Conway Hall: Where Ethics Matter: Recent Episodes
Conway Hall
Conway Hall hosts a wide variety of talks, concerts, exhibitions, courses, performances, community and social events. It is also renowned as a hub for free speech and independent thought, hosting suffragettes, political radicals, scientists, philosophers, artists, performers; campaign, charities and other non- profit organisations. www.conwayhall.org.uk
In this online talk, can the UK expand Heathrow airport, bringing in 700 extra planes a day, and still stay within ambitious carbon budgets? One legal case sought to answer this question. Campaigning lawyers argued that plans for a third runway at one of the world’s busiest airports would jeopardise the UK’s ability to meet its commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. Celeste Hicks traces the dramatic story of how the case was prepared – and why international aviation has for so long avoided meaningful limits on its expansion. For this discussion, she is joined by host Deborah Hyde. This talk was recorded in August 2022.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visit conwayhall.org.uk or find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visiting conwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this online talk, inspired from a young age to help the marginalised and voiceless, Leslie Thomas QC has dedicated his career to fighting for the underdog and holding the State to account. His book Do Right and Fear No One is an intimate and personal record of some of the most significant, controversial and disturbing legal cases of the last fifty years lays bare the very heart of the law enforcement and judicial process. This talk was recorded in August 2022.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visit conwayhall.org.uk or find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visiting conwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this online talk, barrister Sam Fowles was part of the team that took the Prime Minister to court when he illegally prorogued Parliament. Fowles helped reveal the rot at the heart of a trusted national institution. We shouldn’t have to take our rulers to court just to get them to follow the rules. At a crucial juncture for British governance, Fowles urges us not to take our freedoms for granted. This talk was recorded in August 2022.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visit conwayhall.org.uk or find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visiting conwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this talk, recorded in July 2020, Ian Dunt, editor of Politics.co.uk, takes stock of the post-coronavirus world and asks if maybe, with a bit of luck, we’re seeing the end of the nationalist uprising.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visit conwayhall.org.uk or find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visiting conwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this online talk, futurist Tracey Follows explores the new ideas and technological advances that will shape our world and our identities.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visitconwayhall.org.ukor find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visitingconwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this online talk, government advisor and author Nina Jankowicz takes us on a journey through five Western governments’ responses to Russian information warfare tactics – all of which have failed.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visitconwayhall.org.ukor find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visitingconwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this online talk, author Brian Christian explains how, as AI develops, we rapidly approach a collision between artificial intelligence and ethics.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visitconwayhall.org.ukor find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visitingconwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this online talk, professor of media studies (and former video game developer) Shira Chess argues that feminism needs video games as much as video games need feminism.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visitconwayhall.org.ukor find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visitingconwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this Thinking On Sunday online talk, journalist Sally Howard asks what the future could look like for feminism’s final frontier: the domestic labour gap.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visitconwayhall.org.ukor find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visitingconwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this London Fortean Society online talk, science writer Sarah Scoles ventures into the dark, conspiracy-filled corners of the internet, from a former paranormal research centre in Utah, to the hallways of the Pentagon, to get to the bottom of UFO culture.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visitconwayhall.org.ukor find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visitingconwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this Thinking On Sunday online talk, recorded in March 2021, journalists Leah Cowan and Nadine El-Enany show how borders impact all our lives, and uncover the violence inherent in immigration law.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visitconwayhall.org.ukor find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visitingconwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this online talk, author Terese Jonsson examines the history of feminism over the last forty years, arguing that black British feminism’s central role in shaping the movement has been marginalised through narratives which repeatedly position white women at the centre of the story.
In this Thinking On Sunday online talk, recorded in January 2021, philosopher John Sellars unpacks the basic arguments of Epicureanism, distilling the essence of an ancient philosophy that speaks with increasing urgency to our troubled times.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visitconwayhall.org.ukor find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visitingconwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this talk, recorded in July 2020, Beverley Clack, Professor in the Philosophy of Religion at Oxford Brookes University, teaches us how to be a failure and still live well.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visit conwayhall.org.uk or find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visiting conwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
In this London Fortean Society talk, recorded in November 2020, archaeologist Stacy Hackner explores our current understanding of history, and its tendency to reproduce white gender roles and capitalist patriarchy.
Conway Hall, London: Where Ethics Matter. To find out more about our programme of talks and concerts, visit conwayhall.org.uk or find us on social media. Conway Hall is a registered charity and as such we are reliant on donations, now more than ever. You can learn more about our origins and history, join our mailing list, make a donation or even become a member of the Ethical Society by visiting conwayhall.org.uk/donation. And if you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like and subscribe.
Nathalie Olah discusses how this bright generation came to be, and what effective means are still at their disposal to challenge the establishment and ultimately win. By rejecting the established routines of achieving prosperity, and by stealing what you can from them on the way, this book offers hope to anyone who feels increasingly frustrated by our increasingly unequal society.
