In his latest curious adventures into human eccentricity the humorist investigator goes on patrol with America’s real-life superheroes, nerds a UFO convention in the Nevada Desert with Robbie Williams, and asks a robot whether it has a soul. 

At the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Tony Curtis starred in Houdini and Spartacus, made comedy history with Jack Lemmon in the unforgettable Some Like It Hot, was friends with Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and James Dean, and romanced screen sirens such as Marilyn Monroe, Janet Leigh and Natalie Wood.

Sparing no ego, Tony Curtis talks to Joan Bakewell about the characters he's played and known during his illustrious career, co-stars, wives, lovers and friends. The event launches the Hollywood legend's autobiography American Prince.

What kind of past is it that Michael Gove’s proposed history curriculum offers to schoolchildren and their teachers? Can it be taught? Should it be taught? And what are the consequences for our national culture and identity? The historian leads the conversation and welcomes contributions from primary and secondary school teachers.

Is it possible to manage resources fairly and equitably? A strong local economy is important to sustainability, but how large is a local economy and how self-reliant can it be? What part does the law play in ensuring a resilient environment for all and preventing exploitation by the few? The Telegraph’s Geoffrey Lean chairs.

What is autism? A lifelong disability, or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is both of these things and more,; and the future of our society depends on our understanding it. The winner of the 2015 Samuel Johnson Prize talks about his research and investigations. Chaired by Stuart Proffitt.

Unshackled now from her role as the BBC’s Diplomatic Correspondent, the doyenne of international journalism talks about her thirty years as a foreign correspondent. She covered the fall of the Soviet Union from Moscow and the heydays and dogdays of the Clinton administration from Washington. A fluent Russian speaker, she has become the authority on the rise and rule of Vladimir Putin and the re-emergence of Russia as a superpower. She will be Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge from July.

This special event marks the UK launch of Kent Nerburn’s award-winning work of creative non-fiction depicting the epic and intensely moving journey he made over 20 years ago with a Native American elder named Dan.  Musician Robert Plant picked up a copy of Neither Wolf Nor Dog whilst touring the States in 2014 and his passion for this masterpiece has led to its publication here in Britain.  

A conversation between two writers renowned for their explorations of nature and landscape. Robert Macfarlane's Underland, perhaps the most eagerly anticipated non-fiction book of 2019, takes us on a journey into the worlds beneath our feet. From the ice-blue depths of Greenland's glaciers to the underground networks by which trees communicate, from Bronze Age burial chambers to the rock art of remote Arctic sea-caves, this is a deep-time voyage into the planet's past and future, and into darkness and its meanings. Global in its geography, gripping in its voice and haunting in its implications, it is both an ancient and an urgent work.
Macfarlane, a winner of the Hay Festival Prose Medal, is the author of Mountains of the Mind, The Wild Places, The Old Ways, Landmarks and (with Jackie Morris) The Lost Words. Horatio Clare’s latest books are The Light in the Dark and Something of his Art: Walking to Lübeck with JS Bach – Hay Festival’s Book of the Month for December 2018.

See also event [235] on 29 May – Spell Songs, a musical performance of The Lost Words – Macfarlane's multi-award-winning collaboration with the artist Jackie Morris.

An introduction to families coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down’s syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, disability, with children who are prodigies, who are conceived in rape, who become criminals, who are transgender. While each of these characteristics is potentially isolating, Solomon documents repeated triumphs of human love and compassion to show that the shared experience of difference is what unites us.

After more than a hundred years of the internal combustion engine, a new automotive technology has arrived. Cleaner, quieter and fun to drive, electric cars are here, and they are here to stay. But how do we get from 2.6% of new car sales in 2018 to the numbers we need to make a real difference to air pollution, and climate change? The Government has set ambitious targets for the uptake of electric vehicles. If we are to meet them, a change in the way people drive and think about the technology is required. Join Robert Llewellyn, TV presenter, author and electric vehicle expert, Jesse Norman, Former Future of Mobility Minister and local Hereford MP, Fiona Howarth, CEO of Octopus Energy Electric Vehicles and Mike Hawes, Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers, as well as panellists from the motor and energy industries, to discuss this transition. Chaired by TV presenter and author Kate Humble.

The Professor of Neuroscience discusses the process of normal decision-making – our strategies, biases that affect us and influential factors. She will describe the abnormal patterns found in patients with conditions such as severe depression, Alzheimer’s and accidental brain damage. Examining how the brain can be manipulated to improve cognitive function in these patients, she will consider the use and the ethical questions of ‘smart drugs’.

Protecting the environment is often cited as an unaffordable luxury in these times of economic crisis. Where are the red lines and what are the compromises that are made to ensure we can restore degraded environments and degraded economies? The Welsh Government’s Natural Resources and Food Minister Alun Davies discusses with EU Environment Commissioner Potocnik. Chaired by The Telegraph’s Environment Editor, Geoffrey Lean.

The history of Russia’s Secret Services from the Revolution to the Fall of the Wall: the Military Intelligence, the codes and ciphers and the KGB.

The horticultural historian and novelist considers how the lotus, lily, sunflower, rose and tulip have enflamed hearts and minds around the world. She shows how the opium poppy returned to haunt its originators in the West and how Confucius saw virtue and modesty in the orchid while the Greeks saw only sex. Above all, Potter demonstrates how these seven flowers have come to be metaphors for life, death, purity, passion, greed, envy, virtue, hope and consolation.