''Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People'' is a Christmas stage show celebrating a view of science. It was first run in 2008 at the ''

Bloomsbury Theatre The Bloomsbury Theatre is a theatre on Gordon Street, Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, owned by University College London. The Theatre has a seating capacity of 547 and offers a professional programme of innovative music, drama, come ...

'' and re-run as ''The Return of Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People'' in 2009, then televised on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

as ''Nerdstock: 9 Lessons and Carols for Godless People''. It was initially organised by the

Rationalist Association The Rationalist Association, originally the Rationalist Press Association, is an organization in the United Kingdom, founded in 1885 by a group of freethinkers who were unhappy with the increasingly political and decreasingly intellectual tenor ...

and the journal ''

New Humanist ''New Humanist'' is a quarterly magazine, published by the Rationalist Association in the UK, that focuses on culture, news, philosophy, and science from a sceptical perspective. History The ''New Humanist'' has been in print for more than 131 ...

''. It is now produced by Trunkman Productions and is part of The Cosmic Shambles Network and in 2018 changed titles to become ''Nine Lessons and Carols for Curious People''. It was described by the host,

Robin Ince Robin Ince (born 20 February 1969) is an English comedian, actor and writer, known for presenting the BBC radio show ''The Infinite Monkey Cage'' with physicist Brian Cox (physicist), Brian Cox, and his stand-up comedy career. Education After ...

: "If the

Royal Variety Show The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

was put in a matter transportation machine with the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

Christmas lectures The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, missing 1939–1942 because of the Second World War. The lectures present sc ...

, this is what you'd get".

2008: Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People

The 2008 event was staged at the

, with a second date being added, and a third at the

Hammersmith Apollo The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ham ...

. Acts include

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

Dara Ó Briain Dara Ó Briain ( , ; born 4 February 1972) is an Irish comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom. He is noted for performing stand-up comedy shows all over the world and for hosting topical panel shows such as ''Mock the We ...

, Philip Jeays,

Malcolm Middleton Malcolm Bruce Middleton (born 31 December 1973) is a Scottish musician and member of indie band Arab Strap. He has also released seven solo studio albums and three albums performing under the pseudonym Human Don't Be Angry. Early life Middleto ...

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following P ...

, Darren Hayman,

Luke Haines Luke Michael Haines (born 7 October 1967) is an English musician, songwriter and author. He has recorded music under various names and with various bands, including The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder. Career ''New Wave'' Haine ...

Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall. Lee b ...

Simon Singh Simon Lehna Singh, (born 19 September 1964) is a British popular science author, theoretical and particle physicist. His written works include ''Fermat's Last Theorem'' (in the United States titled ''Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve th ...

Isy Suttie Isobel Jane "Isy" Suttie (; born 11 August 1978) is a British musical comedian, actress, and writer. She played Dobby in the British sitcom ''Peep Show'', and in 2013 won the gold Sony Radio Academy Award for her radio show ''Pearl And Dave''. ...

, Gavin Osborn,

Mark Thomas Mark Clifford Thomas (born 11 April 1963) is an English comedian, presenter, political satirist, and journalist. He first became known as a guest comic on the BBC Radio 1 comedy show ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' in the late 1980s. He is ...

Joanna Neary Joanna Neary is a British comedian, writer and actress. Her solo, character-based stage shows include ''Youth Club'' and ''Joanna Neary Is Not Feeling Herself'', which received a Perrier Best Newcomer award nomination in 2004. She has also appear ...

Chris Addison Christopher David Addison (born 5 November 1971) is a British comedian, writer, actor, and director. He is perhaps best known for his role as a regular panellist on ''Mock the Week''. He is also known for his lecture-style comedy shows, two of ...

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

Josie Long Josie Isabel Long (born 17 April 1982) is a British comedian. She started performing as a stand-up at the age of 14 and won the BBC New Comedy Awards at 17. In 2006, Long won the If.comeddies Best Newcomer award at the Edinburgh Festival Frin ...

Ben Goldacre Ben Michael Goldacre (born 20 May 1974) is a British physician, academic and science writer. He is the first Bennett Professor of Evidence-Based Medicine and director of the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science at the University of Oxford ...

and Tim Minchin.

2009: The Return of...

