4TH SEPTEMBER – JULIAN ONIONS BLACK HOLES – ARE THEY THAT BAD?
 

BLACK HOLES ARE AMONG THE STRANGEST AND MOST MYSTERIOUS OBJECTS IN
THE UNIVERSE — PLACES WHERE GRAVITY IS SO POWERFUL THAT NOT EVEN LIGHT
CAN ESCAPE. BUT ARE THEY REALLY THE TERRIFYING COSMIC MONSTERS WE OFTEN
IMAGINE? IN THIS FASCINATING TALK, JULIAN ONIONS TAKES US ON A JOURNEY
INTO THE SCIENCE OF BLACK HOLES, EXPLORING HOW THEY FORM, WHAT HAPPENS
AROUND THEM AND WHAT THEY CAN TEACH US ABOUT THE UNIVERSE. EXPECT AN
ACCESSIBLE AND ENTERTAINING LOOK AT SOME TRULY MIND-BENDING
ASTRONOMY — AND PERHAPS DISCOVER THAT BLACK HOLES AREN’T QUITE AS BAD
AS THEIR REPUTATION SUGGESTS!
 

11TH SEPTEMBER – IAIN BETSON NUMBER STATIONS: HOW SPY MASTERS TALK TO THEIR SPIES
 

FOR DECADES, MYSTERIOUS VOICES HAVE APPEARED ON SHORTWAVE RADIO,
BROADCASTING SEEMINGLY RANDOM STRINGS OF NUMBERS, LETTERS AND CODED
MESSAGES. KNOWN AS NUMBER STATIONS, THESE STRANGE TRANSMISSIONS ARE
BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN USED BY INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES TO COMMUNICATE
SECRETLY WITH SPIES OPERATING AROUND THE WORLD. IN THIS INTRIGUING TALK,
IAIN BETSON EXPLORES THEIR HISTORY, HOW THE MESSAGES WORKED AND WHY,
EVEN IN THE AGE OF THE INTERNET, THESE MYSTERIOUS BROADCASTS CONTINUE
TO FASCINATE LISTENERS AND ESPIONAGE ENTHUSIASTS ALIKE.
 

18TH SEPTEMBER – JOHN WHITFIELD BRITAIN IN THE 1950S – A TIME OF RECOVERY
 

THE 1950S WERE A DECADE OF ENORMOUS CHANGE AS BRITAIN EMERGED FROM
THE HARDSHIPS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND BEGAN TO LOOK TOWARDS A
MORE PROSPEROUS FUTURE. IN THIS FASCINATING TALK, JOHN WHITFIELD
EXPLORES A COUNTRY MOVING FROM RATIONING AND AUSTERITY TOWARDS
RISING LIVING STANDARDS, NEW HOMES, TELEVISION AND THE BEGINNINGS OF A
MODERN CONSUMER SOCIETY. ALONG THE WAY, WE’LL CONSIDER HOW EVERYDAY
LIFE CHANGED FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE AND WHETHER THE 1950S REALLY WERE THE
OPTIMISTIC AGE OF RECOVERY WE OFTEN REMEMBER.
 

25TH SEPTEMBER DENNIS APPLE - PICASSO: GENIUS, REBEL AND INNOVATOR
 

PABLO PICASSO WAS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL — AND CONTROVERSIAL —
ARTISTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY. CONSTANTLY EXPERIMENTING AND REFUSING TO
BE CONFINED BY CONVENTION, HE TRANSFORMED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT ART
AND HELPED CREATE ENTIRELY NEW WAYS OF SEEING THE WORLD. IN THIS
FASCINATING TALK, WE EXPLORE PICASSO’S REMARKABLE LIFE AND WORK, FROM
HIS EARLY PAINTINGS AND THE BIRTH OF CUBISM TO THE BOLD AND SOMETIMES
CHALLENGING ART OF HIS LATER YEARS. DISCOVER THE GENIUS, REBELLION AND
RESTLESS CREATIVITY BEHIND ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNISABLE NAMES IN
MODERN ART.