The Historical Collections of the Guildhall Library - Dr Peter Ross

A lecture on the collections of one of England's oldest libraries, founded in the 1420s from the will of Richard "Dick" Whittington.

Aneurin Bevan and the Socialist Ideal - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

Aneurin Bevan was the leading postwar representative in Britain of the socialist ideal. He is best remembered for the creation of the National Health Service which he regarded as a symbol of applied socialism, a national service free at the point of use and available to all. But, even before he resigned from the postwar Labour government in 1951, this ideal was being eroded. Were his hopes doomed to disappointment?

Acting on Evidence: How Medical Research has informed Historical Drama - Professor John Powell

John Powell is an experienced medical advisor on a range of television dramas including Casualty 1909 and Downton Abbey. In this lecture he will explain how research in hospital archives and in medical journals has informed drama storylines, and how the television medical advisor works with the writer, the director and the production team on the script and on set.

Britain Needs an Ivy League - Professor Terence Kealey

rofessor Kealey argues the case for world-class universities being established in the UK as charitable bodies independent of the state for teaching, alongside the benefits of access to state funding for research. The lecture is delivered by Professor Terence Kealey, Vice-Chancellor, Buckingham University, with a response by Professor Malcolm Gillies, Vice-Chancellor, London Metropolitan University. The event is chaired by Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas.

West End Theatre in China - David Lightbody

What does the success of the Mandarin version of Mamma Mia! say about modern China and other opportunities for British theatre in East Asia?

Is the growth in the emerging economies additional? - Professor Douglas McWilliams

What are the limits to world economic growth from an environmental and economic perspective? Will inflation caused by rising primary product prices be likely to be the key constraint on economic growth? Douglas McWilliams, Thras Moraitis and Mike McWilliams consider whether this constraint will bite at a sufficiently slow rate for the impact of the extra growth in emerging economies to mean that the West will have to grow more slowly.

Building the Victorian City: Splendour and Squalour - Dr Simon Thurley

By 1900 Britain had produced the world’s largest cities and the first industrial cities. These phenomena led to vast technical, social and architectural challenges. Victorian architects and engineers met these with some of the most impressive feats of construction since the cathedrals of the middle ages.

Our nearest neighbour, the Moon - Professor Carolin Crawford

Our only natural satellite has been an object of fascination for humankind since prehistory. Despite being the only other place in the Solar System we have visited in person, we are still making startling discoveries about the Moon - and what it reveals about our planet.

Personality and the Brain - Professor Glenn D Wilson

Does personality originate in the brain? Can psychology and neuroscience explain everything there is to know of personality?

Markets in their Place: Moral Values and the Limits of Markets - Lord Plant

How are we to understand the moral basis of markets? For example property rights, the role of trust in economic exchange and questions of justice in relation to markets.

Reducing Inequalities in Child Health: What counts? What works? What matters? - Professor Helen Roberts

In the UK, children from poorer backgrounds are more likely to be born small, born early and die in childhood. Professor Helen Roberts describes something of what counts, what works and what matters in the fight against inequality in child health.

Is Theatre History? The Alternative Explosion - Sam Walters

We have just lived through the century of film and television, and now we are in the new digital age. Is the survival of the theatre now really threatened? If so, how should the challenge be met?

Vienna and Schubert: Piano Duet Fantasy in Fm, D. 940 - Professor Christopher Hogwood

A lecture by Christopher Hogwood on Franz Schubert and Vienna, followed by a full performance of Schubert's piano duet Fantasy in F minor D.940 by Florian Mitrea and Alexandra Vaduva.

The End of Slobodan Milošević - Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice

Milošević died a few months before the end of his trial. There were no closing arguments and there was no judgment by the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Sir Geoffrey Nice had been preparing closing arguments as the case proceeded and will explain what some of them were.

London Theatre: Past Glories, Today’s Success and Tomorrow’s Opportunities - Julian Bird

A lecture on the history of London theatre and its relative strengths in the world today. What is the important economic impact of London theatre around the world and what are some of the opportunities and challenges which lie ahead?

Darwin and Derivatives - Charles Taylor

How might the modern financial sector learn lessons from Darwin's theory of evolution?

