Current Affairs

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Anila Baig Interviewed by Stephen Law

The Inner Lives of Troubled Young Muslims
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sat 26 Saturday, 26 March 2022 See this event
Keiran Goddard and Caelainn Hogan Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

The Passenger Ireland CANCELLED
St Cross College 10:00am Sun 27 Sunday, 27 March 2022 See this event
Lea Ypi and Pieter Waterdrinker Chaired by Boyd Tonkin

Voices of Europe. Living Through History: The Turbulent End of Communism SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Sun 27 Sunday, 27 March 2022 See this event
Helen Thompson Interviewed by Gwenan Edwards

Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Mon 28 Monday, 28 March 2022 See this event
Lucy Easthope Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

When the Dust Settles: Stories of Love, Loss and Hope from an Expert in Disaster
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Tue 29 Tuesday, 29 March 2022 See this event
Bobby Duffy

Generations: Does When You’re Born Shape Who You Are?
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 2:00pm Tue 29 Tuesday, 29 March 2022 See this event
Peter Stott

Hot Air: The Inside Story of the Battle Against Climate Change Denial
St Cross College 2:00pm Tue 29 Tuesday, 29 March 2022 See this event
Carissa Veliz Interviewed by Stephen Law

Artificial Intelligence: A New Age Dawns. Just How Terrified Should We Be? CANCELLED
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Tue 29 Tuesday, 29 March 2022 See this event
Elijah Lawal, Gary Younge and Alex von Tunzelmann Chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate: Toppling Statues and Fallen Idols
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Tue 29 Tuesday, 29 March 2022 See this event
Hilali Noordeen Interviewed by Muir Gray

Letters to a Young Doctor: Exploring and Surviving a Career in Medicine
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Tue 29 Tuesday, 29 March 2022 See this event
Susie Alegre Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

Freedom to Think: The Long Struggle to Liberate Our Minds
St Cross College 6:00pm Tue 29 Tuesday, 29 March 2022 See this event
Jonathan Fenby and George Magnus Chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate: A New Chinese Empire?
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Tue 29 Tuesday, 29 March 2022 See this event
Paul Summerville and Eric Protzer Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

Reclaiming Populism: How Economic Fairness Can Win Back Disenchanted Voters
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Nigel Ashton

False Prophets: British Leaders’ Fateful Fascination with the Middle East from Suez to Syria
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Geert Mak Interviewed by Gwenan Edwards

Voices of Europe: The Dream of Europe
Bodleian: Divinity School 6:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Martin Bell Interviewed by Mary Hockaday

War and Peacekeeping: Personal Reflections on Conflict and Lasting Peace
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Ed Miliband

The Provost of Worcester College Lecture. Go Big: 20 Bold Solutions to Fix our World
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Philipp Ther

Voices of Europe. The Outsiders: Refugees in Europe since 1492
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 6:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
John Crace

A Farewell to Calm: The New Normal Survival Guide
Bodleian: Divinity School 6:00pm Fri 1 Friday, 1 April 2022 See this event
Gideon Rachman

The Age of the Strongman: How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy SOLD OUT
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sat 2 Saturday, 2 April 2022 See this event
Kate Clanchy and Rebecca Abrams Interviewed by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate: Sensitive Readers SOLD OUT
Blackwell’s bookshop 2:00pm Sat 2 Saturday, 2 April 2022 See this event
Mariana Mazzucato Introduced by Martin Sandbu

Voices of Europe. Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Sat 2 Saturday, 2 April 2022 See this event
John Kampfner Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

Voices of Europe. Why the Germans do it Better: Notes from a Grown-up Country SOLD OUT
Lincoln College 4:00pm Sat 2 Saturday, 2 April 2022 See this event
Tom Tugendhat Interviewed by Alec Russell

FT Weekend Lecture: Britain, the Conservative Party and the World
Sheldonian Theatre 6:30pm Sat 2 Saturday, 2 April 2022 See this event
Ian Goldin

Rescue: From Global Crisis to a Better World
Bodleian: Divinity School 10:00am Sun 3 Sunday, 3 April 2022 See this event
Jess Phillips Interviewed by Nick Higham

Everything you Really need to Know about Politics: My Life as an MP SOLD OUT
Randolph Hotel: Ballroom 12:00pm Sun 3 Sunday, 3 April 2022 See this event
Stefan Dercon Interviewed by Ian Goldin

Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others Lose
Blackwell’s bookshop 12:00pm Sun 3 Sunday, 3 April 2022 See this event
James Hanratty Interviewed by Ian Goldin

The Making of an Immigration Judge CANCELLED
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 3 Sunday, 3 April 2022 See this event
Chris Patten Interviewed by Rana Mitter

Hong Kong Diaries
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Fri 16 Friday, 16 September 2022 See this event

Festival information:

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.

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.

The Oxford Literary Festival is intellectual Viagra.

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.

The Oxford festival is the most elegant and atmospheric of literary festivals. It’s a pleasure to both attend and perform there.

The Oxford Literary Festival has in my mind become the leading literary festival of the year. The organisation, the roster of speakers, the ambience and the sheer quality of it all is superb. May it now go from strength to strength each year stretching its ambition more and more. I believe it will.