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greshamcollege.bsky.social
Gresham College
@greshamcollege.bsky.social
Free public lectures across the Arts & Sciences | Since 1597
http://gresham.ac.uk
Live this week at #GreshamCollege:

🎨 Music of Light and Colour - Prof Milton Mermikides
💼 Economics and Artificial Intelligence – Prof Daniel Susskind
🌍 Pictures from Afghanistan: Are we making the same mistakes? – Prof Clive Stafford Smith

🎥 Watch: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/
January 12, 2026 at 10:35 AM
In-person tickets open: Peacebuilding through the Visual Arts

https://gres.hm/peacebuilding-arts

How can #art promote peace - or fuel conflict? Prof Jolyon Mitchell (Durham University) explores how visual arts can witness violence, heal trauma, and imagine hopeful futures, from #WWI to today
January 11, 2026 at 12:30 PM
In-person tickets now open: Lee Miller’s Indelible Images

https://gres.hm/lee-miller

Why do some photographs refuse to be forgotten? Lee Miller’s #WW2 images bear witness to history’s darkest moments. Her son Antony Penrose explores her response and legacy...
January 10, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Catch up: Donald Trump and the Death Penalty

👉 https://gres.hm/trump-death

Prof Clive Stafford Smith examines Trump’s executive order to “restore the death penalty” - and what it means for 2,400 people on death row incl. the innocent among them...

#law #usa #deathpenalty
January 7, 2026 at 11:06 AM
🎄 On the twelfth day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

An insightful lecture ‘China and Chineseness’ by Professor Steve Tsang, exploring how history and politics have shaped Chinese identity across mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan... ✨

Watch 👉 gres.hm/chinese

#12DaysOfChristmas
January 5, 2026 at 10:00 AM
In-person tickets open: Death Investigation ⚖️

👉 https://gres.hm/death-coroners

Sir Peter Thornton KC explains the role of coroners: how they investigate deaths, hold inquests, and help prevent future tragedies.

#law #death #murder #GreshamCollege
January 5, 2026 at 9:35 AM
🎄 On the eleventh day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

A powerful lecture ‘War’s Toxic Legacy’ by Prof Ian Mudway, exploring how conflict leaves long-term harm for civilians and why tackling hidden toxic exposures matters for health and justice...

👉 gres.hm/war-toxic

#12DaysOfChristmas
January 4, 2026 at 2:02 PM
In-person tickets open: Alien Earths 🌍✨

Book free: https://gres.hm/alien-earths

Prof Chris Lintott* explores why, among the thousands of exoplanets we've discovered so far, none is like Earth - and asks what makes our world truly special

*also of Department of Physics at the University of Oxford
January 4, 2026 at 10:30 AM
🎄 On the tenth day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

A fascinating lecture ‘Music of Animals’ by Prof of Music Milton Mermikides; he explores music across the animal kingdom, asking whether music is uniquely human or shared across species... ✨

👉 https://gres.hm/music-animals

#12DaysOfChristmas
January 3, 2026 at 2:01 PM
In-person tickets open: Will You Be AI’s Pet? 🐾

👉 https://gres.hm/ai-pet

Gresham Professor of IT Matt Jones* explores whether #AI is “domesticating” humans - considering the benefits and hidden costs of our evolving relationship with technology

*also of @swanseauni.bsky.social
January 3, 2026 at 10:20 AM
🎄 On the ninth day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

A compelling lecture ‘Hitler, Jesus & How to Win a Culture War’ by Professor Alec Ryrie, exploring how the memory of WWII shaped our moral values — and why that consensus is now unravelling...

👉 gres.hm/hitler-jesus

#12DaysOfChristmas
January 2, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Happy New Year! 🌟

🎄 On the eighth day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

‘The Great God Pan: Lord of the Wild’ with Prof of Divinity Ronald Hutton, exploring how Pan rose from a shepherds’ god to a powerful symbol of wild nature... ✨

👉 gres.hm/god-pan

University of Bristol #12DaysOfChristmas
January 1, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Happy New Year's Eve! 🎊

🎄 On the seventh day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

A powerful lecture 'Evoking Empathy through Animal Portraiture' by Tim Flach exploring how photography can reshape how we see animals, inspiring conservation...

