Highlights
3rd October 2020 - 6:30 pm
Online - BST
On Stories
Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell in conversation with Erica Wagner
Join two of the world’s most extraordinary creative minds as they explore the magic and wonder of storytelling with author and critic Erica Wagner.
GO TO EVENT29th September 2020 - 9:00 pm
Online - EST
Price: $30
An Evening with Patti Smith
From the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids and M Train, a profound, beautifully realized memoir in which dreams and reality are vividly woven into a tapestry
GO TO EVENT9th October 2020 - 9:00 pm
Online - EST
Price: $37
An Evening with Lenny Kravitz
An Evening with Lenny Kravitz discussing his memoir, “Let Love Rule”.
GO TO EVENT1st October 2020 - 7:00 pm
Online - EST
Price: $32
Total Meditation: Practices in Living the Awakened Life
Deepak Chopra
Harvard Book Store, Northshire Bookstore, and R.J. Julia Booksellers welcome world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation and author of 90 beloved, bestselling books—for
GO TO EVENT30th September 2020 - 6:00 pm
Free Online - CDT
Unresolved: American Policing
John Donvan, Paul Butler, Jason Johnson, Rafael Mangual, Sue Rahr, and Vikrant Reddy
Historic protests calling for police reform have erupted across the nation. But just what could these reforms mean? And how should we see the criminal
GO TO EVENTFeatured Events
Free Online
Time 100 Talks: Angeline Jolie and Vanessa Nakate
Angelina Jolie
Concerned about her country’s rising temperatures, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, 23, spent months protesting alone outside the gates of Parliament in Kampala....
29th September 2020 - 9:00 pm
Online - EST
Price: $30
An Evening with Patti Smith
From the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids and M Train, a profound, beautifully realized memoir in which dreams and reality are vividly woven into a tapestry of one transformative year....
30th September 2020 - 6:00 pm
Free Online - CDT
Unresolved: American Policing
John Donvan, Paul Butler, Jason Johnson, Rafael Mangual, Sue Rahr, and Vikrant Reddy
Historic protests calling for police reform have erupted across the nation. But just what could these reforms mean? And how should we see the criminal justice system today?...
1st October 2020 - 7:00 pm
Online - EST
Price: $32
Total Meditation: Practices in Living the Awakened Life
Deepak Chopra
Harvard Book Store, Northshire Bookstore, and R.J. Julia Booksellers welcome world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation and author of 90 beloved, bestselling books—for a special virtual event celebrating his latest book, Total Meditation: Practices in Living the Awakened Life....
2nd October 2020 - 6:30 pm
Online - BST
How to Speak Truth to Power
Jess Phillips In Conversation with Matthew Stadlen
At a time when many of us feel the world isn’t listening, Jess Phillips is here to teach us how to get organised, speak out and fight against injustice in all its forms....
3rd October 2020 - 6:30 pm
Online - BST
On Stories
Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell in conversation with Erica Wagner
Join two of the world’s most extraordinary creative minds as they explore the magic and wonder of storytelling with author and critic Erica Wagner....
6th October 2020 - 6:00 pm
Online
Price: £4.99
Thomas Friedman and Robert Peston on the Final Days of the Presidential Race
Thomas Friedman and Robert Peston
In conversation with ITV’s political editor Robert Peston, one of Britain’s leading journalists and broadcasters, Thomas Friedman will examine what is likely to be the most consequential Presidential elections of our times....
6th October 2020 - 6:30 pm
Online - BST
The New Chinese Nationalism
Oxford Professor Rana Mitter
Once a taboo subject, China’s experience of WWII has become a new foundation for a people destined to shape the world. Britain’s leading historian of China explores this powerful myth....
6th October 2020 - 7:00 pm
Online - EST
A Conversation with Speaker Nancy Pelosi with Jonathan Capehart
What would you ask Nancy Pelosi? Join the Speaker of the House for a candid conversation—with an opportunity ask your questions—about the most pressing issues our nation faces today....
8th October 2020 - 6:30 pm
Online - BST
How to Protect Yourself From Toxic People
Thomas Erikson
How are your weaknesses exploited by others? In this livestreamed talk by bestselling behavioural expert Thomas Erikson, you’ll learn to fight back against the manipulators — before it's too late....
9th October 2020 - 9:00 pm
Online - EST
Price: $37
An Evening with Lenny Kravitz
An Evening with Lenny Kravitz discussing his memoir, "Let Love Rule"....
