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HowTheLightGetsIn gathers together global thought leaders to find new ways of understanding the world. From AI experts to the leading voices on global conflict explore below for Hay 2024 line up so far.
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“See you, either in Hell, or in Communism.”
Slavoj Žižek infamously said “Humanity is OK, but 99% of people are boring idiots” - Žižek himself is certainly neither boring nor an idiot. Žižek is arguably the most provocative philosopher of our times. Foreign Policy named Žižek a Top 100 Global Thinker "for giving voice to an era of absurdity”. With never a dull moment, Žižek breathes new life into Marxism, Hegel, psychoanalysis, philosophy, politics, film and culture.
Žižek is the author of more than 50 books, including most recently Too Late to Awaken: What Lies Ahead When There is No Future? and Freedom: A Disease Without A Cure. He is a senior researcher at the University of Ljubljana's Department of Philosophy.
“There is something inexplicably touching about all Žižek's mischievous bombast” - The Guardian
“Do you know what a foreign accent is? It’s a sign of bravery.”
Best-selling author, former law associate and award-winning academic, Amy Chua is the John M. Duff Jr Professor of Law at Yale Law School where she specialises in topics ranging from ethnic conflict, globalisation and international business transactions. Chua has been named one of Atlantic Monthly’s Brave Thinkers, one of Foreign Policy’s Global Thinkers and has been named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people.
Alongside her best-selling parenting memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Chua has written for major publications on the state of American politics, tribalism, identity politics, polarization, and nationalism. Most recently, she was awarded the Lux and Veritas Prize by the Buckley Institute for fostering intellectual diversity in her classroom and beyond.
"Chua’s work strives to traverse "the no-go areas around which others usually tip-toe.” - The New York Times
'"The best - the only - way of making sense of the mind and consciousness is through evolution by natural selection."
Daniel Dennett is one of the most famous and distinguished philosophers of our time. He is the Director of the Centre for Cognitive Studies and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. He is widely known as one of the "Four Horsemen of New Atheism", alongside Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and the late Christopher Hitchens.
His writing - including the celebrated Consciousness Explained and Darwin's Dangerous Idea -represents some of the most important work in the philosophy of mind today, grounded in rigorous empirical research, evolutionary theory, and a materialist framework. Dennett's most recent book I've been thinking explores his career and lifelong scientific fascinations.
"How unfair for one man to be blessed with such a torrent of stimulating thoughts." - Richard Dawkins
'“Nonsense remains nonsense, even when talked by world-famous scientists.”
John Lennox is an internationally renowned speaker on science, philosophy and religion. He is Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University (emeritus). He is also a Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum and has written a series of critically acclaimed books exploring the relationship between science and Christianity.
Professor Lennox has lectured extensively in North America, Eastern and Western Europe and Australasia on mathematics, the philosophy of science and the intellectual defence of Christianity. He is also well known for his spirited debates on faith in the modern world with Richard Dawkins, Peter Singer, and the late Christopher Hitchens.
"[Lennox and I] had a very spirited debate on the question of faith...and he won." - Christopher Hitchens
Peter Singer
“It is a mistake to assume that the law should always enforce morality.”
Peter Singer is one of the most prominent figures in contemporary ethics. He is an Australian moral philosopher and the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He rose to prominence with his seminal book Animal Liberation, which was updated in 2023 and re-published as Animal Liberation Now to address the most pressing concerns of today’s environmental movement.
In addition to animal ethics, Peter’s writing covers topics including the responsibilities of first world citizens in the form of altruism, affluence and morality, as well as ethical question around abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide. Singer is also the founder of the Centre for Human Bioethics, at Monash University. He has been recognised with numerous accolades, including the Berggruen Prize and, most recently, the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards.
A “hero among heroes of the world” – Jennifer Skiff
"Catastrophic pessimism threatens to overwhelm transformative optimism."
