Economic Growth for the Many, Not the Few

Friday 19 June 2015

Julia Unwin from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and journalist and investor Bob Swarup will set the scene for the day’s debates on how to create fair and inclusive economic growth.

Empress Dowager Cixi

Sunday 22 June 2014

Jung Chang, the bestselling author of Wild Swans and Mao: The Unknown Story, talks about her epic biography of the empress dowager Cixi

Leading from the Top

Sunday 22 June 2014

In this insightful talk, leading journalist Gavin Esler presents first-hand knowledge of the secrets of those who achieve power based on over thirty years' experience interviewing world famous figures from Bill Clinton to Angelina Jolie.

Life During and After the Holocaust

Sunday 22 June 2014

Join Eva Schloss, step-sister of Anne Frank, as she recounts her experience of life during and after the Holocaust

Curious and Curiouser

Sunday 22 June 2014

Co-Artistic Directors of York Curiouser, Lara Goodband and Hazel Colquhoun, will guide you round the site-specific installations that form the York Curiouser project

Worlds of Arthur

Saturday 21 June 2014

Historian Guy Halsall talks us through how we should re-imagine Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries, the time when the legendary King Arthur is supposed to have lived.

Higson on Higson: The Fast Show to Young Bond

Saturday 21 June 2014

The first public interview of writer, broadcaster and actor, Charlie Higson by his brother, Professor Andrew Higson

The Undiscovered Country: Journeys among the dead

Saturday 21 June 2014

Join the speaker for an historical tour of the world beyond the grave as imagined by ordinary men and women from the Middle Ages to the modern age

Eating and Drinking in Anglo-Saxon England

Saturday 21 June 2014

Come and hear from historian Debby Banham what the Anglo-Saxons ate and drank, and how we find out

Watching the Detectives

Saturday 21 June 2014

Meet the new award-winning writers who are making waves in the world of crime thrillers

Ear Room

Saturday 21 June 2014

Join John Wedgwood Clarke and Damian Murphy as they discuss their new sound installation for King's Manor, which takes as its starting point the King's Manor's history as a school for the blind

The Compatibility Gene

Saturday 21 June 2014

A global journey of discovery spanning 60 years, involving scores of scientists, and encompassing the history of transplants and immunology - revealing astonishing links between who we are as individuals and our never-ceasing struggle to survive disease

Shaken and Stirred: From The Moonstone to Moonraker

Saturday 21 June 2014

As the biographer of Wilkie Collins and Conan Doyle, Andrew Lycett is uniquely qualified to talk about the origins of the detective story.

Obsession, Science and Luck: The world’s fastest cyclists

Saturday 21 June 2014

Michael Hutchinson discusses why cyclists do what they do, about what the riders, their coaches and the boffins get up to behind the scenes, and about why the whole idea of going faster is such an appealing, universal instinct for all of us

Anthony Horowitz In Conversation

Saturday 21 June 2014

Join Anthony Horowitz in conversation with John Bowen of the University of York

Order and chaos: The case of the Roman Empire

Friday 20 June 2014

Join Peter Jones as he gives a beguiling and entertaining introduction to the Romans, one that vividly brings to life the people who helped create the world we live in today

Britain and the Eurozone

Friday 20 June 2014

A panel debate, chaired by Mike Wickens.

Faith in Atheism

Friday 20 June 2014

An exploration of secular faith, and a critique of religious ideals, that will show an alternative, positive, understanding of the beliefs and values that motivate us to live

Restoration Comedy on the Modern Stage

Friday 20 June 2014

A conversation with the UK’s leading theatre critic, Michael Billington, about Restoration Comedy on the contemporary stage.

The Future of Democracy

Friday 20 June 2014

Philip Coggan discusses the risks to western democracy following a reduction in voting turnout and the economic downturn.

