Debates

Debates are the beating heart of HowTheLightGetsIn and Hay 2024 was no different.  We saw Nobel prize winners lock horns with philosophers and leading campaigners and  go head to head with poltical theorists over a weeked of vibrant debate.

Join us this September for another weekend of fiery discussion tackling the most pressing issues and open questios of our time.

  Explore Now

Morality and the universe 1

Humanity and the Gods of Nature

Slavoj Zizek, Peter Singer, Nancy Sherman
Journey to other dimensions

Journey to Other Dimensions

Avshalom Ellitzur, Marika Taylor, Roger Penrose
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Overcoming Evolution

Simon Baron-Cohen, Subrena Smith
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Violence, Vengence, and Virtue

Ilan Pappe, Bronwen Maddox, Peter Singer
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Turtles all the way down

Donald Hoffman, Hilary Lwson, Priya Natarajan
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The Democracy Show

S.Y. Quraishi, Amy Chua, Sophie Scott-Brown
Speed of light debate Howthelightgetsin fesitval hay 2024
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Faster Than Light

Claudia de Rham, Tim Maudlin, Joao Magueijo
78 The New Overlords HowTheLightGetsIn Festival Hay 2024
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The New Overlords

Ali Allawi, Claire Provost & Armen Sarkissian
Multipolar WOrld
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Navigating the New world order

Bronwen Maddox, Armen Sarkissian & Christina Lamb
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Trouble With Language

Tim Maudlin, Hilary Lawson
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The Real Me

Steve Taylor, Anneli Jefferson, Jack Symes, Frank Tallis
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The Tyranny of the Pen

John Ralston Saul, Joanna Kavenna, Ruth Padel
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Nightmare in Suburbia

Sophie Scott-Brown, Des Fitzgerald, Hannah Rich
Something for nothing

Something For Nothing

Paul Bloom, Nancy Sherman & Dan Ariely
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Darwin vs Consciousness

Stuart Hameroff, Antonella Tramacere, Denis Noble
Dark Energy Debate Howthelightgetsin festival hay 2024 min
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Dark Energy and The Universe

Claudia de Rham, Priya Natarajan, Chris Lintott
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The Equality Dream

Tommy Curry, Vicky Pryce, John Bercow & Lisa Cameron
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The Creativity Crisis

Judith Donath, Martha Fiennes & John Ralston Saul
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Controlling the Tech Titans

Kenneth Cukier, Alexander Evens, Joscha Bach, Shannon Vallor
The begining of the universe debate HowTheLightGetsIn Festival Hay 20204 min
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The Riddle of the Beginning

Scott Aaronson, Marika Taylor, John Lennox, Joscha Bach
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Optimising Ourselves

James Riley, Nancy Sherman, Jessica DeFino
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Land, Ownership and Hypocrisy

Dale Turner, Tommy Curry, Peter Singer, Janne Teller
Debate on values HowTheLightGesIn Hay Festival 2024 min
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A World Without Values

Tommy Curry, Eva Illouz, Robin van den Akker
mystery in the making1

Mystery In The Making

Bjørn Ekeberg, Claudia de Rham, Harry Cliff
Debate on Imagination limitless HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival 2024
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Imagining the Unimaginable

Joanna Kavenna, Martha Fiennes & Simon Barion-Cohen
The indian century

The Indian Century

Meghnad Desai, S.Y. Quraishi, Kate Sullivan de Estrada
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The Agents of Life

Johnjoe McFadden, Frances Ashcroft, Denis Noble
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Having It All

Vicky Pryce, Aaron Bastani
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Happily Ever After

Simon May, Jenny Kleeman, Myriam François
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Thinking set free

Subrena E Smith, Paul Bloom, Stuart Hameroff
better left unsaid

Better Left Unsaid

Theodore Dalrymple, Simon Wessely , Vanessa King
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The Values and Prejudices of Science

Ben Ware, Tim Palmer, Marika Taylor
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Belief, Value and Superstition

Paul Bloom, Fellipe do Vale, Catherine Rowett, Winston Marshall
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After Postmodernism

Robin Van den Akker, Abby Innes, Hilary Lawson
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Lost in stories

Matthew Beaumont, Ruth Padel & Theodore Dalrymple
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Truth, Theory, and Ultimate Reality

Abby Innes, Time Maudlin, Bernard Carr, Lisa Randall
Beauty in the eye of the beholder
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The Politics of Beauty

Janne Teller, Justine Kolata, Simon May, Jessica DeFino
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Sex, Language, and Gender

Fellipe do Vale, Güneş Taylor, Aline Laurent-Mayard
data deception and truth
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Data, Deception and Truth

John Burn-Murdoch, Abby Innes, Kenneth Cukier