The Royal Institution Courses

Why Everything You Thought You Knew About Quantum Physics is Different

Philip Ball examines what quantum theory does and does not mean, and how its counterintuitive principles shape the world we experience.

• YouTube
• 43 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Science of Psychedelics - Exploring Potential in Healthcare and Consciousness

Michael Pollan explores what renewed research into LSD and psilocybin could reveal about consciousness and their potential in healthcare.

• YouTube
• 53 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Physics and Philosophy of Time

A journey through how physics unsettles everyday ideas of time, from Boltzmann and Einstein to quantum gravity, alongside philosophical and artistic interpretations.

• YouTube
• 55 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Building a Big Bang Machine on the Moon

James Beacham imagines a collider stretching around the Moon and explores what it could reveal about the universe’s deepest mysteries.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 1 minute
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Quantum Computing: Untangling the Hype

Experts examine how quantum computers work and what their promise means for computing.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 33 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

The Drake equation suggests the galaxy should teem with civilizations—so why haven’t we found them?

• YouTube
• 36 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Mapping Particle Physics

A guided map of the unseen world, from atoms and quarks to the forces shaping the universe and the energy frontier.

• YouTube
• 47 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Science of Collaboration

Explore why humans collaborate, how cooperation shaped our evolution, and whether groups make better decisions than individuals.

• YouTube
• 53 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Black Holes and the Fundamental Laws of Physics

Black holes’ extraordinary properties and gravitational-wave observations point toward new ways of understanding the fundamental laws of physics.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 3 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Psychology and Neuroscience of Happiness

A panel explores why happiness and other positive emotions remain less understood than fear, anxiety, and other negative emotions.

• YouTube
• 36 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

If Brains are Computers, Who Designs the Software?

Daniel Dennett explores how perception and education reshape the brain’s computer-like processes, and what limits this redesign.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 16 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Fashion, Faith and Fantasy in Physics - With Roger Penrose

Roger Penrose examines how fashion, faith, and fantasy can shape—and potentially mislead—research at physics’ frontiers.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 4 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Quantum Fields - The Real Building Blocks of the Universe

David Tong explains why quantum fields, rather than particles, are considered the fundamental building blocks of matter and how they shape our view of the Universe.

• YouTube
• 1 hour
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Neuroscience of Consciousness

Anil Seth explains how biology gives rise to conscious experience, distinguishing conscious level, content, and self through emerging research on neural mechanisms.

• YouTube
• 1 hour
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

A Journey to the Centre of the Sun

Trace light’s long journey through the Sun and explore how solar storms can reach Earth and threaten modern technology.

• YouTube
• 55 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video