The Summer series of The Conversation asks the questions “How do we talk about the world we have made? And where do we go from here? We will celebrate the natural world with Jackie Morris & Robert Macfarlane and Andrea Wulf. We have two events with Harriet Walter and Janina Ramirez who reclaim and champion women’s voices, and three powerful explorations of global justice with Jonathan Sumption, Selina Nwulu and Oliver Bullough. We mark the 250th anniversary of American independence with the historian Sarah Churchwell and the living legend Armistead Maupin. And we have a headline interview with Ali Smith, whose latest novel confirms her status as a truly great chronicler of our turbulent times.
The summer season of The Conversation 2026 will tackle topics including the LGBTQ+ culture of San Francisco as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of author Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City; what Shakespeare’s women really were thinking with award winning actress Dame Harriet Walter (Killing Eve, Sense & Sensibility) why conversations on our planet’s future must focus on those most affected with poet and essayist Selina Nwulu (Black Climates); the battle for modern America with historian and professor Sarah Churchwell (Behold, America); the limits and breaking points of democracy in the modern world with former barrister and senior judge Jonathan Sumption (The Challenges of Democracy and the Rule of Law); how money laundering and the dirty economy works with investigative journalist and multi-award winning author Oliver Bullough (Everybody Loves Our Dollars); and we explore contemporary life and language with Orwell Prize and Women’s Prize for Fiction winner Ali Smith (Gliff, Glyph). We imagine how the lives of birds intersect with our own with Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane (The Book of Birds); reveal the real women behind historical legends with broadcaster and cultural historian Dr Janina Ramirez (Legenda) and celebrate the life of explorer George Forster with historian and award-winning author Andrea Wulf (The Traveller).
The Conversation is programmed by Peter Florence and takes place at St Martin-in-the-Fields on Tuesday nights with tickets from £10. The Conversation invites members of the audience to carry on the conversation and engage directly with the speaker following each event. The talks are also available to be live streamed and watched from anywhere in the world.