The 2009 show was performed at the ''

'' from 15 to 19 December 2009, and at the ''

'' on 20 December 2009. The Apollo show was also broadcast in part on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, produced by Kaye Godleman. Part of proceeds go to ''Mustard Seed'' secular school in Uganda. The live music was provided by the '' Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra''. The presenter was

. The participants shown in the BBC broadcast were Brian Cox,

Mark Steel Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is an English author, broadcaster, stand-up comedian and newspaper columnist. He has made many appearances on radio and television shows as a guest panellist, and has written regular columns in ''The Guardian'', '' ...

Shappi Khorsandi Shaparak Khorsandi ( fa, شاپرک خرسندی, born 8 June 1973), formerly known as Shappi Khorsandi, is an Iranian-born British comedian and author. She is the daughter of the Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family le ...

Jim Bob James Robert Morrison, known as Jim Bob, is a British musician and author. He was the singer of indie punk band Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine. Biography Jim Bob played in various bands during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Jami ...

Baba Brinkman Dirk Murray Brinkman (born October 22, 1978) is a Canadian rapper and playwright best known for recordings and performances that combine hip hop music with literature, theatre, and science. Early life and education Born in the remote communit ...

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

Richard Herring Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer, whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the leadin ...

Barry Cryer Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory B ...

and

Ronnie Golden Ronnie Golden, born Tony De Meur, is a British singer, guitarist and comedian. He was the founder of the band The Fabulous Poodles. After the group broke up, he worked as a comedian as a member of The Comic Strip. From the early 1980s he made man ...

2010: Ten Lessons...

The show returned for a third year in 2010 at the Bloomsbury Theatre. An audio recording of the show was produced by

Go Faster Stripe Go Faster Stripe is an independent film production and distribution company that operates out of the Chapter Arts Centre, in Cardiff, Wales. The company specialises in the recording of live shows by stand-up comedians who, while in the public ...

during 15 December 2010 show.

2011: Nine Lessons...

The show returned in 2011 and ran at London's Bloomsbury Theatre for six nights from 18 to 23 December. The line up included Robin Ince (host) with Josie Long, Martin White, Helen Arney, Richard Herring and Matt Parker. They were joined by the following additional acts: 18th: Darren Hayman,

Alex Bellos Alexander Bellos (born 1969) is a British writer, broadcaster and mathematics communicator.Alex Bellos He is the author of books about Brazil and mathematics, as well as having a column in ''The Guardian'' newspaper. Education and early lif ...

Aleks Krotoski Aleksandra Krystyna Theresa Krotoski (born October 22, 1974) is a broadcaster, journalist and social psychologist based in the United States who writes and broadcasts about technology and interactivity. She currently presents the BBC Radio 4 ser ...

Neil Hannon Edward Neil Anthony Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter. He is the creator and front man of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy, and is the band's sole constant member. Hannon wrote the theme tunes for t ...

.
19th:

Helen Keen Helen Keen is an English alternative comedian and writer born in Yorkshire, now living in London. She suffered with SM (Selective Mutism) as a child but overcame this before becoming a comedian. Career Keen was raised in Hull, East Riding of Yo ...

, Darren Hayman,

Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gr ...

.
20th:

, Mark Thomas.
21st: Isy Suttie,

.
22nd:

Mark Miodownik Mark Andrew Miodownik () is a British materials scientist, engineer, broadcaster and writer at University College London. Previously, he was the head of the Materials Research Group at King's College London, and a co-founder of Materials Lib ...

, Jim Bob
23rd:

Tim Harford Timothy Douglas Harford (born 27 September 1973) is an English economic journalist who lives in Oxford. Harford is the author of four economics books and writes his long-running ''Financial Times'' column, "The Undercover Economist", syndic ...

2012: Nine Lessons...

Robin Ince announced on Twitter in June 2012 that the show would return to London's Bloomsbury Theatre from 16 to 22 December 2012, with an additional show at the Hammersmith Apollo on 23 December. 16th:

, Darren Hayman,

Nick Doody Nick Doody (born 1972 in Shipley, West Yorkshire) is a British stand-up comedian. Doody featured as a guest on vox-pop television shows and radio broadcasts such as '' Political Animal''. He wrote for the television series ''FAQ U'', featured o ...

, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, Jonny & The Baptists.
17th:

Tony Law Tony Law (born 20 September 1969) is a Canadian stand-up comedian. Originally from Lacombe, Alberta, he has been based in London, United Kingdom since the age of 19. He is known for his surreal material and delivery. Many of his stand-up routine ...

, Darren Hayman,

Frisky and Mannish Frisky & Mannish is a British musical comedy double act, created and performed by singer Laura Corcoran and pianist-singer Matthew Floyd Jones. Known for their pop music parodies, the duo have toured the fringe festival and comedy festival circu ...

