In the 2022 RI Christmas Lectures Sue Black, the UK's leading forensic anthropologist, shares the secrets of the real-life scientific detective process she uses to identify both the dead and the living.
She'll reveal why we shouldn't believe everything we see in our favourite TV crime dramas; and using key cases from her remarkable career, she'll explore the huge leaps forward forensic science has made as well as some of its limitation - plus what the future might hold.
Professor Sue Black has been dubbed the ‘corpse whisperer’ for her role in deciphering the messages hidden within a dead body. In lecture one she is joined by Silent Witness’ Emilia Fox, to reveal the secrets of forensic science.
Sue will reveal how the stories of our lives are hidden in the very fabric of our bodies by examining an archaeological skeleton, using techniques she uses in modern day forensic investigations. She will gradually build up its identity until this pile of old bones once again because a real person. She will explain how extraordinary clues in our bones can reveal everything from our age and our sex to our diets and our ancestry- there’s even a gone in our ear that can reveal where our mother lived while she was pregnant.
Professor Black’s investigations into the trauma marks visible in the 1000 year old skeleton’s bones reveal where this person died, and how they died. In the process she will tell this individual’s extraordinary life story – and shed light onto one of the darkest days in English history.
Professor Sue Black reveals how forensic investigation are carried out to solve serious crimes where no body is present. A Senior Investigative Office from Hertfordshire Police joins Sue to Investigate.
In the lecture the audience plot the course of the crime by analysing the distribution of fingerprints across the crime scene. The latest forensic cameras reveal hidden fingerprints and other trace evidence. DNA analysis reveals that genealogical websites hold more insights for criminal investigations than we might imagine. And a sniffer dog hunts for clues.
The final lectures begins with a ‘heist’. A jewel thief steals a precious man-made diamond from the Royal Institution’s collection. Can forensic evidence conclusively identify and convict the criminal responsible?
To find out the Royal Institution’s lecture theatre is transformed into a courtroom and the audience act as a jury on the case, with a special guest KC invited to defend the suspect. Forensic evidence is based on probability, it can never be 100% certain, so how convincing does the evidence need to be for the Court of the Royal Institution’s own jury to reach a guilty verdict?
| Series Producer | Tom Ranson |
| Director | David Coleman |
| Executive Producer | David Dugan |
| Production Executive | Alex Barraki |
| Production Manager | Felicity Chapple |
| Assistant Producer | Pete Devaney |
| Production Coordinator | Violet Crawfurd |
| Researcher | John George Bader |
| Production Team | Davinia Isaac , Jenny Cropley , Jalal Dean Zia |