Drawing on her fascinating new polemical work, Steal As Much As You Can: How to Win the Culture Wars in an Age of Austerity, Olah will explore the impact of a decade’s worth of austerity on the development of new cultural output, whilst questioning the artistic sensibility of mainstream media’s contemporary gatekeepers.
Why flawed logic puts us all at Risk, and How Critical Thinking can save the World. David Robert Grimes shows how we can be lured into making critical mistakes or drawing false conclusions, and how to avoid such errors. Given the power of modern science and the way that movements can unite to protest a cause via social media, we are in dangerous times. But fortunately, we can learn from our mistakes, and by critical thinking and scientific method we can discover how to apply these techniques to everything from deciding what insurance to buy to averting global disaster.
One thing we know for certain is that sex is personal: perhaps the most intimate thing of all. But sex is also shaped by a complicated web of cultural, social and political forces outside of ourselves.
Fear-mongering, moral panic and outdated attitudes prevail, but if #MeToo has taught us anything, it’s how dangerous it is to keep conversations about sex hidden from view. In her book Behind Closed Doors Natalie Fiennes invests in a radical, inclusive and honest sex education, taking us beyond learning about the ‘birds and the bees’, to identifying inequality that stands in the way of sexual freedom.
From contraceptives to virginity, consent to pornography, transphobia to sexual abuse, the book shows how our desires are influenced by powerful political processes that can be transformed.
The New Science of how we Walk and why it’s Good for us. Walking enabled us to walk out of Africa and to spread as far as Alaska and Australia. It freed our hands and freed our minds. We put one foot in front of the other without thinking – yet how many of us know how we do that, or appreciate the advantages it gives us?
In this tribute to walking, neuroscientist Shane O’Mara invites us to marvel at the benefits it confers on our bodies and minds and to start a walking revolution.
Mudlark (/’mAdla;k/) noun A person who scavenges for usable debris in the mud of a river or harbour
Lara Maiklem has scoured the banks of the Thames for over fifteen years, in pursuit of the objects that the river unearths: from Neolithic flints to Roman hair pins, medieval buckles to Tudor buttons, Georgian clay pipes to Victorian toys. These objects tell her about London and its lost ways of life.
Moving from the river’s tidal origins in the west of the city to the point where it meets the sea in the east, Mudlarking is a search for urban solitude and history on the River Thames, what Lara calls ‘the longest archaeological site in the world’.
What is masculinity? Dominating the world around us, from Trump’s twitter outbursts to deadly gun violence, from male suicide rates to incels on Reddit and 4chan, masculinity is perceived to be ‘toxic’, ‘fragile’ and ‘in crisis’.
JJ Bola exposes masculinity as a performance that men are socially conditioned into. Using examples of non-Western cultural traditions, music and sport, he shines light on historical narratives around manhood, debunking popular myths along the way. He explores how LGBTQ men, men of colour, and male refugees experience masculinity in diverse ways, revealing its fluidity, how it’s strengthened and weakened by different political contexts, such as the patriarchy or the far-right, and perceived differently by those around them.
Will Brexit boost jobs? Or wreck the NHS? Or cause food shortages? From strawberries to passports, the broadcaster and journalist Gavin Esler sets out how the most momentous change in Britain for decades will change everyday life. From the food markets of Kent to NHS operating theatres to the boardrooms of big employers, Brexit throws up many surprises.
Pixie Turner will unpack why diet and nutrition misinformation is so problematic, on social media, in mass media, and on a public health level, and why we could all benefit from taking a moment to assess our personal relationship with food. Expect some mythbusting, diet rants, and lots of fully-referenced evidence-based science.
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Pixie Turner is a nutritionist (ANutr), food blogger, and science communicator. She graduated with a First Class degree in Biochemistry, and went on to complete a Masters in Nutrition with Distinction. She has been featured as a nutrition expert on BBC and Channel 5, and in publications such as Red magazine, Evening Standard, Grazia, the Telegraph and more. Her second book, ‘The No Need to Diet Book’ was March 2019 and will be available at the talk.
What if you aren’t who you think you are?
What if you don’t really know the people closest to you?
And what if your most deeply-held beliefs turn out to be … wrong?
In her book Stop Being Reasonable, philosopher and journalist Eleanor Gordon-Smith tells six lucid, gripping stories that show the limits of human reason. She discusses some of these stories with Little Atoms podcaster Neil Denny.
Jonathan H. Marks argues that public-private partnerships create “webs of influence” that undermine the integrity of public health agencies and distort health policy and research. These collaborations also frame public health problems and their solutions in ways that protect and promote the commercial interests of corporate “partners.” We should expect multinational corporations to develop strategies of influence as far as the law allows. But public bodies can and should develop counter-strategies to insulate themselves from influence.
Kerry Hudson discusses her book Lowborn with James Bloodworth. Lowborn is a powerful, personal, agenda-changing work of non-fiction on poverty in Britain – a book like nothing that’s been written before, and a book that we all need to pay attention to.
