Hat Sessions: The Hat Sessions are experiential events where thinking comes to life.
Philosophy becomes something you can live and breathe - not to mention touch and taste - in our Philosophy and the Senses series. In recent times festivalgoers have sampled luxury perfumes, indulged their sweet tooth, and attended wine-tasting workshops to explore the mysterious ways in which we experience the world around us.
In our Arc of Life and In Conversation events, the Hat becomes an intimate confessional where the world's leading thinkers tell us what they have learnt about life and what matters to them most. Recently we've heard Nobel prizewinner Paul Krugman's deepest thoughts on the economy and what inspired him in his career, from David Nutt controversial former drug tsar to the British government, and from Emma Barnett on her journalistic career and the honest truth about periods, and more.
Finally, our leading thinkers have been there, done that, and are here to teach you how at our unique How To... workshops, on everything from how to talk about sex to how to land a rover on Mars.
Academy: The IAI Academy programme offers short, two-part courses by leading thinkers from around the world. Designed to be accessible and opinionated, the courses are your chance to hear scholars from the best universities put forward their views on the problems at the cutting edge of their field.
Now in its sixth year, both live and online, the IAI Academy breaks with the convention that lectures can and should be devoid of opinion. In an era where information is everywhere abundant and available, its goal is not to promote one approach as settled 'objective' knowledge but to encourage lecturers to explicitly provide their own take on a field, and to offer new ways of thinking.
The courses comprise two 45 minute lectures with an interactive video chat interval where you can have your questions answered and get to know the speaker face to face.
