Talks

Annie Hodgson of the University of York introduces an exhibition celebrating the history and future of the periodic table.

The Today programme is coming to York as part of their University series, exploring issues affecting both students and academics.

Join Adam Parker of the Yorkshire Museum as he explores an exciting new addition to the museum’s collection.

This is Britain’s history in pots - the same ingredients, clay and fire, but 6000 years of innovation and experiment.

Nur Sobers-Khan of the British Library discusses divination manuscripts and lithographs produced in South Asia from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Find out about the pioneering women in the 1890s who not only imagined, made and wore radical new forms of convertible cycle wear, but also patented their inventive designs.

Join humanitarian Terry Waite, Astronomer Royal Martin Rees and award-winning journalist Misha Glenny for a thought-provoking look at our wonderful world and the future of humanity.

Discover more about the fascinating world of numbers with psychologist Silke Goebel of the University of York.

Hear the inspiring story of a true aviation trailblazer. Wally Funk passed the Woman in Space programme in 1961 and is now preparing for her first space voyage 60 years later.

Modern-day explorer Robin Hanbury-Tenison introduces some of the men and women who have changed our perception of the world through their courageous adventures.

Illusion, fantasy and disturbing reality. Vanessa Toulmin of the University of Sheffield examines 200 years of fairground illusion shows.

Join Bruce Daisley, European Vice-President for Twitter, as he discusses how we can make our jobs happier and more fulfilling.

Discover why the wonderlands of children’s books are never quite as innocent as they seem as our expert panel discusses the radicalism of children’s literature.

Hear inspirational personal stories from some extraordinary people making a difference in our world.

Discover archaeology’s long, complex and fascinating entanglement with photography – a relationship that continues into the digital age.

Writer Julian Baggini presents a global overview of philosophy. Find out why all cultures are different and have diverse ways of thinking.

Join us for beer and ballads at a local tavern as we recreate the convivial atmosphere of the radical meetings of the early 19th centry.

Hear how Margaret Cavendish became the first woman attend a meeting of the Royal Society in 1667 and see the experiments she witnessed.

Join Suzanne Fagence Cooper of York Art Gallery for a curator’s tour of the Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud exhibition.

When she was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 58, Wendy Mitchell was confronted with the most profound questions about life and identity. Hear her inspiring story.

This is the century of whiteshift. Author Eric Kaufmann explains how demographic change is transforming politics in Western Europe and North America.

Join Explore archivist Laura Yeoman for a talk featuring video clips from Normandy veterans discussing their experiences.

Clashes of ideology, tactics and styles have been the story of the Labour Party for the last 70 years. Could things be different with Jeremy Corbyn?

Richard Ogden of the University of York explores the features of British Sign Language and the complexity of translating written English into sign language.

Discover the central role dress played in all aspects of Roman life, from the cut and thrust of political life down to daily interactions on the street.

Learn how foreign fashion trends influenced Mamluk textile production in Egypt and Syria from 1250 to 1517.

From 18th-century personal grooming to gangsters in Glasgow, hear five fascinating talks on the history of masculinity at an event being recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Maths writer Alex Bellos reveals the curious patterns behind our emotional responses to numbers - what they say about us and what’s important about them.

Learn about James Gillray, savage satirist, cruel cartoonist and biting political commentator, who wielded a power with his pen that few could match in Georgian Britain.

On the 80th anniversary of nylons, discover how Britain’s insatiable desire for hosiery led to a thriving black market in the wake of the Second World War.

Why is the retail industry broken - and what can be done to fix it? Join retailer and author Mark Pilkington as explores the forces at work in retailing.

Sociologists Daniel Robins and Rosie Smith shed light on what happens to the remains of mass murderers after they die.

Our Festival Focus Day investigates the future of Economics and asks how we can create a fair and resilient economic system that benefits all.

Meet some of the trailblazing women developing new approaches to the economy and monetary policy.

Is an unfair economic system and globalisation responsible for creating the ‘left behind’ – people trapped in poverty? How can we create more inclusive economies?

Prepare to marvel at what rare metals present in very weak concentration in the Earth’s crust can do - and to face the darker side of the digital revolution.

Internationally renowned expert in palliative care Baroness Finlay of Llandaff explores end of life care

Discover how Catholics in the 16th and 17th centuries understood and policed the world around them with historian Neil Tarrant.

Why do we all tend to succumb to temptation from time to time, even when we know we shouldn’t? Join neurobiologist Jack Lewis.

Author Lorna Gibb presents a global portrait of people without children, exploring moving and surprising stories of longing, loss, resistance and choice.

Leading palaeontologist Michael Benton explains why, though extinct, dinosaurs are still very much a part of our world.