Kerry Hudson grew up in all-encompassing, grinding poverty. Always on the move with her single mother, Kerry attended 9 primary schools and 5 secondary schools, living in B&Bs and council flats. Kerry scores 8 out of 10 on the Adverse Childhood Experiences measure of childhood trauma. Whilst many people would like to think that Kerry was an exception – that she was unlucky, or a one-in-a-million case. Sadly, this just isn’t true. All of the people Kerry grew up with were experiencing exactly the same as she was. Some a little less, and some far worse. The difference is that Kerry saw an opportunity for a different existence and ran for it.
What do we see when we watch a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat or read a person’s mind? We are captivated by an illusion; we applaud the fact that we have been fooled. Why do we enjoy experiencing what seems clearly impossible, or at least beyond our powers of explanation?
In this talk Dr Gustav Kuhn examines the psychological processes that underpin our experience of magic.
How we lost our green and pleasant land, and how to take it back.
For centuries, England’s elite have covered up how they got their hands on millions of acres of our land, by constructing walls, burying surveys and more recently, sheltering behind offshore shell companies. But with the dawn of digital mapping and the Freedom of Information Act, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for them to hide.
Trespassing through tightly-guarded country estates, ecologically ravaged grouse moors and empty Mayfair mansions, writer and activist Guy Shrubsole has uncovered a wealth of never-before-seen information about the people who own our land, to create the most comprehensive map of ownership in England that has ever been made public.
The new neuroscience that shatters the myth of the female brain. This is not feminist science – it’s just science. - Prof Gina Rippon.
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Pause for Thought was a humanist alternative to the BBC Radio 4 programme Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC World Service from 1997-99. Produced by Christopher Templeton. Donated to Conway Hall Library & Archives Aug 2018.
© Christopher Templeton, Tempting Films Ltd & Pemberton Publishing Limited
Traditional songs are full of folklore about ghosts. They tell you why people become ghosts, what ghosts look like, what the living must do to allow the dead to rest in peace. Paul Cowdell, folklore expert on ghosts and a fine singer, will be talking about ghostlore in and around traditional songs, and singing some. Songs may include ‘The Yarmouth Tragedy’, ‘The Unquiet Grave’ and ‘Polly Vaughn’.
Paul completed his PhD at the University of Hertfordshire, where he was looking at contemporary belief in ghosts.
Camille Ralphs will recite the entirety of acclaimed poetry pamphlet Malkin, ‘an ellegy in 14 spels’ in the voices of those accused in the 1612 Pendle Witch Trials.
Award for Best Poetry Pamphlet, and featured on BBC Radio 6 Music’s Sunday show with Cerys Matthews. Ralphs served as 2016-17 President of Oxford University Poetry Society, won the University of Oxford’s Lord Alfred Douglas Memorial Prize, and reviews for the TLS.
The four confessions given by Isobel Gowdie to a Scottish court, in May 1662, are seminal witchcraft texts; bringing folk belief in the faerie, the world of familiar spirits, night flight and the coven to stark prominence. This talk shows how a marginal figure, in her own day, moved towards the cultural mainstream, through the works of modern composers, rock musicians and novelist, and was comprehensively recast in the process.
Dr John Callow is an author, screenwriter and historian, specialising in Seventeenth Century politics, witchcraft, and popular culture including Embracing the Darkness: A Cultural History of Witchcraft (IB Tarsus 2017).
Whether one believes in ghosts or not, it is an easy assumption that sightings of ghosts must have been common on the First World War battlefields considering the sheer number of traumatic deaths and the intensity of individual and collective emotions. There is certainly a long tradition of the appearance of ghostly armies. So what sort of ghostly expressions of conflict might have been expected during and after the First World War?
Owen Davies is a reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire. His main field of research is on the history of modern and contemporary witchcraft and magic.
The dead don’t always stay peacefully in their graves. British folklore and chronicle relates from very early times instances of vampire-like and undead behaviour, spelling disaster for communities. Radical social upheaval – such as the Norman Conquest – spawns narratives about the undead; later chroniclers remark that there are so many tales of the undead it would be tedious to list them all. Recent archaeological finds seem to confirm the survival of these beliefs right up to the end of the medieval period; time-honoured ways of preventing the dead from walking again offer the best explanation for the unusual post-mortem treatment of some bodies. Nor is it just the British Isles that suffer from the plague of the walking dead; Icelandic sagas have many such tales, and some useful tips about how to settle such revenants once and for all.
Carolyne Larrington is a Tutorial Fellow in English Literature at St John’s Oxford and the author of The Land of the Green Man, Winter is Coming: the Medieval World of Game of Thrones and An Introduction to Norse Myths.
The idea that the dead can return to haunt the living is deeply rooted in the British imagination, and ghosts are central to countless plays and paintings, stories and ballads, photographs and films. But why has the appearance and behaviour of ghosts in art and literature altered over time? When did they stop wearing shrouds and put on white sheets or become see-through? And what do these changes reveal about them – and us?
