Hay Festival 2025 Full Programme

Care is the thread that runs through the life of Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey. In this event he shares his own experiences as a carer and those of countless others he has met. His Why I Care: And Why Care Matters is a deeply personal story, shedding light on the often-invisible world of the millions of carers who form the backbone of our communities.

Aged four, Davey lost his father to cancer. When his mother also became ill with cancer, he and his brothers nursed her at home until she died when he was just 15. His grandfather passed away a few years later, and Davey and his brother then looked after their grandmother in old age. Now he and his wife care for their son, who has severe physical and learning disabilities, as well as raising their daughter.

Join Clive Anderson and guests for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy in this special live recording of Radio 4’s long-running variety show.

Two bird enthusiasts take us under their wing in this celebration of our feathered friends and our relationship with them.

Broadcaster, author and lifelong birder Jon Gower (Birdland) reminds us that birds are commonplace miracles that have inspired artists for centuries, from the symphonic song of the wren and the clack of a puffin’s beak to epic migrations and sunset murmurations. History and nature writer Adam Nicolson (Bird School) recently decided to redress his ignorance of bird life, observing nightingales, cuckoos, turtle doves, pheasants, robins and owls; where they nest, how they sing, how they mate and fight, what preys on them, what they are like as living things.

Our birds face climate threat and decline in biodiversity, and their call has in many ways fallen silent. Join Gower and Nicolson in conversation with presenter, actress and author Anni Llŷn, to find out more about the inhabitants of our skies and what can be done to restore their soundtrack.

From Ecuador and India to Canada, writer Robert Macfarlane explores the ancient idea that rivers are living beings; an idea that has taken on new relevance and urgency as we face a planet battling the effects of climate change. Sharing stories and insights from his new book Is a River Alive?, Macfarlane shifts our perspective, making us see that our fate is tied into that of our rivers.

Macfarlane, a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, is internationally renowned for his writing on nature, people and place. His bestselling books include Underland, Landmarks and The Wild Places, as well as a book-length prose-poem, Ness.

In collaboration with the artist Jackie Morris he co-created the internationally bestselling books of nature-poetry and art, The Lost Words and The Lost Spells. He is currently completing his third book with Morris: The Lost Birds.

In the closing months of the Second World War hundreds of thousands of Japanese, mostly civilians, died in a final outburst of atomic violence. Richard Overy rethinks how we should regard this. How did decisions to kill civilians and destroy cities become normalised; how were moral concerns blunted; and why did scientists, airmen and politicians follow a strategy of mass destruction?

He also engages with new scholarship showing how complex the effort to end the war was in Japan, where ‘surrender’ was an entirely foreign concept. Overy is Honorary Research Professor of History at Exeter and author of The Dictators and The Bombing War.

Historian and Intelligence Squared podcaster Helen Carr tells the story of the century beginning with the death of Edward I in 1307 and ending with the deposition of Richard II in 1399. Her thrilling account in Sceptred Isle is Britain seen through the lives of the last Plantagenets. She uncovers lesser-known voices and untold stories along the way, shedding new light on this pivotal period of English history.

Through the epic drama of regicide, war, the prolonged spectre of the Black Death, religious antagonism, revolt and the end of a royal dynasty, we encounter the human stories behind a fractured monarchy, the birth of the struggle between Europeanism and nationalism, social rebellion and a global pandemic.

Can women have it all? What does it mean to be a woman and a mother in the modern age? Passionate, funny and fierce, BRIT Award-winning Paloma Faith delves deep into the issues that face women today, from battling through the expectations of patriarchy to the Supermum myth.

She tackles the challenges of IVF and the early years of motherhood with characteristic humour and raw honesty. From questions about identity and motherhood, to how we need to embrace imperfection and the pleasures of being ‘selfish’, Paloma invites us into her own story, to explore how our bonds with our children evolve into adulthood.

Join Phil Wang and Susie Dent as they challenge special guests to invent new words to help create the new ultimate Unspeakable dictionary.

