Talks

Boyajian's star, a faint and unprepossessing presence in the constellation of Cygnus, attracted astronomers' attention when it began to flicker alarmingly. Chris Lintott, will discuss explanations for its behaviour, from disintegrating comets to alien megastructures, and consider how modern astronomy hunts for the truly unusual objects in the Universe.

In person | No Option

Record corporate pro­fits don't trickle down to everyone else - pay stagnates for ordinary workers, food banks proliferate and public services collapse around us. Authors Grace Blakeley and Luke Hildyard ask if we have had enough of the super-rich?

Brockway Room | Virtual event

Join us for a talk to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). Hear LGBT perspectives on phobia in the media, past and present, exploring this year’s theme of ‘No One Left Behind’.

Brockway Room | Virtual event

In this free talk, critically acclaimed writer and historian Michael Meyer tells the gripping story of a forgotten pioneer who refused to accept the role the Establishment assigned to her. Instead, she chose to resist.

Library | No Option

In a world in love with data, it is possible to run a cost-benefit analysis on anything – including life itself. Exploring the final frontier in monetisation, Jenny Kleeman asks what we lose and what we gain by leaving the judgments that really matter up to cold, hard logic.

Brockway Room | Virtual event

Misogyny and ‘toxic masculinity’ are increasingly implicated in radicalisation. Through interviews with leaders and their followers, Elizabeth Pearson explores the emergence of extreme misogyny and masculinities. Understanding the men and women involved in extreme movements will better equip us to counter them.

Brockway Room | Virtual event

Sometimes ADHD, autistic and OCD people want to just lose themselves in music, be it at home, at a club or at a sweaty gig. Join DJ Mahnoor and musician and music journalist James McMahon as they share their love of music and how it works with their neurodivergence.

Brockway Room | Virtual event

Join Gresham Professor of Astronomy and BBC Sky at Night presenter, Chris Lintott, as he returns to the theme of how insight is derived from observations, and considers the cosmic microwave background.

In person | No Option

By 1950, 50,000 people had been deemed ‘defective’ and detained for life under the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act. Through painstaking research, award-winning historian Sarah Wise pieces together the lives irrevocably changed by this devastating legislation and how early twentieth-century attitudes to class, gender and disability resulted in a nationwide scandal.

Brockway Room | Virtual event

Join us and James Ball, Professor Chris French, Professor Karen Douglas, Brent Lee and Jonn Elledge for a deep dive into conspiracy theory and culture. The history, the people and the dangers of a conspiracy mindset.

Brockway Room | Virtual event

When we form meaningful bonds with others, our wounds heal faster, we shake off infections more quickly and our blood pressure drops. Greater connection can fuel creativity, increase our financial stability and enhance our work productivity. As David Robson shows, we can all benefit from the laws of connection.

Brockway Room | Virtual event

Art, magic and folklore cross over and over again making new forms of creativity and lore. Join us at Conway Hall for talks on making new traditions, love magic, lost woman artists, radical Morris Dance and much more.

In person | No Option