Anatomy Museums: Past, Present and Future - Professor William Ayliffe

A short history of dissection, anatomy museums and some of the gruesome characters involved.

Ghosts of Departed Quantities: Calculus and its Limits - Professor Raymond Flood

The history of calculus and the origins of what is now called analysis, from the 18th to the 19th Centuries. On the way figures such as Newton, Leibniz, Bishop Berkeley and Augustin-Louis Cauchy will be addressed.

The Black Death - Professor Sir Richard Evans

The history of the Bubonic Plague and its devastating effects on medieval Europe, but also its other appearances in world history such as in 6th Century Byzantium and in Asia throughout the 19th century.

In Mahler's Footsteps - Keith James Clarke

Architect Keith James Clarke experiences the Austrian landscape and scenery that inspired Mahler. He travels by foot and bicycle to rediscover Mahler's much-loved haunts.

Cary Grant: Hollywood's exquisite, charming enigma - Geoffrey Wansell

To millions of moviegoers around the world Cary Grant epitomises the glamour and style of Hollywood in its golden years. With his luminous dark hair and mischievous smile he was one of its greatest stars. This lecture is an attempt to look behind the mask he presented to the world.

The Greatest Ever Economic Change - Professor Douglas McWilliams

Are we sleepwalking into the most serious economic challenge that we have ever faced? An examination of the industrialisation of two thirds of the world in its historical context, some comparisons with previous major economic challenges and a survey of some of the implications of the huge speed with which transformation is taking place.

International Criminal Tribunals - Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice QC

In the past twenty years several international courts have been established to try crimes committed in armed conflicts. Are these courts living up to expectations? What should we expect of them? Can they ever be free of political influence (or pollution)? Is there ever a time when it is better to let go of history in the interests of a better, safer future?

Resetting the Human Compass: The Use and Value of the Arts - Sir Andrew Motion

Sir Andrew Motion, the former Poet Laureate, asks what the role the arts might play in difficult times? Is an instrumentalist approach to the arts and culture ever a good thing?

Concert of Debussy Song - Sophie Bevan and Sebastian Wybrew

A recital of songs by Claude Debussy, performed by Sophie Bevan (soprano) and Sebastian Wybrew (piano). Songs performed include those using texts by Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Verlaine, Paul Bourget and Charles Baudelaire.

Musical Legacies of the Hanseatic League - Dr Geoffrey Webber

A lecture on the great musicians connected to the Hanseatic cities of Northern Germany. Not least amongst them was Dieterich Buxtehude of Lübeck, to whom the young J S Bach walked over 400 kilometres just listen to his organ improvisations.

The Postmodern Detective: Contemporary London Crime Fiction - Dr Jenny Bavidge

Have recent London crime stories abandoned their confidence in the interpretative abilities of the detective? Can we still believe in omniscient figures such as Dickens’ Inspector Bucket or Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes? Is London still a place where mysteries can be satisfactorily solved?

Human Livelihoods Depend on Wild Flowers - Dr Robin Probert

Dr Robin Probert explains why human livelihoods depend so much on wild plant diversity. He outlines the current threats to wild plants across the globe and how Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Partnership works to conserve plants and make seeds available for habitat repair, re-introduction and research. Current work in the UK that aims to restore wildflower meadows and other threatened habitats is also highlighted.

Children's Self-Control and the Health and Wealth of their Nation - Professor Terrie Moffitt

What do a series of studies of children from birth in 1972 to the present tell us about self-control. The startling results suggest that it could be central to all markers of success or failure in life, including income, longevity and happiness. Professor Moffitt presents the findings and suggests how and why governments would be wise to take note.

Parliament and the Public: Strangers or Friends? - The Rt Hon John Bercow

The Speaker of the House of Commons addresses the questions of how the House of Commons can engage more effectively with the public which it serves and how modern technology can assist in this enterprise.

The Lost World of 1962 - Dominic Sandbrook

In this lecture, Dominic Sandbrook, the acclaimed historian of Sixties Britain, marks the 50th anniversary of the City of London Festival by looking back at Britain in 1962. Fifty years on, the Britain of Harold Macmillan, Acker Bilk, Jimmy Greaves and James Hanratty feels like a vanished world. But was life back then really so different?

