Neuroscientist Dr Hannah Critchlow explores how we can nurture resilient, adaptable brains in an age of rapid technological change and AI, drawing on the latest research from The 21st Century Brain.

Newton gave us a clockwork Universe; Einstein showed that space and time themselves can bend and stretch. But at the quantum level, neither picture quite works. The search for a Theory of Everything — from string theory to multiverses — exposes deep cracks in our understanding of reality, and in this discussion our panel will ask what space, time, and the Universe really are.

Politics has always been driven more by stories than facts.
In today’s polarised, post-truth world, the same events can generate entirely opposing narratives, fuelling outrage and division.
Join journalist James Ball and storytelling expert John Yorke as they unpack how political narratives are built, spread, and weaponised — and why stories now matter as much as truth itself.

Drawing on his acclaimed book, These Strange New Minds, neuroscientist and AI researcher Christopher Summerfield traces AI’s evolution from its earliest ideas to today’s deep neural networks and asks the defining question of our age: will AI lead us to a technological utopia, or quietly replace us?

Struggling to make sense of quantum mechanics, black holes, or climate change?
Bestselling author Marcus Chown distills complex science into one key idea that unlocks understanding of the world around us.
Packed with astonishing facts, history, and stories of the scientists behind the discoveries, this talk makes tricky concepts accessible and entertaining.

We feel the present is everything, yet physics finds no universal “now.”
In In Search of Now, Jo Marchant explores how our lived experience — sensations, decisions, and actions — shapes who we are.
Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and cosmology, she reveals time as a dynamic, creative process in which we all play a part.

AI systems are increasingly shaping our everyday lives—from what we see online to how businesses operate and resources are allocated. Headlines promise breakthrough or disruption, yet the reality of AI’s impact is far more complex and deeply influential.

Our panel of AI experts will explore how it’s reshaping our economy, culture, and future, and highlight the most pressing questions it raises today.

Francis Crick is remembered for DNA, but his restless curiosity ranged far wider — from the genetic code to the nature of consciousness.
In Crick: A Mind in Motion, historian of science Matthew Cobb offers a candid, warts-and-all portrait of a brilliant, driven, and often contrarian thinker.
Cobb joins neuroscientist Anil Seth to explore Crick’s ideas, ambitions, and enduring influence on how we think about life and mind.