Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
In 2017, astronomers identified the first known interstellar object to have entered our solar system, now commonly known as ʻOumuamua. A relatively small body, estimated to be roughly the size of a skyscraper, ʻOumuamua transfixed scientists with its peculiar properties and inspired endless ‘it must be aliens’ takes from a fascinated public – and at least one Harvard astrophysicist. In this entertaining lecture from January 2024, Chris Lintott, professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford and professor of astronomy at Gresham College in London, makes the case that, while this object’s fleeting presence in our solar system wasn’t coordinated by extraterrestrial life, it still has much to teach us about the nature of the Universe.
Video by Gresham College
video
Animals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
A future in which ‘artificial scientists’ make discoveries may not be far away
9 minutes
video
Earth science and climate
Images carved into film form a haunting elegy for a disappearing slice of Earth
3 minutes
video
Biology
Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes
4 minutes
video
Engineering
Can monumental ‘ice stupas’ help remote Himalayan villages survive?
15 minutes
video
Cognition and intelligence
A father forgets his child’s name for the first time in this poetic reflection on memory
4 minutes
video
Animals and humans
Join seabirds as they migrate, encountering human communities along the way
13 minutes
video
Biology
‘Save the parasites’ may not be a popular rallying cry – but it could be a vital one
11 minutes
video
Metaphysics
What do past, present and future mean to a philosopher of time?
55 minutes