Earlybird Tickets close tomorrow!
The HowTheLightGetsIn London 2024 lineup keeps growing! Get a taste of the trailblazing speakers headed to Hampstead Heath this summer.
From contenders for top office and the voices shaping modern politics, to philosophical heavyweights and icons of the arts, check out the influential voices joining us in September.
Or keep exploring the Big Ideas coming to Hampstead Heath with our debates programme...
“Love without risk is an impossibility, like war without death.”
Alain Badiou is considered to be one of the greatest living philosophers. He is the former chair of Philosophy at the École normale supérieure (ENS) and founder of the faculty of Philosophy of the Université de Paris VIII with Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault and Jean-François Lyotard.
While Badiou is best known for his defence of communism, his ontology and metaphysics are the centre of his philosophical system. An outspoken critic of both the analytic tradition and postmodernism, Badiou argues that we desperately need philosophy to make sense of art, politics, science, and love.
"Alain Badiou is undoubtedly among the greatest of living philosophers." - APN News
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"In almost any circumstances I always ask ‘but how did it get like this? How did it start?"
Philippa Gregory CBE is a renowned writer and author of historical fiction. She is best known for The Other Boleyn Girl (2001), which was adapted into two films and in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association.
A member of the Society of Authors, Gregory was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award in 2016 and an Honorary Platinum Award by Nielsen in 2018. Gregory was the founder of Gardens for the Gambia, a charity that funded almost 200 wells in Gambian primary schools.
"Gregory has made an impressive career out of breathing passionate, independent life into the historical noblewomen." — The Telegraph
"Quantum mechanics makes absolutely no sense."
Roger Penrose is a world-renowned mathematician, mathematical physicist, philosopher of science and Nobel Laureate in Physics. He is best known for his work on general relativity and sharing the Wolf Prize for Physics with Stephen Hawking for his work on black holes. Additionally, he is the author of The Road to Reality, Cycles of Time and Shadows of the Mind.
Penrose is a significant physics and philosophy populariser making appearances on the BBC, Closer to Truth, and even the Joe Rogan Experience - the largest podcast in the world.
"Sir Roger Penrose’s research has had a profound impact on human understanding of the universe and of the fundamental laws of physics that govern the universe." — Stephen Hawking Foundation
"Voters are distraught by the direction the Conservatives have been taking this country."
Carla is co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, elected along with Adrian Ramsay in October 2021. Carla is the Green Party’s candidate for Bristol Central in the upcoming General Election.
Before this, Carla was a Bristol City Councillor from 2015 to 2024, forming a critical part of the largest Green
councillor group in the UK which saw unprecedented success at the May local elections in 2021. Carla stepped back from her Councillor role in 2024 to focus on her General Election campaign. Carla is an engineer, previously working in the renewable energy industry with a specialism in offshore and onshore wind energy.
"Who should hold the next prime minister to account? Our best hope lies with the Green Party." — George Monbiot, The Guardian
“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 Christian Atheism: How to Be a Real Materialist. 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
"Human rights are not worthy of the name if they do not protect the people we don't like as well as those we do."
Trevor Phillips OBE is an award-winning broadcaster, writer, and former politician. He is best known for having served as the Chair of the London Assembly, as well as for heading the Commission for Racial Equality and as the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission under Tony Blair.
More recently, he has presented Trevor Phillips on Sunday and Sunday Morning, two talk shows on Sky News. For his work in television and broadcasting, Phillips has won three Royal Television Society awards.
"We need Trevor Phillips’s fierce candour more than ever." — Allison Pearson, The Telegraph
'"This presumption of American decline has been a serious mistake of Putin’s."
Malcolm Rifkind is a renowned British politician who served in the cabinets of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major, most famously in the roles of Foreign and Defense Secretary. Most recently he chaired the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, working closely with the CIA and MI6. A minister for eighteen years, he has seen longer uninterrupted service than anyone since the early nineteenth century.
He is currently banned from Russia by President Putin, for the robustness of his response against the Kremlin’s aggression in Ukraine. In recent years he has been appointed a visiting professor of war at King's College London and a Distinguished Fellow at the RSUI.
"Malcolm Rifkind was in the top rank of twentieth-century politicians. Few saw events at closer quarters" - John Major
"It's the definition of madness to do another interview again. I hope for his sake, and for the country's sake, that he doesn't do it."
Sam McAlister is an English former TV producer and author, best known for securing an interview with Prince Andrew for BBC Newsnight's programme, Prince Andrew and the Epstein Scandal. Sam is also a trained criminal barrister and has been a Visiting Senior Fellow in the law school of the London School of Economics.
Since this interview, McAlister has written an autobiographical book, Scoops. This was later adapted into a Netflix film, Scoop, where McAlister was played by Billie Piper.
