8,145 recordings 1973–2015 Cassette tape · Minidisc · CD · DVD General Relativity · Quantum Theory · Category Theory Digitisation in progress WAV masters at 96kHz MP3 access copies Open Access
8,145
Total recordings
1973
Earliest recording
2015
Latest recording
42
Years of coverage
5+
Media formats
MW
The Recordist

Michael Wright Collection

The Michael Wright Collection is the centrepiece of the Archive Trust's holdings. Assembled by Michael Wright over four decades, it comprises 8,145 audio recordings of academic lectures, seminars, conferences and informal discussions in mathematics, theoretical physics, cosmology and the philosophy of science.

The recordings span the period 1973 to 2015, capturing many of the most significant scientific conversations of the late twentieth century. Speakers include Sir Roger Penrose, Stephen Hawking, Sir Michael Atiyah, Edward Witten, and hundreds of other researchers across the mathematical sciences.

The collection is held on cassette tape, minidisc, CD, DVD and other analogue and digital media. The Trust is engaged in a programme of expert digitisation, converting each recording to a 96kHz WAV master and producing MP3 access copies for public online access.


Catalogue access

The full catalogue of 8,145 records will be publicly searchable via our AtoM-powered archive system. Digitised recordings will be available as streaming audio.

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Subjects in the Collection

Areas of coverage

General Relativity & Cosmology
~1,840 rec.
Quantum Theory & Foundations
~1,590 rec.
Mathematics — Pure & Applied
~1,490 rec.
Philosophy of Science
~1,290 rec.
Category Theory & Logic
~960 rec.
String Theory & High Energy Physics
~760 rec.
History & Philosophy of Mathematics
~215 rec.
Sample Recordings

From the stacks

1978
Twistor Theory and its Applications
Sir Roger Penrose
General Relativity
1982
The Wave Function of the Universe
Stephen Hawking
Cosmology
1990
Non-Commutative Geometry
Alain Connes
Mathematics
1993
The Foundations of Quantum Mechanics
Basil Hiley
Quantum Theory
1997
Consciousness and the Physical World
Panel Discussion
Philosophy
2003
Ramifications of Category Theory — Florence Conference
Lawvere · Scott · Baez · Cartier
Category Theory