Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including young people, in an informative and entertaining manner. Michael Faraday initiated the first Christmas Lecture series in 1825. This came at a time when organised education for young people was scarce. Faraday presented a total of nineteen series in all.

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Created By
Status	Returning Series
Original Name	Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
First Air Date	January 4, 1966
Last Air Date	December 31, 2024
Seasons	59
Episodes	122
Episode Runtime	1h 0min
Language	English
Original Language	English
Production Countries	—
Production Companies
Networks	Channel 4 5 BBC Four More4 BBC Two

S59E03

The Big Food Hack

What did the very first meal on earth look like? To begin his third and final Christmas Lecture in an explosive fashion, Dr Chris van Tulleken takes us back more than four billion years, to the beginnings of life. This was when microscopic bugs first began eating gases and metal, marking the start of an incredible food web which, billions of years later, humans have learned to master.

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