A New World Order: The rise of emerging markets

Friday 20 June 2014

A panel debate chaired by Jonathan Derbyshire, Prospect Magazine

‘Electrick communication everywhere’: Order and chaos in the arts and sciences II

Friday 20 June 2014

Spectacular displays of electrical phenomena were part of the showmanship of itinerant scientific lecturers from 1745 to 1830; find out more in this lecture by Mary Fairclough.

The Future of Banking

Friday 20 June 2014

A panel debate on the future of banking, chaired by Jonathan Derbyshire, Prospect Magazine.

Wrapping the walls

Friday 20 June 2014

Sally Greaves-Lord will describe her inspiration for creating a new site-specific artwork on the historic walls near the Quilt Museum.

The Rise of the City State: How to create more and better jobs?

Friday 20 June 2014

A panel of experts will debate the role of the city state in the creation of jobs.

Beer and Beowulf: An Evening of Anglo-Saxon Poetry

Thursday 19 June 2014

Come and join us in the beorsele or beer-hall of the Duke of York pub, to listen to some Anglo-Saxon poetry and drink some ‘Eoforwic Ale’, a beer brewed specially for the Festival of Ideas by Leeds Brewery

The Business-Like Brain

Thursday 19 June 2014

Join Neuroscientist, Ed Bullmore, as he discusses how the brain’s high-cost/high-value hubs may be points of special vulnerability for many brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.

The voyage of discovery which transformed Tudor England

Thursday 19 June 2014

Historian James Evans explores the background to the great and daring English voyage of discovery launched in 1553, which set out to find a north-east passage to China.

Viking Town Planning: Order from chaos

Thursday 19 June 2014

An illustrated talk on the Hungate dig showing the archaeological evidence that it provided for the extent and layout of the Viking city of Jorvik

An Audience with Michael Morpurgo

Thursday 19 June 2014

Join us for an audience with award-winning children’s author, Michael Morpurgo

Bricks and Mortals: Ten great buildings and the people they made

Thursday 19 June 2014

A brilliant exploration of architecture through ten of the world's great buildings

Perceiving In The Blink Of An Eye

Thursday 19 June 2014

Find out the science behind making decisions in a ‘blink of an eye’, and practical applications it has for real-life problems

Writing the living, writing the dead

Thursday 19 June 2014

Patrick French discusses the art of literary biography, and shows how VS Naipaul, born in rural poverty in colonial Trinidad, turned himself into a key figure in contemporary world literature.

Don't eat! Finding sandwiches in York

Thursday 19 June 2014

Contemporary artist Karen Thompson will discuss her quirky and irreverent ceramic multiples

Out of Grief, Dance; Out of Pain, Poetry: Greek Tragedy in the face of Chaos

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Classicist Oliver Taplin will demonstrate how Greek tragedy, presented through spectacle and music and speech, shows that despair is not the final word; that the abyss is not an irresistible black hole

Eoforwic to Jorvik: Understanding Anglian and Viking Age urban development at York from the 8th-10th centuries AD

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Join YAT Project Development Officer Mark Whyman as he considers what the evidence tells us about differences are there in the location, layout and form of Anglian and Viking-Age settlement at York.

York: The Making of a City 1068-1350

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Join historian, Sarah Rees-Jones, as she considers how we may have underestimated the impact of the Norman Conquest on York's development as a city

Medea’s Chaos and Order

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Welcome to the world of Euripides' Medea, the ancient Greek tragedy which pushes the limits of chaos and order...

Delirious Cosmology: A lecture on the poetry of the universe

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Kevin Killeen will take us on a literary journey to discover the history of cosmology before science

Mapping the First World War

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Find out what the military maps produced during the First World War tell us about the strategic, imperial, political, and military ambitions and operations of the great powers

Two Girls, One on Each Knee

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Everything you would like to know about the cryptic crossword from expert, Alan Connor; discover the history of crosswords as well as handy hints for completing them!

The Nature of Religion, Science and Health

Wednesday 18 June 2014

A panel of world-renowned historians will debate questions around religion and science in the modern world.