Dr. Susan Owens, former Curator of Paintings at the V&A, is the author of The Ghost: A Cultural History (Tate Publishing, 2017).
Emily Cleaver recounts a recent ‘scouring’ of the Uffington White Horse, the traditional cleaning event that has kept the chalk figure from becoming overgrown since its construction in the Iron Age. Exploring the archeological evidence for the origins of the figure, plus local folklore from fertility rituals to furniture arrangement.
Emily is a writer with an interest in folklore, local traditions and history.
A discussion as to an alternative vision for education systems, institutions and people in the United Kingdom. Speakers: David Scott, University College London, Institute of Education Robin Street, Co-Principal of UCL Academy Organised and Chaired by Francis Sealey (GlodbalNet21)and Prof Evan Parker (Conway Hall Ethical Society).
Michael Rosen has a new memoir, So They Call You Pisher! In this conversation with Daniel Hahn, Rosen recalls the first twenty-three years of his life. In partnership with Newham Books.
Recorded: Thursday 16th November 2017 at Conway Hall.
Will Ashon, author of Strange Labyrinth: Outlaws, Poets, Mystics, Murderers and a Coward in London’s Great Forest, discusses his journey out in to the edges of London. Hosted by Scott Wood from New Lands/London Fortean Society.
Long ago a path was created by the passage of feet tramping through endless forests. Gradually that path became a track, and the track became a road. It connected the White Cliffs of Dover to the Druid groves of the Welsh island of Anglesey, across a land that was first called Albion then Britain, Mercia and eventually England and Wales. Armies from Rome arrived and straightened this 444 kilometres of meandering track, which in the Dark Ages gained the name Watling Street. Today, this ancient road goes by many different names: the A2, the A5 and the M6 Toll. It is a palimpsest that is always being rewritten.
The myriad people who use this road every day might think it unremarkable, but, as John Higgs shows, it hides its secrets in plain sight. Watling Street is not just the story of a route across our island, but an acutely observed, unexpected exploration of Britain and who we are today, told with wit and flair, and an unerring eye for the curious and surprising.
Watling Street is a road of witches and ghosts, of queens and highwaymen, of history and myth, of Chaucer, Dickens and James Bond. Along this route Boudicca met her end, the Battle of Bosworth changed royal history, Bletchley Park code breakers cracked Nazi transmissions and Capability Brown remodelled the English landscape.
The event was hosted by Scott Wood & Conway Hall
In this talk, Professor Joseph Uscinski will show that conspiracy theories follow a strategic logic: they are tools used by the powerless to attack and defend against the powerful. Conspiracy theories must conform to this logic, or they will not be successful. In this way, conspiracy theories are for losers.
Joseph Uscinski is associate professor of political science at University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL and co-author of American Conspiracy Theories (Oxford, 2014). This talk was recorded at Conway Hall on the 18th July 2017 with The London Fortean Society. Hosted by Scott Wood.
London Fortean Society, in partnership with Conway Hall, present a night marking the centenary of the Cottingley Fairies case. Michael Terwey of the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford discusses how the photographs were taken and how they fitted in to the Spiritualist culture of the time and Professor Diane Purkis asks why Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, along with many others, so wanted to believe in fairies. Image credit: Kristian Nordestgaard - Frances and the Fairies
John Grindrod tells of the vision behind green-belts, their creation, and discusses the fiery emotions they stir up and tells a story of growing up there, recounted in his poignant social history Outskirts. Hosted by Scott Wood of New Lands http://dirtymodernscoundrel.blogspot.co.uk/
WARNING: Contains some strong language.
Will Storr comes to Conway Hall to take us on a journey of self-obsession; from the shores of Ancient Greece, through the Christian Middle Ages, to the self-esteem evangelists of 1980s California, the rise of narcissism and the selfie generation, and right up to the era of hyper-individualistic neoliberalism in which we live now.
Paul Robeson was a modern renaissance man: lawyer, linguist, actor, professional athlete, civil rights activist and one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century, famous for "Ol Man River" on Broadway and The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. The son of an escaped slave, Robeson became an international superstar before his socialist political convictions brought him to be white-washed from public view by the US government in the McCarthy era.
Author Jeff Sparrow tells Robeson’s story and explores his relevance to contemporary political movements in a new book: No Way But This. He will be in conversation with journalist Ellie Mae O’Hagan.
Jacqueline Wilson talks about her new book, Wave Me Goodbye, which is set at the beginning of WWII. Jacqueline will also talk about her life, how she has become one of the best-selling authors of recent years and about a host of her well known characters such as Hetty Feather and Tracy Beaker.
In aid of Refugee Week, Battersea Cats & Dogs Home and Conway Hall Ethical Society
A. C. Grayling explores the long, tragic history of war and how warfare has changed in response to technological advances.
