A mind-boggling festival of music, comedy and big ideas returns to Hampstead Heath next month.
HowTheLightGetsIn celebrates its fifth anniversary in the grounds of Kenwood House with an Indian summer's worth of talks, screenings, debates, stand-up comedy and music from world renowned pioneering thinkers, politicians, scientists and entertainers.
The weekender runs across September 23 and 24 with topics ranging from artificial wombs and space farming to pornography, mass extinction and particle physics.
Music comes from Mercury prizewinner Badly Drawn Boy, Queer glam-rockers Walt Disco, and folk singer Blair Dunlop. There's a children's tent with sessions ranging from pottery to magic, juggling to thinking outside the box, and long table banquets with a four-course meal, wine and philosophical discussion beside Kenwood's lake.
And stand-up comics Heidi Regan, John Tothill, Leila Navabi, and Eleanor Tiernan should get sides splitting. With 150 speakers at 120 events across 12 venues to choose from, we round up some highlights.
The AI Apocalypse, Saturday September 23, 10.30am. Arena.
Ten months after the release of ChatGPT, this lively morning debate should get the synapses snapping, as DeepMind AI researcher Timothy Nguyen, world class poker player Liv Boeree, and Oxford Professor Michael Wooldridge discuss calls by high profile figures including Steve Wozniak and Elon Musk for a temporary halt to AI development. But is the future of humanity is at stake? Or are the systems we have now not 'artificial intelligence' but 'dumb algorithmic learning systems' which require legislation to limit social damage?
Ian Hislop's Fake News, September 23, 3pm, Art and Cinema Tent
In a screened documentary The Private Eye editor canters through the 200 year history of fake news, from Victorians on the moon to 21st century deepfakes to examine what motivates fake news - from profit, power and politics to prejudice, paranoia and propaganda - and tries to figure out what to do about it.
The Dream of Democracy September 24, 10.30am. Arena.
Government by the people for the people? In Britain, 94% of voters believe that donors, corporations, the media and lobbyist have more influence on political decisions than their views. Former House of Commons speaker John Bercow, philosopher Susan Neiman, and ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi debate whether curbing the influence of corporations or creating citizen assemblies would give more power to the people.
Barry Avrich Prosecuting Evil, Sunday September 24. 11am Art and Cinema Tent.
Barry Avrich's documentary tells the fascinating story of Holocaust hero Ben Ferencz. Age 98, he's the last surviving Nuremberg trial prosecutor and is on a life-long crusade for law not war. Ferencz was only 27 when he tried Nazi perpetrators of the Holocaust and what was called the biggest murder trial in history was his first case. He has advocated for restitution for Jewish victims of the Holocaust and for justice for victims of atrocity.
Ruby Wax: Searching for Sanity in a Chaotic World, Sunday September 24, 11.30am, Hat.
Actor and author of bestseller 'I'm Not As Well As I Thought I Was', Ruby Wax discusses how humour can help us to make sense of our confused selves, and chaotic world.
David Baddiel, The God Desire, Sunday September 24, 4pm Hat.
Is belief in God driven by an underlying human fear of mortality, or does religious belief offer more than a get-out-of-death free card? Hampstead comedian and award-winning author David Baddiel, in conversation with Chine McDonald, director of religion think tank Theos, unpacks the big questions surrounding mortality, the self, and the supernatural.
Deborah Frances-White Saturday 23, 9pm, Arena.
The host of award winning comedy podcast The Guilty Feminist, Deborah France-White brings her sharp, observant comedy and witty, feminist perspective to a deep dive on the ethics of non-monogamy. Taking the opening up of her own marriage as a spring board, she pairs personal anecdotes with her characteristic dry humour in a set that’s sure to be insightful, personal and side-splittingly funny.
Politician and political broadcaster Rory Stewart, Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun, and Marxist academic Richard Wolff debate the existential question of our era – is peace possible in an increasingly conflict ridden age? With personal experiences spanning diplomacy on the front lines of Iraq war, to forceful opposition to the current conflict in Ukraine, it's a debate not to miss.
Tickets are on sale now at HowTheLightGetsIn.org
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