Recorded on 23 February 2009 in Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building.

Thirty years after the fall of the Shah of Iran and the advent of Ayatollah Khomeini to power, the Iranian revolution continues to exert a dynamic ideological and political influence across the Middle East.

Lecture description:
Over the past fifty years, the most popular theory of language is that it is an outgrowth of an innate biogram, often referred to as Universal Grammar. In this lecture he will explore an alternative perspective, namely, that language is a human invention and cultural artifact, passed down from one generation to another. Its principal task is to solve the communication problem that human sociality, what Aristotle referred to as the “social instinct”, imposes upon us.

Featuring Alistair Darling, MP for Edinburgh South West and former Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Description: Join critically-acclaimed author and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and world-renowned theoretical physicist and author Lawrence Krauss as they discuss biology, cosmology, religion, and a host of other topics.

In an hour you won’t regret losing, both Nader and Fein discuss the “lawless, violent practices by the White House and its agencies that have become institutionalized by both political parties”.

For centuries states have used their power to censor information, to conduct surveillance, to impose belief, to manipulate and to punish. Cullen Murphy’s extraordinary, provocative new book which he will talk about in this lecture explores the idea that the Inquisition – the Catholic body that existed in Europe (and beyond) for over 700 years – is not a medieval oddity, but is intrinsically bound up with the creation of the modern world.

Why are we seeing revolutions sweeping the world? Author and BBC economics editor answers:

“We have tremendous power at our disposal, but we also have the ability to wipe out a large amount of life savings at the click of a mouse. We have to do better. Technology must account for the frailty of human behavior. ”

Andrew Lo

Professor Robert Frank argues that in the next century Charles Darwin will unseat Adam Smith as the intellectual founder of economics.

Over the past 3-4 years the easy criticism has been that US debt levels are too high and that the US government must balance its budget. However, a massive liquidity trap and re-emerging crises, leading to the outperformance of US Treasuries, has shown that the US has had more debt capacity than many imagined. Perhaps Krugman was right?