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?