Ideas that move us forward

EDUCATION

CREATIVITY·EDUCATION

June 17, 2026

Nilüfer Yanya: Most people are just living side by side, getting on, being nice to their neighbours

The singer-songwriter on why she thinks the world’s divisions are overstated, why she’s been staying off social media, and the trade-offs that come with a life on the road.

EDUCATION·MORALITY

June 16, 2026

Tony Robinson: There are no boring things, only boring ways of talking about them

The actor, writer and national treasure on why nuance is the first casualty of outrage, and why most of what we believe will probably turn out to be complete twaddle.

Margaret Busby: It is astonishing what you can accomplish when you do not care who takes the credit

The UK’s first Black female book publisher on a British publishing industry

Cressida Cowell: Dragon riding represents humanity’s attempt to control the wild

The How to Train Your Dragon author on why despair stops us

Julie Finch: While you cannot stop technological change, you can decide not to be a sheep

Hay Festival CEO Julie Finch on why we must protect the art of in-person conversation as the ultimate antidote to a digital world of

May 7, 2026

CREATIVITY·EDUCATION

Oyinkan Braithwaite: After food and shelter, the next essential thing a child should receive is access to books

The Nigerian-British novelist and writer on growing up between Lagos and London, the loss of community in the UK, and why societies only change when

November 30, 2025

CREATIVITY·EDUCATION·MORALITY

Hamsa Yassin: My dream is that kids could name five trees before they can name five Kardashians

The wildlife cameraman, Strictly champion and children’s TV presenter on the value of boredom, what lockdown revealed about our need for the outdoors, and

November 20, 2025

EDUCATION·PLANET

Victoria Bateman: If every woman had the ability to control her own fertility, the world would be a very different place

The economist and historian on the myths that erased women from economic history, the politics of fertility, and the cost of excluding half the

September 5, 2025

EDUCATION·HEALTH·POWER

Marcus Du Sautoy: Sidelining arts in the national curriculum is impacting a generation of scientists

The mathematician, author and broadcaster on primes, Pollock and why sidelining the arts is holding science back.

June 13, 2025

CREATIVITY·EDUCATION

Theresa Lola: Poetry can transport you to places you’ve never been in ten lines. It’s emotion compressed

The poet on anglicising her name as a teenager, rediscovering her oríkì, and writing a collection about what names reveal and erase.

May 31, 2025

CREATIVITY·EDUCATION

Axel Scheffler: Picture books should leave children with some sense of hope. Otherwise, what are we doing?

The Gruffalo illustrator on why he prefers fairy tales and imagined landscapes to anything that looks too close to the real world.

May 28, 2025

CREATIVITY·EDUCATION

Elif Shafak: We live in an age of too much information, very little knowledge, and even less wisdom

The award-winning novelist on water scarcity, vanishing democracies, and why she believes stories are one of the last defences against numbness.

May 26, 2025

EDUCATION·PLANET

Shi Heng Yi: Shi Heng Yi: Don’t wait for the world to change – start with yourself

The Shaolin Master on ego, attention spans, and why real strength has as much to do with sensitivity as it does with discipline.

May 22, 2025

EDUCATION·MORALITY

Ed Vere: Being compassionate, kind, gentle, empathetic and creative isn’t a weakness, it’s part of being a fully rounded human being

The author-illustrator on teaching children to notice things, why boredom is underrated, and how the fences we build – on farms, in classrooms, around

May 6, 2025

CREATIVITY·EDUCATION·PLANET

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EDUCATION