Lynne Segal is a socialist feminist and Anniversary Professor of Psychology and Gender Studies at Birkbeck College. An accomplished academic and activist, Segal's life at the beating heart of women's lib is an eclectic tapestry of praxis. For the past 50 years, her London home has been a commune and a hub of feminist and community activism, and she remains at the forefront of battles for social justice.
Segal has penned many influential texts on feminism, socialism and gender, co-authoring with the likes of Sheila Rowbotham and Hilary Wainwright. Armed with insights from her latest work, Lean on Me: A Politics of Radical Car, Segal comes to the festival with a compelling manifesto for building a more egalitarian and nurturing world.
"One of the most important figures of the British Women's Liberation Movement." - Amia Srinivasan
Eva Illouz
'“Romantic love is irrational rather than rational, gratuitous rather than profit-oriented, organic rather than utilitarian."
Eva Illouz is a renowned sociologist and the Director of Studies at the School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris. An academic of global acclaim, her work has been translated into 25 languages, and she also teaches in Israel and Switzerland.
Illouz transformed her field by analyzing emotions through a sociological rather than psychological lens. Her work explores several significant and thought-provoking themes, such as the influence of capitalism on emotions, the commodification of romance and the meaning of freedom, choice, and individualism in the modern world.
"Illouz could very well be the twenty-first century's next great public intellectual." - Guernica
“It is my opinion that the isolated mind loses its purchase on reality all too easily and becomes prone to fantasy.”
Frank Tallis is a clinical psychologist who specialises in obsessive compulsive disorder. He is also a multi-award winning author of several books including the Lieberamann papers which was adapted into the BBC show Vienna Blood.
Tallis's most recent bookThe Act of Living: What the Great Psychologists Can Teach Us About Surviving Discontent in an Age of Anxiety was described by the Times Literary Supplement as 'an engaging and expansive tour of our modern-day therapeutic landscape'.
"Few psychotherapists write with the clarity of Tallis." - The Tablet
Konstantin Kisin
'“Freedom, human rights, tolerance, peace and prosperity are like the eternal flame that must be guarded, nurtured and never, ever taken for granted.”
Konstantin Kisin is a Sunday Times best-selling author, comedian, satirist, social commentator and host of the wildly successful YouTube show, TRIGGERnometry. Born in the late Soviet Union and raised in Britain, Kisin has appeared on flagship TV shows like BBC Question Time, Real Time with Bill Maher and Tucker Carlson, as well as the Joe Rogan Experience and other popular podcasts.
Kisin is a powerful speaker, known for his engaging, entertaining and thought-provoking talks on a wide range of topics, including the importance of upholding Western values of liberalism, freedom of expression and viewpoint diversity. He has also spoken and written extensively about the war in Ukraine. His speech at an Oxford Union debate generated over 100 million views around the world and has made him one of the most sought-after cultural commentators in the world.
'We are lucky to have him." - Telegraph
"AI might be able to simulate empathy, but it is human connection that gives meaning to our experiences."
Jenny Kleeman is a distinguished British journalist, broadcaster and author. After two decades at the cutting edge of politics and culture, Kleeman boasts an impressive career spanning foreign correspondence, radio hosting, and presenting for the BBC, Channel 4 and HBO.
Beyond her regular writing for the Guardian, The Sunday Times and The New Statesman, Kleeman's more in-depth writing projects include 'Sex Robots & Vegan Meat' and 'The Price of Life.' Forged at the 'frontiers of birth, food, sex and death', she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh voice to the festival.
"Like Louis Theroux channelling Margaret Atwood" - New Statesman
'"Around the world, a woman's body is still very much a battlefield and hundreds of thousands of women bear the invisible wounds of war.”
Christina Lamb OBE is the Chief Foreign Correspondent for the Times and Sunday Times, bestselling author and honourary fellow of University College Oxford. Lamb's career is punctuated with awards, conflict, and compassion. Having started her career in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation, she has since reported from Pakistan, Iraq, Lybia, Angola, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe to name a few.