Navigating America: Travels in literature and cartography

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Join Anne-Marie Evans and Fraser Mann to explore America’s vast and varied landscape and share your own experiences of navigating America

The First World War: Still no end in sight

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Frank Furedi will argue that the battle of ideas which crystallised during the course of the Great War continue to the present, and claim that the disputes about lifestyles and identity - the Culture Wars of today -are only the latest expressions of a century long conflict

Churchill, The Empire and the Sultan’s Jihad

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Historian Lawrence James will explore the repurcussions of the Turkish Sultan’s declaration of a Holy War against Britain, France and Russia in 1914, and how Churchill’s response to this and the consequences, are still with us today

Creating a new site-specific artwork

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Jacques Nimki and Lara Goodband discuss the tension between the chaotic nature of the artistic process and the order required for Jacques’ specific practice.

The Enigma of the Escrick Ring

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Join Leslie Webster of the British Museum as she explores the exotic origins and significance of the Escrick ring, who might have owned it, and how it might have come to be lost in the hinterland of York

Poetry 'Sensitive to Initial Conditions'

Tuesday 17 June 2014

A presentation of famous and not-so-famous poetry spanning the century of war and peace before and after the two world wars

Roman Disasters

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Rome has been famous throughout history for its triumphs, but also suffered colossal disasters; join Jerry Toner as he looks at how the Romans coped with, thought about, and used disasters for their own ends

Stories of Remembrance: York Minster in the First World War

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Join Minster Learning Officer, Esther Lockwood, for a look at York Minster’s First World War memorials and a selection of personal stories connected with the Minster

“And was Jerusalem Builded Here?”

Tuesday 17 June 2014

An exploration of some of the visionary ideas of the Rowntree family in the years leading up to the First World War

Castle Howard in Time of War CANCELLED

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Drawing on previously unknown letters and journals this talk illustrates how close-knit members of the Howard family faced the adversity of war, and how the very future of Castle Howard was in the balance

Lies, Damned Lies - and Maps

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Join a map expert and authors for a fascinating journey of decoding the messages and the meanings in a multitude of maps, from the ancient world through to the digital age

Parthenon: celebrating order reborn from chaos

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Join David Stuttard as he tells the dramatic story of the conception and creation of the Parthenon

Shedding New Light on Early Medieval Settlement in the Yorkshire Dales

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Found out how current archaeological work around Ingleborough is shedding new light on the chronology of early-medieval settlement in the Yorkshire Dales

The Moor: Lives landscape literature

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Author, William Atkins, will take you on a deeply personal journey across Britain’s moorland, our nation’s most forbidding and most mysterious terrain

Using Computers to Unlock the Secrets of Bones, Teeth and Shells

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Find out how, by looking at the details of the atomic motions using computer simulations, we can see how soft organic matter can control the growth and shape of hard minerals

‘Electrick communication everywhere’: Order and chaos in the arts and sciences I

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Join Jon Mee as he looks at the networks of writers, experimenters, and lecturers whose collaborations and disagreements helped bring about a revolution of ideas across the north from 1760 to 1830.

The Global Eradication of Smallpox

Tuesday 17 June 2014

The World Health Organization’s successful campaign for the global eradication of smallpox was one of the most important historical events of the post-war era. Yet what accounts for its success among the many failures and disappointments of international development efforts during the post-war decades?

The Library: A world history

Tuesday 17 June 2014

The finest libraries are repositories not just of books, but of learning and creativity; join architectural historian, James Campbell, as he reveals the Library in all its splendour.

Exploring Eoforwic

Tuesday 17 June 2014

A special curator-led look at the displays of the Yorkshire Museum, and some of the special artefacts in the museum collections, exploring what they reveal about the city of Eoforwic (Anglian York).

The Hidden Science of Afternoon Tea

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Find out how afternoon tea might not be quite as English as you thought!

