10-Minute Talks

The British Academy

The world’s leading professors explain the latest thinking in the humanities and social sciences in just 10 minutes.

  1. 17 FEB

    Why and how are machine learning algorithms are driving polarisation?

    A common criticism of social media is that groups of people are creating echo chambers that exclude different perspectives, but these echo chambers are a goal encoded in these platforms’ software, not an accident.    Wendy Chun FBA unpacks the role of homophily – the idea that similarity breeds connection, that ‘birds of a feather flock together’ – in how social media networks are designed. What can at first appear as simple technical defaults are the result of social and culturally influenced decisions. What if we built social media platforms that are not based on homophily?   Speaker: Professor Wendy Chun FBA  This podcast is for informative and educational purposes.  10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/10-minute-talks/id1530020476     This podcast was produced by https://www.haychdigital.com/   The British Academy convenes research insights from across the disciplines we represent. The views expressed in our videos are those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of the British Academy.  Comments are open to viewers and are governed by the policies of YouTube. We do not monitor or moderate comments and will not reply to them.  Find out more about the British Academy: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/     For future events, visit our website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/     Subscribe to our email newsletter: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news-features/newsletter-sign-up/

    12 min

  2. 05/12/2025

    Fake News and the Victorians: Literature in the First Information Age

    The 19th century became the age of the first information revolution. Driven by colonial and imperial geopolitics, rapid technological innovation, and the rise of mass print culture, news began to travel faster and farther than ever before. And so did questions of truth, authenticity and reliability. So, what can Victorian writers teach us about navigating misinformation today?   How did they respond to this changing media landscape? And what role did literature play in the way we engage with different kinds of information? In this video, Professor Pablo Mukherjee FBA unpacks how their insights into misinformation, media trust, and the speed of communication can help us understand and navigate today’s digital information age.  Speaker: Professor Pablo Mukherjee FBA This podcast is for informative and educational purposes.   10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/10-minute-talks/id1530020476     This podcast was produced by https://www.haychdigital.com/ Find out more about the British Academy: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/     For future events, visit our website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/     Subscribe to our email newsletter: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news-features/newsletter-sign-up/

    8 min

  3. 21/11/2025

    Figuring Forth: Cervantes’ Don Quijote, Poet in Prose

    Cervantes’ groundbreaking novel, Don Quixote, is a comic but profound meditation on dreams, disillusionment and the blurred line between illusion and reality Its legacy is less timeless than differently meaningful across time, from the tragic idealism identified by the Romantics ( the term “quixotic” originates from Cervantes’ protagonist) to the metafictional complexity engaged with by modern critics.  Professor Isabel Torres explores how the ancient root of poetry, ‘poiesis’, comes alive in the creative madness of Cervantes’s protagonist, and the power of lyric in early modern Spain. Speaker: Professor Isabel Torres FBA  This podcast is for informative and educational purposes.   10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms.   The British Academy convenes research insights from across the disciplines we represent. The views expressed in our videos are those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of the British Academy.  Find out more about the British Academy: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/     For future events, visit our website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/     Subscribe to our email newsletter: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news-features/newsletter-sign-up/

    13 min

  4. 07/11/2025

    What can ancient civilisations teach us about sustainability?

    A cosmology or worldview is the framework of beliefs and attitudes through which we interpret and make sense of the world, including how we think about our relationship with the environment. What can the worldviews of successful civilisations of the past teach us about sustainable technological and economic advancement?   Professor Shadreck Chirikure FBA explores how our current challenge of unsustainability can be transformed by learning from historical societies that balanced economic progress with stewardship for future generations.  Speaker: Professor Shadreck Chirikure FBA  This podcast is for informative and educational purposes.   10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms.   The British Academy convenes research insights from across the disciplines we represent. The views expressed in our videos are those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of the British Academy.  Find out more about the British Academy: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/     For future events, visit our website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/     Subscribe to our email newsletter: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news-features/newsletter-sign-up/

    8 min

  5. 24/10/2025

    Why are cities an important part of climate change?

    Cities are central to both the problems and solutions of the climate crisis.   Climate change is often seen as a global issue that can only be resolved at the international negotiating table, but research shows that its causes and solutions are profoundly urban. Geographer Harriet Bulkeley FBA explains how experimental action in cities can empower local groups beyond government and policy, and considers the questions of ethics, justice and equity that these actions generate for our collective futures.  Speaker: Professor Harriet Bulkeley FBA  This video is for informative and educational purposes.   10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms.   The British Academy convenes research insights from across the disciplines we represent. The views expressed in our videos are those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of the British Academy.  Find out more about the British Academy: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/     For future events, visit our website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/     Subscribe to our email newsletter: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news-features/newsletter-sign-up/

    10 min

  6. 29/08/2025

    Tutankhamun’s Table: Food & Drink for a King

    In 1922, the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings astounded archaeologists and the public alike. Beyond the ornate treasures, the tomb of the famous pharaoh offered insight into the daily life and diet of Ancient Egyptians. In this 10-Minute talk, Salima Ikram FBA delves into the findings of Tutankhamun’s chamber and what these reveal about resources, culinary practices, and beliefs during his time  Speaker: Professor Salima Ikram  This podcast is for informative and educational purposes.   The British Academy convenes research insights from across the disciplines we represent. The views expressed in our videos are those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of the British Academy.  Comments are open to viewers and are governed by the policies of YouTube. We do not monitor or moderate comments and will not reply to them.  10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/10-minute-talks/id1530020476     Find out more about the British Academy: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/     For future events, visit our website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/     Subscribe to our email newsletter: https://email.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/p/6P7Q-5PO/newsletter

    10 min

  7. 11/08/2025

    Judith Butler on Gender

    “Gender studies as a discipline is by definition interdisciplinary, drawing from several paradigms, and it is defined by a set of debates and problematics, not by statements of doctrine or settled truths.” In this 10-Minute Talk, Judith Butler FBA discusses the conceptual contributions of gender as a field of study to a wide range of areas of research and teaching, and to social analysis and movements from the 1970s to the present.   Speaker: Professor Judith Butler FBA  The British Academy convenes research insights from across the disciplines we represent. The views expressed in our videos are those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of the British Academy. 10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/10-minute-talks/id1530020476     This podcast was produced by https://www.haychdigital.com/   Find out more about the British Academy: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/    For future events, visit our website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/     Subscribe to our email newsletter: https://email.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/p/6P7Q-5PO/newsletter

    12 min

  8. 25/07/2025

    Who invented the potato? And why should we care?

    "How did Sir Walter Raleigh invent the potato?” In this 10-Minute Talk, Rebecca Earle FBA takes up Philomena Cunk’s question to explore the global history of the potato and explain why we should care.   Speaker: Professor Rebecca Earle FBA  10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/10-minute-talks/id1530020476     This video was produced by https://www.haychdigital.com/   Find out more about the British Academy: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/     For future events, visit our website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/     Subscribe to our email newsletter: https://email.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/p/6P7Q-5PO/newsletter

    10 min
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About

The world’s leading professors explain the latest thinking in the humanities and social sciences in just 10 minutes.

Information

  • Creator
    The British Academy
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    101
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The British Academy
  • Show Website
    10-Minute Talks

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