Thinking on Sunday was launched as a new series of events with different themes to the Sunday Lectures. These interesting and stimulating sessions have a talk or presentation followed by Q&A, debate and discussion. The speakers are experts in their field, and/or have a passion for subject. Especially popular with our ethical society members, Thinking on Sunday is open to the public and promises to motivate and nourish the mind!
Is public health trapped in a web of influence? Jonathan H. Marks argues that public-private partnerships create “webs of influence” that undermine the integrity of public health agencies and distort health policy and research.
Join award-winning science writer Angela Saini as she dissects the political roots of race, why scientists can’t seem to look beyond it, and the dark and dangerous ways in which scientific racism persists to this day.
Oh Mr Horne, how bona to vada your dolly old eke!
When being gay could result in criminal prosecution – or worse – Polari offered its speak-ers a degree of public camouflage and community. Paul Baker recounts the story of Polari with skill, erudition and tenderness.
In an increasingly divided world, how we might change the minds of others? Philosopher and journalist Eleanor Gordon-Smith discusses some lucid, gripping stories that show the limits of human reason with Little Atoms podcaster Neil Denny.
Revealed: how Brexit will change Britain. As Gavin Esler explains, from the food markets of Kent to NHS operating theatres to the boardrooms of big employers, Brexit throws up many surprises.
From Blurred Lines to gang signs, how does society cause toxic masculinity? But what is masculinity? Dominating the world around us, from Trump’s twitter outbursts to deadly gun violence, from male suicide rates to incels on Reddit and 4chan, masculinity is perceived to be ‘toxic’, ‘fragile’ and ‘in crisis’.
Walking upright on two feet is a uniquely human skill. It defines us as a species and it’s this overlooked ability that could make unbelievable changes to us as individuals and to society, if we embraced it. Shane O’Mara celebrates this miraculous ability.
In a world where fake news, mistrust of experts, prejudice and ignorance all too often hold sway, we can all too easily be misled over issues such as vaccinations, climate change or conspiracy theories. Knowing how to think clearly and critically has literally helped save the world.
In the 2010s socioeconomic factors led to the widespread and increased disenfranchisement of poorer people from the mainstream media and the institutions shaping it. To put it plainly: the vast majority of people now tasked with creating our media simply lack the sensibilities that have always driven artistic innovation.
Anarchism routinely gets a bad press. It is seen as meaning chaos and disorder — or even nothing at all. And yet, from Extinction Rebellion to Pussy Riot, Noam Chomsky to David Graeber, this philosophical and political movement is as relevant as ever.
As innovations in military technologies race toward ever-greater levels of AI and autonomy, Dr Elke Schwarz reframes the debates around automation and violent technologies.
Criss-crossing the British Isles with a haul of statistics, charts and equations, Stuart Newman’s Britain by Numbers vividly bringing our nation to life in new and unexpected ways by showing who lives here, where we work, who we marry, what crimes we commit and much else besides.
