Royal Institution Christmas Lectures - Seasons

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Specials

Specials

1998

1 episodes

1966

1966

0 episodes

1967

1967

0 episodes

1968

1968

0 episodes

1969

1969

0 episodes

1970

1970

0 episodes

1971

1971

0 episodes

1972

1972

0 episodes

1973: The Languages of Animals

1973: The Languages of Animals

6 episodes

Sir David Attenborough on animal communication. Episode 4 is lost.

1974

1974

0 episodes

1975

1975

0 episodes

1976

1976

0 episodes

1977

1977

6 episodes

1978: Mathematics into Pictures

1978: Mathematics into Pictures

6 episodes

1979

1979

0 episodes

1980

1980

0 episodes

1981

1981

0 episodes

1982

1982

0 episodes

1983

1983

0 episodes

1984

1984

0 episodes

1985: Communicating

1985: Communicating

0 episodes

1986

1986

0 episodes

1987: Crystals and Lasers

1987: Crystals and Lasers

0 episodes

1988

1988

0 episodes

1989

1989

0 episodes

1990

1990

0 episodes

1991: Growing Up in the Universe

1991: Growing Up in the Universe

1991

5 episodes

1992

1992

0 episodes

1993: The Cosmic Onion

1993: The Cosmic Onion

1993

5 episodes

1994

1994

0 episodes

1995: Planet Earth, An Explorer's Guide

1995: Planet Earth, An Explorer's Guide

5 episodes

1996: The History in our Bones

1996: The History in our Bones

1996

5 episodes

1997: The Magical Maze

1997: The Magical Maze

0 episodes

1998: Staying Alive: The Body in Balance

1998: Staying Alive: The Body in Balance

5 episodes

1999: Arrow of Time

1999: Arrow of Time

0 episodes

2000: Rise of the Robots

2000: Rise of the Robots

0 episodes

2001: The Secrets of Life

2001: The Secrets of Life

0 episodes

2002: Smart Stuff

2002: Smart Stuff

0 episodes

2003: Voyage in Space and Time

2003: Voyage in Space and Time

2003

6 episodes

2004: To the Ends of the Earth: Surviving Antarctic Extremes

2004: To the Ends of the Earth: Surviving Antarctic Extremes

2004

3 episodes

2005: The Truth About Food

2005: The Truth About Food

2005

5 episodes

2006

2006

2006

5 episodes

2007: Back from the Brink, the Science of Survival

2007: Back from the Brink, the Science of Survival

2007

5 episodes

2008: Hi-tech Trek - The Quest for the Ultimate Computer

2008: Hi-tech Trek - The Quest for the Ultimate Computer

2008

5 episodes

2009: The 300-Million-Year War

2009: The 300-Million-Year War

2009

5 episodes

2010: Size Matters

2010: Size Matters

2010

3 episodes

2011: Meet Your Brain

2011: Meet Your Brain

2011

3 episodes

2012: The Modern Alchemist

2012: The Modern Alchemist

2012

3 episodes

2013: Life Fantastic

2013: Life Fantastic

2013

3 episodes

2014: Sparks Will Fly - How to Hack your Home

2014: Sparks Will Fly - How to Hack your Home

2014

3 episodes

2015: How to Survive in Space

2015: How to Survive in Space

2015

3 episodes

2016: Supercharged - Fuelling the Future

2016: Supercharged - Fuelling the Future

2016

3 episodes

2017: The Language of Life

2017: The Language of Life

2017

3 episodes

2018: Who Am I?

2018: Who Am I?

2018

3 episodes

Professor Alice Roberts and Professor Aoife McLysaght take viewers on an immersive voyage through our evolutionary past and ask challenging questions about what our future holds.

2019: Secret & Lies - The Hidden Power of Maths

2019: Secret & Lies - The Hidden Power of Maths

2019

3 episodes

Dr Hannah Fry reveals the hidden rules and patterns that govern every aspect of our world.

2020: Planet Earth: A user’s guide

2020: Planet Earth: A user’s guide

2020

3 episodes

2021: Going viral: How Covid changed science forever

2021: Going viral: How Covid changed science forever

2021

3 episodes

England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Jonathan Van-Tam will be joined by a host of top UK scientists to take a deep dive into the science of viruses.

2022: Secrets of Forensic Science

2022: Secrets of Forensic Science

2022

3 episodes

Professor Dame Sue Black reveals the secrets of the real-life scientific detective process she uses to identify both the dead and the living.

2023: The Truth about AI

2023: The Truth about AI

2023

3 episodes

2024: The Truth About Food

2024: The Truth About Food

2024

3 episodes

In this year’s Christmas Lectures, Dr Chris van Tulleken delves deep into our guts – to reveal the revolutionary latest science around what happens inside our bodies when we eat. He investigates how food has fundamentally shaped human evolution, uncovers the importance of our microbiome – as the extra ‘organ’ we didn’t know we had – and asks how we can all eat better in future, for the sake of our own health and the health of the planet. Chris will reveal how what we eat can have a massive effect on both our bodies and our brains. He’ll bring the science to life through a series of fact fuelled demos, special guest appearances, festive food hacks, and a healthy dose of self-experimentation. From tastebuds to toilet, we’ll find out what happens in the body when we eat. How we eat with our eyes (green eggs and ham anyone?) and how smell and even sound can affect the taste of our food.