Gender is shifting. But is gender disappearing? Writer Tom Whipple delves into the sexual subconscious to explain the inner workings of character and desire.

Come and explore the wonders of woodmeadow with expert naturalists from the Woodmeadow Trust.

Join us for the launch of York Unlimited, the campaign for the University of York.

What do Henry VIII’s relationships with the men who surrounded him tell us about his beliefs, behaviour and character? Join historian Tracy Borman to find out.

Speakers, including Hamish McAlpine of Research England, and Deborah Smith and Sue Hartley of the University of York, discuss the benefits universities deliver.

Delve into the Anglo-Saxon past and discover clues to life in Eoforwic - Anglian York.

Come and listen to top female scientists as they take science to the streets of York – standing on a soapbox!

From pitch to boardroom, Premier League lawyer Daniel Geey explores the issues that shape the modern game of football.

Our expert speakers, including Maths teacher Bobby Seagull and Kate Sandars of FutureLearn, discuss how universities help advance social mobility and social justice.

Find out more about the business of football with sports journalist David Conn and management historians Kevin Tennent and Alex Gillett.

Find out how archaeologist Cat Jarman used cutting-edge science to reveal new evidence of the Viking presence in England.

In the context of higher education, our speakers demonstrate the integral contribution of arts, culture and the humanities to society.

What is love? Does love at first sight exist? Why do people cheat? Author Laura Mucha explores the science of who, how and why we love.

Thomas Guthrie, stage director of Monteverdi’s opera L’Orfeo and Artistic Adviser to the York Early Music Festival, discusses the use of puppets in opera and theatre.

Join us for a continental view of higher education with Alain Beretz of the University of Strasbourg, France.

Go behind the scenes of the BBC period drama Poldark with its creator Debbie Horsfield and the production’s historical adviser Hannah Greig.

From alchemy to the healing properties of plants, explore different ideas about magic and the supernatural in the medieval period.

Throughout history, people have feared new technology. Has such concern been justified? Should we be worried about the technologies emerging from this ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’?

Are intolerance and populism increasing? What are the legal and societal challenges we face in confronting the rise of uncivil society? Join us at a special Festival Focus Day.

Journalist and historian Tim Bouverie presents a gripping history of the British appeasement of the Third Reich in the lead up to the Second World War.

Throughout history, people have feared new technology. Has such concern been justified? Should we be worried about the technologies emerging from this ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’?

Discover the wonders of technology as we showcase the transforming and exciting opportunities offered by the digital world.

Ranging from Trump to Brexit to Islamophobia, speakers at our special Festival Focus Day on toleration look at what drives beliefs and the spread of fear.

Adult social care is high on both political and personal agendas. Could AI give us increased independence or will it fuel the ‘loneliness epidemic’?

Join internationally-acclaimed and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh as he discusses the making of his epic film Peterloo.

In the wake of Brexit, what are the issues we face around trust, democracy and political engagement, and how can these be resolved? Join us for the final session of our Festival Focus Day on toleration.

Ignoring the glossy lives presented on social media, writer Christine Armstrong presents a manifesto for happy professional families.

Driverless vehicles and autonomous cars promise improved freedom and efficiency. But how do we live safely in a world of AI?

One Planet York invites you to join an inspiring group of educators, business people, health professionals and activists to share ideas about the concept of Cultural Capital.

Learn how archaeological investigations are helping to uncover the Cold War history of the Teufelsberg, a former Allied listening station in Berlin.

Archaeologist Maureen Carroll provides new insights into birth, infancy and earliest childhood in the Roman world.

Art historian Elena Kashina discusses the costumes and stage designs for projects such as Boris Godunov, Prince Igor and Fire-Bird by Ivan Bilibin.

Three and a half years travelling with no mobile phone. Join David Switalla and learn about his traditional German journeyman years.

Author and former MEP Glyn Ford challenges the view of North Korea as a rogue state run by a mad leader.

Learn how archaeological investigations are helping to uncover the Cold War history of the Teufelsberg, a former Allied listening station in Berlin.

Historian Paul Cartledge discusses democracy’s many different manifestations from ancient times through to the ‘lamentable’ Brexit referendum campaign and successive events.

Explore an alternative map of the continent where Europeans of African descent are juggling their multiple allegiances and forging new identities.

Join Campbell Robb, CEO of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in conversation with authors John Boughton and Gillian Darley, then take a guided walk around the village.

Join Stuart Ogilvy of the Yorkshire Museum to discover more about the behaviour and life cycle of the tansy beetle.

Discover how arts can benefit health and wellbeing, and take part in a friendly singing session.

Learn about the ever-present wonderful world of ‘marvellous microbes’ with our family-friendly interactive demonstrations.

Meet inspiring University of York PhD students and hear how their curiosity is leading to life-changing research.

