Jerusalem on the Amstel: The Quest for Zion in the Dutch Republic
Speakers: Lipika Pelham, Keren David Lipika Pelham tells the extraordinary story of the Sephardi Jews of 17th century Amsterdam. The community, part of a ‘carnival of nations’ formed of French Huguenots, North African merchants, Spanish Moriscos and Iberian New Christians, was integral to the success of the Dutch Golden Age. They traded, wrote, staged plays […]
Are We Witnessing The Death of Democracy?
Speakers: Elif Shafak, Sarah Churchwell, Ed Husain, Lionel Shriver, Jonathan Freedland Tolerance, equality, democracy, free speech, a free press, separation of church and state, progress: these and other values of the Enlightenment have guided the West for over 300 years. But with trends such as the rise of populism and nationalism in the West, the […]
The Hebrew Bible
A masterpiece of deep learning and fine sensibility, Robert Alter‘s translation of the Hebrew Bible reanimates one of the formative works of our culture. Capturing its brilliantly compact poetry and finely-wrought prose, Alter renews the Old Testament as a source of literary power and spiritual inspiration. From the family frictions of Genesis and King David’s […]
The Secret World: A History of Intelligence
Speakers: Christopher Andrew, Helen Fry Christopher Andrew, the world’s leading historian of intelligence, presents a scintillating global account of three thousand years of spying. From the ultimate Biblical spymaster, Joshua, whose extensive spy network used a brothel in Bethlehem as their base, to the tactics of Caesar, the writings of Sun Tzu, Elizabeth I’s exasperation […]
Eve Was Shamed
Speakers: Helena Kennedy, Matthew Stadlen What comes after #MeToo? In this ‘chilling exposé’ of British justice, Helena Kennedy QC, one of our most eminent lawyers and human rights activists, confronts a system that is discriminating against – and failing – women. The law, she argues, holds up a mirror to society and it is not […]
If All The Seas Were Ink
Speakers: Ilana Kurshan, Yoel Finkelman When she was 27, Ilana Kurshan found herself alone in Jerusalem in the wake of a painful divorce. She joined the world’s largest book club, learning daf yomi, Hebrew for ‘daily page’ of the Talmud, taking her copy wherever she went. In If All the Seas Were Ink, Ilana takes […]
Under Cover: A Poet’s Life in Publishing
Speakers: Jeremy Robson, Maureen Lipman Acclaimed poet and publisher to the great and good, Jeremy Robson talks about his five decades in publishing, working with such intriguing and diverse figures as Marc Chagall, Ted Hughes (with whom he took a poetry tour of Israel), Joan Collins, Michael Winner, Muhammad Ali, Spike Milligan and Dannie Abse. […]
What have The Plantagenets Ever Done for Us
Speakers: Nick Barratt, Claudia Gold, Nicholas Vincent, Dominic Selwood The 11th and 12th centuries, from William the Bastard’s conquest in 1066 to the death of Henry II in 1189, have been described as a golden age for Anglo-Jewry. For over a century they were protected as ‘the King’s Jews’, flourishing both intellectually and economically. Their […]
Written in History: Letters That Changed The World
Speakers: Simon Sebag-Montefiore, Tanya Gold International bestselling author and historian Simon Sebag-Montefiore selects over 100 letters, from Rameses, Suleiman the Magnificent and Elizabeth I, to Stalin, Emmeline Pankhurst and Leonard Cohen, from ancient times to the present. He examines human strength and frailty, presenting the most intimate thoughts of visionaries, artists and great leaders. Montefiore, […]
Doing Nothing
Speakers: Josh Cohen, Matthew Stadlen Oscar Wilde said that doing nothing is, ‘the most difficult thing in the world’. Today we live in a culture that demonises idleness, and the glorious art of doing nothing is disappearing. We are subject to a constant flow of information, and a permanent busyness pervades even our quietest moments. […]
A Brave New World? Living in a Society Transformed by Technology
Speakers: Jamie Susskind, Jacob Turner, Hugo Rifkind Our world is undergoing a seismic transformation. Digital technologies – from artificial intelligence to blockchain, from robotics to virtual reality – are transforming the way we live together, and the future of politics. Artificial intelligence alone raises tremendous legal and ethical issues. In a world transformed by technology, […]
Agent Jack- Fighting The Nazis on British Soil
Speakers: Robert Hutton, Helen Fry June 1940: Britain is Hitler’ s next target. Some Britons are pro-Nazi, and they determine to do all they can to hasten Hitler’s arrival. Throughout WWII, Britain’s defence against the ‘enemy within’ was the unlikely figure of Eric Roberts, a former bank clerk turned MI5 agent. Codenamed Jack King, he […]