12th October 2020 - 7:00 pm
Online - BST
Price: £5
Book Club with Marilynne Robinson
Pulitzer prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson joins the Guardian Live Book Club to discuss Jack, the fourth in her Gilead series....
13th October 2020 - 6:30 pm
Online - BST
How to Use Humour as a Professional Superpower
Dr Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas
At Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Dr. Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach some of the world’s best business minds how to build levity into their organizations and lives....
13th October 2020 - 6:30 pm
Free Online - BST
Driving Solutions for Climate-Ready Food Systems
Netting Zero
We cannot go on with agricultural production contributing 20 to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. What are the radical, but feasible, solutions to significantly reduce these emissions across key sectors within the food system, while maintaining a healthy and secure food supply?...
21st October 2020 - 9:00 pm
Free Online - EST
Matthew McConaughey
In Conversation with John Grisham
From the Academy Award–winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction....
22nd October 2020 - 7:30 pm
Online - BST
Arundhati Roy: Azadi
Broadcast in conversation on her new book of essays, Azadi, the author and activist reflects on what it means to be free in a post-pandemic world....
30th October 2020 - 6:30 pm
Online - BST
An Evening With David Bailey
In Conversation With Tim Marlow
David Bailey revolutionised fashion photography in Swinging London. Funny, outspoken, brutally honest and ferociously talented, he quickly became as famous as his subjects....
International Highlights
UPDATE
As all talks are currently online only, we are incorporating Unmissable talks organised outside the UK in the UK section so you don’t have to look in two sections. When live talks start to happen again we will revert to UK and International....
Museums and Galleries
Curator Chats Series: The Significance of African Americans in Sports
With Dr. Damion L. Thomas
Damion Thomas discusses experiences that sparked his interest in researching the history of African Americans in sports, and some of his favorite objects in our Sports: Leveling the Playing Field exhibition.
Free Online
New Solutions to Plastic Pollution
Live talk with David de Rothschild
Hosted by leading environmental change advocate, NHM Ambassador and founder of the Voice for Nature Foundation David de Rothschild, the panel will discuss their unique takes on how to tackle plastic pollution, encouraging us all to become advocates for the planet.
Free Online
Marking Time: Indigenous Art from the NGV
National Gallery of Victoria
Marking Time: Indigenous Art from the NGV looks at the persistence of images, signs or text painted or drawn on a range of surfaces in Indigenous Australia, from ancient times until now.
Free Online
I Am… Contemporary Women Artists of Africa
National Museum of African Art
Taking its name from a 1970’s feminist anthem, I Am… Contemporary Women Artists of Africa draws upon a selection of artworks by women artists from the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art’s permanent collection to reveal a more contemporary feminism that recognizes the contributions of women to
Free Online
Illegal to Be You: Gay History Beyond Stonewall
National Museum of American History
The museum marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots with a display featuring objects from its collections that put the history of that memorable event within a larger and longer experience of being gay.
Free Online
Contemporary Muslim Fashions
Smithsonian Design Museum
The exhibition examines how Muslim women—those who cover and those who do not—have become arbiters of style within and beyond their communities and, in so doing, have drawn attention to the variations and nuances of their daily lives.
Free Online
Vikings at British Museum
Bettany Hughes and Michael Wood
Bettany Hughes and Michael Wood present a tour around the BP exhibition Vikings: life and legend. Discover the world of these warriors, seafarers and conquerors, and come face to face with the largest Viking warship ever discovered.
Free Online
The Museum of the World
The British Museum
For the first time ever, discover objects from the British Museum’s collection from prehistory to the present using the most advanced WebGL (Web Graphics Library) technology available.
Theatre, Opera and Concerts
Free Online
Barbican Centre Concerts
Various Artists
Each Sunday and Thursday (from 22 March) Barbican Centre will be streaming a concert from our archive on our YouTube channel....
Free Online
Berliner Philharmoniker
Various Artists
Berliner Philharmoniker Digital Concert Hall presents a variety of free concerts in the upcoming weeks and months....
Festival Highlights
4th November 2020
Royal Geographical Society, London
Price: £135
How to Change the World 2020
How To Academy
How To Academy’s flagship conference brings together the inspirational individuals and organisations forging a better future for our planet. From technology to architecture, social innovation to green energy, you’ll meet the men and women making the world of tomorrow....
Unmissable Long Reads
The Elusive Peril of Space Junk
Raffi Khatchadourian
Millions of human artifacts circle the Earth. Can we clean them up before they cause a disaster?