Kae Tempest Kae Tempest (formerly Kate Tempest; born 22 December 1985) is an English spoken word performer, poet, recording artist, novelist and playwright. At the age of 16, Tempest was accepted into the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in ...

Phil Hammond Philip James Hammond (born 1 January 1962) is a British physician, broadcaster, comedian and commentator on health issues in the United Kingdom. He is best known for his humorous commentary on the National Health Service. He first came into t ...

Helen Arney Helen Arney is a British presenter, stand-up comedian and musician. She has toured with the '' Uncaged Monkeys'' alongside comedian Robin Ince and Professor Brian Cox. Described as a "geek songstress" by the Edinburgh Reporter, Arney plays the ...

.
18th:

.
19th:

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

.
20th:

.
22nd:

Ian Stone Ian Stone is a British stand-up comedian, broadcaster and writer notable for appearing as a guest on shows such as the comedy panel show ''Mock the Week''. Stone was also a regular guest on BBC Radio 5's ''Fighting Talk''. His book about following ...

Phill Jupitus Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is an English stand-up and improv comedian, actor, performance poet, cartoonist and podcaster. Jupitus was a team captain on all but one BBC Two-broadcast episode of music quiz ''N ...

, Steve Jones,

David McAlmont David Irving McAlmont (born 2 May 1967) is a British vocalist, essayist and art historian. He came to prominence in the 1990s as a singer, particularly through his collaboration with Bernard Butler. In the 2010s he returned to academia, working ...

, Jonny & The Baptists.
23rd:

, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, Steve Jones,

, Jonny & The Baptists.

2013: Nine Lessons...

In July 2013 Robin Ince announced a ten date run of Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People. All ten dates featured: Robin Ince, Joanna Neary, George Egg, Josie Long (with the exception of the 11th), Grace Petrie and Steve Pretty's Origin of the Pieces. They were joined by: 10th: Matt Parker, Jonny & the Baptists, Helen Arney,

Alex Horne Alexander James Jeffery Horne (born 10 September 1978) is a British comedian and musician. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series '' Taskmaster'', in which he also performs as the Taskmaster's assistant. He is the host and ban ...

Mitch Benn Mitchell John Benn (born 20 January 1970) is an English comedian, author and musician known for his comedy rock songs performed on BBC radio. He was, until 2016, a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's satirical programme ''The Now Show'', and ha ...

, Emperor Yes, Suzi Gage
11th: Arnold Brown,

Lee Mack Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom ''Not Going Out'', being a team captain on the ...

Marcus du Sautoy Marcus Peter Francis du Sautoy (; born 26 August 1965) is a British mathematician, Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, Fellow of New College, Oxford and author of popular mathematics and popu ...

John Hegley John Richard Hegley (born 1 October 1953) is an English performance poet, comedian, musician and songwriter. Early life He was born in the Newington Green area of Islington, London, England, into a Roman Catholic household. He was brought up i ...

, Jonny & the Baptists, Matt Parker, Helen Keen
15th: Pappy's, Darren Hayman,

Scroobius Pip David Peter Meads (born 3 August 1981), known professionally and personally as Scroobius Pip (Dave), is an English actor and podcaster as well as a former spoken word poet and hip hop recording artist from Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. He first g ...

, Matt Parker, Alexei Sayle, Norman Lovett, Gavin Osborn, Lucie Green, Aoife McLysagt
16th: Helen Czerski, Darren Hayman, Scroobius Pip, Jonny & the Baptists, Steve Mould, Gavin Osborn, Aoife McLysagt
17th:

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is a British comedian and novelist. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul. He attended Bristol Grammar School, wh ...

, Helen Czerski, Simon Watt, Steve Mould, Gavin Osborn,

MJ Hibbett Mark John ("MJ") Hibbett (born 19 June 1970) is an English guitarist singer-songwriter, often compared to Billy BraggMJ Hibbett Mark John ("MJ") Hibbett (born 19 June 1970) is an English guitarist singer-songwriter, often compared to Billy BraggMilton Jones Milton Hywel Jones (born 16 May 1964) is an English comedian. His style of humour is based on one-liners involving puns delivered in a deadpan and slightly neurotic style. Jones has had various shows on BBC Radio 4 and was a recurring guest pa ...

