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Dr Hannah Fry, through a host of live experiments, uncovers the secrets of luck to discover what really controls our destiny, from dodging erupting volcanoes to pulling Christmas crackers.

Dr Hannah Fry uncovers the secrets of luck in this year’s Christmas Lectures, to discover what really controls our destiny. Kicking off the lectures with a mind-boggling stunt to prove how counterintuitive our gut instincts can be, Hannah launches into a lecture full of daring live experiments and surprising discoveries.

From predicting the chance of snow at Christmas to dodging erupting volcanoes with Prof Chris Jackson, Hannah explores whether we really can predict the future. She meets the maths gurus behind Liverpool Football Club’s winning streak to spill the beans on how analysing the numbers can give a team an edge in the Premier League, and reveals the tricks to perfecting your Christmas cracker pull to win the prize every time.

Hannah also gathers tips from mind-performance coach Dr Michael Gervais, the ‘secret weapon’ crafting Olympic athletes’ lucky mindsets, and the man responsible for Felix Baumgartner’s jump from space, when ‘first time lucky’ meant life or death. Enrolling the help of maths comedian Matt Parker for the pinnacles of the lecture, the duo find order in unruly crowds, and whittle the audience down to the luckiest person in a series of challenges, before finally putting them to the test to prove whether they truly are one in a million. Using a host of maths tricks - from probability to game theory - Hannah discovers if we can in fact make our own luck, and ultimately shares the secrets to help us all lead luckier lives.

58 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Hannah Fry
Executive Producer David Dugan
Series Producer Laura Voak

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