Christina's recent work focuses on the impact of war on women. She has several bestelling books on the topic including I Am Malala and The Girl from Alepp. Since then she has won 15 major awards including Europe's top war reporting prize the Prix Bayeux.
"Lamb...does society a service by forcing us to look" - New York Times
'"People are irrational - and predictably so.”
Dan Ariely is a world-leading behavioral economist and best-selling author. He is a Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight. Ariely is the leading scholar of irrationality and decision-making, explaining how we repeatedly and predictably make the wrong decisions in many aspects of our lives.
Ariely's books have appeared numerous times on the New York Times Best Sellers list, these include, Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty. He wrote the advice column, Ask Ariely, for 10 years in the Wall Street Journal. His latest book is Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things.
"There is nobody better placed to solve your problems than Dan Ariely." - Tim Harford
"Love is a gross exaggeration of the difference between one person and everybody else.”
Paul Bloom is a trailblazing Canadian American psychologist, bestselling author and celebrated speaker. He is the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor Emeritus of psychology and cognitive science at Yale University and Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto.
Bloom has written widely on human nature, including morality, pleasure, and religion. He won the Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize for his investigations into how children develop a sense of morality. In his widely-read book Against Empathy, he argues for rational thinking rather than empathy for making moral decisions.
"Paul Bloom has a gift for spotting paradoxes in human nature" - Steven Pinker
'“I write daily, I always write, no matter what I’m doing... this is the thing that keeps me alive.”
Florence Read is a producer at UnHerd and presenter for UnHerd TV. She has presented for a range of topics from psychedelic research to aliens to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and everything inbetween. She has interviewed the likes of Slavoj Zizek, democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson and Jaron Lanier.
Prior to her work at UnHerd, Flo was a contributing writer and editor of The Idler magazine and a visiting lecturer at Berkeley University and Boston University.
"We need quantum politics to tackle today’s challenges."
Armen Sarkissian is the former President of Armenia, a physicist, investor, businessman and computer scientist. He was the president of Armenia between 2018 and 2022 and he previously held the offices of Prime Minister, ambassador to the UK, Vatican, EU, NATO, Holland and the 'senior ambassador to Europe'.
During his political career, Armen leveraged his diplomatic experience to diffuse tensions during the 'Velvet Revolution' and with Azerbaijan's border skirmishes. His most recent book, Small States Club, builds on the wealth of experience and outlines how smaller nations can find success in an ever more chaotic world.
"[Sarkissian] clarifies the important role small states play in upholding world order." - Henry Kissinger
'I think more like a quantum Buddhist in that there is a universal proto-conscious mind wich we can access, and can influence us.' // alt quote - "Most scientists can’t explain consciousness in the brain, so they can’t say that consciousness out of the brain is impossible."
Stuart Hameroff is an American anesthesiologist and professor at the University of Arizona known for his studies of consciousness and his controversial claim, alongside Sir Roger Penrose, that consciousness originates from quantum states in neural microtubules.
Hameroff is the lead organizer of the Science of Consciousness conference. He has also featured in several award-winning films and documentaries, including What tнe ♯$*! Do ωΣ (k)πow!? and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.
“Physics and evolution point to the same conclusion: spacetime and objects are not foundational.”
Donald D. Hoffman is an Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, where he researched perception, evolution, and consciousness. He held joint appointments in the Departments of Philosophy, Logic and Philosophy of Science, and at the School of Computer Science.
Hoffman's book, The Case Against Reality, was shortlisted for the Physics World Book of the Year 2019. He is also known for his viral TED Talk "Do we see reality as it is?". In both, Hoffman argues that we do not perceive reality objectively, and calls for a mathematical model of reality.
"One of the deepest and most original thinkers of his generation." - Steven Pinker
'"Evolutionary psychology, as it is currently understood, is...impossible."
