Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

Season 0

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973: The Languages of Animals

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

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978: Mathematics into Pictures

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985: Communicating

1986

1987: Crystals and Lasers

1988

1989

1990

1991: Growing Up in the Universe

1992

1993: The Cosmic Onion

1994

1995: Planet Earth, An Explorer's Guide

1996: The History in our Bones

1997: The Magical Maze

1998: Staying Alive: The Body in Balance

1999: Arrow of Time

2000: Rise of the Robots

2001: The Secrets of Life

2002: Smart Stuff

2003: Voyage in Space and Time

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

2005: The Truth About Food

2006: The Num8er My5teries

2007: Back from the Brink, the Science of Survival

2008: Hi-tech Trek

2009: The 300-Million-Year War

2010: Size Matters

2011: Meet Your Brain

2012: The Modern Alchemist

2013: Life Fantastic

2014: Sparks Will Fly - How to Hack your Home

2015: How to Survive in Space

2016: Supercharged - Fuelling the Future

2017: The Language of Life

2018: Who Am I?

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

Dr. Hannah Fry reveals the hidden rules and patterns that govern every aspect of our world.

2020: Planet Earth: A User’s Guide

2021: Going Viral: How Covid Changed Science Forever

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

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

2024: The Truth About Food

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. H

2025: Is There Life Beyond Earth?

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.