Arthur Conan Doyle and London: "A Stout Heart in the Great Cesspool" - Richard Burnip

From the Sherlock Holmes stories to The Lost World this lecture examines some of the locations which formed such in important backdrop to Conan Doyle's life and work. It will also touch on some of his lesser known works and include the place which perhaps meant more to him than any other in London, and to which he returned in his writing throughout his life.

Privacy and Publicity in Family Law: Their Eternal Tension - The Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Wall

There is general agreement among non-family lawyers that family procedures should be more transparent. But exactly what role should the media play in matters of family justice?

Berlioz, the Grande Messe des Morts and the Absence of God - David Cairns

Leading Berlioz scholar and biographer, David Cairns, discusses Berlioz's Grande Messe des Morts Op. 5 (Requiem)in the context of Berlioz's ambiguous relationship to religion.

Literary London Crime: The Dark Eyes of London - Cathi Unsworth

London is a city of secrets, a shifting, seething mass of intrigue, venality and violence, in constant cultural flux. The perfect setting for crime fiction - but how does the modern writer decode this centuries' old conurbation? Cathi Unsworth investigates those authors who haunt certain regions of the capital and along the way she will also explore the cult writers who helped to shape these contemporary authors' visions and the clandestine vocabulary of the City of Slang.

What has the City ever done for us? - The Lord Mayor of London

The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of London, Alderman David Wootton, examines the role, contribution and connections of the City and business - fundamental elements of our community.

Star Dust - Professor Carolin Crawford

Interstellar space is not truly a vacuum devoid of matter. Mixed into vast diffuse clouds of atomic gas are minute grains of silicate and carbonate materials known as ‘dust’, alongside complex molecules deep in the cold hearts of nebulae. We shall look at how we can detect and observe this tenuous material, through the processes by which dust scatters and absorbs visible light, and emits its own infrared glow. This interstellar matter is of fundamental importance to us all, as it is the reservoir from which all planets form... and any lifeforms living on those planets.

Crime in Dickens’ London: ‘This ain’t the shop for justice’ - Dr Tony Williams

From his childhood acquaintance with London, when he feared he might become ‘a little robber or a little vagabond’, Charles Dickens was fascinated by crime. His novels all include criminal activity of some kind as he investigates criminal psychology and the causes of crime. Dickens lived through a period of considerable development in society’s treatment of criminals: the foundation of the Metropolitan Police in 1829, the Detective Force in 1842, the same year as the New Model Prison opened at Pentonville; the ending of transportation and of public executions; the word ‘penology’ was first used in 1838, the year he began to publish Nicholas Nickleby. Dickens engages with these issues very fully, both in his fiction and in his journalism, as this talk will explore.

Innovation in the Social Sciences - Professor Sir Roderick Floud

Innovation is seen as the key to economic growth. But is this true of innovation in services, which now employ 75% of us, as well as in manufacturing industry? This lecture explores innovation in the “knowledge industries” through the development of the subject of economic history over the past 50 years.

Illuminated Psalter Manuscripts - Dr Sally Dormer

Psalters containing the 150 Psalms were immensely popular medieval manuscripts, used by a wide array of patrons for liturgical, scholastic and devotional purposes. This lecture explores how the Psalms inspired a rich tradition of literal, historical and interpretative illustration, from the 9th to the 14th centuries, across Europe.

Regulating the Regulators - The Baroness Deech of Cumnor DBE

How should regulation be carried out? What is the position of quangos? What general principles should govern regulation and who should do the regulating?

Britain in the 20th Century: A new consensus? 1990-2001 - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

To what extent was there a new political consensus in Britain in the 1990s, and were the policies of the New Labour government, elected in 1997, an extension of Thatcherism or a repudiation of it?

Lyme Disease: Is it safe to walk in the park? - Professor Patricia Nuttall

A consideration of the likelihood of being bitten by a tick carrying the Lyme Disease spirochaete, Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease was first described in the 1970s but it is now recognised in temperate regions across much of the northern hemisphere. The reasons for the seemingly prolific spread of the disease, and the prospects of controlling it, will be discussed. Yes, it is safe to walk in the park, but there are some provisos...