We Are Our Brains

Monday 16 June 2014

Internationally renowned researcher and professor of neurobiology at Amsterdam University, Dick Swaab, will be discussing his book We Are Our Brains

Art Under Attack: Histories of British iconoclasm

Monday 16 June 2014

Join Tabitha Barber and Stacy Boldrick, co-curators of the recent Iconoclasm exhibition at Tate Britain, as they explore the history of iconoclasm in Britain.

Order from Chaos, then Chaos from Order: Dust, planets and meteorites

Monday 16 June 2014

Monica Grady will explore how the Solar System formed, and what we can learn about this from meteorites

Faith and Wisdom in Science

Monday 16 June 2014

Professor Tom McLeish talks about his book 'Faith and Wisdom in Science'

Women of the World: The Rise of the Female Diplomat

Monday 16 June 2014

An original, compellingly told story of women's fight to represent their country abroad in the face of opposition from the men of the Foreign Office.

Future Landscapes: Life after war

Monday 16 June 2014

A novel exploring the effect of war on the lives of individuals, and the consequent repercussions on others

Mondrian: A different kind of order

Monday 16 June 2014

Is Mondrian’s art the epitome of order? Join art-historian, Michael White, co-curator of the Tate Liverpool exhibition Mondrian and his Studios to find out more.

The Modern Explorers

Monday 16 June 2014

Explorer, Robin Hanbury-Tenison will give a unique insight into what it is actually like to be on an expedition with his stories about contemporary explorers

James Joyce: Ulysses, order and chaos

Monday 16 June 2014

A celebration of Joyce’s masterpiece, Ulysses, by Dr Dan Mulhall, Irish Ambassador to Britain.

Penelope Fitzgerald: The whole story?

Monday 16 June 2014

Renowned author, Professor Dame Hermione Lee, will explore the life and works of author Penelope Fitzgerald

York Curiouser: Art in the public realm

Monday 16 June 2014

Artists Susanne Davies and Hazel Colquhoun will talk about the challenges for artists working in the public realm.

Craters, Collisions and Catastrophes

Sunday 15 June 2014

Marek Kukula, Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, describes some of the biggest explosions in the history of our Solar System and looks at how we might try to prevent them in future

Ruling the Waves

Sunday 15 June 2014

Find out about the history of the British navy, from the rise of Britain as a maritime power, and its influences on our language and national character, to the careers of submarine captains who risked their lives during the Cold War to keep the rest of us safe

The Anatomy of Violence: The biological roots of crime

Sunday 15 June 2014

Neuroscience is showing that brain impairments raise the odds that some children will become psychopaths and violent offenders; the ethical issues this raises can no longer be ignored as science dissects the biological roots of crime

Smashing Physics

Sunday 15 June 2014

Leading ATLAS collaboration member, Jon Butterworth will tell the story of the discovery of the Higgs boson - the amazing machines, the people, the science, the politics, and the consequences

Creating a fictional history

Sunday 15 June 2014

Contemporary artist Janet Hodgson will discuss her approaches to story-telling and histories as she describes why Fishergate Postern Tower has become a temporary site for a unique art installation

Food: The debt of pleasure

Saturday 14 June 2014

Keynote address by Mark Post, Maastricht University on The Future of Food: The stem cell burger? followed by a panel debate on food culture and influencing behaviour change

Supermarkets, Supply Chains and Food Security

Saturday 14 June 2014

A discussion on supermarkets, supply chains and food security

The world of Jamie Thomson: Author of the Dark Lord series

Saturday 14 June 2014

Come along and meet Jamie Thomson, winner of the 2012 Roald Dahl Funny Prize and author of the Dark Lord series

New technologies for crop production and resilience

Saturday 14 June 2014

A panel of experts will debate new technologies for crop production and resilience

Reflections on the Red Tower

Saturday 14 June 2014

Hear how artists, Anna Heinrich and Leon Palmer, created their site-specific artwork in York’s Red Tower

The Future of Food

Saturday 14 June 2014

A panel of experts will debate the future of food

The Challenge of Feeding 9-10 Billion People Sustainably and Equitably

Saturday 14 June 2014

How can we feed the world’s growing population? And should we eat less meat to achieve this. Find out more from population biologist Charles Godfrey

Myths and realities of the British Empire

Friday 13 June 2014

Historian John Darwin will show how diverse, contradictory and in many ways chaotic the British Empire really was.