Radicals is an exploration of the individuals, groups and movements rejecting the way we live now, and are attempting to find alternatives. In it, Jamie Bartlett, one of the world’s leading thinkers on radical politics and technology, takes us inside the strange and exciting worlds of the innovators, disruptors, idealists and extremists who think society is broken, and believe they know how.
The Conway Memorial Lecture 2016. Lawrence Krauss. Chaired by A. C. Grayling. Recorded on 16th December 2016.
Francis Sealey chairs a panel of Matt Scott, Charlie Blowers, Professor Evan Parker discussing the importance of how we can all be involved in cultural change is very empowering as it shows us that the path to making a better world can rest with us all and not just Parliamentarians.
Celebrated theoretical physicist Sir Prof Roger Penrose speaks with Ideas Roadshow host Howard Burton on the current and future state of theoretical physics in keeping with his latest book, Fashion, Faith and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe.
In this lovingly illustrated evening, social and architectural historian and lover of postwar modernism John Grindrod (author of Concretopia) talks us through the dreams and the reality portrayed in the books over the decades. Social and cultural historian Helen Day documents the changing attitudes to gender race and class and Tim Dunn, transport historian, enthusiast and model village expert will discuss the social and design history revealed in the books From People At Work and Our Land In the Making and How It Works…to the changing reality around Peter and Jane.
https://conwayhall.org.uk/event/ladybird-books/
In an era of hardening religious attitudes and explosive religious violence, Richard Holloway and Andrew Copson talk about the trials and tribulations of religion and belief, and what it means to be a humanist in the 21st century.
Richard Holloway, former Bishop of Edinburgh and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, is an internationally popular writer and broadcaster. His more than 20 books include the best-selling Leaving Alexandria: A Memoir of Faith and Doubt. He lives in Edinburgh. His latest book is A Little History of Religion.
Andrew Copson is Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association and President of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, the global umbrella body for atheist, humanist, skeptic and secularist organisations.
An expert panel (Dr Simon Usherwood, University of Surrey, Dr Joseph Lacey, University of Oxford, Norman Bacrac, Trustee), talk about the future of the UK after the EU Referendum. Chaired by Professor Evan Parker.
Recorded on Sunday 24th July 2016.
Dr Hugh Atkinson (Senior Lecturer in Political Science), Clive Menzies (Political economist, editor and communicator at Critical Thinking at the Free University) and Laurie MacFarlane (Economy and Finance team of the New Economic Foundation) discuss what new economics might be and how it differs to the conventional view of economics that has dominated our public life.
Organised by GlobalNet21 in partnership with Conway Hall Ethical Society and chaired by Francis Sealey.
Prof Philip C. Almond examines the history of ideas surrounding life after death. Chaired by Scott Wood. Organised by the London Fortean Society in association with Conway Hall Ethical Society.
Warning - Contains strong language Prof Marc Lewis and Johann Hari present the fascinating stories of addiction and the war on drugs, along with neuroscientific explanations to explain why, despite what we are so often told, addiction is not a disease.
Recorded at Conway Hall 13th July 2016.
Recorded at Conway Hall on Monday 11th July.
Universal Basic Income (UBI), an unconditional, non-withdrawable income paid to every citizen, has caught the attention of the world’s policymakers. Trials are planned in the Netherlands, Finland and Canada, and Switzerland will stage a referendum on UBI in June. Support for the idea spans the political spectrum: both the left-of-centre Royal Society of Arts and the rightwing Adam Smith Institute have released papers endorsing the idea. So what exactly is the appeal of giving out free money to everyone with no strings attached?
Rev Dr Malcolm Torry of the Citizens Income Trust, Dr Kitty Stewart from London School of Economics, and Michael Story from the Adam Smith Institute to debate whether we should all be on benefits.
A special event on the future of the United Kingdom. Held at Conway Hall on Weds 6th July 2016.
Featuring:
Matthew Goodwin – Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent. Author of Ukip: Inside the Campaign to Redraw British Politics, Revolt on the Right: Explaining Support for the Radical Right in Britain and New British Fascism: Rise of the British National Party.
James O’Malley – Journalist: petitioning the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, for London’s Independence and to give London a chance of remaining in the EU as a city state. The petition has garnered over 175,000 signatories in 5 days. He holds degrees in International Relations and Globalisation.
Shannon Harmon – co-founder of the Stop £35K campaign – a pay threshold imposed by the government on skilled migrant workers from outside the EU.
Anthony (A. C.) Grayling – Professor of Philosophy at the New College of the Humanities, London.
Takis Tridimas – Professor of European Law at Kings’ College London.
Chaired by Guy Foster – City of London Political and Financial commentator.
John Dee’s central lie about his life is still uncritically accepted: that under Queen Mary, like other Protestants, he had been persecuted. This talk will outline the true story, which shows how Dee’s angelic magic affected not only his own life but those of the most prominent Elizabethans who shared much of his ‘occult philosophy’.
