An architecture of hope: Reimagining prison design
November 2024
Yvonne Jewkes, Professor of Criminology at the University of Bath, explores how we might change prisons to create spaces that encourage reflection and healing for those incarcerated.
The US presidential election: Where do we go from here?
November 2024
Lauren Fedor, the FT's US political correspondent, reflects on the outcome of the US presidential election: what does it mean for the US and what can we expect to see happen?
ActNowFilm: Youth Climate Leaders as Agents of Change: Bath premiere
November 2024
ActNowFilm: Youth Climate Leaders as Agents of Change showcases people worldwide who are taking action on the climate crisis and calls for meaningful youth inclusion in global climate negotiations.
The future as a political idea
February 2025
Jonathan White, Professor of Politics at LSE, explores how politics has long been directed by shifting visions of the future.
How we sold our future: The failure to fight climate change
February 2025
Jens Beckert, Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, delves into the connections between capitalist structures and our failure to address the climate crisis.
Addressing England's water quality: What can be done?
March 2025
Our panellists discuss the water quality problems in England and the solutions and policies needed to restore waterways to health. With Mark Lloyd (The Rivers Trust) and Helen Wakeham (Environment Agency). Chaired by Dame Fiona Reynolds.
How to think about politics
March 2025
This event marked the release of Professor Peter Allen’s new book, How to think about politics. Combining contemporary political science research with real-life examples, he focuses on five ideas that will help us to consider political events in a new way. Exploring power, representation, knowledge, interests and possibility, he offers tools for thinking about politics that will us interrogate our own political choices. Chaired by Aditya Chakrabortty, senior economics commentator at the Guardian.
Revitalising Britain: What's working and what's next?
April 2025
Will Hutton and Polly Toynbee review the reforms and strategies of the new government and discuss how it has been addressing the pressing economic, social and political challenges we face. They look at the government’s key missions – economic growth, clean energy, safer streets, opportunities for all and an NHS fit for the future – and the actions taken on these so far. Where do we need to see new policy development to deliver lasting economic and social change? Chaired by Dr Sophie Whiting.
Securing our food supply: Building resilience in the UK
May 2025
Increased international volatility, climate change and biodiversity loss all pose risks to the UK’s food security. Is the UK prepared to deal with these threats? Prof Timothy Lang, Prof Sarah Bridle and Prof Marianne Ellis discuss what a good food system looks like, as well as the policies needed to ensure that our food system is fairer, more sustainable and more resilient.
Prof Phil Scraton: Bearing witness to the 'pain of others': Fractured lives, dissenting voices, recovering 'truth'
June 2025
Professor Phil Scraton, Professor Emeritus at Queen's University Belfast, discusses the responsibility of researchers and human rights advocates to represent the ‘view from below’ – the voices of those silenced by powerful institutions in securing truth, justice and acknowledgement. Drawing on his decades of research with and within communities – investigating the Hillsborough disaster, the inhumanities of incarceration, and the disappearances of babies from mother and baby institutions – he addresses the political, ethical and personal challenges of bearing witness to the 'pain of others'.