Debates

Debate is the beating heart of our festival - from Nobel Laureates to Pulitzer Prize winners, HowTheLightGetsIn is home to world-leading thinkers pushing their disciplines forward.

Explore our wide-ranging debates panel for this year's festival. View our expansive speaker lineup here and explore our full programme of events here.

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The End of Good and Evil

Slavoj Žižek, Rowan Williams, Maria Balaska, Richard Wrangham
New Powers and Fading Forces

Fiona Hill, Shashi Tharoor, Malcolm Rifkind
The Trouble With String Theory

Roger Penrose, Eric Weinstein, Brian Greene, Tasneem Zehra Husain
The Centre of the Universe

Neil Turok, Lisa Randall, Martin Cohen
The Game of Life

Slavoj Žižek, Steven Bonnell, Lisa Miller
Guesses, Errors and Economics

Gillian Tett, Guy Standing, Richard Werner
Imagining the Universe

Roger Penrose, Iain McGilchrist, Esther Freud
Ancient Traits in a Modern World

Sunetra Gupta, Subrena E. Smith, Anders Sandberg
Capitalism and the Climate

Helen Czerski, Rebecca Henderson, Troy Vettese
The Morality of Sex

Maya Oppenheim, Steven Bonnell, Myriam Francois, Isabel Millar
Down the Wormhole

Lisa Randall, George Ellis, Matt O'Dowd
Life, Death and Specialisation

David Healy, Nick Lane, Caitjan Gainty
Me, My World and I

Gary Lachman, Hannah Critchlow, Barry C. Smith
The Danger and Desire of the Frontier

Nolen Gertz, Bahar Gholip, Cory Doctorow
Philosophy at War

Michael Shermer, Marika Taylor, Hilary Lawson
Your True Self

Joanna Kavenna, Betty Sue Flowers, James Tartaglia
Rhetoric and Reality

Nolen Gertz, Betty Sue Flowers, Joscha Bach
Taking Leave of Reason

Rory Sutherland, Michael Shermer, Joanna Kavenna, Rebecca Roache
Based on a True Story

Remi Adekoya, Esther Freud, Peter Egan
Diplomacy, Deception and Disaster

Jessica Berlin, Laurie Bristow, David Omand, Malcolm Rifkind
The Weapon That Failed

Simon Jenkins, Bronwen Maddox, Michael Clarke
Brains, Beauty and Bad Judgement

Rory Sutherland, Janne Teller, Remi Adekoya
Virtue Ethics and Mob Morality

Sophie Scott-Brown, Simon Blackburn, Peter Tatchell
The Quantum Hoax

Joscha Bach, Ruth Oulton, Neil Turok, Dominic Walliman
What We Don't Know

Tommy Curry, Marika Taylor, Rupert Sheldrake
The Matrix, Myths and Metaphysics

Eric Weinstein, Becky Parker, Hilary Lawson
Beauty and the Meaning of Life

George Ellis, Suchitra Sebastian, Denis Noble
The Future of Knowledge

Samson Kambali, Sophie Scott-Brown, Tim Blackman
Democracy in the Dock

Ruth Kinna, Jesse Norman, Thangam Debbonaire
The Best and Worst of All Possible Worlds

Paul Horwich, Ben Burgis, Tasneem Zehra Husain
Beyond Reasonable Doubt

Emma Bryson, Harriet Wistrich, Peter Tatchell
Justice in Jeopardy

David Livingstone Smith, Harriet Wistrich, Myriam Francois
Manners Maketh Man

Billy Bragg, Grafton Tanner, Sophie Scott-Brown
The Meaning Puzzle

Samson Kambalu, Rebecca Roache, Hilary Lawson
The Blame Game

Lola Young, David Livingstone-Smith, Guy Standing, Claire Ogley
Beyond the Boundary

Lisa Miller, Nick Lane, Paul Bickley
Reality, Models and Mayhem

Bjørn Ekeberg, Michael Shermer, Sunetra Gupta

Debates

The End of Good and Evil

Slavoj Žižek, Rowan Williams, Maria Balaska, Richard Wrangham

New Powers and Fading Forces

Fiona Hill, Shashi Tharoor, Malcolm Rifkind

The Trouble With String Theory

Roger Penrose, Eric Weinstein, Brian Greene, Tasneem Zehra Husain

The Centre of the Universe

Neil Turok, Lisa Randall, Martin Cohen

The Game of Life

Slavoj Žižek, Steven Bonnell, Lisa Miller

Guesses, Errors and Economics

Gillian Tett, Guy Standing, Richard Werner

Imagining the Universe

Roger Penrose, Iain McGilchrist, Esther Freud

Ancient Traits in a Modern World

Sunetra Gupta, Subrena E. Smith, Anders Sandberg

Capitalism and the Climate

Helen Czerski, Rebecca Henderson, Troy Vettese

The Morality of Sex

Maya Oppenheim, Steven Bonnell, Myriam Francois, Isabel Millar

Down the Wormhole

Lisa Randall, George Ellis, Matt O'Dowd

Life, Death and Specialisation

David Healy, Nick Lane, Caitjan Gainty

Me, My World and I

Gary Lachman, Hannah Critchlow, Barry C. Smith

The Danger and Desire of the Frontier

Nolen Gertz, Bahar Gholip, Cory Doctorow

Philosophy at War

Michael Shermer, Marika Taylor, Hilary Lawson

Your True Self

Joanna Kavenna, Betty Sue Flowers, James Tartaglia

Rhetoric and Reality

Nolen Gertz, Betty Sue Flowers, Joscha Bach

Taking Leave of Reason

Rory Sutherland, Michael Shermer, Joanna Kavenna, Rebecca Roache

Based on a True Story

Remi Adekoya, Esther Freud, Peter Egan

Diplomacy, Deception and Disaster

Jessica Berlin, Laurie Bristow, David Omand, Malcolm Rifkind

The Weapon That Failed

Simon Jenkins, Bronwen Maddox, Michael Clarke

Brains, Beauty and Bad Judgement

Rory Sutherland, Janne Teller, Remi Adekoya

Virtue Ethics and Mob Morality

Sophie Scott-Brown, Simon Blackburn, Peter Tatchell

The Quantum Hoax

Joscha Bach, Ruth Oulton, Neil Turok, Dominic Walliman

What We Don't Know

Tommy Curry, Marika Taylor, Rupert Sheldrake

The Matrix, Myths and Metaphysics

Eric Weinstein, Becky Parker, Hilary Lawson

Beauty and the Meaning of Life

George Ellis, Suchitra Sebastian, Denis Noble

The Future of Knowledge

Samson Kambali, Sophie Scott-Brown, Tim Blackman

Democracy in the Dock

Ruth Kinna, Jesse Norman, Thangam Debbonaire

The Best and Worst of All Possible Worlds

Paul Horwich, Ben Burgis, Tasneem Zehra Husain

Beyond Reasonable Doubt

Emma Bryson, Harriet Wistrich, Peter Tatchell

Justice in Jeopardy

David Livingstone Smith, Harriet Wistrich, Myriam Francois

Manners Maketh Man

Billy Bragg, Grafton Tanner, Sophie Scott-Brown

The Meaning Puzzle

Samson Kambalu, Rebecca Roache, Hilary Lawson

The Blame Game

Lola Young, David Livingstone-Smith, Guy Standing, Claire Ogley

Beyond the Boundary

Lisa Miller, Nick Lane, Paul Bickley

Reality, Models and Mayhem

Bjørn Ekeberg, Michael Shermer, Sunetra Gupta