by Matthew Cobb

In June, the Royal Institution in London hosted two talks about the origins of life, one by myself, the other by Nick Lane of UCL. The talks were partly a way of publicising our books (my Life’s Greatest Secret: The Race to Crack the Genetic Code, and Nick’s The Vital Question: Why Is Life the Way It Is?), but they were also an opportunity for us to speak at one of the world’s most prestigious venues for science communication – this is the place where Faraday and Davy spoke in the 19th century, and which still hosts the Annual Christmas Lectures, given by a leading scientist and aimed at younger viewers.

The RI is a resolutely modern institution, so they filmed the two talks and they’ve now been posted on YouTube. Here they are, for your delectation – you can get an idea of what our books are about, and some glimpse into the possible explanations for why life is the way that it is. Each video lasts about 30 minutes. Our books are published on both sides of the Atlantic.

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