The Art of Rhetoric - Simon Lancaster

Most people fear giving speeches, almost as much as the rest of us dread listening to them. The lectern has a cruel capacity to render even the mighty vulnerable. Fortunately there is a science to the art of public speaking and it dates back to Ancient Greece. Simon Lancaster will open up a veritable treasure trove of ancient rhetorical devices and help you discover how to become a master in the language of leadership.

Drawings in Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts - Dr Sally Dormer

Medieval drawings are frequently viewed as the poor cousins of fully-painted miniatures. But in England, an appreciation of drawing persisted throughout the Middle Ages. Based within the late 10th and early 11th centuries, this lecture proves that drawing was more than an expedient alternative to full paint.

Home Office Mathematics - Professor Bernard Silverman

The Chief Scientific Adviser is the head of Home Office Science, which provides scientific advice and support to the whole range of the Home Office's work as the lead government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, counter-terrorism and police. Many aspects of our scientific work involve mathematics, and in this talk a selection will be presented. These show not only how mathematics is used by one particular government department, but also how wide is the range of topics where mathematical thinking and methods are important.

Baroque Violin: The Challenge of the Solo - Christopher Hogwood & Pavlo Beznosiuk

Pavlo Beznosiuk, one of the world's leading baroque violinists, explains and demonstrates the challenge of music for solo violin; works by Nicola Matteis and Heinrich Biber lead to a discussion and performance of the famous Chaconne from Bach's Solo Partita in D minor. Can such a work be satisfactorily analysed or does "music begin where words leave off"?

The Inconsistent Sun - Professor Claudio Vita-Finzi

Changes in the Sun's output can endanger health, power supplies and satellite systems. To prepare adequately for such events and to make judicious use of solar energy we need to investigate the Sun's 4.7 billion year history.

The Legal Profession: Regulating for independence - Baroness Ruth Deech

Britain’s legal profession is renowned the world over for its skill and independence. But should there be self regulation or should the profession be regulated by external bodies composed of lay members? What difference will the Legal Services Act 2007 make, and should we continue to have a divided profession, barristers and solicitors?

Large telescopes and why we need them - Professor Carolin Crawford

An investigation through history and to the present-day and beyond, of the the science driving the need for such large telescopes as the Extremely Large Telescope or the Square Kilometre Array. We will also look at the many scientific and engineering challenges are involved in the design and construction of such large telescopes and their mirrors.

The Making of Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts - Dr Sally Dormer

Illuminated manuscripts are some of the most beautiful artefacts to survive from the Middle Ages. Their production involved transforming animal skins into parchment; copying texts; painting and gilding minatures; and binding folios between boards, a process that reveals much about medieval scribal and artistic practice.

The BBC: Defending the public interest - Baroness Deech

The BBC is an important source of value and truth not just within the UK but around the world through the World Service. How, then, should the Corporation be regulated if it is to maintain its position as a fair and independent source of news and entertainment?

Britain in the 20th Century: Thatcherism, 1979-1990 - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

Margaret Thatcher’s governments encouraged the spread of ownership in Britain and 'Thatcherism' seemed for a time to be in accordance with the trends of social change. So why did it come to an end? What was the cost? How should we judge her leadership of the nation today?

Mathematics and Sport: Final Score - Professor John D Barrow

From league tables to game-set-match, an investigation of the mathematics behind scoring systems in sport.

Malaria: Twenty-first Century Threat - Professor Frank Cox

Malaria afflicts some 250 million people of whom over a million, mostly children, die each year. But in 1955 the World Health Organization announced a plan to eradicate it. What went wrong? Will Malaria ever be beaten? What is being done about it?

Brain Reconstruction - Professor Jack Price

Is brain reconstruction going to be the next biomedical breakthrough, or is it just a biological impossibility? Professor Jack Price details the latest advances in this field of neuroscience, as well as covering the conceptual and regulatory obstacles that researchers face.