Professor Glyn Parry is the author of ‘The Arch-Conjuror of England: John Dee’ (Yale University Press, 2011). Recorded at Conway Hall.
John Clark, for many years curator of the medieval collections at the Museum of London and now ‘Curator Emeritus’, has long been interested in the interplay between history, archaeology and legend in the story of London, from the works of Geoffrey of Monmouth to the burial of Boadicea under King’s Cross station. In this talk he investigates the ‘real’ story of London Stone, in Cannon Street, and the way in which myths have developed around it in the last 150 years. Doors 7pm. Recorded at The Bell, Middlesex Street. East London.
A New Statesman Centenary Debate. The Q&As. British women have made incredible progress in the last 100 years from getting the vote to passing the Equal Pay Act. So what’s next? With Helen Lewis, Laurie Penny, Bim Adewunmi, Juliet Jacques, VJD Smith is better known as “Glosswitch”, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett and Holly Baxter. Chaired by Caroline Crampton. Recorded 4th April 2013.
A New Statesman Centenary Debate. British women have made incredible progress in the last 100 years from getting the vote to passing the Equal Pay Act. So what’s next? With Helen Lewis, Laurie Penny, Bim Adewunmi, Juliet Jacques, VJD Smith is better known as “Glosswitch”, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett and Holly Baxter. Chaired by Caroline Crampton. Recorded 4th April 2013.
A debate and discussion on “The Ethics of Equality” held in collaboration with the GlobalNet21.
Christopher Snowdon - Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA.). He is the author of The Art of Suppression, The Spirit Level Delusion and Velvet Glove; Iron Fist.
His work focuses on pleasure, prohibition and dodgy statistics. He has authored a number of publications including Sock Puppets, Euro Puppets, The Proof of the Pudding, The Crack Cocaine of Gambling and Free Market Solutions in Health.
Engelbert Stockhammer - Director of Research at the Economics, Politics & History Faculty of Kingston University and also presently a research associate at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst) and member of the coordination committee of the Research Network Macroeconomics and Macroeconomic Policy.
Dating in London: a dive into a wide ocean of fabulous fish people, a smouldering melting pot of hot humanity or an anxious, hectic meat market of cold flesh? With February flushing our cheeks for Valentine’s Day we take a look at lovin’ in the city. With Zoe Margolis, Emma Ziff, Charly Lester, Andy Jones, Jamie Lawson and a lovely audience.
Ben Judah talks to James Bloodworth and an excited audience at Conway Hall about his immersion in the hidden world of London's immigrants - from Russian oligarchs to Roma beggars - and discovers the complex and varied lives that make London what it is today.
Is Obi Wan Kenobi a benign spirit guide or a radical preacher recruiting vulnerable teens to join a terrorist movement that blows up government Death Stars? Is R2D2 Moses? And is Han Solo really a humanist?
These and other questions will be answered by our panel of experts, including: Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou and Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association and Sci Fi supremo, Andrew Copson.
WARNING EXPLICIT LANGUAGE USED THOUGHOUT Beer experts Pete Brown and Melissa Cole, gin-historian Richard Barnett, and London brewers and distillers celebrate and discuss London and it’s drinking history and culture; from the taverns to the gin craze, to craft brewing and beyond. Londonist and Conway Hall Ethical Society are proud to present an evening of ale, gin, pubs, conversation and a tipsy toddle through our fantastic city’s history and life.
In this intriguing and timely event, two high profile figures Tehamina Kazi and Boyd Sleator will discuss these important issues impacting our society today.
Recorded by Peter Hall
London Thinks has gathered experts in psychology, religion and cults to explore the idea of belief. Why do we believe the things we do? Are we genetically programmed to believe in the supernatural, or is belief socially imposed upon us from a young age? Were Abrahamic religious texts always considered to be the word of God or is religious literalism a modern invention? Samira Ahmed chairs as our panelists discuss these ideas and more in our first London Thinks of 2016.
This is a unique and very timely event in which two distinguished speakers will address the fundamental challenge facing humanity today, not least those embroiled in the immigration crisis, Who’s looking after the world?
Charles Clarke – outspoken politician, former Education – and Home – Secretary and author of the highly regarded The ‘Too Difficult’ Box: The Big Issues Politicians Can’t Crack, will set the scene.
Simon Anholt – visionary, international policy advisor and recipient of the Nobels Colloquia Prize for Economics, whose Berlin 2014 TED talk went viral, presents a novel approach, which addresses this flaw in the way we live. The discussion will be chaired by Helen Lewis, Deputy Editor of the New Statesman.
A discussion and celebration of our animal, bird and plant life with David Lindo, Helen Babbs, the London Wildlife Trust’s Mathew Frith and urban bat detective Kate Jones. Chaired by James Drury, Editor of Londonist.
William Pettigrew is Reader in History at the University of Kent. He currently runs a Leverhulme Trust project examining the history of England’s seventeenth-century international trading corporations.
