Gresham College

27/09/2026

Cracking the Mathematics

Why does a whip make that astonishing crack? Professor Alain Goriely* reveals the surprising mathematics behind the extreme acceleration of whips and chains — and how infinity itself helps create the sound.

Watch more: https://gres.hm/cracking-whip

* also of | Oxford Mathematics

25/09/2026

What does an instrument mean to its player?

Dr Kate Kennedy uncovers the extraordinary stories of cellists, exploring what it means to be separated from your voice — and to find it again.

Watch more 👉https://gres.hm/cello-voice


English Faculty, University of Oxford

24/09/2026

Tickets now open!

Our Sovereign Soil: Urban Planning and Public Health

Book free: https://gres.hm/sovereign-soil

Visiting Professor Ian Mudway* looks at the conflict between large-scale urban development and people’s health. He questions the legal idea that contaminated or damaged land only needs to be cleaned up enough to be considered “suitable for use”, rather than being properly restored.

Are economic benefits and development being given more importance than protecting people’s physical health?



*also of Imperial College | Imperial Medicine

This lecture scrutinises the friction between aggressive urban planning and public health. It challenges the “Suitable for Use” legislative framework, revealing how simple remediation is often a mechanism for bypassing genuine restoration.

23/09/2026

"All Gresham lecturers share a love for their subject, which makes it accessible to almost anyone..." 💡✨

Listen to Bill's story about how Gresham College lectures have helped him on his lifelong learning journey... 📚

Become a Friend with a regular donation of £10+ per month – you'll help us to keep providing world-class education, for free, to people across the globe. 🌍

Find out more: gres.hm/friend

22/09/2026

Next Monday!

Where is Q***r Love in the Shoah History?
Mon, 28 Sep 2026

🎟️Free, 6pm • In person or live online: https://gres.hm/queer-shoah

Dr Anna Hájková explains why the history of same-sex desire in the Shoah, that is, queerness among Jews persecuted by the N***s for their race, has been excluded and marginalised, and how its return to our understanding of the Holocaust can offer an inclusive and feminist history of this genocide.

University of Warwick

21/09/2026

We were delighted to welcome over 500 visitors to Gresham College last week as part of the ! Thank you to all who dropped in to find out more about our medieval Hall - and our lovely volunteers who helped welcome guests!

Read more: https://gres.hm/open-house-26

19/09/2026

In-person tickets for the first lecture of our Gresham in the North Series are now open:

A History of the World in Four Algorithms 🔢

Join Professor Emerita of Geometry, Sarah Hart, at St John's College, Durham University to explore four key algorithms that have not just shaped pure , but have found unexpected applications in areas as diverse as nuclear physics, film-making, medicine, and music.

Book: https://gres.hm/history-algorithms 🧠
Durham University

Gresham College provides free educational videos and lectures at university level

18/09/2026

"Gresham College is the only institution of higher education in this country which is totally independent..." 💡✨

Listen to Professor Tim Connell's story about how Gresham College lectures have helped him on his lifelong learning journey. 📚

Become a Friend with a regular donation of £10+ per month – you'll help us to keep providing world-class education, for free, to people across the globe. 🌍

Find out more: gres.hm/friend

17/09/2026

After 16 months, who's winning: Donald Trump or the Constitution? 🇺🇸🏛️

Today is Constitution Day in the USA, marking the anniversary of the signing on the US Constitution in 1787. 📜

Gresham Professor of Law Clive Stafford-Smith explores how the Constitution has fared during Trump's second term as President, where has it succeeded or failed in providing legal safeguards, clarity and stability, and what does this mean for the rest of the Trump presidency?

Watch the full lecture: gres.hm/constitution

University of Bristol Law School
Goldsmiths, University of London

16/09/2026

Gresham Professor of Geometry, Alain Goriely, has debunked the myth that the Parthenon included deliberate optical illusions [as reported in The Guardian https://bit.ly/parthenon-illusion]

Check out his lecture on the of actual optical illusions: https://gres.hm/deceived-brain