"Even though we know what happened, McAlister’s eye-witness description of the royal car crash retains the power to shock… riveting." — Sunday Telegraph
"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." — Douglas Murray, Telegraph
"The budget doesn't F*cking matter"
"We're on the Titanic, I'm the guy that's seen the iceberg. You know what I mean? I'm trying to let people know"
Gary Stevenson is a YouTuber, former financial trader, and firebrand activist against inequality. From humble origins in Ilford, Stevenson has made a name for himself by challenging the old boys' club of finance and beating them at their own game. In 2011 he was Citibank's most profitable trader by banking on increased inequality and growing poverty.
Since leaving the city, Gary has founded the GarysEconomics YouTube channel devoted to explaining economics in plain English. His recent memoir, 'The Trading Game' exposes the rotten core at the heart of the financial industry.
“Stevenson is a sharp observer, with a gift for colourful if merciless description.”—Financial Times
We think that knowing the truth allows us to intervene successfully in the world. It's precisely because fusion releases neutrons that we can build nuclear weapons, and precisely because we know the laws of physics that we can travel into space. But critics argue we don't know that science reveals the truth at all. Over half of the world's leading physicists say quantum mechanics doesn't accurately describe reality. And the great 20th century philosopher Putnam claimed 'science takes away foundations without providing a replacement,' leading many to point to a fundamental problem.
If we give up the idea of objective truth, how can we do anything? Will we discover how our theories enable us to intervene if we don't share a unified account of reality? Do we need to do away with the need to explain how our theories work altogether? Or can we only explain how they work by appealing to truth?
'"My number one priority has and always will be this great country"
Former Head of the U.K's leading political party, Nadhim Zahawi is a U.K. Conservative Politician who has held several ministerial positions under Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Born in Baghdad, Nadhim has risen to prominece in bussiness and in politics as co-founder of the leading market research firm YouGov.
He was first appointed as the Under-Secretary of State for Families and was later responsible for the UK's lauded vaccine rollout for covid 19. He was chancellor of the U.K. and was appointed head of Conservative party under Rishi Sunak before his resignantion last year.
"Nadhim Zahawi: from refugee to multimillionaire chancellor" Times
“Humanism is the philosophy that you should be a good guest at the dinner table of life.”
A.C. Grayling is one of the most well-known British philosophers alive today. A prolific writer, he is the author of almost 30 books spanning philosophy, biography, history of ideas, human rights, and ethics. Grayling is a supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has served as a judge for prestigious literary awards like the Man Booker Prize.
Core to Grayling’s beliefs is that "philosophy should take an active role in society". Recently, Grayling has become an outspoken critic of British Politics, including Brexit and its facilitating actors.
“He's more historically-minded than Russell, less dogmatic than Dawkins and less in thrall to the charms of his own fluency than Hitchens .” — Prospect
"If Gen Z girls really want change, then, it’s time we confront not only how social media is making us feel, but who it’s encouraging us to become."
Freya India is a freelance writer and the author of the popular weekly newsletter GIRLS, where she writes about the challenges girls face in the modern world. Her work has appeared in the New Statesman, the Spectator, The Independent, Quillette,and UnHerd.
Freya India has also recently joined Jonathan Haidt's new movement, called Free the Anxious Generation. It aims to promote free play in younger generations, away from screens.
"Freya India is one of the most sensitive and perceptive Gen Z writers." — Jonathan Haidt
'“Every human being, in a way, is a philosopher. Because that's what it is to be human.”
Hilary Lawson is a philosopher, renowned critic of philosophical realism and editorial director of the Institute of Art and Ideas. His main work, Closure: A Story of Everything, has been described as ‘the first non-realist metaphysics’.
His early work made the case that twentieth-century philosophy was centrally concerned with the paradoxes of self-reference. Closure can be seen as an attempt to resolve these paradoxes and at the same time to provide an account of language that does require reference to an external reality. In doing so it outlines a metaphysics that abandons the traditional relationship between language and the world in favour of a vocabulary of closure and openness. The theory has dramatic consequences for how we understand ourselves and the world, and the role of both science and religion.
“Lawson shows himself to be a latter-day 'metaphysician' on the grand scale ... a quite astonishing achievement.” - Alan Montefiore, University of Oxford
"The West has often been more multicultural than it realised."
Jessica Frazier is a trailblazing philosopher based at the University of Oxford who works on Indian Philosophy and the European tradition of phenomenology. She is the Founder and Managing Editor of the Journal of Hindu Studies. Dr. Frazier is also a frequent consultant for the BBC and speaker on In Our Time.
Her research explores key philosophical themes across cultures, from Indian classical theories of Being to twentieth-century phenomenology. Her work on Hindu ideas translates them into global terms, so that we can all think in new ways about issues that shape our society: the nature of a good life, justice and human rights, metaphysics, and the goals of community.
