The 2026 Conversation explores the themes of social justice and how we write about the world with curiosity and rigour and a sense of wonder. We can have faith in humane intelligence that looks for knowledge and wisdom rather than news and information and values a storyteller’s insight and understanding and a form of activism that breaks beyond algorithms and orthodoxies.
Running from 27th January to 28th April 2026, the winter-spring season of The Conversation 2026 will tackle topics the LGBTQ+ culture of San Francisco as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of author Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, the role of AI and state power with journalist Carole Cadwalladr, climate change and the state of the nation with novelist Ian McEwan, invisible women in history with Hallie Rubenhold, faith, religion and what it means to be human with Kate Bowler, race and social justice in the USA and UK with Gary Younge, the battle for modern America with historian Sarah Churchwell, how to care for your health with world-renowned immunologist Daniel M. Davis and fighting for the environment with “Birdgirl” Mya-Rose Craig.
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.
Full information on The Conversation is available here: stmartin-in-the-fields.org/the-conversation/
Ticket Info
Location: St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ.
Dates: 27th January – 28th April
Time: Tuesdays from 7pm – 8.30pm
Price: £10 for in person tickets. £10 for online tickets
Ticket Link: https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/the-conversation/
Box Office: 020 7766 1100 BoxOffice@smitf.org
THE CONVERSATION 2026 LINE UP
27th January: Britain’s leading living novelist Ian McEwan will discuss the moral consequences of global climate catastrophe, a theme in his new speculative fiction novel What We Can Know, set in a future England devastated by the aftermath of AI-led nuclear wars between world powers, that leads to climate devastation.
3rd February: Winner of the Orwell Prize for Journalism in 2023, professor of sociology at University of Manchester and Formerly Editor at Large at The Guardian Gary Younge, one of Britain’s leading experts on race in America, will discuss his new book Pigeonholed a powerful reflection on race, racism and creativity in the UK today. In the first of several conversations marking the 250th anniversary of American Independence, the writer and journalist analyses the state of the union and the question of race in USA 2026.
10th February: Iconic LGBTQ+ author Armistead Maupin will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his legendary book Tales of the City the first book (and later a TV series) that addressed homophobia and transphobia with wit and compassion, helping to dismantle barriers and bring the LGBTQ+ experience into mainstream dialogue. The character of Anna Madrigal, the transgender landlady, was an early trans icon in popular fiction. The series provided millions of mainstream readers their first exposure to gay and straight characters coexisting as equals, dealing with universal themes of love, loneliness, and friendship. Named as one of the BBC’s 100 Most Inspiring Novels, a PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick and Britain’s favourite gay/lesbian novel from The Big Gay Read. Following on from the talk, The Conversation will also host a unique supper with the author and a signed copy of Maupin’s memoir Logical Family.
24th February: Author and Professor of American Literature, Sarah Churchwell discusses her Smithsonian book of the year, Behold, America: A History of America First and the American Dream, which overturns everything we thought we knew about the American dream, America First and the battle for the identity of modern America.
10th March: Multi-award-winning investigative journalist and co-founder of The Nerve, Carole Cadwalladr analyses the opaque and unaccountable Silicon Valley companies that are accelerating the global axis of autocracy in the How to Survive The Broligarchy Substack.
24th March: The #1 Sunday Times bestselling and Baillie Gifford prize-winning author of The Five, the Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, Hallie Rubenhold is a renowned social historian whose expertise lies in revealing stories of previously unknown women in history. Hallie will talk about re-balancing the narratives about gender and social justice in 19th century and 20th century London and her new book Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress and Dr Crippen.
7th April: Does orange juice help ward off colds? How does age, sleep and stress affect our immune health system? Is anything we’re sold as healthy actually true? What can we do to live a happier and healthier life? The world-renowned immunologist Daniel M. Davis sorts the facts from the fictions in his book Self-Defence: A Myth-busting Guide to Immune Health. Davis is Head of Life Sciences and Professor of Immunology at Imperial College, London.
21st April: Mya-Rose Craig known as BirdGirl shares her incredible journey as an activist, environmentalist, and keen birdwatcher. She also speaks passionately about founding her charity, Black2Nature, and her work to make the environmental sector more inclusive and representative for everyone. Mya-Rose’s story shows how personal passion can drive real change, and how young voices are shaping the future of green careers. Her 2023 Book BirdGirl was winner of a Somerset Maugham Award.
28th April: New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and Professor of Religious History at Duke University, American Kate Bowler will talk about her new book Joyful Anyway (out April 2026) and about her experience battling stage IV cancer and how her outlook on pretty much everything she thought she knew about life was turned upside down.
