There’s a lot happening in the world right now, and we’ve lined up a second November event to inspire, inform and entertain. Join us to hear our incredible speakers help us to navigate the twilight of democracy, the unravelling of the American era, the lonely century, the secrets in our bones, and how to win big at the poker table.

How can we make sense of the seductive lure of authoritarianism? Anne Applebaum is a staff writer for The Atlantic and a Pulitzer-prize winning historian. Anne's newest book Twilight of Democracy explains, with electrifying clarity, why some have abandoned liberal democratic ideals in favour of strongman cults, nationalist movements, or one-party states.

Named by The Observer as “one of the world’s leading thinkers” and by Vogue as “one of the world’s most inspiring women,” economist Noreena Hertz joins us to talk about The Lonely Century. Even before a global pandemic introduced us to social distancing, Noreena argued that loneliness was becoming the defining condition of the twenty-first century. Noreena’s book is the result of a decade of research into everything from remote working in lockdown to robot caregivers in Japan and offers solutions to the modern crisis of loneliness.

Dame Professor Sue Black is a world-renowned forensic anthropologist and the Sunday Times bestselling author of All That Remains. Sue's new book Written in Bone reveals the secrets hidden deep within our bones. Drawing upon a wealth of remarkable experience, she argues that bones are the silent witnesses to the lives we lead.

Maria Konnikova is a New York Times best-selling author, journalist, and a student of human behaviour. She is also a professional poker player. Maria had never played poker before when she approached Erik Seidel, Poker Hall of Famer and winner of tens of millions of dollars in prize money, and convinced him to be her mentor. Within a year, she began making money from tournaments, ultimately winning hundreds of thousands of dollars. She tells all in her latest book The Biggest Bluff, a New York Times bestseller.

Anthropologist Wade Davis holds the Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. His award-winning books include Into the Silence, The Wayfinders, and Magdalena: River of Dreams. He joins us to talk about COVID-19 and the unravelling of an American era – based on his viral article from Rolling Stone magazine earlier this year.

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