10-Minute Talks

Entrepreneurship

September 16, 2020 08:30 - 11 minutes - 27.4 MB

In this talk, Rajesh Chandy discusses a topic he has been studying for several years: entrepreneurship. What is entrepreneurship? What are its drivers? And why does it matter to all of us – entrepreneurs, employees, and observers alike? Speaker: Professor Rajesh Chandy FBA, Professor of Marketing, London Business School; Tony and Maureen Wheeler Chair in Entrepreneurship; Academic Director, Wheeler Institute for Business and Development Transcript: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac...

COVID-19 public inquiry - a case of when, not if?

September 09, 2020 09:51 - 10 minutes - 24.7 MB

The pandemic of 2020 has caused untold disruption around the world, and the United Kingdom has suffered particularly seriously. What kind of public accounting will there be for the way in which the virus has played out in Britain? In this talk, Conor Gearty asks whether there will be a public inquiry and if so what shape it will take, and considers also the important role the law has to play in ensuring the success of any such inquiry that is set up. The British Academy’s Shape the...

Religion and the history of terrorism

September 01, 2020 11:26 - 9 minutes - 22.9 MB

In this 10-Minute Talk Richard English asks four questions about religion and terrorism: Should religion be seen as a cause for terroristic violence or a restraining influence upon it? Is religious terrorism an existential threat? Is religious terrorism something new? And should religion, in terms of its influence on terrorism, be seen as something that is a detachable part of that mixture? Speaker: Professor Richard English FBA, Distinguished Professorial Fellow, Senator George J. ...

Art historian, professor, writer, spy – the extraordinary story of Anthony Blunt

September 01, 2020 11:24 - 11 minutes - 26.2 MB

In November 1979, Margaret Thatcher exposed the distinguished art historian Anthony Blunt as a former Soviet spy - part of the infamous Cambridge Spy Ring who traded secrets with Moscow during the Second World War. Blunt’s unmasking provoked a media outcry that turned him into a national hate figure. In this 10-Minute Talk, President of the British Academy David Cannadine discusses the background to this extraordinary story. And he reveals how the British Academy itself got caught u...

War, revolution and pandemic 1918-19

September 01, 2020 11:21 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MB

The 'Spanish Flu' of 1918-19 remains the most devastating pandemic of modern times, possibly killing up to 100 million people world wide. The loss of life massively exceeded the numbers killed during the First World War. Yet curiously its political, military and social impact was largely unrecognised at the time and is barely considered today. In this talk, Hew Strachan discusses the challenges the flu epidemic presents for the modern historian and provides some context for our own ...

Keeping a diary in 1941

September 01, 2020 11:18 - 12 minutes - 28.7 MB

How do people manage when their lives are utterly transformed by circumstances beyond their control? Fiona Stafford discusses a diary kept by a woman in 1941, whose new normal involved rationing, restrictions, isolation and air raids. Speaker: Professor Fiona Stafford FBA, Professor of English Language and Literature; Tutorial Fellow, Somerville College, Oxford

The life and work of Elizabeth Barrett Browning

September 01, 2020 11:01 - 10 minutes - 23.8 MB

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) was one of the most popular poets of the Victorian period, remembered for her challenging poetry and courage of her views. In this 10-Minute Talk Isobel Armstrong discusses key stages of her life and work, from the courtship letters she wrote to her future husband through to the 19th century social and political issues which fed into her work. Speaker: Professor Isobel Armstrong FBA Emeritus Professor of English, Birkbeck, University of London...

Climate and war

September 01, 2020 10:57 - 11 minutes - 26.1 MB

The idea that climate change has caused, and will cause, war has been embraced by journalists and politicians, popular science writers and academics alike. However, this concept is not new. In this 10-Minute Talk David Livingstone looks back in history, tracing links between earlier writings about climate and violence and contemporary thinking. Speaker: Professor David Livingstone FBA, Professor of Geography and Intellectual History, Queen's University Belfast Image: Demonstrators...

America first and American fascism

September 01, 2020 10:44 - 11 minutes - 26.5 MB

As ongoing protests against racial injustice and police brutality in the United States are met with militarised police action, tear gas, the National Guard, and threats of military intervention from representatives of the Trump administration and U.S. Congress, many observers are asking if this is what American fascism looks like. It is a question the Trump campaign itself raised when it decided to revive a forgotten political slogan, "America First" in 2016. In this 10-Minute Talk,...

