Events
People Powered Research
From Astronomy to Zoology, scientists are struggling to make the best of the enormous datasets the digital revolution has brought. Rapid advances in machine learning have ushered in new opportunities, but Sky at Night presenter Chris Lintott will argue that there’s still a place for all of us to contribute. Bringing experience of more than […]
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Viruses that improve our health
We think about viruses as harmful to us, but research by our speaker Martha Clokie shows that some can improve our health. These tiny viruses known as ‘phages’ do this by invading bacteria, multiplying, and bursting out, eventually destroying their host. When these are bacteria that attack our bodies, this could be beneficial—our enemy’s enemy […]
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Empire Strikes Back: Why Imperialism Matters
We live in a society where there is some unwillingness to see the unsavoury aspects of Britain’s past. Some people are comforted by the nostalgia of imperial notions. A recent YouGov poll found that nearly half of Brits are proud of their colonial past, while 43% think the British Empire was a “good thing”. Britain’s […]
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A Conversation with Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky is speaking live from Tucson in this online event. He’ll be answering audience questions, particularly on the topic of Free Speech. In July this year, the linguist and philosopher put his name to the ‘Letter on Justice and Open Debate’, which was signed by 153 writers. The public letter warned against ‘an intolerance […]
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Living With Emperors (online event)
Hear tales from the extraordinary career of a maker of David Attenborough’s Dynasties series. Will Lawson directed the ‘Emperor’ episode that followed penguins, and is assistant producer of the forthcoming Frozen Planet II. The event is presented by Professor Steve Simpson from the University of Exeter. He was an Academic Advisor and featured scientist in […]
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The Impact of COVID-19 on Developing Countries (Online Event)
Poor countries are ‘on a ledge with no safety net’, according to David Miliband, who was in conversation with Lyse Doucet, Waad al-Kateab, Dr Hamza al-Kateab, and Dr Weeda Mehran in this free live online event. In rich countries, the implications of the coronavirus outbreak seem to be always in people’s lives: poor health, the […]
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When the British spoke French (online event)
The British are the worst language learners in Europe, according to a survey published by the European Commission. However, this was not always the case: in Medieval Britain, French was critical to work in business, law and literature. In 1300, one in five people were bilingual in English and French. More than a quarter of […]
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Why do animals migrate? (online event)
Have you ever spotted a flock of birds flying somewhere high above you? Have you ever stopped and stared, wondering where they might be going? Our speaker for this free online event is National Geographic Explorer Dr Lucy Hawkes, a leading expert on animal movements who uses state-of-the-art miniaturised electronic tracking units. Lucy tracks migrating […]
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Should we share public wealth? – Cancelled
This event has been cancelled. Ticket holders will be contacted to be offered a refund. Guy Standing is speaking in our free online event, scheduled for the same day. Details here Over 800 years ago the Charter of the Forest, a companion document to Magna Carta, enshrined the rights of ordinary people to access and […]
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Basic Income Now?
Aside from the human cost, the Covid-19 pandemic is having massive negative effects on the worldwide economy, and therefore household incomes. One potential solution is a Universal Basic Income. Our speaker, Guy Standing, the leading expert on the concept, argues that we can solve the ‘evils of modern life’, for almost zero net cost. He […]
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How Bats Changed The World
In this free online event, we looked at the ecology behind coronavirus, in particular how taking bats out of their natural habitats may have led to the virus moving to humans, as was the case with Ebola, SARS, and MERS. Our speaker, Professor Kate Jones, specialises in the ecology and biodiversity of bats and also […]
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Why are there fewer female psychpaths?
In our new series of very short podcasts, Mark Freestone talks about psychopathy and females.
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