Discourse: 2024 Christmas Lecturer Chris van Tulleken

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Join us in the Ri Theatre for a first chance to hear from Chris van Tulleken, our eagerly awaited 2024 Christmas Lecturer, who will deliver our prestigious annual November Discourse.

Chris van Tulleken is an NHS infectious diseases doctor at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London, one of the UK’s leading science presenters and a New York Times bestselling author. He is currently an Associate Professor in the division of Infection and Immunity at UCL, where his research focuses on how corporations affect human health, especially in the context of child nutrition, and he works with UNICEF and the World Health Organisation.

Following on from the success of his BBC One series ‘The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs’, Chris investigated the impact ultra-processed foods has on our children, in ‘What Are We Feeding Our Kids?’ for BBC One. In 2023, Chris published ‘Ultra Processed People’, which became an international bestseller and his corresponding talk at the Ri has over 950,000 views on YouTube.

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Discourses are one of the Ri’s oldest and most prestigious series of talks. Since 1825, audiences in the theatre have witnessed countless mind-expanding moments, including the first public liquefaction of air by James Dewar, the announcement of the electron by JJ Thomson and over 100 lectures by Michael Faraday. In more recent times, we have had Nobel laureates, Fields medal winners, scientists, authors and artists – all from the cutting-edge of their field. Discourses are an opportunity for the best and brightest to share their work with the world.

Steeped in nearly two centuries of tradition, a Discourse is more than just a lecture. To keep the focus on the topic, presenters begin sharply at 7:30pm without introduction and we lock the speaker into a room ten minutes ahead of the start (legend has it that a speaker once tried to escape!). Some of our guests dress smartly for our Discourse events to add to this sense of occasion.

Discourses are free for Ri Members and Patrons -

Find out more about the history of .

The doors will open at approximately 6.45pm, with a prompt start at 7.30pm. There will be a brief question/answer period after the talk.

Latecomers will be admitted to the gallery.

Event image by Photo by Paul Wilkinson