Online Festival

How can we live the lives we want without despoiling the environment we hold so dear? How do we balance the competing demands of public access, farming and wildlife against the backdrop of the climate and nature crises?

Tayshan Hayden-Smith, former professional footballer turned guerrilla gardener, Kate Humble, farmer and TV presenter, and Paul Whitehouse, actor, writer and comedian, talk to the Chair of the National Trust, René Olivieri, about how we rediscover the power of connection with nature.

Cat Bohannon answers questions scientists should have been addressing for decades. With boundless curiosity, she examines the past 200 million years to explain the specific science behind the development of the female sex. Eve, her first book, is not only a sweeping revision of human history, it’s an urgent and necessary corrective for a world that has focused primarily on the male body for far too long. Bohannon’s findings will completely change what you think you know about evolution and why Homo sapiens have become such a successful and dominant species. She talks to scientist, writer and broadcaster Adam Rutherford.

Two giants of historical fiction discuss their stories, and how and why they tell them. Follett’s latest novel The Armour of Light is set in his fictional Kingsbridge in 1792, with revolution in the air. As industrial change sweeps the land and a tyrannical government is determined to make England a mighty commercial empire, a small group of spinners and weavers fight for a future free from oppression. Mosse’s The Ghost Ship is an epic story of concealed identity, piracy and revenge, ranging from Paris to Amsterdam and the Canary Islands in the early 1600s. The Ghost Ship hunts pirates to liberate those enslaved during the course of their merciless raids – but now it is under attack.

Military historian Max Hastings (Operation Pedestal, Abyss) tells an almost-forgotten story with his signature blend of top-down and bottom-up action detail. Operation Biting was a daring assault on the coast of Nazi-occupied Europe to capture key components of a newly-identified radar network. Amid heavy snow 120 men landed, some of whom were mis-dropped almost two miles from their objective. They nonetheless launched the assault, dismantled the German radar, and after three nail-biting hours in France and a fierce battle with Wehrmacht defenders, escaped in the nick of time. Meet the fascinating personalities and hear the wealth of previously unchronicled detail in this almost literally cliffhanging tale.

Three women journalists covering the Israel-Palestinian war speak candidly about their work in the Gaza strip and the challenges and difficulties of reporting from a conflict zone. Iraqi-born Hind Hassan began her career with Al Jazeera Media Network, worked as a reporter for Sky News and then joined VICE news (HBO). Dalia Hatuqa writes on Middle East politics for the Washington Post, Time, The Economist and the New York Times, dividing her time between the US and the West Bank. Lindsey Hilsum is Channel 4 News’ International Editor. Chaired by the British-Lebanese editor of the Financial Times.

This year, more people around the world will have the opportunity to vote than any single year before, with major elections in a number of countries. To mark this historic milestone, our panel shares their unique perspectives on democracy and its relevance, fragility and value. Roula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, speaks to writers Aditi Mittal, Elif Shafak and Lola Shoneyin about the vital role of the media, of culture and of the participation of women in this critical year for the future of democracy.