20th: Howard Read, Nick Doody, Helen Arney, Phil Jeays,

Chris Neill Chris Neill (born 1968) is a British comedian, producer, and writer who features regularly on BBC Radio 4Markus Birdman
21st: Howard Read, Sophie Scott, Phil Jeays, Mitch Benn,

Sara Pascoe Sara Patricia Pascoe (born 22 May 1981) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has appeared on television programmes including ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' for Channel 4, '' QI'' for BBC and '' Taskmaster'' for the digital chan ...

, Helen Keen,

Steve Backshall Stephen James Backshall (born 21 April 1973) is an English naturalist, explorer, presenter and writer, best known for BBC TV's ''Deadly 60''. His other BBC work includes being part of the expedition teams in ''Lost Land of the Tiger'', ''Lo ...

, Bridget Christie
22nd: Howard Read, Sophie Scott, Phil Jeays, Mitch Benn, Sara Pascoe, Stuart Black, Tiff Stephenson, Helen Keen, Ian Stone,

Chris Neill Chris Neill (born 1968) is a British comedian, producer, and writer who features regularly on BBC Radio 4 Marcus Brigstocke Marcus Alexander Brigstocke (born 8 May 1973) is a British comedian, actor and satirist. He has worked in stand-up comedy, television, radio and musical theatre. He has appeared on many BBC television and radio shows. Early life Brigstocke is th ...

2014: Robin Ince's Christmas Science Ghosts

Ince changed the formula of the normal Nine Lessons format with five nights of "comedy, music, nonsense (and quite possibly Judge Dredd)" in 2014 with five nights of science and comedy with the theme of

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

. The line-up for those days featured: *15 December – The Ghost of Christmas Past – a night of comedy, music and little lectures on the last 4000 years of civilisation. With Tony Law, Natalie Haynes, Joanna Neary, Josie Long, Mary Beard, Steve Pretty's Origin of the Pieces orchestra, George Egg, Grace Petrie and

. *16 & 17 December – The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. Professor Steve Jones, Stewart Lee, Professor Jon Butterworth, Joanne Neary, Ben Goldacre, Josie Long, Robin Ince, Steve Pretty's Origin of the Pieces band, Lewis Dartnell, Vessels, Helen Arney, Matt Parker, George Egg, Grace Petrie, Helen Keen, Scroobius Pip, Michael Conterio, Sara Pascoe, Fran Scott, Baba Brinkman. *20 & 21 December – The Ghost of Christmas Present. Josie Long, Joanna Neary, Ben Goldacre, Stewart Lee, Steve Pretty's Origin of the Pieces orchestra, Helen Arney, Matt Parker, Steve Aylett,

Matthew Cobb Matthew Cobb (born 4 February 1957) is a British zoologist and professor of zoology at the University of Manchester. He is known for his popular science books ''The Egg & Sperm Race: The Seventeenth-Century Scientists Who Unravelled the Secrets o ...

, Robin Ince, Helen Czerski, George Egg, Grace Petrie, Scroobius Pip, Sara Pascoe, Baba Brinkman.

2017: Nine Lessons...

On 14 September 2017, Robin Ince announced that the show would return after a four-year hiatus at

Conway Hall The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United King ...

in Holborn for four nights (16, 19, 20 and 22 December). Each night compered by Robin Ince and featuring the following guest performers on these dates: 16th: Dr

Helen Czerski Helen Czerski is a British physicist and oceanographer and television presenter. She is a research fellow in the department of mechanical engineering at University College London. She was previously at the Institute for Sound and Vibration Resea ...

, Prof

Jon Butterworth Jonathan Mark Butterworth is a Professor of Physics at University College London (UCL) working on the ATLAS experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). His popular science book ''Smashing Physics'', (available as “Most Wanted Particle ...

Grace Petrie Grace Petrie (, born 24 July 1987) is an English folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leicester, England. She was hailed in ''The Guardian'' as "a powerful new songwriting voice" in 2011. Biography Grace Petrie began performing in 2006 as ...

Salena Godden Salena Godden is an English poet, author, activist, broadcaster, memoirist and essayist. Born in the UK, Salena Godden is of Jamaican-Irish heritage and based in London. Widely anthologised, she has published several books. She has also writt ...

, Michael Legge, Dr Kat Arney, Dr Katie Steckles, Dr Andrew Steele.
19th: Prof

Jim Al-Khalili Jameel Sadik "Jim" Al-Khalili ( ar, جميل صادق الخليلي; born 20 September 1962) is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in scien ...

, Prof

Lucie Green Lucinda "Lucie" May Green (born c. 1975) is a British science communicator and solar physicist. Green is a Professor of Physics and a Royal Society University Research Fellow (previously the Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow) at Mullard Sp ...