Learn more about Tipu Sultan, one of the most charismatic figures of South Asian history, with Ursula Sims-Williams of the British Library.

How and why do we age? How do we make a longer life better? Join writer and broadcaster Sue Armstrong and researcher Rachel Lloyd of Message House.

Join retired major Graeme Green for a fascinating insight into the role of tanks in the Second World War.

Discover how a personality test, conceived by a mother and daughter with no formal training in psychology, worked its way into our boardrooms, classrooms and beyond.

Historian and photography curator Pippa Oldfield reveals the fascinating but overlooked history of female pioneers working in conflicts.

Neuroscientist Gina Rippon of Aston University explodes the myth that there are differences between the male and female brain.

British Museum curator Venetia Porter explores the history of the Islamic world from its origins to the present day through a wide variety of objects.

Are mothers the ultimate scapegoat for everything that is wrong with the world? Join writer Jacqueline Rose for a rousing call to action.

Join Peter Hogarth of the University of York to discover more about the history of York’s Museum Gardens.

Join art historian Elena Kashina and discover how artist Edvard Munch presents visions of universal harmony in his later works.

Learn more about the thrill of 'wonder' in Shakespeare's The Tempest and try your hand at printing a portion of Shakespeare's play on a historic printing press.

Learn about the Voyager Golden Record – a genre-hopping multi-media metal LP fixed to Voyager 1 and 2 by NASA in the summer of 1977.

Author Rose George takes you on a journey of discovery through the unseen but miraculous world of blood.

Professional magician-turned-psychologist Matthew L Tompkins investigates the arts of deception as practiced and popularised by mesmerists, magicians and psychics.

Tired of being talked over? Of social media making you feel rubbish? Find out how Boudicca stuck up for herself and can help you do the same.

York cycling writer Rob Ainsley reveals Britain's highest, steepest, scariest, quirkiest, bendiest, wettest and plain oddest bike rides.

Join biologist Amy-Jane Beer and storyteller Alice Courvoisier for an evening dedicated to the wonders of trees.

Find out about the Petyt Library, one of the cultural wonders of early modern Yorkshire, now housed at the University of York.

Author Frank Furedi examines why fear has become so central to modern society – from terrorism and the economy to parenting and dieting.

Join archaeologist Steve Ashby for some intriguing new insights into one of the most fascinating of cultures – the Vikings.

Join Owen Wright of SOAS University of London and discover the importance of music in the visual arts of the Middle East.

Hear the true story of the toughest bicycle race ever staged - the Circuit des Champs de Bataille - the Tour of the Battlefields - in 1919.

What other wondrous worlds lie beyond our own? Join physicist James Lees for an exploration of real, fictional and hypothetical planets.

Author Rachel Reeves MP looks at the many battles fought by the women of Westminster from 1919 to 2019.

Our Focus Day introduces the writers and performers who empower people to tell their own stories. Learn about the challenges young people face today and watch the film Shared Stories

Find out about community initiatives to tackle the shame surrounding poverty and make policymakers listen.

How do we change the way we talk about poverty? Join in the discussion as our speakers, including journalist Billie JD Porter, examine the solutions to the challenges we face.

Our Festival Focus Day concludes with a screening of Sean McAllister’s documentary, A Northern Soul, which presents the reality of life for many working people locked in poverty in Britain today.

Stuart Firestein of Columbia University, USA, explores how science has made tremendous progress through a reliance on ignorance and failure.

Join developmental biologist Jim Smith and learn about his trail-blazing research into how the different types of cell in an embryo form at the right time and in the right place.

Join us for a Franco-British perspective on the history of feminism: how has feminism developed on both sides of the Channel?

The LUMA Film Festival features screenings of University of York student work, plus talks and workshops led by leading professionals in the UK film and television industry.

Explore the lyrics of the Beatles’ iconic Let It Be album with Colin Campbell of the University of York.

Learn about some of the most remarkable, complex, flawed and brilliant monarchs ever to have sat on the English throne.

The LUMA Film Festival features screenings of University of York student work, plus talks and workshops led by leading professionals in the UK film and television industry.

Discover Fishergate’s role in the introduction of plants and trees from across the world to Britain.

Join us for a family-friendly day of exploration - from the frontiers of space, to unexplored worlds underwater, to the extreme conditions of the Poles.

Join us for a game of 'Who's coming for dinner?' and learn how science is rediscovering the diets of people living in the first millennium Mediterranean.

Learn about the birth of the notion of ‘haute couture’, the internationalisation of the fashion industry and the blurring of borders between men and women’s fashion.

When we talk about human history, we focus on great leaders, mass migration and decisive wars. But how has the Earth itself determined our destiny?

