Steel Dust: Young and Old

We ask the experts: does society really care about the old and the vulnerable?

28 October 2013

On November 1 Melvyn Bragg will talk about his book Grace and Mary at the Festival of Ideas.  The novel is based on Bragg’s own bitter-sweet experience of his mother’s dementia. Looking back across three generations, it raises fundamental questions about social attitudes and how they shape our lives. Three people discuss some of the big challenges that face us.

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Why do we read (and write) novels?

14 October 2013

On the eve of the Man Booker prize, our insatiable appetite for fiction (and fascination with those who create it) comes sharply into focus. According to the Publishers Association, sales of paperback fiction rose by 3% in 2012 to £502 million, while sales of digital novels soared by almost 150%, reaching £172 million. What’s the magic of reading and writing?

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Catch some Hay fever online

04 June 2013

Eight of the talks from the Cambridge Series from this year’s Hay Festival are now available for users to stream or download online.

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Crime and punishment: a 19th-century love affair

30 April 2013

The violence of everyday life in 19th-century Europe – including murder most foul, handsome bandits, wicked women and huge crowds at executions – is being revealed in all its bloody detail by Cambridge University Library.

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Women on a bench

Tick, tick, tick: the demographic time bomb

03 November 2012

By 2032 a quarter of the British population will be over the age of 65. On November 3, a panel of economists, businessmen and social scientists will gather in Cambridge to discuss the issues surrounding this rapid demographic change.

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Thinkin' about the code

Are we being sold online?

27 October 2012

A panel discussion for the Festival of Ideas examines whether social media giants are profiting from our willingness to share the most intimate details of our lives online, and whether we should be worried by this compromise to our privacy.

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David Bainbridge

Crisis, what crisis? The myths and magic of middle age

14 October 2012

Middle age is often viewed negatively – a time of gradual, uncontrolled decline. But according to Dr David Bainbridge, who will be speaking at the University of Cambridge’s Festival of Ideas, science suggests that it’s a crucially important period of our lives.

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