"Frazier has done a great job of offering us new ways of considering the relationship between ultimate reality and human desire." - David Haberman
"Theoretical physicists used to explain what was observed. Now they try to explain why they can't explain what was not observed."
Fearlessly critical of the scientific mainstream, Sabine Hossenfelder is a groundbreaking theoretical physicist who specialises in the foundations of science. She is a leading science communicator, best-selling author and researcher. Her recent books include Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray, and the New York Times's Best Selling Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions.
Hossenfelder is the creator behind the popular YouTube channel, "Science without the gobbledygook" which has amassed over one million subscribers. Her writing has featured in some of the world's top publications including Scientific American, New Scientist, and Nautilus.
“A physicist who is utterly fearless, completely honest, and quite funny.” — Peter Woit, mathematical physicist
“The only consistency is that ... I always have to live in my head. So, if I can make my head a nice place to be in, then nothing can really break me.”
Russ Cook, aka The Hardest Geezer, is an endurance athlete from Worthing, West Sussex. In April 2024, Cook became the first person to run the entire length of Africa from the southernmost to the northernmost point of the continent as part of Project Africa. The course covered 16,000 km (9,900 mi) and crossed 16 countries. In doing so, he raised over £1 million for the Running Charity which supports young people experiencing homelessness.
He is currently planning the next mission which could involve ascending Mount Everest, the fastest run across America or something else.
Listen to Russ "If you’re feeling lost, have an itch for adventure or are yearning for more out of life." — Steven Bartlett, The Diary of a CEO
"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself."
Matthew Syed is a columnist for The Times, an acclaimed author and a former Olympian. He competed and was the English number one table tennis player for many years. Syed is a three-time men's singles champion at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, and also competed for Great Britain in two Olympic Games.
During his sporting career, Syed entered journalism, and later became a writer. He has worked for The Times newspaper since 1999, and has published seven books: Bounce in 2010, Black Box Thinking in 2015, The Greatest in 2017, You Are Awesome in 2018, Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking in 2019, Dare to be You in 2020, and What Do YOU Think? in 2022.
"Will change the way you think about success and even about life" — Judy Murray
"[It's possible to] have a phenomenological experience of nothing. All you have to do is think about it."
Graham Priest is the Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He has published in nearly every leading logic and philosophy journal. At the last count, he had published about 240 papers. He has also published six monographs (mostly with Oxford University Press), as well as a number of edited collections.
Much of his work has been in logic, especially non-classical logic, and related areas. He is perhaps best know for his work on dialetheism, the view that some contradictions are true. However, he has also published widely in many other areas, such as metaphysics, Buddhist philosophy, and the history of philosophy, both East and West.
"Delightful and engaging" — Adrian Moore
"Within every form of oppression lies the seeds of liberation."
Dr Susie Orbach is a psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, and social critic. Her debut book, Fat is a Feminist Issue, took the world by storm. She was Princess Diana's therapist in the 1990s and was honoured in BBC's 100 Women twice, in 2013 and 2014.
Throughout her career, she has founded the Women's Therapy Centre Institute, and been a consultant for the World Bank, the NHS, and Unilever. Most recently, she has been a visiting scholar at the New School for Social Research, in New York whilst also working as a therapist at her well-known practice, in London.
"Virtually all feminist debate on body image and beauty imagery owes its existence to Susie Orbach." ― Naomi Wolf
“I was never totally what we would now call 'politically correct,' even in my most militant phase. I always liked good food, good wines. I suppose it was because I had total confidence in myself."
Tariq is a writer, political activist and filmmaker, and is considered to be a leading figure of the international left. He has written numerous books on world history and politics as well as novels and scripts for the stage and screen.
Tariq Ali’s screenplay The Leopard and The Fox which was about the last days of the Pakistani politician Zulfiqar Ali Butto, wasn’t previously produced because of controversy over censorship. However, in 2007 it premiered in New York, the day before former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Button returned home after eight years in exile. Tariq is currently an editor of New Left Review, which analyses politics, the global economy, protests, and the arts.
“A man of crystal-clear intellect, and no one, it seems, can escape his critical gaze.” - Vienna Review
"The most cognitively brilliant people usually have had to sacrifice their emotional selves."
Ruby Wax OBE is a seminal British-American talent, excelling as an actress, writer, TV personality, and mental health advocate. Her impressive career includes captivating performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company and a memorable role in the ITV sitcom Girls on Top.
Wax has been a longstanding advocate and campaigner for mental health, sharing her own experiences of bipolar disorder and depression. Recognized for her contributions, she received the Officer of the Order of the British Empire title. Recently, she released a poignant book and audiobook, I'm Not As Well As I Thought I Was, documenting her ongoing journey and relentless battle against depression.
"Nobody can make the serious funny and the funny serious quite like Ruby." — Alastair Campbell
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