Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2023

Prepare to be enthralled as historian Jonathan Dimbleby takes you on a journey through 1944, the year that sealed the fate of the Nazis. In conversation with fellow historian David Olusoga, Dimbleby discusses his new book Endgame 1944: How Stalin Won the War. The year is probably best known for the Allies’ triumph on the beaches of Normandy, but Dimbleby takes readers beyond this to the events on the Eastern Front in 1944 that delivered the knockout blow in the Second World War.

Dimbleby discusses with Olusoga how previously untranslated German and Russian sources, many from ‘ordinary’ soldiers, helped him tell the story of 1944, and gives an insight into some of the bloody battles along the Eastern front and the unusual roles played by deception, the partisans, and the war within a war in Ukraine. Dimbleby's previous books include the highly acclaimed Second World War histories The Battle of the Atlantic and Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein, which was shortlisted for the Hessell-Tiltman Prize and was followed by his BBC2 programme Churchill's Desert War.

A year is a long time in US politics, and 2024 is a extraordinary demonstration of this adage; the year has been full of unexpected events and historic firsts, including the conviction of Donald Trump for the falsification of business records and Joe Biden stepping down as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee after a disastrous debate performance.

As we enter 2025, the UK will have to forge a new kind of special relationship with the Oval Office. What will this look like with a vastly changed USA? How will international events, from wars to movements in trade and the shift to the political right, affect the way the UK and US stand together (or not)? And what does the shifting axis of world power and influence mean for us all? Join Matt Frei, lead presenter of Channel 4 News’ award-winning global coverage and a panel of experts and front row commentators to explore just what the UK’s place in the new world order could look like.

We’ll take three vowels and five consonants, please. And they form just one word: politics. Mathematics legend and former Countdown star Carol Vorderman has been using her platform to speak out against the political elite in recent years – describing herself as ‘an old bird with an iPhone’ – and has plenty of advice to offer on how we can all participate in politics.

Talking to broadcaster and historian David Olusoga, Vorderman discusses what happens now that the Conservatives are out of power, and how issues that plagued the Tories run deep and are still part of our political system.

She argues for a new age of accountability, and shares some of the tools needed to build a better and fairer Britain, as well as discussing her own political journey, the abuse she faces for speaking about politics, and why politics really is for us all. Vorderman is a Welsh broadcaster, media personality, and writer. In 2000 she was awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting and has since turned her attention to maths education. She is the author of Now What?: On a Mission to Fix Broken Britain.

In the arguments between opposing political parties, the fractious nature of Prime Minister’s Question Time, and the lack of sympathy for the struggles of everyday people, it can seem that compassion has disappeared from politics altogether. Join MPs Torsten Bell and Jess Phillips as they examine where politics and politicians have failed people and how being compassionate is linked to success and a better politics for everyone. Tackling hard-hitting questions, the pair present a hopeful and optimistic view of the future, as well as looking at the lessons that Wales can impart to the national stage.

Bell, who was elected as the MP for Swansea West in 2024, is the author of Great Britain? How We Get Our Future Back, a forensic examination of Britain’s current chaos, and a bold vision for an alternative. He is the former chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, an economic research charity working to raise the living standards of households on low to middle incomes.

In Phillips’ Let’s Be Honest, she looks at how politics lost its integrity, and how we’ve all suffered as a result. It is both a laugh-so-you-don’t-cry takedown of the state of Westminster in recent years and a rallying battle cry for bringing truth back to politics. Before becoming an MP, she worked with victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking. Phillips was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Home Office in 2024. They talk to barrister and journalist Jennifer Nadel, leader of UK think tank Compassion In Politics.

Chew over the biggest news stories of 2024 with our review of the year and look ahead to 2025 in the perfect way to begin your Sunday at Hay Festival Winter Weekend. And there’s plenty to talk about: 2024 ushered in a new government in the UK and a new president in the US, saw continued devastation in war zones in Ukraine and Palestine, and featured countless discussions of the impact of AI on our lives. And those aren’t just issues for this year, they’re all set to affect how 2025 plays out, internationally and at home. As will a host of new bills going through government in 2025, which have the potential to change everything from renters’ rights and planning laws to the make-up of the House of Lords. Olusoga is a British-Nigerian author and presenter, and professor of public history at the University of Manchester. His books include the award-winning Black and British. His latest book is Black History for Every Day of the Year, written with his siblings, Yinka and Kemi.

The Welsh global diaspora is estimated to be more than three million people, spread all over the globe – a similar number to the population living within Wales - but why do people leave Wales and on what basis might they return? Julia Gillard, former Australian prime minister and Welsh emigrant, delves into the issue with Dr Sarah Louisa Birchley, a specialist in global diaspora entrepreneurship. They discuss the motivations behind Welsh migration and what measures could be taken to encourage people to remain and contribute to the future of Wales.