This event is the first in the series of eight talks titled The British Business of Slavery, curated by Deborah Lavin.
London is Changing: Regeneration, Gentrification and Redevelopment
Iain Sinclair, John Rogers, Tom Bolton and Helen Parton for a discussion about London, how it is changing, how that affects us and what can be done about it.
A Discussion on Ethics & Politics held at Conway Hall on Mon 28th September 2015. With Stephen Bowden and chaired by Francis Sealey. Hosted by GlobalNet21 and Conway Hall Ethical Society.
Trigger Warning! This discussion may change your mind. Should Universities be Intellectual ‘Safe Spaces’?
Beatrix Campbell OBE, Bahar Mustafa, Brendan O’Neill, Pam Lowe, Samira Ahmed.
Universities are the intellectual heart of modern society. Students attend university to study, research and explore new ideas. In the faculty, students have access to some of society’s greatest experts and thinkers. Higher education benefits not only those individuals able to access it, but society as a whole. Higher education correlates with lower levels of unemployment and poverty, better health and higher levels of social and civic participation- including volunteering, voting, and blood donation.
Should universities give in to their students and make sure that campuses are free from intellectual challenge both inside and outside the lecture hall or do the academic faculty have a duty to students to “enrich their minds with […] knowledge”?
As universities are more and more run as businesses and students are paying for their education, is it perhaps time to ask ‘is the customer always right?’
In this talk, Professor Steve Keen shares his views on the bigger picture of financial developments around the world. He will review options for the future of economics, highlight the little-understood importance of debt, and argue that significant debt write-downs are needed in order to limit future financial crashes.
Watch the whole presentation here: https://youtu.be/HpfLiKRqhQw
US journalist Tony Ortega, author of an acclaimed biography, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, John Sweeney, the BBC Panorama journalist and author of Church Of Fear: Inside the Weird World of Scientology and the publisher of both books, Humfrey Hunter, explain what it is like to question the word and the worth of The Church That Likes To Wear Dark Glasses.
Samira Ahmed grills authors Simon Guerrier and Dr Marek Kukula about the ethics of using science in war – both real and in Doctor Who.
When most of us hear the word “genome” we think of human DNA, the material that was long seen as the blueprint of human health and disease. Today, we know that there are many more factors than our DNA that make us who we are, including our lifestyles, our emotions, our environments.
But there is another element that, as recent science shows, has a huge impact on us: micro-organisms. Trillions of microbes, bacteria and fungi inhabit our bodies, help to digest our food, keep us healthy, or make us sick. In fact only 10 percent of the cells in our bodies and one percent of our genes are human! This event will explore how recent advances in the science of microbes change our understanding of health and disease, and give a revolutionary approach to losing weight and staying slim.
Apologies for the sound quality in the room we recorded this in
How do we work together so that there is understanding between our communities and what common values can we identify that will create cohesion?
A GlobalNet21 meeting at Conway Hall in collaboration with The Ethical Society.
The threat of global terrorism has been growing and Governments and the Media have sometimes linked this to the growth of Islamic extremism. This meeting discussed many issues including:
• What are the root causes of terrorism and how does Islam fit into that picture?
• What are the contributing factors especially external ones?
• And what is the position of Islam on war and peace and is the overwhelming message of Islam one of peace?
• What are the Ethical issues here concerning how communities can work together and understand each other better
What Could Sentient Machines Mean for Humanity?
For decades, we've imagined the rise of computer-based life forms, super-intelligences whose intellects could far surpass our own and trigger a new phase in non-human evolution.
Could these visions become real, and why do they have such a grip on our imaginations? How has culture informed AI research? Should we be more worried about sentient machines, or the dumb algorithms and data integration being worked on today? Do we still have privacy under the dead, uncaring gaze of a machine intelligence? What does humanism mean to an artificial intelligence anyway?
Science writer, broadcaster and geneticist Dr Adam Rutherford will chair a panel of human intelligences at this talk, including leading roboticist Professor Alan Winfield, Dr Kathleen Richardson and Dr Blay Whitby.
Professor Alan Winfield is Director of the Science Communication Unit at UWE Bristol. Dr Kathleen Richardson is Senior Research Fellow in the Ethics of Robotics at De Montfort University. Dr Blay Whitby is a philosopher and technology ethicist, specialising in computer science, artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sussex.
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Join Brian Cox as he talks with Adam Rutherford about bull semen, the importance of getting people engaged with science and why the UK needs to aspire to be the best place for science in the world.
Particle physicist, retired rock star and star of the BBC’s Wonders of the Solar System, Brian Cox is the Royal Society’s Professor for Public Engagement in Science at Manchester University.
Adam Rutherford is an author, broadcaster, film-buff and all-round geek. He holds a PhD in genetics from UCL.