Westminster Abbey - A Church in History

September 01, 2020 10:41 - 9 minutes - 21.6 MB

Westminster Abbey has a fascinating history to tell. As well as being a place of worship, it is an architectural masterpiece and treasure house of artefacts; the final resting place for some of the most significant people in Britain’s history; and the setting for every coronation since 1066 and numerous other royal occasions. In this talk, President of the British Academy David Cannadine discusses Westminster Abbey’s unique place in history and its meaning, significance and impact w...

Theatre marketing and ballads in the time of Shakespeare

September 01, 2020 10:32 - 10 minutes - 23.8 MB

Why are Shakespeare plays filled with songs – not all of them relevant to the story? In this 10-Minute Talk, Tiffany Stern discusses sales of printed songtexts in Shakespeare’s London. She asks whether songs performed in, about or after plays were ‘product placement’ for theatre sales. Speaker: Professor Tiffany Stern FBA, Professor of Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama, Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham Image: Performance at the Globe Theatre © Leon Neal / AFP / Get...

Parenting for a digital future

September 01, 2020 10:28 - 10 minutes - 24.3 MB

Reflecting on years spent talking to parents, teachers and children about the influx of digital technologies in their lives, Sonia Livingstone will dispel some popular myths about screen time along with other techno-hype and fear-mongering, and offer some evidence-based suggestions to help maximise digital opportunities for children and minimise the risks. Speaker: Professor Sonia Livingstone FBA, Professor of Social Psychology, Department of Media and Communications, LSE Transcri...

Can watching films be good for us?

September 01, 2020 10:24 - 11 minutes - 25.4 MB

As a film historian, Ian Christie has become increasingly interested in how audiences respond to films, which we can now view in so many different ways. Having taken part in a large empirical study of film viewing across the UK in 2011, he identifies some of the benefits, including unexpected ones, that we may gain from our viewing - which may well be greater than usual at this time. Speaker: Professor Ian Christie FBA, Professor of Film and Media History, Birkbeck, University of L...

Philosophy in prison

September 01, 2020 10:10 - 11 minutes - 25.5 MB

If a society is measured by how it treats its worst off, we have reason to think hard and well about how we manage the lives of those in prison. Philosophy – in particular, the collaborative doing of philosophy – has here a role to play. Join M M McCabe as she explores how introducing philosophical discussion into prisons may matter. To find out more, visit Philosophy in Prison: https://www.philosophyinprison.com/ Speaker: Professor M M McCabe FBA, Professor of Ancient Philosophy ...

Music and wellbeing

September 01, 2020 10:02 - 10 minutes - 23.3 MB

Music can keep us physically, emotionally, and socially strong. But just how does music help? In this talk Tia DeNora considers everyday musical engagement as a way of regulating emotion, holding focus, managing pain and promoting social connection (including the sense of connection). She explores some of the reasons why music is a particularly valuable medium for wellbeing and suggests that this value derives from the interaction between what music offers and people’s resourcefulne...

How disabled people achieve good lives in three African countries

September 01, 2020 09:58 - 13 minutes - 31.9 MB

Tom Shakespeare discusses how people with a range of physical and sensory disabilities in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia have achieved educational, employment and family success. Drawing on the findings of a DFID-funded research project conducted with local academic partners, he highlights some of the stories shared and barriers overcome. Speaker: Professor Tom Shakespeare FBA, Professor of Disability Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Image: © Simon Maina / AFP vi...

China's good war

September 01, 2020 09:51 - 10 minutes - 24 MB

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Asia as well as Europe. Today's China is drawing on its collective memory of the war against Japan to shape its politics at home (including "victory over the virus") and abroad, as it seeks to reshape international order in Asia. This talk explains what happened during World War II in China and why it matters so much for the politics and society of that country today. Speaker: Professor Rana Mitter FBA, Professor...

Making the real Thomas Cromwell stand up

September 01, 2020 09:49 - 10 minutes - 23.4 MB

Revd Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch Kt FBA talks about how to understand Thomas Cromwell, even though so many of his own letters have vanished from his vast surviving archive. Speaker: Revd Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch Kt FBA, Professor of the History of the Church, University of Oxford; Fellow, St Cross College, Oxford The world’s leading professors explain the latest thinking in the humanities and social sciences in just 10 minutes. Image: © Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex by H...

Episodes