Wow more treats for you today, however it feels like it is coming to an end already! Going to be popping into more panels where I can. Remember day job and all that and no babysitter, someone please save me!
Thursday 21st we are kicking off with
Nesrine Malik: Toxic Myths at 4pm
We are in a unique moment as it is becoming clear that the old frames of reference are not working. That the narratives used for decades to stave off progressive causes are in danger of being exposed as falsehood. That the myths, be it of sexual liberation or of white non-identity, are at odds with the lived experience and in urgent need of revision.
In her new book, We Need New Stories: Challenging the Toxic Myths Behind Our Age of Discontent, Nesrine Malik investigates a range of stories used to maintain the status quo. As the centre ground is being eroded, she challenges us to find new narrators whose stories can fill the void and unite us behind a shared progressive vision.
Nesrine Malik is a British Sudanese columnist and features writer for the Guardian. She was named Society and Diversity Commentator of the Year at the 2017 Comment Awards.
Event chaired by Leah Thorn.
Tim Bouverie & Timothy Garton Ash – History Lessons at 6pm (*Staff Pick by Sharon*)
More than ever, we are advised that we must learn from history. Historians Tim Bouverie and Timothy Garton Ash consider key moments of the twentieth century and their influence on our world today.
Tim Bouverie’s Appeasing Hitler is a compelling new narrative history of the disastrous years of indecision, failed diplomacy and parliamentary infighting that enabled Nazi domination of Europe.
In The Magic Lantern Timothy Garton Ash creates a stunningly evocative portrait of the revolutions that swept Communism from Eastern Europe in 1989 and whose after-effects will resonate for years to come.
Event chaired by Michael Goodrum.
Closing the day (and I am so gutted I can not go to this one!!) I mean it’s Nicci French!!
Nicci Gerrard & Sara Imarisio: Dementia and Future Care by 8pm (*Staff Pick by Angela and Fiona*)
After her own father’s death from dementia, the writer and campaigner Nicci Gerrard set out to explore the illness that now touches millions of us, yet which we still struggle to speak about. What does dementia mean, for those who live with it, and those who care for them? Her new book, What Dementia Teaches Us About Love, is an attempt to understand. It is filled with stories, both moving and optimistic: from those living with dementia to those planning the end of life, from the scientists unlocking the mysteries of the brain to the therapists using art and music to enrich the lives of sufferers, from the campaigners battling for greater compassion in care to the families trying to make sense of this ‘incomprehensible de-creation of the self’.
Nicci is joined by Sara Imarisio, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, who will explain what we currently know about dementia and where the complex field of dementia research is heading.
“Dementia is all around us, in our families and in our genes; perhaps in our own futures. If it’s not you or me, it’s someone we love.” Nicci Gerrard
Event chaired by Francesca Baker.
James Burke: The World Tomorrow at 4pm *Sponsor Pick by News Now*
Broadcaster and science historian James Burke became well known to TV viewers as the presenter of the BBC’s landmark science show Tomorrow’s World; his science series Connections; and as host for the Apollo moon landings. In a special live link-up he gives the festival audience his thoughts on the role of science in shaping our future.
Gavin Esler: Brexit Without The Bullshit at 6pm (*Staff Pick by Jo*) – Again another one I want to go to, I want to know more…I think!
Gavin Esler is an award winning television and radio broadcaster, writer and journalist. His latest book, ‘Brexit Without the Bullshit’, examines in rigorous, insightful and revealing detail the facts about how Brexit will affect our daily lives. From strawberries to passports, he presents a frank guide to the most momentous change in British life for decades, revealing how leaving the EU will affect food and diet, health and the NHS, jobs and industry, education, travel in Europe, etc. From the food markets of Kent to NHS operating theatres to the boardrooms of big employers, Brexit throws up many surprises. Brexit Without the Bullshit is not about the Brexit you were told you were getting, it’s about the one that is arriving.
Gavin is known for his reporting and presenting work at the BBC, and has been the main presenter on ‘Dateline London’ on the BBC News Channel and BBC World and a regular on numerous other programmes, including ‘HARDtalk’. He left the BBC in 2018 and is now a freelance journalist and writer.
Formerly Gavin was the BBC’s Chief North America Correspondent for eight years, based in Washington and frequently reporting from the White House mostly during the Clinton presidency. On returning to the UK, he joined the presenting team on the BBC’s flagship news and current affairs programme ‘Newsnight’.
He is currently a columnist for ‘The National’ (UAE) newspaper, Chancellor of the University of Kent and a visiting lecturer in various academic institutions, large corporations, and public service organisations including the British military.
Gavin is also the author of five novels, ‘Loyalties’, ‘Deep Blue’, ‘The Blood Brother’, ‘A Scandalous Man’ and ‘Power Play’, and two other non-fiction books, ‘The United States of Anger’ and ‘Lessons from the Top’.
Event chaired by Lennox Morrison.
Damian Collins & Peter Pomerantsev: The Truth Is Not Propaganda at 8pm *Sponsor Pick by News Now* (*Staff Pick by Oli and Alastair*) And yet another one which I think will be so interesting to watch, plus the big dog is chairing..I mean Alastair!
When information is a weapon, everyone is at war. Damian Collins and Peter Pomerantsev discuss the role of truth and lies in the politics of tomorrow.
Damian Collins has been the MP for Folkestone and Hythe since 2010 and is Chair of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. Peter Pomerantsev is an award-winning contributor to the London Review of Books and his new book is This is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality.
“It is required – and bleakly entertaining – reading for anyone wanting to understand the surreal scale and intent of the efforts to destabilise democracies… Important and timely.” – The Observer on This Is Not Propaganda
Event chaired by Alastair Upton.
That’s your lot! Until the weekend and when it all comes to a close! Eek!
Until next time xxx
Stay and have a chat :)