This lecture was recorded by George McGavin on the 3rd of October 2017Professor McGavin is a British entomologist, explorer and author. He is an Honorary Research Associate at Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the Department of Zoology. He is also a Fellow of the Linnean Society and the Royal Geographical Society. 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 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

This episode of the Gresham College Podcast features an interview with Robin May, hosted by Jeoffrey Sarpong. Professor Robin May is a Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham, and (interim) Chief Scientist at the UK Health Security Agency.We cover what's actually happening in your brain when you lose someone, why grief is hardwired from childhood, whether animals grieve, and what ancient burial sites tell us about human emotion 78,000 years ago. Then we shift to love — the physical symptoms of infatuation, why your amygdala shuts down around a new partner, why the honeymoon phase lasts 12–18 months, and why heartbreak can literally feel like withdrawal.Plus: audience questions on anxiety and love, chatbot grief, abusive relationships, and whether oxytocin is really a "love drug."Watch Robin's Gresham College lectures here: https://youtu.be/5Yrf8IBn9gkhttps://youtu.be/5uQWglAwlpsGresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/Website:  https://gresham.ac.ukTwitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollegeInstagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport the show

This lecture was recorded by Robin May on the 22nd of April 2026 at Barnard's Inn Hall, LondonProfessor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham, and (interim) Chief Scientist at the UK Health Security Agency, Robin May was appointed Gresham Professor of Physic in May 2022. Between July 2020 and September 2025 he served as Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (FSA).Professor May’s early training was in Plant Sciences at the University of Oxford, followed by a PhD on mammalian cell biology at University College London and the University of Birmingham. After postdoctoral research on gene silencing at the Hubrecht Laboratory, The Netherlands, he returned to the UK in 2005 to establish a research program on human infectious diseases. He was Director of the Institute of Microbiology and Infection at the University of Birmingham from 2017-2020. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/music-mindGresham 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

Matt Jones, a Swansea University computer scientist focused on human-centred and inclusive AI, explores ways to tame AI through design and governance. He contrasts fear-based control with understanding, reframes AI as a power like fire, and examines legibility, explainability, data bias, guardrails, human-in-the-loop limits, and the need for inclusive, participatory design.

Daniel Susskind, economist and author who studies AI and the future of work. He explores how AI could erase large swathes of human tasks and why past automation fears might not apply. He examines task encroachment, reasons to take human-level AI seriously, and the big social challenges if demand for human labor shrinks.

Londoners who helped create the world's largest English dictionary. She has unearthed a fascinating group of people across all social classes who represent some of the most interesting contributors to the Dictionary from all parts of this great city one hundred and fifty years ago. From a pornographer living in Bloomsbury who sent in sex words, to a servant in Eaton Square, a suffragist in St John's Wood, a plant expert at Kew Gardens, a coin specialist at the Royal Mint, and - yes! - a Gresham Professor of Geometry, this is a people's history of one of our most famous books.This lecture was recorded by Professor Sarah Ogilvie on the 16th April 2026 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, LondonSarah Ogilvie is Professor of Language and Lexicography at the University of Oxford. A specialist in technology and linguistics, she has previously taught at Cambridge University and Stanford University, and worked at Lab 126, Amazon's innovation lab in Silicon Valley.A former editor on the Oxford English Dictionary, her most recent book is The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes Who Created the OED (Chatto and Windus). She is also author of Words of the World (Cambridge University Press), co-author of Gen Z, Explained (University of Chicago Press), editor of The Cambridge Companion to English Dictionaries, and co-editor of The Whole World in a Book (Oxford University Press).The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/living-planetGresham 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

This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides on the 15th of April 2026 at LSO, LondonMilton Mermikides is a composer, guitarist, technologist, academic and educator in a wide range of musical styles and has collaborated with artists and scientists as diverse as Evelyn Glennie, Tim Minchin, Pat Martino, Peter Zinovieff, John Williams and Brian Eno. Son of a CERN nuclear physicist, he was raised with an enthusiasm for both the arts and sciences, an eclecticism which has been maintained throughout his teaching, research and creative career. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics (BSc), Berklee College of Music (BMus) and the University of Surrey (PhD). He has lectured, exhibited and given keynote presentations at organisations like the Royal Academy of Music, TEDx, Royal Musical Association, British Library, Smithsonian Institute and The Science Museum and his work has been featured extensively in the press. His music, research and graphic art are published and featured by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony and more, and he has won awards, scholarships and commendations for writing, teaching, research and his charity work.      The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/music-mindGresham 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

Moving the conversation on social mobility out of the boardroom and into the mainstream, the Lady Mayor Dame Susan Langley will set out her ambition to connect people with opportunity and “unsquare” the Square Mile: ensuring nobody has to fit in a certain box to thrive in the UK’s financial capital. Joined by an expert panel, she’ll ask how we can change people’s view of the City and break down barriers that might hold people back from fulfilling their potential.  This lecture was recorded by Lady Mayor Alderwoman Dame Susan Langley on the 13th of April 2026 at Bernard’s Inn Hall, LondonAlderwoman Dame Susan Langley became Lady Mayor of London 7th November 2025. She is the 697th Lord Mayor, the third woman to hold the office, and the first to be styled “Lady Mayor”.Dame Susan Langley is Chair of Gallagher UK, and the Senior Independent Director for UKAR (Northern Rock Asset Management and Bradford and Bingley). Previously she was the Lead Non-Executive Director for the Home Office, a Trustee for Macmillan Cancer, CEO Financial & Professional Services at the Department for International Trade (DIT), Executive Director North America and Market Development for Lloyd's of London, Director of Lloyd’s Asia and Chairman of Lloyd’s Japan. Prior to this, Susan held various Insurance Board positions. She joined the Insurance Market from PriceWaterhouseCoopers where she was a Principal Consultant working with a range of FTSE 100 companies.A founding member of the Government Women's Business Council, she is a past recipient of the Insurance Institute of London (IIL) President’s Award, the FS Women in the City Achievement Award, Women to Watch, Leading Women in Reinsurance and top 20 inspirational City Women. Born in the East End, she is passionate about social mobility and involved in a number of charitable and mentoring roles. In 2015 she received an OBE for services to women in business and in 2023, a DBE for public service to the financial services industry. Dame Susan graduated (BSc Hons) from Southampton University and married Gary in 2003. She is a Liveryman of the Insurers and Drapers and a Freeman of the Goldsmiths. Dame Susan is the Alderwoman for the City of London Aldgate Ward and served as Aldermanic Sheriff of the City of London 2023/2024.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/lady-mayor-26Gresham 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

Alain Goriely, mathematician and Oxford professor known for mathematical modelling of growth and mechanics. He explores why planets are round, historical measurements of Earth’s shape, rotating-fluid solutions like Maclaurin and Jacobi forms, stability vs exotic shapes, elastic-planet models and collapse, and implications for Mercury and rocky exoplanet sizes.

Melissa Lane, Princeton politics professor and scholar of ancient political thought, probes when Athenian democracy can be said to have died. She traces competing senses of democratic loss, contrasts external domination with narrowing citizenship, and follows three historical episodes showing institutions that persisted in form but shifted in power and meaning.