Matt Parker Matthew Thomas Parker (born 22 December 1980) is an Australian recreational mathematician, author, comedian, YouTube personality and science communicator based in the United Kingdom. His book ''Humble Pi'' was the first maths book in the UK to ...

, Hollie McNish, Grace Petrie, Prof Jon Butterworth, Dr Simon Watt, Dr

Richard Vranch Richard Leslie Vranch (born 29 June 1959) is an English actor, improviser, comedian, writer and musician. He is known for providing the music for the British TV series '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' Early life Vranch graduated from Cambridge U ...

Norman Lovett Norman Lovett (born 31 October 1946) is a British stand-up comedian and actor best known for his portrayal of Holly, the ship's computer in ''Red Dwarf''. Career Lovett became a stand-up comedian in his thirties, initially supporting punk ba ...

, Audrey Heartburn, Dr Jim Walsh.
20th: Josie Long, Prof Lucie Green, Prof Sophie Scott, Matt Parker, John Luke Roberts, George Egg, Grace Petrie, Ginny Smith, Dr Jamie Gallagher, Seb Lee-Delisle, Matt Stellingwerf.
22nd: Josie Long, Dr Helen Czerski, Prof

, Steve Mould, Prof Bruce Hood, Dr Suzi Gage, Michael Legge,

Jim Moray Jim Moray (born 1981) is an English folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Recording artist While studying classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Moray released the home-recorded ''I Am Jim Moray'' EP. During ...

, Ginny Smith, Dr Andrew Steele.

2018: Nine Lessons and Carols for Curious People

The show changed its title for the 2018 edition and took place at

Kings Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the for ...

in central London for four nights (14, 15, 29 and 20 December). Each night was MC'd by Robin Ince and featured the following guest performers on these dates: 14th: Dr

Hannah Fry Hannah Fry (born February 1984) is a British mathematician, author, and radio and television presenter. She is Professor in the Mathematics of Cities at the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. She studies the patterns of human behaviour, ...

, Dr

Adam Rutherford Adam David Rutherford (born 1975) is a British geneticist and science populariser. He was an audio-visual content editor for the journal ''Nature'' for a decade, and is a frequent contributor to the newspaper ''The Guardian''. He hosts the BBC R ...

, Ginny Smith,

Dallas Campbell Robert Dallas Campbell (born 17 September 1970) is a British television presenter and television and stage actor, best known as a presenter on the factual Channel 5 series ''The Gadget Show'' in 2008 and BBC One science series '' Bang Goes t ...

, Rautio Piano Trio, Gecko, Dr Brenna Hassett, Matt Watson, Ben Moor, Dr Hannah Critchlow, Jo Neary,

Philip Ball Philip Ball (born 1962) is a British science writer. For over twenty years he has been an editor of the journal ''Nature'' for which he continues to write regularly. He now writes a regular column in '' Chemistry World''. He has contributed to ...

, Dr Andrew Steele, George Egg, Dunja Lavrova, Will Bartlett.
15th: Prof

Chris Lintott Christopher John Lintott (born 26 November 1980) is a British astrophysicist, author and broadcaster. He is a Professor of Astrophysics in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford. Lintott is involved in a number of popular scien ...

, Prof

Suzanne Imber Suzanne Mary Imber (born May 1983) is a British planetary scientist specialising in space weather at the University of Leicester. She was the winner of the 2017 BBC Two television programme ''Astronauts, Do You Have What It Takes?''.

, Femi & Marco, Dr Hannah Fry, Dr Adam Rutherford, She Makes War, Dr Dean Burnett, Dr Suzi Gage, Octavia Poetry Collective, Steve Pretty, Miranda Lowe, Jim Moray, Jo Neary, Prof Sophie Scott, George Egg, Dr Richard Vranch, Will Bartlett, Alice Pratley.
19th: Josie Long, Prof Lucie Green, Dr Ben Goldacre, Matt Parker, Grace Petrie, Seb Lee-Delisle, Joshua Idehen, Prof

Monica Grady Monica Mary Grady, CBE (born 15 July 1958 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK), is a leading British space scientist, primarily known for her work on meteorites. She is currently Professor of Planetary and Space Science at the Open University and is al ...

, Dr

Karl Kruszelnicki Karl Sven Woytek Sas Konkovitch Matthew Kruszelnicki (born 1948), often referred to as "Dr Karl", is an Australian science communicator and populariser, who is known as an author and a science commentator on Australian radio and television. K ...

