The Reith Lectures Podcast
Significant international thinkers deliver the BBC's flagship annual lecture series. This year, Stuart Russell explores the future of AI and asks: how can we get it right?
Episodes to download
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AI: A Future for Humans—Stuart Russell - Living With Artificial Intelligence
Wed 22 Dec 2021
4/4 Stuart Russell suggests a way forward for human control over artificial intelligence.
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AI in the economy—Stuart Russell - Living With Artificial Intelligence
Wed 15 Dec 2021
3/4 What will artificial intelligence mean for the future of work?
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AI in warfare—Stuart Russell - Living With Artificial Intelligence
Wed 8 Dec 2021
2/4 Stuart Russell warns of the dangers of developing autonomous weapon systems
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The Biggest Event in Human History—Stuart Russell - Living With Artificial Intelligence
Wed 1 Dec 2021
1/4 Stuart Russell asks how artificial intelligence could transform our world
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From Climate Crisis to Real Prosperity—Mark Carney - How We Get What We Value
Wed 23 Dec 2020
4/4 Mark Carney argues that the market can be redirected to alleviating climate change.
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From Covid Crisis to Renaissance—Mark Carney - How We Get What We Value
Wed 16 Dec 2020
3/4 Mark Carney looks at the tensions between economic and human values during the pandemic.
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From Credit Crisis to Resilience—Mark Carney - How We Get What We Value
Wed 9 Dec 2020
2/4 Mark Carney assesses what lessons have been learnt from the 2008 financial crash.
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From Moral to Market Sentiments—Mark Carney - How We Get What We Value
Wed 2 Dec 2020
1/4 Why have financial values come to be considered more important than human ones?
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Shifting the Foundations—Jonathan Sumption - Law and the Decline of Politics
Tue 18 Jun 2019
Jonathan Sumption argues against Britain adopting a written constitution.
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Rights and the Ideal Constitution—Jonathan Sumption - Law and the Decline of Politics
Tue 11 Jun 2019
Jonathan Sumption assess the pros and cons of written and unwritten constitutions.
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Human Rights and Wrongs—Jonathan Sumption - Law and the Decline of Politics
Tue 4 Jun 2019
Jonathan Sumption argues that courts have usurped power via human rights law.
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In Praise of Politics—Jonathan Sumption - Law and the Decline of Politics
Tue 28 May 2019
Jonathan Sumption explains how democracy can accommodate opposing opinions and interests
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Law's Expanding Empire—Jonathan Sumption - Law and the Decline of Politics
Tue 21 May 2019
Jonathan Sumption argues that the law is taking over the space once occupied by politics.
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War's Fatal Attraction—Margaret MacMillan - The Mark of Cain
Tue 24 Jul 2018
5/5 Margaret MacMillan examines how we remember and represent war in art.
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Managing the Unmanageable—Margaret MacMillan - The Mark of Cain
Tue 17 Jul 2018
4/5 Margaret MacMillan assesses attempts to constrain and justify conflict.
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Civilians and War—Margaret MacMillan - The Mark of Cain
Tue 10 Jul 2018
3/5 Margaret MacMillan examines the role of civilians as supporters and victims of conflict.
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Fearing and Loving: Making Sense of the Warrior—Margaret MacMillan - The Mark of Cain
Tue 3 Jul 2018
2/5 Margaret MacMillan explores our complex relationship with the people who go to war.
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War and Humanity—Margaret MacMillan - The Mark of Cain
Tue 26 Jun 2018
1/5 Margaret MacMillan asks if war is an essential part of being human.
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Reith Revisited: Angela Stent on George Kennan
Fri 29 Sep 2017
A re-examination of George Kennan's 1957 Reith Lectures, 'Russia, the Atom and the West'.
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Reith Revisited: Grayson Perry on Nikolaus Pevsner
Thu 28 Sep 2017
Sarah Montague and Grayson Perry discuss Nikolaus Pevsner's lectures on 'English Art'.
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Reith Revisited: Brian Cox on Robert Oppenheimer
Wed 27 Sep 2017
Sarah Montague and Brian Cox reconsider Robert Oppenheimer's 1953 Reith lectures.
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Reith Revisited: Anand Menon on Robert Birley
Wed 27 Sep 2017
Sarah Montague and Anand Menon revisit Robert Birley's Reith Lectures, Britain in Europe.
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Reith Revisited: Michael Sandel on Bertrand Russell
Wed 27 Sep 2017
Michael Sandel revisits the inaugural Reith Lectures given by Bertrand Russell.
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Adaptation—Hilary Mantel - Resurrection: the Art and Craft
Tue 11 Jul 2017
Hilary Mantel on how fiction changes when adapted for stage or screen.
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Can These Bones Live?—Hilary Mantel - Resurrection: the Art and Craft
Tue 4 Jul 2017
Hilary Mantel on how historical fiction can make the past come to life.
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Silence Grips the Town—Hilary Mantel - Resurrection: the Art and Craft
Tue 27 Jun 2017
The story of how historical obsession killed a Polish writer, told by Hilary Mantel.
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The Iron Maiden—Hilary Mantel - Resurrection: the Art and Craft
Tue 20 Jun 2017
How do we construct our pictures of the past asks Hilary Mantel.
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The Day Is for the Living—Hilary Mantel - Resurrection: the Art and Craft
Tue 13 Jun 2017
Art can bring the dead back to life argues novelist Hilary Mantel.
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Culture—Kwame Anthony Appiah - Mistaken Identities
Tue 8 Nov 2016
4/4 Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah asks us to give up the idea of western civilisation.
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Colour—Kwame Anthony Appiah - Mistaken Identities
Tue 1 Nov 2016
3/4 Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah argues for a world free of racial fixations.
Nine Things You Should Know About AI
Reith lecturer Stuart Russell says we need to stop AI gaining control over our future.
New to the Reith Lectures? Here’s where to start
Four lectures recommended by the series producer.
