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Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (1966)  Back to main

Specials

December 27, 1998 | 1 Episodes

1966

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1967

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1968

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1969

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1970

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1971

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1972

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1973: The Languages of Animals

January 1, 1970 | 6 Episodes

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

1974

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1975

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1976

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1977

January 1, 1970 | 6 Episodes

1978: Mathematics into Pictures

January 1, 1970 | 6 Episodes

1979

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1980

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1981

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1982

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1983

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1984

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1985: Communicating

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1986

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1987: Crystals and Lasers

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1988

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1989

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1990

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1991: Growing Up in the Universe

December 26, 1991 | 5 Episodes

1992

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1993: The Cosmic Onion

December 26, 1993 | 5 Episodes

1994

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1995: Planet Earth, An Explorer's Guide

January 1, 1970 | 5 Episodes

1996: The History in our Bones

December 26, 1996 | 5 Episodes

1997: The Magical Maze

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

1998: Staying Alive: The Body in Balance

January 1, 1970 | 5 Episodes

1999: Arrow of Time

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

2000: Rise of the Robots

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

2001: The Secrets of Life

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

2002: Smart Stuff

January 1, 1970 | 0 Episodes

2003: Voyage in Space and Time

December 26, 2003 | 6 Episodes

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

December 16, 2004 | 3 Episodes

2005: The Truth About Food

December 26, 2005 | 5 Episodes

2006: The Num8er My5teries

December 25, 2006 | 5 Episodes

2007: Back from the Brink, the Science of Survival

December 24, 2007 | 5 Episodes

2008: Hi-tech Trek

December 29, 2008 | 5 Episodes

2009: The 300-Million-Year War

December 21, 2009 | 5 Episodes

2010: Size Matters

December 28, 2010 | 3 Episodes

2011: Meet Your Brain

December 27, 2011 | 3 Episodes

2012: The Modern Alchemist

December 26, 2012 | 3 Episodes

2013: Life Fantastic

December 28, 2013 | 3 Episodes

2014: Sparks Will Fly - How to Hack your Home

December 29, 2014 | 3 Episodes

2015: How to Survive in Space

December 28, 2015 | 3 Episodes

2016: Supercharged - Fuelling the Future

December 26, 2016 | 3 Episodes

2017: The Language of Life

December 26, 2017 | 3 Episodes

2018: Who Am I?

December 26, 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: Secrets & Lies - The Hidden Power of Maths

December 26, 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

December 28, 2020 | 3 Episodes

2021: Going Viral: How Covid Changed Science Forever

December 28, 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

December 26, 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

December 26, 2023 | 3 Episodes

2024: The Truth About Food

December 29, 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.

2025: Is There Life Beyond Earth?

December 28, 2025 | 3 Episodes

Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock takes us on a voyage deep into space, on an astronomical search for extraterrestrial life, celebrating 200 years of the Christmas Lectures.