The New Normal: Rebalancing Our Priorities - Professor Ken Costa

It is time for the banking and financial sectors to stop apologising and start changing. But how? Professor Costs outlines three key themes for change needed in order to estable a "New Normal" for how we operate in the commerical and financial world: a re-ordering of our priorities, the respect the ethical, and the creation of a better spirit in which to carry out business.

The Roman Denarius and the Euro: A precedent for monetary union? - Dr Andrew Burnett

A look at the way the Roman Empire has sometimes been used as an historical precedent for the European Union, and specifically the way that the integration of the Roman monetary system has been seen as a (sometimes justifying) precedent for modern European monetary union.

Is there a God-shaped hole in contemporary art? - Dr Jonathan Koestlé-Cate

Should contemporary church commissions meet criteria of accessibility, aesthetic quality and clear Christian symbolism? Should non-believers be commissioned to produce Christian art?

The 'Desublimation' of Modern Art: A Theological Task? - Professor Ben Quash

What is the place of 'the sublime' in modern art and popular culture? What challenge does this leave for contemporary Christian art?

Gresham's Law in Economics: Background to the Crisis - Professor Victoria Chick

Gresham's Law states that "Bad money drives out good", but in economics it seems that bad theory has driven out good. Is this behind the economic depression in which we are now caught?

Philanthropy Then, Philanthropy Now - Julia Unwin, Chief Executive, The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

This lecture outlines the challenges of modern-day society and how they affect a charity's ability to deliver its purpose, and discusses how a 'Good Society' could be built through the individual, community, market and state.

The Universities: Under regulation - The Baroness Deech of Cumnor

A discussion of issues around the protection of students from racial and religious hatred at university.

Decolonization: The End of Empire? - Professor Richard J. Evans

A history of Empire in the 20th Century, by one of Britain's leading Modern Historians.

Mathematics and Sport: On the Waterfront - Professor John D Barrow

The mathematics behind water sports like rowing and swimming.

Twenty-first Century Threats: Tuberculosis - Professor William Ayliffe

A cultural and medical history of TB, and an overview of the threat it poses in our own time.

The Lost Hospitals of London: St Luke’s - Professor Nick Black

The extraordinary story of this neglected quarter of London that in the late 19th century boasted seven major hospitals, of which only one survives today.

To Wear or Not to Wear: Changing social norms with regard to eyewear - Neil Handley

The fascinating story of the technical and cultural history behind spectacles.

Contemporary Christian Art - The Rt Revd Lord Harries

An overview of the work of contemporary Christian artists and the issues they face.

Profiling a Killer - Professor Glenn D. Wilson

The psychology behind homicide investigation.

The End of Space and Time? - Professor Robbert Dijkgraaf

Where does string theory and particle physics leave our ideas of space and time?

The Opening Salvo: Beethoven String Quartet in F major - Professor Christopher Hogwood

A lecture and performance illustrating what makes Beethoven’s String Quartet in F major a masterpiece.

The Lost Hospitals of London: Bethlem Hospital - Colin S Gale

An overview of the 681-year history of this legendary mental health institution and London icon.

100 Essential Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know About Sport - Professor John D Barrow

"What can maths tell us about sports?" - John Barrow offers some of the many interesting possible answers to this question.

The Universities: Over Regulation - Baroness Deech

The story of increasing government intervention in universities, and how it is hindering their work.

Britain in the 20th Century: The Collapse of the Postwar Settlement, 1964-1979 - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

The history of British politics as the post-war socialist dream soured into the winter of discontent.

London’s Forgotten Children: Thomas Coram and the Foundling Hospital - Dame Gillian Pugh

The history of the UK’s first children’s charity, and the orphanage it was connected to, created in central London in 1739.

English Architecture: On Top of the World, 1830 to 1914 - Dr Simon Thurley

A lecture on the history of Victorian and Edwardian architecture in England.

Clusters of Galaxies - Professor Carolin Crawford

The fascinating science behind galaxies, the largest organised structures in the Universe that appear gravitationally bound.

The Lost Leprosy Hospitals of London - Professor Carole Rawcliffe

The surprising history of leprosy hospitals between 1100 and 1500, when the disease was seen as either a punishment for sin or a mark of divine favour.

