Public lecture podcasts

Are trends in global politics simply the result of large impersonal structural forces, or does human agency matter? For example, would America have become the dominant country in the 20th century regardless of who was president? To what extent did leaders matter, and if so, what kind of leader? Leadership theorists focus their attention on what they call transformational leaders, but were "transformational" leaders like Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan really more important than "transactional" leaders like Eisenhower and the first Bush? What are the lessons we can draw for leadership and foreign policy in this century?"

Where did the idea of infinity come from? Who were the people who defined and refined this paradoxical quantity? Why is infinity, a concept we can never experience or truly grasp, at the heart of science? How can some infinities be bigger than others? An exploration of one of the most mind-boggling features of maths and physics, this talk uncovers the amazing paradoxes of infinity and introduces the people who devised and refined the concept.

In this lecture, Dr Susan Oosthuizen, historic landscape specialist from the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, will explore the archaeological evidence for the management of prehistoric pasture.

In this lecture, Mr Simon Garrett, Head of Learning at Bristol Zoo, asks the controversial question of how much wildlife we actually need, or even like in this thought provoking insight into the future.

In this lecture, Dr James Betts from the Department of Health will examine the importance of eating breakfast for overall good health, and whether missing breakfast could increase a person's risk of becoming overweight or suffering from heart disease or diabetes.

In this lecture, Mr Russell Bowes, a freelance garden historian, will be sharing mysterious tales of how people have died in the garden, and how you can protect yourself against herbaceous murderers.

In this inaugural lecture, Professor Tess Ridge from the Department of Social and Policy Sciences, will be discussing the hidden costs of the Government's poverty and austerity policies for Britain's poorest children.

In this lecture, art history and cultural theory lecturer Dr Jonathan Koestle-Cate will examine how modern art continues to play a significant role in the life of the church.

44th Annual Lecture of Bath Institute of Medical Engineering (BIME) Professor Gail Mountain, Professor of Health Services Research (Assisted Living Research) at University of Sheffield; Director of EPSRC-funded SMART Consortium & Principle Director of KT-EQUAL Consortium will describe how technology can be used to meet the needs of an ageing population.

In this lecture, Dr Paul Shepherd from the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering will share the secrets behind the building of the Olympic Park and explore the ways in which mathematics was used in the construction and operation of the Olympic Games.