Genius & Anxiety: How Jews Changed The World 1847-1947
Moses said the Law is everything. Jesus said love is everything. Marx said money is everything. Freud said sex is everything. Einstein said everything is relative. The latter three were among a small number of men and women who transformed how we see the world in the period 1847 – 1947. Author Norman Lebrecht discusses […]
Family Business
Speakers: Peter Conradi, Charlotte Mendelson Peter Conradi’s ‘masterpiece’ of a memoir ranges from his European Jewish forebears who came to Britain in the Victorian era to novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch, whose biography Conradi wrote. He writes movingly of their close relationship, of his public school and life on a kibbutz, of participating in the […]
The World According to Physics
Speakers: Jim Al-Khalili, Etan Ilfeld Jim Al-Khalili shines a light on the most profound insights revealed by modern physics, inviting us to understand what physics tells us about the universe and the nature of reality itself. He illuminates why physics matters to everyone and calls us to share in the profound adventure of seeking truth […]
Al Alvarez, Elaine Feinstein & Clive Sinclair: A Tribute
Speakers: Natasha Lehrer, Bryan Cheyette, David Herman In the past two years we have lost three of the greatest Anglo-Jewish writers of their generation: the poet Elaine Feinstein (1930-2019), the novelist and short story writer Clive Sinclair (1948-2018) and the writer and critic Al Alvarez (1929-2019). They introduced a new voice to Jewish writing in […]
Under My Hat
Speakers: Sally Berkovic, Adam Taub Sally Berkovic chronicles the challenges of raising daughters while straddling the tensions between an Orthodox religious life and the forces of secularism. In this new edition of Under My Hat she demonstrates how women’s scholarship and mastery of Talmudic texts, the burgeoning movement of Orthodox women clergy, enhanced ritual participation, […]
Lies, Unicorns & The Jewish Question
What can Judaism teach us about today’s information chaos, hyper-propaganda and dangerous polarisation? Join author Peter Pomerantsev and Rabbi Jeremy Gordon to discuss Peter’s new book This is Not Propaganda. An event from Jewish Book Week 2020.
Einstein on the Run
Speakers: Andrew Robinson In the autumn of 1933, Albert Einstein was living alone in an isolated holiday hut in Norfolk, ‘on the run’ from Nazi death threats. There, he toiled peacefully at mathematics while occasionally stepping out for walks or to play his violin. Andrew Robinson tells the story of the world’s greatest scientist’s long […]
Enemies of the People? How Judges Shape Society
Speakers: John Dyson, Dinah Rose, Philippe Sands, Joshua Rozenberg Do judges use the power of the state for the good of the nation? Or do they create new laws in line with their personal views? When newspapers reported a court ruling on Brexit, senior judges were shocked to see themselves condemned as enemies of the […]
Josephus & Other Jews: Piety & Schism, Faith & Intelligence in Jewish History & Culture
Speakers: Frederic Raphael, Martin Goodman, Armand D’Angour Titus Flavius Josephus (born as Joseph ben Mattathias) was a Jewish general turned Roman historian and the author of The Jewish War, an account of the Jewish revolt against Rome and one of the greatest war narratives ever written. A diaspora writer, he wrote in Greek for an […]
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World
Speakers: Elif Shafak, Sam Leith Dubbed ‘one of the best writers in the world today’ by author Hanif Kureishi, novelist Elif Shafak has produced a work of great power and beauty. Sex worker Leila is dying, her body abandoned in a rubbish dump. In the last ten minutes 38 seconds of her life she recollects […]
Around The World in 80 Trees: An Illustrated Odyssey
Author, Eden Project trustee, WWF ambassador and former BBC TV science producer and commissioner Jonathan Drori has produced a glorious love letter to trees, our most constant and varied companion. Trees shape our lives, bountiful givers of food, medicine, sanctuary – and poisons. From India’s sacred banyan to the perfumed cedars of Lebanon, take an illustrated tour […]
The Swiss, The Nazis & The Stolen Gold
Speakers: Tom Bower, Adam Lebor, Hella Pick Switzerland not only financed the Nazis and refused admission to the Jewish refugees fleeing them; the country’s most senior government officials and financial institutions systematically conspired to keep billions in gold and other valuables deposited by Jews in Swiss banks or stolen by the Nazis from their rightful […]