Values and Value in the Marketplace - Lord Green

Can business and finance forget about values and just concentrate on (economic) value? The Minister of State for Trade and Investment discusses the role of values in the economic and business marketplace.

Procyclicality of Financial Regulation: And how to deal with it - Professor Charles Goodhart

Boom and Bust cycles are damaging to long-term financial stability. How can we hope to lessen their effects in the future in order to achieve a form of finance that is truly sustainable.

Investing as if the Future Mattered - Dr Matthew Kiernan

The meeting point of finance and sustainability: Does current financial investment truly reflect the long-term? What would finance look like if it was truly concerned with the long-term? What needs to change to achieve this?

Olympism: Fair Play - Dr Jim Parry

Fair Play is at the heart of sports ethics, and of Olympic ethics. But what does it mean, and how does it work?

Empire: Exploitation and Resistance - Professor Richard J Evans

A lecture on the impact of empire on the colonizers and the colonized, looking in particular at the comparison between the British Empire and the Belgian Congo.

Progress on the road to curing motor neuron disease - Professor Chris Shaw

Motor Neuron Disease is perhaps one of the cruelest diseases known. At the moment there is no known cure, but researchers are working on one all over the world. What are the latest findings? Could an answer be in sight?

Christian Faith and Modern Art: Searching for New Ways - Richard Harries

An analysis of British Christian artists since the 1960’s, including Alfred Herbert, Norman Adams, John Reilly and Craigie Aitchison.

Mathematics and Sport: Throwing, Jumping, and Spinning - Professor John D Barrow

What knowledge does mathematics provide of the sports in the gymnasium, the velodrome, and the diving pool? Why do high jumpers use the Fosbury flop and long jumpers cycle in the air? How high can rugby players jump in the line out?

Whatever Turns You On - Professor Glenn Wilson

Sexual fantasies: what are they, where do they come from, and should we be concerned?

Olympism: Education - Dr Jim Parry

Education through sport is seen as the cornerstone of Olympic ideology. But should we suspicious of how this is put into practice? How, if at all, has this key aim been implemented by London 2012?

Is it possible? - Mozart's Oboe Quartet - Professor Christopher Hogwood

Christopher Hogwood analyses Mozart’s Oboe Quartet with Mae Wade and musicians from the RCM.

English Architecture, 1760 to 1830: Engine House - Professor Simon Thurley

England’s take off as the first industrial nation created a whole new language of building underpinned by technology and by an emerging view of the rest of the world.

Olympism: Ethics and Politics - Dr Jim Parry

What is the philosophy of life behind the Olympics? How does this with the confrontation of sport with the worlds of politics and ethics?

Rotation in Space - Professor Carolin Crawford

What the rotations of planets, stars and galaxies can tell us about the nature of the universe, from the Big Bang to the existence of Dark Matter.

Christ and Evolution: A Drama of Wisdom - Professor Celia Deane-Drummond

Can theology make sense of Christ in the evolutionary conception of the world?

Apprenticeship in early modern London - Dr Patrick Wallis and Dr Christopher Minns

The economic origins and destinations of City apprentices in London in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Unweaving the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing System - Dr Dionysios S Demetis

An unravelling of the complexity surrounding Anti Money Laundering, with some practical advice for financial institutions.

Empire: From Conquest to Control - Professor Richard J Evans

How and why European empires between 1880 and the end of the First World War slowly imposed greater control on territories that in many cases existed merely on paper.

Christian Modern Art: Post World War II Optimism - The Rt Revd Lord Harries

After World War II, without forgetting the terrible suffering earlier in the century, there was a new confidence expressed in the artistic commissions of the time. Older artists who had been active before World War I such as Epstein and Matisse received commissions as well as younger artists such as Graham Sutherland, known especially for his work in Coventry Cathedral, Ceri Richards and Henry Moore.

Mad, bad or sad? - Professor Glenn D Wilson

Personality disorders are a contentious issue in psychiatry. How many are there and how reliable is their diagnosis? Are we just medicalising bad behaviour and social inadequacy. How should medical and criminal justice sectors divide responsibility?

