An illustrated lecture explores the earliest human art and what it tells us about our ancestors. Bahn looks at the famous cave paintings of Lascaux, Altamira, and Chauvet and the thousands of exquisite pieces of portable art in bone, antler, ivory, and stone produced in the same period. In 2003, Bahn led the team that discovered the first Ice Age cave art in England, at Creswell Crags in Nottinghamshire. Chaired by Daisy Leitch.

The Carnegie Medal-winning author of Skellig discusses his new novel for younger readers. Illustrated by Claude creator Alex T Smith, Angelino Brown is the warm and witty tale of a little angel who appears in bus driver Bert’s top pocket and brings joy to everyone’s lives. But some people aren’t so sure, including big bully Basher Malone, who’s out to get him. Delightful storytelling, perfect for fans of the author’s international bestseller, The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas.

Herefordshire in 1913 was an old-fashioned shire under the benevolent rule of the Church and the gentry. Its bishop was opposed to war and his successor was opposed to women’s suffrage. Many of its farmers refused to plough on a Sunday: many more regarded women as being incapable of farm work. By 1919 the shire was in mourning for more than 4,000 men, had employed 4,000-plus women in munitions factories and another 2,500 on farms. It had deprived more children of a proper education than any other English county.

For much of history, soil has played a central role in society. Farmers and gardeners worldwide nurture their soil to provide their plants with water, nutrients and protection from pests and diseases; major battles have been aborted or stalled by the condition of soil; murder trials have been solved with evidence from soil; and, for most of us, our ultimate fate is the soil. The Professor of Ecology at Manchester explores the role soil plays in our lives and in the bio-geochemical cycles that allow the planet to function effectively. He considers how better soil management could combat global issues such as climate change, food shortages and the extinction of species.

A conversation with two masters of fiction: Tóibín, author of Brooklyn and House of Names and the American novelist André Aciman, author of Call Me by Your Name, the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents’ cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. The film of the book has made the love story a modern classic.

It’s not surprising that how we look matters in an increasingly visual and virtual world. Whether you get 'likes' or make a good first impression matters and the pressure to be perfect is something which young men and women increasingly feel. Indeed body dissatisfaction and anxiety are so prevalent that we regard them as normal. The extent of such anxiety is in part explained by recognising the ethical nature of the beauty ideal. Individuals increasingly judge themselves and others according to whether they measure up in the beauty stakes, and feel like failures if they do not. The University of Birmingham’s John Ferguson Professor of Global Ethics explores the ethical nature of the beauty ideal to make sense of why such feelings run so deep.

The classic London fogs, thick yellow pea-soupers, were born in the Industrial Age and remained a feature of cold, windless winter days until clean air legislation in the 1960s. Corton tells the story of the fogs, their dangers and beauty, and the lasting effects on our culture and imagination of these urban spectacles. Chaired by Oliver Balch.

The Cold War is one of the furthest-reaching and longest-lasting conflicts in modern history. It spanned the globe - from Greece to China, Hungary to Cuba - and lasted for almost half a century. It has shaped political relations to this day, drawing new physical and ideological boundaries between East and West, that have suddenly and dramatically resurfaced with Russian resurgence and interventions. Kendall was foreign correspondent for the BBC in Moscow during the collapse of the Soviet Union. Formerly the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, she is now Master of Peterhouse College, Cambridge.

Sariolghalam is Professor of International Relations at Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University and is one of Iran’s best-selling authors. For 26 years he has taught and conducted research on contemporary history and Iran’s relations with the outside world. His acknowledged skill has been to find ways to navigate Iran’s red lines in public discourse, and to avoid being targeted for being outspoken in print. The political establishment not only tolerated his writings, it has also been influenced by them. And Iran’s next generation views them as having helped to frame the 2015 nuclear agreement and expectations for the future.

Can men respond to feminism? In the era of Trump, Weinstein, #metoo and #timesup, feminist anger has reached a crescendo, and it is not for the first time. Delap looks at past efforts by women to get men to listen, and attempts by men to reshape masculinity in 20th century Britain. Dr Delap is a lecturer in Modern British History.

The distinguished anthropologist presents a dazzling, panoramic account of the history and achievements of Native North Americans and why they matter today. He suggests that no understanding of the wider world is possible without comprehending the original inhabitants of the United States and Canada: Native Americans, First Nations and Arctic peoples.

The Israeli historian presents his powerful and groundbreaking history of the Occupied Territories. He analyses legal and security structures, political positions and abortive peace attempts, and discusses the possibilities for reconciliation. His other books include The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine and Ten Myths About Israel.

Winston Spencer Churchill was never far from the world's attention. Acclaimed historian Max Arthur shares revealing photographs and stories from Churchill’s front-line experiences as a soldier and journalist in India, Sudan and Cuba, to the Boer War and World War I; through to his unparalleled political career and his ‘finest hour’, leading Britain during World War II. Chaired by Peter Florence.