Gresham College Courses

Modern Pagan Witchcraft - Origins, Beliefs, and Cultural Impact

Explore the origins and cultural impact of modern Pagan witchcraft, from Gerald Gardner's foundational role to Wiccan beliefs, rituals, and its counter-cultural significance today.

• YouTube
• 45 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Growth Unleashed: Reigniting the UK's Appetite for Positive Risk

Explore Lord Mayor Alastair King's vision for "Growth Unleashed" as he discusses reforming the UK's risk culture, unlocking investment potential, and maintaining London's position as the world's leading financial center despite regulatory challenges.

• YouTube
• 57 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

The Turbulent Brain: Ageing and Dementia

Explore how mathematical modeling can predict dementia progression, understand Alzheimer's mechanisms, and discover potential approaches for personalized treatment through innovative brain network analysis.

• YouTube
• 59 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Does Net Zero Mean the End of Livestock Agriculture?

Explore how methane emissions from livestock are misrepresented in climate models and discover sustainable approaches to agriculture that can be compatible with climate stability and net zero goals.

• YouTube
• 51 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Divine Law, Human Prophet: Moses in Hebrew and Greek

Explore how ancient Jewish authors compared Moses to Greek lawgivers like Lycurgus and Solon, examining their views on education, ethics, prophecy, and political rule in this lecture by Melissa Lane.

• YouTube
• 45 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

The Moral Case for Stealing Data

Explore the ethical complexities of data theft, whistleblowing, and hacktivism from medieval times to modern digital espionage cases like Snowden and Manning.

• YouTube
• 52 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Blind Spots and Bad Decisions - Why We Fall for Financial Traps

Uncover why smart people make poor financial choices through psychological biases like overconfidence, anchoring, and confirmation bias that cloud judgment and lead to costly mistakes.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 8 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

From Machiavelli to Nietzsche - How Modern Thinkers Saw Ancient Lawgivers

Explore how Machiavelli, Rousseau, and Nietzsche viewed ancient lawgivers as founders of civic identity, examining their roles in shaping political philosophy and cultural values.

• YouTube
• 44 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

What Rights and Duties are Missing from the U.S. Constitution?

Explore the debate over constitutional evolution with human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, examining potential new rights, cultural differences in rights interpretation, and global justice issues from Gaza to Guantanamo.

• YouTube
• 46 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

From Thin Air - Minimalist and Process Music from Africa to Arvo Pärt

Explore how minimalist music creates profound effects from simple materials, examining African rhythms, Steve Reich's algorithms, and Arvo Pärt's elegant compositions.

• YouTube
• 52 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Automation Anxiety - A History of Technology and Work Displacement

Explore the history of automation anxiety from Luddites to modern driverless car protests, examining why fears of technological unemployment persist despite economic growth.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 22 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

How It Ends - What We Know about the Fate of the Universe

Explore the ultimate fate of our universe through cosmology, dark energy, and the far future of stars, black holes, and cosmic expansion over the next 100 billion years.

• YouTube
• 50 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

How Does Mathematics Last? Heritage and Heritage-making in Mathematics

Explore how mathematical knowledge survives across generations through people, institutions, and objects that preserve mathematical ideas beyond their original contexts.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 6 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Hitler, Jesus and How to Win a Culture War

Explore how Western moral values shifted from Christianity to WWII memory, why this consensus is failing, and discover hopeful paths beyond today's culture wars.

• YouTube
• 46 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video

Evoking Empathy through Animal Portraiture

Discover how photographer Tim Flach uses portraiture techniques to foster empathy with endangered animals, bridging art and conservation through powerful visual storytelling.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 4 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Video