Speakers

The first glimpse of our speaker lineup already boasts former national leaders, pioneering physicists, Nobel Laureates and the world's most renowned public thinkers - and there's much, much more to come!

Book Your Tickets Now

Slavoj Zizek HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2025

Slavoj Žižek

Maverick philosopher
Steven Pinker 4 HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival copy

Steven Pinker

Psychologist - Joining from Massachusetts
Lionel Shriver HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival
New

Lionel Shriver

Author of 'We Need to Talk About Kevin'
Jeremy Corbyn HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025
New

Jeremy Corbyn

Former leader of the Labour Party
claudia de rham HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2025

Claudia de Rham

Celebrated theoretical physicist
Roger Penrose 2 HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2025

Roger Penrose

Nobel Laureate
Jordan Stephens HowTheLightGetsIn

Jordan Stephens

Artist and mental health advocate
Richard Tice HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2025
New

Richard Tice

Deputy leader of Reform
Nicola Sturgeon 3 HowTheLightGetsIn copy 2

Nicola Sturgeon

Former first minister of Scotland
Yanis Varoufakis HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025
New

Yanis Varoufakis

Former Greek Finance Minister
Robert Sapolsky HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025
New

Robert Sapolsky

Neuroscientist - Joining from California
inaya folarin iman 2 HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Inaya Folarin Iman

Prominent Political Analyst
Carlo Rovelli HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2025

Carlo Rovelli

Pioneering physicist - Joining from Ontario
Myriam Francious HowTheLightGetsIn copy

Myriam François

Award winning presenter
Gad Saad HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival
New

Gad Saad

Professor and Mind Parasitologist
Malcome Rifkind HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival
New

Malcolm Rifkind

Former Secretary of State for Defence
Catherine Liu HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025
New

Catherine Liu

Cultural Critic
Paul Bloom HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Paul Bloom

Leading psychologist of Human Nature
Jesse Norman 2 HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2025

Jesse Norman

Shadow Leader of the House
Michelle Terry HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Michelle Terry

Olivier Award Recipient
Alenka Zupanic HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Alenka Zupančič

Eminent philosopher and psychoanalyst
Aaron Mate HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Aaron Maté

Independent journalist
Roman Yampolsky HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival
New

Roman Yampolskiy

Prominent AI safety researcher
jo dunkley HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Joanna Dunkley

Princeton Astrophysicist of the Early Universe
Elizabeth anderson HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Elizabeth Anderson

Philosopher of Equality
Daniel Markovits HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Daniel Markovits

Chief critic of Meritocracy
David goodhart HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

David Goodhart

Boundary-pushing journalist
Tim Maudlin HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Tim Maudlin

Philosopher of Physics
Chatherine Mayer HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Catherine Mayer

Journalist and Activist
Thangam Debbonaire 2 HowTheLightGetsIn Festival Hay 2025

Thangam Debbonaire

Political strategist
Avshalom Elitzur 2 HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Avshalom Elitzur

Radical physicist and philosopher
Ivetter fuentes HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival
New

Ivette Fuentes

Pioneering Quantum Physics Professor
Steve Fuller HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival
New

Steve Fuller

Acclaimed sociologist
Paul Dolan How the light gets in festival hay 2025
New

Paul Dolan

Happiness expert
Shini Somara HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2025

Shini Somara

Leading science communicator
Lucy Allais HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival
New

Lucy Allais

Leading Kantian philosopher
Alex rosenberg HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2025
New

Alex Rosenberg

Novelist and philosopher
Massimo Piglucci HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025

Massimo Pigliucci

Celebrated Stoic Philosopher
Rachel Thompson HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025

Rachel Thompson

Author and Relationship Expert
Anders Sandberg HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2025
New

Anders Sandberg

Leading expert on global risk
Sophie scott brown HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025

Sophie Scott-Brown

Intellectual Historian
Claudia Canavan HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2025

Claudia Canavan

Health Editor and Journalist
Emily Herring HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2025
New

Emily Herring

Trailblazing biographer and philosopher
Nadine Dijkstra HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025

Nadine Dijkstra

Senior Researcher in Human Neuroimaging
John Dupre HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival
New

John Dupré

Philosopher of science
Isabel Hilton HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025

Isabel Hilton

Broadcaster and China expert
Yaron Brook HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

Yaron Brook

Radical for Capitalism
Gunes Taylor HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025

Güneş Taylor

Award-winning geneticist
Eric Kaufmann HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025

Eric Kaufmann

Political commentator on race
Joanna Kavenna HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 25

Joanna Kavenna

Acclaimed novelist
Janne Teller HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2025

Janne Teller

Critically acclaimed novelist
John Burn Murdoch HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Philosophy Festival

John Burn Murdoch

Renowned data journalist

Book Your Tickets Now