Speakers: Tracy-Ann Oberman, Bobby Duffy, Alex von Tunzelmann, Rafael Behr

150 years after ‘Culture War’ (Kulturkampf) was first used to describe the clash between church and state in Prussia, and three decades after sociologist James Davison Hunter popularised the term, we see the US embroiled in often-violent divisions and increasingly divisive debate here in the UK on everything from language and storytelling to flags and masks. But to what extent are these tensions ‘wars’, exacerbated by social media and the press, or the normal heightened ‘conversations’ that happen periodically in every society? And why is the Jewish community, seemingly neither mainstream nor minority, so frequently excluded from these conversations?

Ridley Road & Friday Night Dinner actress Tracy-Ann Oberman has emerged as a vital voice for the Jewish community, standing up to antisemitism on social media and initiating important conversations with the Royal Court and others. With statues looming large in these debates, internationally bestselling historian Alex von Tunzelmann looks at this very visible and long controversial form of cultural storytelling in Fallen Idols, asking whether history is actually made rather than erased when these monuments come down. In Generations: Does When You’re Born Shape Who You Are?Policy Institute director Bobby Duffy challenges myths and stereotypes as he seeks a greater understanding around generational challenges. They join Guardian columnist Rafael Behr, previously Financial Times foreign correspondent and BBC business reporter.