Subrena Smith is an innovative and boundary-pushing philosopher of biology. She is on a mission to challenge our assumptions about human behaviour and what makes us unique as a species. Smith has thrown a wrench into the emerging field of evolutionary psychology, and sought to expose the methodological flaws in its approach to understanding the human mind.
Smith has also taken aim at the very concept of an organism, challenging us to reconsider our assumptions about what it means to be alive. Her famous article Is Evolutionary Psychology Possible? has caused much debate on whether our evolutionary theories translate to society and modern culture today.
"Engineering really has the power to change our futures."
Dr Shini Somara is an award-winning media broadcaster and a highly accomplaished British mechanical engineer specialising in Computational Fluid Dyanmics.
In her mission to bring complex science, technology and engineering to everyone, Dr Somara has published 6 childrens STEM books and runs a podcast for Women in STEM. Her passion, knowledge and fascination for innovation has led to multiple TV appearances as an engineering expert on Sky, Discovery, The Science Channel, UKTV, Yesterday Channels. She is a TEDX Speaker and hosted Crash Course's hit YouTube series on Physics and Engineering, collectively garnering over 60 million views.
"This book is accessible, inspiring and inclusive." - BookTrust
"I'm not satisfied with the term 'evil'...I don't think it's anything more than another word for doing something bad."
Simon Baron-Cohen is professor of developmental psychopathology at Cambridge University, is a Fellow of Trinity College and is the Director of Cambridge's Autism Research Centre. His lifelong work on autism has revolutionised the world of experimental psychology. As part of his empathizing-systemizing theory, Simon famously claimed that autism is an extreme of the male brain.
His latest book The Pattern Seekers: How autism drives human invention presents dramatic evidence that autistic people and hyper-systemizers – those who can effortlessly analyse the patterns in systems to invent – share some of the same genes.
'Bold, intriguing, profound.’ - The Spectator
Güneş Taylor is an award-winning geneticist and pioneer of public engagement in her field. She is a training fellow at the Francis Crick Institute where her research predominantly focuses on the genetic formation of ovaries and testes. Both "an incredible science communicator" and scientist herself, she has become a distinguished HowtheLightGetsIn host, sharing the stage with Slavoj Zizek, Richard Dawkins, Yuval Noah Harari, and more.
Güneş has debated the implications of genome editing on the Guardian's podcast Science Weekly, the UK's longest-running science podcast with the episode doing "exceptionally well" according to Guardian producer Max Sanderson. In 2018, Güneş was awarded the Crick Public Engagement Prize for her efforts in the public communication of science.
"Güneş has performed a significant service to disseminating the work within her field." - Anastasia de Waal
Jack Symes is a public philosopher, writer, and researcher at Durham University.
He is best known as the producer of The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast, one of the world’s most popular higher education podcasts.
He is also the editor of the Talking about Philosophy book series, which features contributions from some of the world’s most influential thinkers.
Jack also hosts live shows, including An Evening With theatre events and panels at The Royal Institution. He is the author of four books, including two forthcoming in 2024: Philosophers on God: Talking about Existence and Defeating the Evil-God Challenge: In Defence of God’s Goodness.
‘Jack Symes guides us charmingly and authoritatively, with a wit and freshness that enlivens without trivializing.’ – Stephen Fry
“Transformation through turmoil is the most remarkable phenomenon I have ever come across.”
Steve Taylor is a senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University and author of several best-selling books in the fields of psychology and spirituality. He regularly appears in the media in the UK, and has been recently featured on Radio 4’s The Moral Maze, BBC Breakfast, Radio FiveLive and TalkRadio. Eckhart Tolle has described his work as ‘an important contribution to the shift in consciousness which is happening on our planet at present.’
Taylor's main interest is in transpersonal psychology, which investigates higher states of consciousness and 'awakening' experiences. His most recent book is Extraordinary Awakenings: When Trauma Leads to Transformation.
“Opens our eyes to a new way of understanding the world, and is also a pleasure.” – Christopher Ryan
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