Spend a lively evening in the company of Alexander McCall Smith as he introduces the latest instalment of his series The Perfect Passion Company. In Looking For You, Katie Donald is eager to continue helping the lovelorn find connection, and with news of her expertise spreading, she’s inundated with people seeking her advice.

McCall Smith is author of the highly successful No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has sold over 25 million copies. He’ll take us through his inspirations, share stories of his research into the world of matchmaking, and offer a look at his writing career. He’ll also discuss The Lost Language of Oysters, the latest novel in his hilarious von Igelfeld series, charting the mishaps of Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld and his colleagues at the University of Regensburg’s Institute of Romance Philology.

How can we protect ourselves from the pollution, chemicals and toxins that pervade our environment? And how important is nature to our lives? Proponent of Ecological Medicine Dr Jenny Goodman, nature connections researcher and writer Durre Shahwar and Oxford Professor of Biodiversity Kathy Willis connect the health of our planet with our own well-being.

Goodman (Getting Healthy in Toxic Times) seeks to understand how environmental factors affect our health, from pollution to toxins to radiation. Shahwar is co-editor of Gathering, an anthology on nature and climate by women of colour. Her research has explored how marginalised communities form connections with nature. Professor Willis (Good Nature) has dedicated her research to proving the link between the amount of green space in our lives and our better health, mood and longevity. In conversation with author, conservationist and award-winning broadcaster, Ben Garrod.

Explore the complexity of rivers and the way they’re integral to the landscapes they run through. Our experts – Simone Lowthe-Thomas of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and author Robert Macfarlane – talk to the chair of the National Trust, René Olivieri, about how we get the balance right between sustainable approaches to environmental, agricultural and urban needs.

Lowthe-Thomas works for the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority as Director of Nature Recovery and Climate Change. Macfarlane is internationally renowned for his writing on nature, people and place. His books include Underland, Landmarks and The Lost Spells, co-created with artist Jackie Morris. Olivieri previously served as the chair of organisations including the RSPCA and the Wildlife Trust.

Listen to Tree Oh! and become re-enchanted with nature. The Swedish music collective bring new music from their debut EP Our Urban Nature to Hay Festival, with roots in Swedish folk. Influences ranging from classical to Americana, pop and jazz blend with three voices singing in harmony to tell stories about our relationship with nature.

Alongside viola, flutes, ukulele and Celtic harp, this trio sings about nature in cities, enchanted gardens, mighty trees, the climate crisis, rising oceans, the legacy of colonialism and the need for new dreams. Tree Oh! comprises Anna Jonsson, Sara Nilsson and Nina Wohlert, musicians and environmentalists. They’re accompanied by readings from lyricist Andrew Simms of the New Weather Institute – an environmental campaigner and regular speaker at the Festival.

Cellist Cara Berridge and music critic Kate Kennedy present an evening of storytelling and music, looking at the lives of remarkable cellists who suffered persecution, and discussing their own relationships with the cello.

Berridge is a founder member of the Sacconi Quartet, who have won prizes at many international competitions. Author Kennedy’s latest book weaves her own complicated relationship with the cello together with interviews with contemporary cellists and the stories of cellists throughout history, including Lise Cristiani, the first female professional cello soloist, who undertook an epic and ultimately fatal concert tour of Siberia in the 1850s, taking with her one of the world’s greatest Stradivari cellos.

The American financier and former White House Communications Director shares a candid look at the wheels of power in the US. As a front seat commentator on the US/UK relationship, The Rest is Politics US podcast co-host takes a view of its twists, turns and possible futures, with political strategist and The Rest is Politics UK co-host Alastair Campbell.

Anthony Scaramucci is founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. He also co-hosts the Open Book podcast, and is author of several books, most recently The Little Book of Bitcoin.

The global finance and Crypto entrepreneur was in the first generation of his Italian-American family to attend college, and his ascent in the financial industry and the world of politics has been both remarkable and hard-won. Scaramucci served briefly in President Trump’s White House team in 2016, before some strongly worded comments on members of the administration saw him leave after an 11-day tenure.