The Fight Against Words That Sound Like, but Are Not, Slurs
Conor Friedersdorf
Colleges are torn apart when faculty are punished and publicly vilified for accidentally giving offense.
The Many Lives and Quiet Death of a Good Communist
Jon Lee Anderson
Fernando Barral spent his life trying to be a model Communist, only to be stymied by commissars of the Cuban Communist Party.
The Musk Ox and Me
Jon Lee Anderson
How a summer spent tracking elusive animals in Alaska led to a lifetime on the road.
Isabel Wilkerson’s World-Historical Theory of Race and Caste
Sunil Khilnani
By comparing white supremacy in the U.S. to the caste system in India, her new book at once illuminates and collapses a complex history.
How Jared Kushner’s Secret Testing Plan “Went Poof Into Thin Air”
Katherine Eban
This spring, a team working under the president’s son-in-law produced a plan for an aggressive, coordinated national COVID-19 response that could have brought the pandemic under control. So why did the White House spike it in favor of a shambolic 50-state response?
The Pandemic Is Changing Work Friendships
Nicole Mo
Co-workers had little choice but to bond when they spent 40 hours a week together. But if widespread remote work sticks around, those relationships will never be the same.
The Force Is Still Strong with John Williams
Alex Ross
At the age of eighty-eight, the self-effacing composer reflects on his extraordinary career.
How Capitalism Drives Cancel Culture
Helen Lewis
Beware splashy corporate gestures when they leave existing power structures intact.
She was just a damn cat – and I loved her
Sam Leith
I’ve never dug a grave before. But that was how I spent my Sunday afternoon.
Unmissable Podcasts
Israel Story – Ep. 1: Faking It
Mishy Harman and Ira Glass
From our relationship with Ira Glass to priceless antiquities all the way to coveted sick passes – Israeli stories that are anything but real. In our very first episode, the Israel Story team delves into the realm of fakes, forgeries, and mimicry. Three stories, from different periods and places, of people pretending to to be something they are not....
The Portal
Eric Weinstein
The Portal is an exploration into discovery, including conversations with thought leaders....
Revisionist Revisited: A Good Walk Spoiled
Malcolm Gladwell
Golfers everywhere love to hate this episode. Since its debut in Season 2, the subject of golf ignites Malcolm's Twitter feed like no other. Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell's journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood....
Normal People, The How To: Academy, The Ultimate Top 100 Classical Music Hits and the Virtual Great Wall of China
Lockdown Culture With Ed Vaizey by Country and Town House
Our Culture Editor Ed Vaizey is finally taking to the airwaves, recording from his bedroom, to give you his tips for staying in touch with all things cultural, highbrow, lowbrow and everything in between....
How to Fail: Mo Gawdat on how to cope with anxiety in a time of Coronavirus
How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
Elizabeth Day and Mo Gawdat, the former Chief Business Officer for Google [X], talk about how to handle negative thoughts, how to practise gratitude and the concept of 'committed acceptance', working out what you can actively do to make life better....
Donna Tartt and Rick Stroud
Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas
A rare interview with novelist Donna Tartt, author of The Secret History and The Goldfinch, with writer, producer, and friend Rick Stroud, in which they talk about writing, art and adventure....
How To Academy Podcast
Meet the global thought leaders visiting London's How To Academy to share ideas for changing our selves, communities, and the world....
The Origins Podcast
The Origins Podcast, hosted by Lawrence M. Krauss features in-depth conversations with some of the most interesting people in the world about the issues that impact all of us in the 21st century....
Talking Politics
Professor David Runciman and his colleagues in the University of Cambridge Politics department bring their considerable erudition to bear on the critical issues of the present....
Free Thinking
The BBC's unashamedly highbrow arts and ideas magazine, with conversation and debate at the intersection of politics, culture, and cutting edge academic research....
99% Invisible
Why did Freud choose a couch rather than a chair? Where do fortune cookies come from? Take a deep dive into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world....
The Daily
Ready by 6 a.m. five days a week, this podcast distills the biggest stories from The New York Times into a single, essential, 20 minute listen....
Reasons to be Cheerful
The former Labour leader Ed Milliband and radio host Geoff Lloyd meet the world's smartest thinkers....
This American Life
No directory of Unmissable Podcasts would be complete without the original and the best that public radio has to offer: Ira Glass's world-renowned documentary series, This American Life....
Global GoalsCast
Global GoalsCast is a podcast that inspires and empowers listeners to make the world a better place by sharing the stories individuals, companies, and organisations that are advancing and achieving a more sustainable world....
