Logo
    Search

    About this Episode

    The crypto movement began as a reaction to the concentration of economic power in the traditional financial system (and associated financial crises). It involved the creation of a new type of financial recording system, that did not depend on any one individual keeping records, did not allow falsification, and prevented fraud and double spending.

    Crypto is underpinned by public-private key encryption, hashing and mining and allows a completely decentralised system to write enforceable contracts that cannot be altered once written. But how does the technology actually work? How would the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet have played out had crypto been around in the sixteenth century?


    A lecture by Raghavendra Rau

    The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/trust-crypto

    Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/

    Website:  https://gresham.ac.uk
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
    Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
    Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

    Support the show

    Recent Episodes from Gresham College Lectures

    Health after Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Tsunamis - Sir Chris Whitty

    Health after Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Tsunamis - Sir Chris Whitty

    Major geophysical events such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes can occur with little or no warning and have catastrophic effects.

    This lecture will consider the health impacts of these natural disasters and how best to minimise them.

    Trauma often dominates the first days after the initial event but predicting the medium-term effects such as infectious diseases can head off predictable secondary health disasters over the medium and long term.


    This lecture was recorded by Sir Chris Whitty on 20th February 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

    The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
    https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/earthquakes-volcanoes

    Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/

    Website:  https://gresham.ac.uk
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
    Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
    Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

    Support the show

    Immunotherapy: Cure for Metastatic Cancers? - James Larkin

    Immunotherapy: Cure for Metastatic Cancers? - James Larkin

    Immunotherapy has brought new hope for curing common cancers that have spread (metastatic) – once regarded as impossible.

    Over the last 10 years, immune checkpoint inhibitors – drugs that allow the immune system to identify and destroy previously unrecognised cancer cells – have been successfully used to treat melanoma, kidney cancer and lung cancer, among others. Clinicians are looking at whether vaccines, oncolytic viruses and cellular therapies could cure cancer.

    This lecture explores the scientific basis for this progress.


    This lecture was recorded by James Larkin on 15th February 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

    The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
    https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/immunotherapy

    Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/

    Website:  https://gresham.ac.uk
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
    Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
    Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

    Support the show

    Dragons: A History - Ronald Hutton

    Dragons: A History - Ronald Hutton

    Why have people believed in dragons, and what were they actually? Is there a difference between Western and Eastern dragons, in a global perspective, and if so, why?

    Has the Western attitude to dragons changed in the modern era? Did Christianity give rise to a different idea of what a dragon should be? These are the questions that this lecture sets out to answer.


    This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on 14th February 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

    The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
    https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/dragons

    Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/

    Website:  https://gresham.ac.uk
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
    Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
    Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

    Support the show

    Pulsars, Microwave Ovens and the Radio Sky - Chris Lintott

    Pulsars, Microwave Ovens and the Radio Sky - Chris Lintott

    There have been two major revolutions in how we look at the sky - the shift beyond the optical to other wavelengths, particularly the radio, and the increasing attention paid to how objects change over time.

    We start with the discovery of pulsars by Jocelyn Bell Burnell, explore how a microwave oven bamboozled astronomers, and discuss the latest research on Fast Radio Bursts, mysterious events detected in galaxies billions of light-years away.


    This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on 21st February 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

    The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
    https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/radio-sky

    Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/

    Website:  https://gresham.ac.uk
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
    Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
    Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

    Support the show

    Sex and the Internet - Dr Victoria Baines

    Sex and the Internet - Dr Victoria Baines

    The relationship between intimacy and technology is dynamic and transformative. Adult entertainment providers were early adopters of the Internet and directly influenced its development. Meanwhile, digital communication has changed our consumption of pornography, how we date, and how we seek pleasure.

    There is increasing concern that Internet-mediated sex is having a negative impact on humans. What’s the evidence for that? And what does the future hold?


    This lecture was recorded by Dr Victoria Baines on 13th February 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

    The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
    https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/internet-sex

    Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/

    Website:  https://gresham.ac.uk
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
    Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
    Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

    Support the show

    Dyslexia and Language - Disorder or Difference? - Maggie Snowling CBE

    Dyslexia and Language - Disorder or Difference? - Maggie Snowling CBE

    Difficulties with reading and writing have wide-ranging effects beyond academic achievement, including on career opportunities and personal well-being. However, the concept of dyslexia continues to be debated: is the term useful? How does it relate to spoken language?

    This lecture describes what is known of the causes and consequences of reading difficulties and how they relate to other common conditions that affect learning. It will look at the importance of early intervention and how best to support children with dyslexia.


    This lecture was recorded by Maggie Snowling CBE on 8th February 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

    The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
    https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/dyslexia-language

    Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/

    Website:  https://gresham.ac.uk
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
    Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
    Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

    Support the show

    A 300,000-Year History of Human Evolution - Robin May

    A 300,000-Year History of Human Evolution - Robin May

    The species we recognise as our own - anatomically modern humans - has existed for only 300,000 years, a blink of an eye in evolutionary terms. And yet during that time our species has been shaped by strong evolutionary forces, often unwittingly as an indirect result of human activities.

    In this lecture, we’ll find out how disease outbreaks, the rise of civilisation and even the invention of agriculture have left their traces in our DNA.


    This lecture was recorded by Robin May on 7th February 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

    The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
    https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/human-evolution

    Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/

    Website:  https://gresham.ac.uk
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
    Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
    Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

    Support the show

    Export-Led Growth in the Asian Tiger Economies - Martin Daunton

    Export-Led Growth in the Asian Tiger Economies - Martin Daunton

    Why have economies in east Asia been more successful in escaping from under-development and achieving high levels of growth?

    Japan’s experience of avoiding colonisation and creating a modern economy offered a model to other countries, some of whom had themselves been colonised by Japan – above all, South Korea.

    How did Japan and Korea create a successful model of export-led growth with a close connection between the state and business that was criticised by the IMF as ‘crony capitalism’?


    This lecture was recorded by Martin Daunton on 6th February 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

    The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
    https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/export-growth

    Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/

    Website:  https://gresham.ac.uk
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
    Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
    Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

    Support the show

    The Visual Politics of Refugeehood - Nishat Awan

    The Visual Politics of Refugeehood - Nishat Awan

    Humanitarian agencies are increasingly relying on satellite imagery and testimonies from social media to understand and communicate why people feel compelled to seek refuge.

    This lecture will explore digital humanitarianism and the visual politics of refugeehood. It will discuss how such practices allow us to see the places where violence takes place but often also serve to simplify complex situations. It will focus on undocumented migration from Pakistan towards Europe.


    This lecture was recorded by Nishat Awan on 5th February 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

    The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
    https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/visual-politics-refugees

    Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/

    Website:  https://gresham.ac.uk
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
    Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
    Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

    Support the show

    LGBT Rights: Overcoming a Colonial Legacy - Leslie Thomas KC

    LGBT Rights: Overcoming a Colonial Legacy - Leslie Thomas KC

    Historically lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have been persecuted under English law.

    Homophobic and transphobic laws were exported from England to the Commonwealth Caribbean, and these colonial laws have had a long-term impact on Caribbean societies.

    This lecture will make the case for the robust constitutional protection of LGBT rights.


    This lecture was recorded by Leslie Thomas KC on 1st February 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

    The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
    https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/lgbt-law

    Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/

    Website:  https://gresham.ac.uk
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
    Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege
    Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege

    Support the show