The Tour, the Telly and Me: 12 years on the Tour de France

Friday 13 June 2014

A glimpse behind the scenes of the TV production of the Tour de France

York’s Roman Cemeteries: Bringing order to the Roman dead

Friday 13 June 2014

Hear from York Archaeological Trust archaeologist, Kurt Hunter-Mann, what the amazing ‘gladiator’ burials at Driffield Terrace can tell us about Roman attitudes to death and the afterlife.

Central Planning in Railways: Lessons from history for current public policy

Friday 13 June 2014

Two experts will consider the history of the chaotic development of the UK railway system, and how we might learn from that to help with future developments

Seeing Order in Chaos: Randomness and chance in art

Friday 13 June 2014

In this illustrated talk, artist and maths professor Malcolm Ludvigsen will explore the random and chaotic element in art from the point of view of both a scientist and a painter

Dinner with Mr Darcy

Friday 13 June 2014

Whether it is breakfast at Northanger Abbey, tea and cake at Mansfield Park, Christmas treats with the Musgroves or one of Mrs Bennet’s dinners to impress, food is an important theme in Jane Austen’s novels. Join Pen Vogler as she explores the meals enjoyed by Austen's characters.

The Rest Just Follows - CANCELLED

Friday 13 June 2014

The intertwined lives of three Belfast teenagers as they grow into adulthood is the theme of this novel by Glenn Patterson.

Waiting for the World to End? How the world looked before the Great War

Friday 13 June 2014

Charles Emmerson takes us on a dynamic tour of the world before the war - a time when the course of history was still undecided

War and Gold

Friday 13 June 2014

Eminent historian, Kwasi Kwarteng, takes a unique look at the financial world and its troubled history, from the disaster that befell Spain in the sixteenth century to the 2008 global financial crisis.

From the Duchy of Muscovy to the Capital of All Russia

Friday 13 June 2014

Historian, Elena Kashina, will discuss the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin which emerged during the reign of Ivan III, the establishment of trade and diplomatic relations with Britain under Ivan IV, and look at the British Ambassadorial gifts in the collection of Kremlin’s Museums.

Secret Histories of World War Two

Friday 13 June 2014

Stories of WWII unfold in these talks by historians Jim Ring and The Storming the Eagle's Nestoderick Bailey

The Crossroads of Conflict: The world's response to global crises panel debate

Thursday 12 June 2014

Festival Launch night keynote panel debate on The Cross-Roads of Conflict

Inside the human body: Seeing with ultrasound

Thursday 12 June 2014

Find out from Peter Wells, one of ultrasound’s pioneers, how the technique of ultrasound can now produce two- and three-dimensional images, often in real time, as well as information about blood flow, tissue motion and elasticity.

Roman and Barbarian: Coin use, money and exchange

Thursday 12 June 2014

Join Barry Crump as he examines ‘Order and Chaos’ against the background of Romanisation in Britain, focusing on coin use, money, and exchange

The world's response to global crises

Thursday 12 June 2014

Festival Launch night keynote address on The Cross-Roads of Conflict

The First World War and the Yorkshire Country House

Thursday 12 June 2014

Find out the impact of the First World War on the families of Yorkshire country houses, their staff, tenants and attached communities

Setting the scene on John Vanbrugh - CANCELLED

Tuesday 10 June 2014

Michael Cordner of the University of York sets the scene for his production of the Provoked Wife by exploring Vanbrugh’s comedies of the 1690s illustrated by actors from the cast.

Eoforwic: Anglian Fishergate and Pre-Viking York

Saturday 7 June 2014

Join us for a day of talks set in Fishergate – on the site of Eoforwic, York’s Anglian trading and manufacturing centre at the time of Alcuin.