The Richard Dimbleby Lecture

1972: Lord Annan - What are Universities for, Anyway?

1973: Sir Robert Mark - Minority Verdict

Sir Robert Mark, Britain's top policeman, tonight critically examines our system of justice. He tak...

Lord Goodman - Housing - Who is to Blame?

1975: Sir Huw Wheldon - The British Experience in Television

Former managing director of BBC television, Sir Huw Wheldon, gives a lecture before a specially inv...

1976: Lord Hailsham - Elective Dictatorship

David Dimbleby introduces Lord Hailsham's lecture, in which he proposes a written constitution for...

Jack Jones - The Human Face of Labour

1978: Lord Rothschild - Risk

The Chairman of the BBC, Sir Michael Swann, introduces the Richard Dimbleby Lecture, in which Lord...

Roy Jenkins - Home Thoughts from Abroad

The Rt Hon Roy Jenkins, President of the European Commission and formerly Home Secretary, and Deput...

1980: Lord Denning - Misuse of Power

1982: Garret FitzGerald - Irish Identities

1983: Sir Peter Parker - Missing Our Connections

1984: David Sheppard - The Other Britain

1985: Baroness Warnock - Teacher, Teach Thyself

1986: Sir John Harvey-Jones - Does Industry Matter?

1987: Sir Denis Forman - British Television: Who are the Masters Now?

1988: Sir George Porter - Knowledge Itself is Power

1989: Prince Philip - Living Off the Land

1990: Helmut Schmidt - Europe in the Nineties

1992: Lord Taylor of Gosforth - The Judiciary in the Nineties

1994: Stella Rimington - Security and Democracy - Is There a Conflict?

Jonathan Dimbleby introduces the 20th annual lecture as Stella Rimington, the Director General of t...

1996: Richard Dawkins - Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder

In his role as the Charles Simonyi Professor For The Understanding Of Science at Oxford University,...

1997: Lord Nolan - Public Life, Public Confidence

1998: George J. Mitchell - Principles of Peace

1999: Susan Greenfield - The Future Could be Too Much Fun

2000: Sir Nicholas Serota - Who's Afraid of Modern Art

2001: Bill Clinton - The Struggle For The Soul of The 21st Century

2002: Dr Rowan Williams - Nations, Markets and Morals

2003: Dominique de Villepin - The path towards a new world

James Dyson: Engineering the Difference

Stella Rimington: Security and Democracy - Is There a Conflict?

Jonathan Dimbleby introduces the 20th annual lecture as Stella Rimington, the Director General of t...

General Sir Mike Jackson: Defence of the Realm in the 21st Century

General Sir Mike Jackson gives the 31st Richard Dimbleby Lecture. The man who led Britain's soldier...

Dr J Craig Venter: A DNA-Driven World

Gene pioneer Dr. J. Craig Venter gives the 32nd Richard Dimbleby Lecture. One of the principal scie...

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales: Facing the Future

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales gives The Richard Dimbleby Lecture from St James's Palace in...

Sir Terry Pratchett: Shaking Hands with Death

One of the world's most popular authors gives the 34th Richard Dimbleby Lecture from the Royal Coll...

Michael Morpurgo: Set Our Children Free

In this year's Richard Dimbleby Lecture, Michael Morpurgo explores the increasingly urgent issue of...

Sir Paul Nurse: The Wonder of Science

In the 2012 Richard Dimbleby Lecture, leading geneticist and Nobel laureate Sir Paul Nurse explores...

Bill Gates: The Impatient Optimist

In the 2013 Richard Dimbleby Lecture, one of the world's greatest entrepreneurs and leading philant...

Christine Lagarde: A New Multilateralism for the 21st Century

Christine Lagarde, the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund, delivers the 2014 Richa...

Martha Lane Fox: Dot Everyone - Power, the Internet and You

Martha Lane Fox, founder of lastminute.com, digital pioneer, baroness and chancellor of the Open Un...

Gregory Doran: Is Shakespeare Chinese?

Gregory Doran, artistic director of the RSC, who has been described as one of the 'great Shakespear...

John O. Brennan: Staying Safe in a Turbulent World

John O Brennan, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, delivers the 2017 Richard Dimbl...

Jeanette Winterson

Jeanette Winterson, award-winning writer and acclaimed author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, de...

Sir Tim Berners-Lee: The World Wide Web - A Mid-Course Correction

British inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee talks about his aspirations for the future of the World Wide W...

Dame Sarah Gilbert: Vaccine Vs Virus: This Race - and the Next One

Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert delivers the 44th Richard Dimbleby lecture from Oxford, talking about...

David Harewood: 75th anniversary of the Empire Windrush arriving in this country

Acclaimed actor David Harewood OBE delivers the 2023 Richard Dimbleby Lecture. On the 75th annivers...

Sir Gareth Southgate: The Beautiful Game: Building Belief and Resilience in a Younger Generation

Former England football manager Sir Gareth Southgate delivers the 2025 Richard Dimbleby Lecture. Ga...