Science | Oxford Literary Festival

Martin Rees Interviewed by Ian Goldin

Princeton Lecture. On the Future: Prospects for Humanity
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Sat 30 Saturday, 30 March 2019 See this event
Sydney Padua

The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage SOLD OUT
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sat 30 Saturday, 30 March 2019 See this event
John Bargh

Before You Know It: The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do SOLD OUT
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Giles Yeo

Gene Eating: The Science of Obesity and the Truth about Diets
Worcester College: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Marcus du Sautoy

The Creativity Code: How AI is Learning to Write, Paint and Think
Sheldonian Theatre 5:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Robin Choudhury

Leonardo to Present: The Story of the Heart
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Robin Ince

I’m a Joke and So Are You: A Comedian’s Take on What Makes Us Human
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Mark Davis

Mathematical Finance: A Very Short Introduction
Blackwell’s Marquee 5:15pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Robert Winston Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

An Audience with Robert Winston
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Anna Marie Roos

Martin Lister and his Remarkable Daughters: The Art of Science in the 17th Century
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Wed 3 Wednesday, 3 April 2019 See this event
Bryan Sykes

The Wolf Within: A Genetic History of Man’s Best Friend
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Wed 3 Wednesday, 3 April 2019 See this event
Josh Cohen

Not Working: Why We Have to Stop
Bodleian: Divinity School 2:00pm Wed 3 Wednesday, 3 April 2019 See this event
David Barrie

Incredible Journeys: How Animals Great and Small Find their Way
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 6:00pm Wed 3 Wednesday, 3 April 2019 See this event
Tim Radford

The Consolations of Physics: Why the Wonders of the Universe can make you Happy
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Guy Leschziner Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

The Nocturnal Brain: Tales of Nightmares and Neuroscience SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Rob Iliffe

Newton: A Very Short Introduction
Blackwell’s Marquee 1:15pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Violet Moller

The Map of Knowledge: How Classical Ideas Were Lost and Found
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Andrew Briggs

It Keeps Me Seeking: The Invitation from Science, Philosophy and Religion
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Angela Gallop

When the Dogs Don’t Bark: A Forensic Scientist’s Search for the Truth SOLD OUT
Weston Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Gina Rippon

The Gendered Brain: Shattering the Myth of the Female Brain SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 2:00pm Fri 5 Friday, 5 April 2019 See this event
Adam Rutherford

The Book of Humans: The Story of How We Became Us
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Fri 5 Friday, 5 April 2019 See this event
Oren Harman Interviewed by Frederick Studemann

Evolutions: Fifteen Myths that Explain our World
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Fri 5 Friday, 5 April 2019 See this event
Merve Emre

What’s Your Type? The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 10:00am Sat 6 Saturday, 6 April 2019 See this event
Lewis Dartnell

Origins: How the Earth Made Us
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Sat 6 Saturday, 6 April 2019 See this event
Geoff Cottrell

Matter: A Very Short Introduction
Blackwell’s Marquee 1:15pm Sat 6 Saturday, 6 April 2019 See this event
Venki Ramakrishnan

Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Sat 6 Saturday, 6 April 2019 See this event
Jules Montague Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

Lost and Found: Memory, Identity, and Who We Become When We’re No Longer Ourselves SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 2:00pm Sun 7 Sunday, 7 April 2019 See this event

Festival information:

Every literary festival stays in an author’s mind for slightly individual reasons. I shall remember the Oxford festival for: - the size of the audience: at the top end of the range - their intelligence – this makes a huge difference for a speaker. In the Oxford audience I encountered many experts in the field my book covered and even one of the ambassadors I’d quoted - the beauty and the grace of the place itself – incomparable - the willingness of my hearers to buy books afterwards; I’ve never sold more.

I came away buzzing and reassured that we still have in this century a wide ranging community fascinated not just by famous authors (I’ve rarely seen so many concentrated in one place) but by challenging ideas and questions.

A stimulating and rewarding on-stage conversation; a lively informed and tolerant audience; privileged access to the great treasures of the Bodleian, and finally, wonderfully interesting dinner companions to help me conclude the best day I have enjoyed at any festival – anywhere.

The night in Oxford was the most beautiful event I have ever done. Not just the spectacular setting (of the Sheldonian), but an unforgettable evening.

It was a privilege for me to visit the festival to receive the Bodley Medal. As an incidental blessing I saw Oxford at its most mysterious and atmospheric. It was a day of piercing cold and as I walked through the twilight from the Sheldonian to Christ Church, the streets were empty and the whole city was shutting itself away. Christ Church was silent except for the footfall of unseen persons around corners and the sounds of evensong creeping from behind closed doors. For the first time I understood thoroughly the power of college ghost stories.

I loved the whole atmosphere of the Oxford Literary Festival. From breakfast, alongside some of the attendees, who were talking books with each other a mile a minute, to the public event at The Sheldonian where everyone was lively and engaged – I felt I had arrived in a kind of literary heaven.

Often as an author, I only occasionally get to meet the public who buy and read my books. The Oxford Literary Festival was a special opportunity for me and certainly one of the highlights of my career – it was an honour I will never forget.

The Oxford Literary Festival is intellectual Viagra.

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