From the idea of ‘gastronomie’ to Empires and colonisation, we reveal the integral part cooking and food have played in the cultural history of both France and Britain.

Archaeologist Barry Crump reveals the world of wonder to be found in unwanted and mundane objects, and what they can tell us about the past.

Discover why, from sex and music to religion and war, irrationality makes up the greater part of human life and history.

We explore how feminist history, gender studies and studies of sexuality have worked to deconstruct gender stereotypes and give a voice to those who have been marginalised or obscured.

Historian Anna Beer presents Sir Walter Ralegh's stranger-than-fiction life in all its richness.

Paul Muldoon, one of Ireland and America’s leading contemporary poets, presents a compelling selection of new and classic work.

The LUMA Film Festival features screenings of University of York student work, plus talks and workshops led by leading professionals in the UK film and television industry.

An expert panel discusses the current landscape of social media and what is needed to help young people ‘win’ in an ever-changing environment.

Following an introductory talk by Tom McLeish of the University of York, our expert speakers discuss the connections between visual thinking in painting and science.

Is the art of doing nothing disappearing in a culture which disapproves of inactivity and demonises idleness? Join psychoanalyst Josh Cohen to learn more.

As part of our Focus Day, The Poetry and Music of Science, we explore the common ground between the art of the novel and scientific experimentation.

Discover the fascinating stories behind some of the thousands of sites across Britain requisitioned or built during the Second World War to support the war effort.

What are the links between abstract structures in music and mathematics? Join expert speakers including mathematicians and award-winning conductors and musicians.

Ed Vulliamy, an Observer journalist for 20 years, presents a passionate investigation of the charged frontier between 20th-century music and politics.

In this world of wonder, is there a place for scepticism or even outright cynicism? Join the Guardian’s John Crace and Tim Dowling to find out.

Military historians James Holland and Robert Lyman show and discuss extracts from the film Imphal and Kohima: Britain’s Greatest Battle.

The Today programme is coming to York as part of their University series, exploring issues affecting both students and academics.

From 18th-century personal grooming to gangsters in Glasgow, hear five fascinating talks on the history of masculinity at an event being recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Is an unfair economic system and globalisation responsible for creating the ‘left behind’ – people trapped in poverty? How can we create more inclusive economies?

Speakers, including Hamish McAlpine of Research England, and Deborah Smith and Sue Hartley of the University of York, discuss the benefits universities deliver.

Our expert speakers, including Maths teacher Bobby Seagull and Kate Sandars of FutureLearn, discuss how universities help advance social mobility and social justice.

In the context of higher education, our speakers demonstrate the integral contribution of arts, culture and the humanities to society.

Throughout history, people have feared new technology. Has such concern been justified? Should we be worried about the technologies emerging from this ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’?

Are intolerance and populism increasing? What are the legal and societal challenges we face in confronting the rise of uncivil society? Join us at a special Festival Focus Day.

Ranging from Trump to Brexit to Islamophobia, speakers at our special Festival Focus Day on toleration look at what drives beliefs and the spread of fear.

Adult social care is high on both political and personal agendas. Could AI give us increased independence or will it fuel the ‘loneliness epidemic’?

In the wake of Brexit, what are the issues we face around trust, democracy and political engagement, and how can these be resolved? Join us for the final session of our Festival Focus Day on toleration.

Driverless vehicles and autonomous cars promise improved freedom and efficiency. But how do we live safely in a world of AI?

From the Stone Age to the modern day, has inequality always been inevitable? Find out what lessons can be learnt from the history of social inequality.

Our panel of experts discusses air pollution issues ahead of Clean Air Day, the UK’s largest air pollution campaign.

Flamboyant international guitar star Galina Vale returns to York to present an exhilarating programme of music.

Join us for a Franco-British perspective on the history of feminism: how has feminism developed on both sides of the Channel?

Learn about the birth of the notion of ‘haute couture’, the internationalisation of the fashion industry and the blurring of borders between men and women’s fashion.

From the idea of ‘gastronomie’ to Empires and colonisation, we reveal the integral part cooking and food have played in the cultural history of both France and Britain.

We explore how feminist history, gender studies and studies of sexuality have worked to deconstruct gender stereotypes and give a voice to those who have been marginalised or obscured.

Speakers from York’s twin city Nanjing and the Yorkshire Coast debate the great sea-faring figures of Zheng He and Captain Cook.

Following an introductory talk by Tom McLeish of the University of York, our expert speakers discuss the connections between visual thinking in painting and science.

As part of our Focus Day, The Poetry and Music of Science, we explore the common ground between the art of the novel and scientific experimentation.

What are the links between abstract structures in music and mathematics? Join expert speakers including mathematicians and award-winning conductors and musicians.