Talks on demand
Explore our diverse collection of event recordings, talks, and podcasts at your convenience to discover inspiration from a range of engaging speakers.
Enjoy the flexibility of watching these recordings in your own time.
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Through Siam with a camera - John Thomson
In 1865 John Thomson travelled to Siam and photographed the King and his subjects creating a unique record of the country. This talk revisits the original negatives to see Siam as recorded by Thomson’s lens in 1865.
Overnight adventures
Our speaker, Dan Richards, focuses on nocturnal stories past and present, beginning with the time he got benighted in the Swiss Alps, on the trail of his great grand aunt Dorothy Pilley’s mountaineering legacy, before going on to discuss the various adventures and journeys after dark which feature in his new book, Overnight.
Integrating maps and instruments in art
Kristina Chan will discuss her current art exhibition, Habitable Climes, which includes images of instruments in our Collections. Attendees will be able to see the instruments following the talk.
Mapping the manuscript archives
Drawn to the objects that reveal the human hand charting interpretations of place, Loraine is fascinated by the liminal traces of geographical experience in the overlap of explorer, surveyor, cartographer and viewer. Join Loraine as she talks about her work and the inspiration she has drawn from the Collections of the Society.
On the backs of others: rethinking the history of British geographical exploration
Ed reveals the strange, violent and sexual practices of famous explorers of Africa and the Antarctic in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and their reliance on the bodily toil of others for their survival.
A history of polar exploration in 50 objects - Anne Strathie
Anne returns with her fourth polar book to talk about objects from a period of exploration which is the bedrock of our present-day knowledge and fascination with polar regions.
Hamilton Rice’s Amazon
This talk celebrates the centenary of Alexander Hamilton Rice’s final expedition to Amazonia (1924-25) which pioneered technological innovations such as the use of hydroplanes for reconnaissance, aerial photography and shortwave radio in the field. Part of the Explore festival.
Exploring the explorers’ maps
This talk will discuss explorers’ maps with an especial emphasis on the collaborative effort that goes into creating them, an effort that often included Indigenous peoples. It asks what stories we can and should tell with explorers’ maps? Part of the Explore festival.
Vindicating Cherry
Apsley Cherry-Garrard knew he could have done nothing more to save Scott’s polar party, but he could never quite shake off accusations levelled at him after the expedition. Blending personal memories and considered analysis, Hugh remembers his uncle’s later years and reflects on why his uncle’s life had such an unhappy ending.
The Hayes expedition to the Arctic 1860-61
Tom will discuss the expedition to the Arctic led by Isaac Hayes, which overwintered at Port Foulke on the north-west coast of Greenland. The earliest photographs of the high Arctic were taken during the expedition and the talk will include many of these as well as original drawings made by Hayes and other crew members.
Precision in place-names: the problem of orthography at the Royal Geographical Society
Beth will explore how the Society tackled the question of how to spell place names in the late 19th century, highlighting the fundamental tensions between institutional authority and individual expertise.
Fallen: an archival exhumation
Mick Conefrey, the author of Fallen, the new biography of George Mallory, talks about researching his Everest books and documentaries at the Society, and the crucial importance of archival research.