A brief tour of lightning research, from generating powerful lightning bolts in Europe’s only university-based lightning laboratory, to the role of new materials in protecting commercial aircraft in flight from direct strikes, and to whether increased lightning due to global warming affects tree mortality in the tropics. Mitchard will bring us lots of exciting images and videos, from exploding piggy banks to the Nigerian rainforest, live Tesla coil demonstrations with music and the appearance of a tree struck nine times that survived.