, Jonny and the Baptists, Dr Cheryl Patrick, Zoe Griffiths, Prof Mark Miodownik, Helen Arney,

Bec Hill Rebecca Natani Hill is an Australian comedian, writer, presenter, actor, director, and YouTuber born in Adelaide who is now based in the UK. Career Hill incorporates arts and crafts into her stand-up routines in something she calls paper puppe ...

Spencer Kelly Spencer Kelly is the presenter of the BBC's technology programme ''Click (TV programme), Click'', broadcast on the BBC World News and the BBC News Channel in the United Kingdom. Early life Kelly, then known as Spencer Bignell, grew up in Bishop ...

, Dunja Lavrova, Will Bartlett.
20th: Dr Helen Czerski, Prof Lucie Green, Matt Parker, Grace Petrie, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki,

Ronnie Le Drew Ronnie Le Drew (born 23 October 1947) is a Canadian-born British puppeteer who was born in Toronto, Canada. He is best known for playing "Zippy" from the ITV children's show Rainbow since the early 1970s and trained at the Little Angel Theatre, ...

, Zippy, Dr Lucy Rogers, Prof Jon Butterworth, Dr Jennifer Rogers, Jonny Berliner, Tiernan Douieb, Chris Stokes, Simon Watt, Dr Katie Steckles, Peter Buckley Hill,

Helen Zaltzman Helen Zaltzman is an English podcaster, broadcaster and writer. She produces the linguistics podcast ''The Allusionist'', the entertainment podcast ''Answer Me This!'', and the ''Veronica Mars'' recap podcast ''Veronica Mars Investigations''. ...

, Martin Austwick, Dunja Lavrova, Will Bartlett.

2019: Nine Lessons and Carols for Curious People

The 2019 show ran for two performances at

The Lowry The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex ope ...

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, and five at

in London.

November

29th: Dr Helen Czerski, Prof Matthew Cobb, Matt Parker, Prof Jeff Forshaw, Prof Lucie Green, Prof Dan Davis, Smitten, Prof Nav Kapur, Dr Katie Steckles, Dr Laura Tisdall, Matt Watson 30th: Prof Tim O’Brien, Dr Helen Czerski, Dr Suzi Gage, Prof Lucie Green, Matt Parker, Jim Moray, Keisha Thompson, Jasmine Kennedy, Foxdog Studios, Prof Sheena Cruickshank, Michael Marshall, Dr Aravind Vijayaraghavan, Prof Jen Rogers

December

12th: Dr Simon Singh, Prof Lucie Green, Matt Parker, Helen Arney, Ginny Smith, Seb Lee Delisle, Jo Neary, Joshua Idehen, Dr Susie Maidment, James Nokise, Prof Andrea Sella, Steve Pretty, Matt Stellingwerf, Dave Coplin, Dr Andrew Steele, Dr Linda Cremonesi, Matt Watson 13th: Liz Bonnin, Dr Helen Czerski, Prof Lucie Green, Prof Claudia Hammond, Matt Parker, Dr Dean Burnett, Femi & Marco, Dr Becky Smethurst, Jo Neary, Prof Andrea Sella, Prof Chris Jackson, Natalie Haynes, 1201_Alarm, Chris Stokes, Gecko, Dr Michelle Dickinson, Reece Shearsmith 15th: Bec Hill, Konnie Huq, Steve Mould, Dr Michelle Dickinson, Dr Dean Burnett, Ginny Smith, Dr Jackie Bell 19th: Josie Long, Prof Jim Al-Khalili, Prof Jon Butterworth, Dr Brenna Hassett, Jonny & The Baptists, George Egg, Ariane Sherine, Steve Mould, Michael Legge, Anna Ploszajski, Dr Jess Wade, Dr Jen Gupta, Dr Pete Etchells, Jonny Berliner, Vijay Shah, Colour Me Wednesday, Zoe Griffiths 21st: Prof Chris Lintott, Dr Helen Czerski, Josie Long, Dr Lucy Rogers, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Angela Saini, Bec Hill, Nikesh Shukla, George Egg, She Makes War, Steve Pretty, Jonny and the Baptists, Eugénie von Tunzelmann, Miranda Lowe, Dr Suzi Gage, Dr Jenny Rohn, Pope Lonergan

References

External links

Nerdstock: 9 Lessons and Carols for Godless People
BBC programme page
Nerdstock: Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People
at

The Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...

Guardian article

''New Scientist'' article
{{Irreligion BBC Television shows Atheism