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Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss Q&A session after a screening of the Unbelievers (http://www.unbelieversmovie.com/). Recorded at Conway Hall, London. 23rd October 2014
Peter Singer shows how living altruistically often leads to greater personal fulfillment than living for oneself.
His most recent book is, The Most Good You Can Do, which helps to develop the challenges Singer has made to those who donate to the arts, and to charities focused on helping our fellow citizens, rather than those for whom we can do the most good. Effective altruists are extending our knowledge of the possibilities of living less selfishly, and of allowing reason, rather than emotion, to determine how we live.
In conversation with Nick Cohen, Srdja Popovic will explain how he became one of the leaders of Otpor! — the movement which overthrew dictator Slobodan Milosevic. He has since gone on to train the pro-democracy activists behind the Arab Spring, Occupy, and many other movements. Part of our "London Thinks" series.
Drawing on his new book, Blueprint for Revolution, he will tell the stories of ‘ordinary revolutionaries’ he has been inspired by along the way, many of whom have created social change by avoiding violence and opting for something far more powerful: a sense of humour.
Where did it come from, and how far can it go in the general election? Part of the "London Thinks" discussion series. Recorded at Conway Hall: Thursday 19th March 2015
An evening with Nate Phelps (son of the late Fred Phelps, founder and patriarch of the Westboro Baptist Church – “the most hated family in America”), in an incredibly moving talk on the Westboro Baptist Church, his childhood he spent growing up in, and how he came to leave his family behind at the stroke of midnight on his 18th birthday. Part of "London Thinks" at Conway Hall.
Are religious doctrines destined for the bin? Does a wholly secular scientific society miss out on a sense of spirituality and pastoral care? Is the Interstellar film as bad as everyone makes out? These and other questions were discussed in a very special evening at "London Thinks" discussions.
The very best journalism from one of Britain’s most admired and outspoken science writers, author of the bestselling "Bad Science" and "Bad Pharma" and his new book "I Think You'll Find It's a Bit More Complicated Than That"
Prof Lisa Jardine talks about her father, Jacob Bronowski, his involvement in being spied upon by M.I.5. during World War II, McCarthyism in the UK and surveillance culture, and how he ended up being a TV personality.
Jonny Scaramanga attended a fundamentalist Christian school in the '90s where he learned that the Loch Ness Monster disproved evolution, God disapproved of the NHS, and homosexuals were an abomination to God. He talks about what students learn in these schools today, and what we should do when the parent's right to freedom of religion conflicts with the child's right to a sound education.
Human Rights campaigner, Naomi McAuliffe, talks about how women's rights are treated as an optional extra to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and argues that a change needs to come when all other rights have been won, which is vital to women's survival. Recorded Sun 5 May 2013
Alex was homeless in the first year of his life and grew up with a single mum on benefits. Now he's a full time atheist who thinks we need to talk more about class. Doubt and skepticism don't cost money, but movements built around them often do. Secularists are broadening their image, but their cause remains seen, not totally unfairly, as middle class. We have to take action to reach hard up atheists and skeptics, or risk being a community for the well off. In this talk, Alex discusses how. Alex Gabriel is the author of Godlessness in Theory, a blog on religion and how to leave it, popular rhetoric and political dissent, secular, nerd and LGBT culture, sexuality and gender or whatever comes to mind. His writing appears at AlterNet, the Rationalist Association and elsewhere. Follow his work, or find him on Twitter @AlexGabriel. Recorded Sun 23 Mar 2014
Omar has been in touch with human pain and suffering since very early in life. After being in two wars and one violent uprising in Iraq, he finally escaped to London in 1996 as a refugee. He now works in London as a physician and a trainee psychiatrist. Murad has witnessed all kinds of traumas and has dealt with all kinds of wounds. Through his work as a doctor for the last two decades, his job has helped him to understand what people actually need. His talk will teach understanding, how we can learn to be 'better quality humans' and how to have a better quality life for everyone everywhere, all of the time.
Dr. Omar Sheikho Murad is originally from Zakho City, Kurdistan, Iraq. He is the author of ten books, seven of those using the "Water-Logic" instead of "Rock-Logic" (i.e., using peaceful means instead of violence and aggression) which are about understanding life and understanding humans.
Dr Mark Fielding on Do Philosophy and Politics mix?
Philosophy tries to picture the world as it is in general terms, but politics focusses on the way the world should be. Martin Heidegger provides an example through which to consider the difficulties which emerge when Philosophy and Politics come together. To what extent can and should Philosophy inform politics? And should we take seriously the idea that Politics can change the nature of Philosophy? Dr Mark Fielding has taught at UCL, Birkbeck College, The Open University, and The University of Greenwich. He holds degrees from the University of Manchester and UCL. His principal interests are in the areas of Philosophy and Film, contemporary political thought, 20th Century French and German Philosophy, and Philosophy and Biology. He has recently been working on books on Philosophy and Horror and the nature of political utopias in the contemporary world. Recorded on Sun 1 Jun 2014