Watch 👉 gres.hm/animal-portraiture

#12DaysOfChristmas
December 31, 2025 at 2:03 PM
🎄 On the sixth day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

A fascinating lecture ‘From Mars with Love: Postcards from 50 Years of Exploring the Red Planet’ by Prof of Astronomy Chris Lintott , exploring 50 years of Mars missions... ✨

👉 gres.hm/mars-love

#12DaysOfChristmas
December 30, 2025 at 10:01 AM
🎄 On the fifth day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

A thought-provoking lecture 'Why Do We Laugh?' by Professor Robin May; he explores the science behind humour, revealing why laughter is so powerful...

Watch now 👉 gres.hm/why-laugh

University of Birmingham #Science #Biology #12DaysOfChristmas
December 29, 2025 at 10:01 AM
🎄 On the fourth day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

A fascinating lecture, 'Ocean: The Liquid Engine That Dominates Our Planet', by Prof of Environment Helen Czerski*. Discover how the ocean shapes all life on Earth... ✨

Watch now 👉 gres.hm/ocean

* also of UCL

#12DaysOfChristmas
December 28, 2025 at 2:01 PM
In-person tickets open: Mithras: Master of Mystery

👉 https://gres.hm/god-mithras

Prof. Ronald Hutton explores the cult of #Mithras, the most famous of the mystery religions of the #Roman Empire; uncovering what we can really know of this enigmatic faith

University of Bristol
December 28, 2025 at 9:10 AM
🎄 On the third day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

An intriguing festive lecture ‘Christmas Lies and Legends’ by Judith Flanders, exploring the myths, memories and nostalgia that shape how we think about Christmas... ✨

👉 gres.hm/christmas-lies

#12DaysOfChristmas
December 27, 2025 at 2:01 PM
In-person tickets open: The Shape of Shells 🐚

https://gres.hm/shape-shells

Seashells, built by molluscs layer by layer, follow simple mathematical rules that create beautiful self-similar forms. Prof Alain Goriely* explains how we get various shapes, spines & wrinkles

*also of Oxford Mathematics
December 27, 2025 at 10:00 AM
🎄 On the second day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

A festive lecture exploring famous film adaptations of A Christmas Carol, given by Dr Christine Corton. Discover how Dickens’s timeless story has been reimagined for generations... ✨

Watch now 👉 gres.hm/a-christmas-carol

#12DaysOfChristmas
December 26, 2025 at 10:01 AM
🎄 On the first day of Christmas, Gresham gave to me…

A heart-warming festive lecture, 'Christmas Carols and Nostalgia', by Prof Jeremy Summerly, exploring how carols bring the Nativity to life, merging the ancient and the modern... ✨

Watch now 👉 gres.hm/carols

#12DaysOfChristmas
December 25, 2025 at 10:01 AM
In-person tickets open: An Ocean of Air 🌍

Book: https://gres.hm/ocean-air

Prof. Helen Czerski* explores what the atmosphere is, how it works, and how human activity is changing it - and our future

* also of UCL
#environment #airpollution #climate #greshamcollege
December 22, 2025 at 10:40 AM
In-person tickets now open: Why Do We Grieve?

https://gres.hm/why-grieve

Is grief uniquely human or shared with animals like elephants & orcas? Prof Robin May explores this and whether we might find a cure for this crip[pling emotion...

Institute of Microbiology and Infection
#evolution #biology
December 21, 2025 at 12:30 PM
In-person tickets open: Constable’s The Cornfield at 200 🌾

https://gres.hm/constable-200

Professor Malcolm Andrews explores how this iconic landscape shaped ideas of Englishness—and what its working countryside reveals about nature, humanity, and today’s environmental anxieties.
December 20, 2025 at 1:15 PM
We did it! ✨

Thanks to your generosity, the Big Give #ChristmasChallenge exceeded its target — raising £62,059 for free education, with every donation doubled.

Thank you to everyone who supported the campaign 💚

#FreeEducation #PublicLectures #LifelongLearning #EducationForAll #GreshamCollege
December 17, 2025 at 2:02 PM