Maths and Sport: Records, Medals and Drug Taking - Professor John D Barrow

We examine the striking patterns between world record performances in different sports and ask what events an ambitious nation should target as the ‘easiest’ in which to win Olympic medals. How does Olympic success correlate with a nation’s GNP? How does the location of the Olympics affect the chance of record breaking? And how can simple statistics help us understand the likelihood of winning streaks and the chance that an innocent athlete will fail a drugs test?

Modern Christian Art: Catholic Elegance and Joy - The Rt Revd Lord Harries

In the period under consideration a fair number of the artists considered have been Roman Catholics, but at one time there was a particular symbiosis between two of them, Eric Gill and David Jones, who will be discussed along with others who shared their faith.

Britain in the 20th Century: The Conservative Reaction, 1951-1965 - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

The Conservatives recovered remarkably rapidly from the debacle of 1945. Their narrow election victory in 1951 led to 13 years of Conservative rule. How was the party able to reassert itself so quickly and what did it do with its period in power? Winston Churchill hoped to roll back the tide of socialism. Did he succeed, or did the Conservatives, by contrast, help to confirm a new consensus which, while not socialist, could also not be described as capitalist in the classical sense of the term?

David and Goliath: Strength and Power in Sport - Professor John D Barrow FRS

Top athletes seem to get bigger and bigger. How does size affect performance? Why do some sports have weight categories while others don’t? What types of lever are employed in sports events like gymnastics and wrestling and how much force does a karate blow need to exert to break a brick? These are some of the questions that we will answer by using simple maths.

Remember Me - Professor Christopher Hogwood

What is the role of ‘memorability’ in Pachelbel’s Canon, Purcell’s Dido's Lament and Fauré’s Violin Sonata? Can it explain why they are unquestionalble masterpieces?

The City Livery Companies - Tim Connell

The story of the unique history and continued relevance of the Livery Companies in the City of London, from the medieval period through to the modern day.

The Psychology of Politics - Professor Glenn D Wilson

Political affiliations reflect social class and upbringing but personality factors also contribute, including genetically determined traits like fear of uncertainty and novelty-seeking. Extreme positions may stem from dogmatism, hostility and intolerance of ambiguity.

Christianity in Evolution: An Exploration - Professor Jack Mahoney

Evolution has provided a new understanding of reality, with revolutionary consequences for traditional Christian beliefs. What should a rational Christian think of issues such as Adam and Eve or Original Sin which appear to be at odds to modern thinking on evolution?

St Paul's Cathedral at 300: The Refurbishment Project - Martin Stancliffe

On the 300th anniversary of the completion of Christopher Wren's Cathedral, we welcome the completion of a 15-year and £40 million project to refurbish the Cathedral. The architect in charge of the project explains the amazing and fascinating work done.

How do we deal with rewards for failure while supporting growth? - Matthew Hancock

Bonuses in the banking sector are at an all-time high even as the system teeters on the edge of collapse. How are we to combat the culture of rewards for failure, without negatively affecting growth in the econbomy? The policy solutions are there, but are we re brave enough to take them?

Queer Presences and Absences: Citizenship, Community, Diversity, or Death - Dr Yvette Taylor

A lecture on US and UK sexual citizenship, situating these in terms of LGBT campaigning groups' actions, institutional reactions and broader public relations evident in the course of claiming and lamenting citizenship, community and diversity.

St Paul's Cathedral at 300: The History of the Building - Martin Stancliffe

On the 300th anniversary of the completion of Christopher Wren's Cathedral, the current architect offers an architectural history of England's premier Cathedral.

The Sounds of the Universe - Professor Carolin Crawford

From black holes humming to pulsars spinning: what are the sounds of space and how can we use them?

The Scramble for Africa - Professor Richard J Evans

In the early 1880s, informal imperial expansion gave way to formal imperial acquisitions. This lecture offers an overview of the race of European Empires to lay claim to Africa in the midst of this period of aggressive imperialism.

The Future of the EU and Global Markets - Dr Robert Barnes

After the largest financial crisis in the history of the capital markets, what changes do we need to promote liquidity recovery? What insights can Equities offer Over-The-Counter markets and vice-versa? Come and learn the bold ideas shaping the new financial and economic landscape.