The Boyer Lectures are a series of talks by prominent Australians, presenting ideas on major social, scientific or cultural issues, and broadcast on ABC Radio National. The Boyer Lectures began in 1959 as the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission, now the Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Lectures. They were modelled on the BBC's Reith Lectures, and renamed in 1961 after Richard Boyer (later Sir Richard), the ABC board chairman who had first suggested the lectures. The series is broadcast every year in between September and December on ABC Radio National.