Editing Reith Lectures (section)

{{Short description|Series of annual radio lectures broadcast by the BBC}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Lord_reith.jpg|thumb|right|The Reith Lectures are named in honour of [[John Reith, 1st Baron Reith]], the BBC's first director-general]]
The '''Reith Lectures''' is a series of annual [[BBC]] [[radio]] [[lecture]]s given by leading figures of the day. They are commissioned by the [[BBC]] and broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] and the [[BBC World Service|World Service]]. The lectures were inaugurated in 1948 to mark the historic contribution made to public service broadcasting by [[John Reith, 1st Baron Reith|Lord Reith]], the corporation's first director-general.

Reith maintained that broadcasting should be a public service that aimed to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of the nation. It is in this spirit that the BBC each year invites a leading figure to deliver the lectures. The aim is to advance public understanding and debate about issues of contemporary interest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/the-reith-lectures/about/ |title=Radio 4 - The Reith Lectures - About Reith |publisher=BBC |date=1970-01-01 |access-date=2013-11-02}}</ref>

The first Reith lecturer was the philosopher and later [[Nobel laureate]], [[Bertrand Russell]]. The first female lecturer was [[Margery Perham|Dame Margery Perham]] in 1961.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00h9lb4|title=Margery Perham: The Colonial Reckoning: 1961, The Reith Lectures - BBC Radio 4|website=BBC}}</ref> The youngest Reith lecturer was [[Colin Blakemore]], who was 32 in 1976 when he broadcast over six episodes on the brain and consciousness.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00gmw6w|title=Colin Blakemore: Mechanics of the Mind: 1976, The Reith Lectures - BBC Radio 4|website=BBC}}</ref>