Tim Black is a columnist, and books and essays editor, at spiked. His writing has also appeared in the EU Observer, the Australian, the Independent, La Repubblica and others. He holds a PhD in English from the University of Sussex. […]
Speakers and Panellists
forthcoming speakers
Ken McLaughlin
Ken McLaughlin has over 30 years of experience in social work and social care, including as a senior lecturer. His research is concerned with the way in which societal problems are viewed through a therapeutic gaze, and his writing has appeared in academic journals. Ken is author of Social work, politics and society: From Radicalism to Orthodoxy (Policy Press 2008), Surviving Identity: Vulnerability and the Psychology of […]
Bridgette Bewick
Bridgette Bewick is a University of Leeds Professor in Psychological Health, Wellbeing and Education who has advanced our understanding of how to integrate sense of belonging and wellbeing into university curricula and culture. She’s facilitated a safe space for staff and students to come together and engage in honest and authentic discussion around creating a compassionate and inclusive university experience. Her international career is dedicated […]
JJ Charlesworth
JJ Charlesworth is a writer and art critic. He studied art at London’s Goldsmiths College and his reviews, articles and commentaries have appeared in publications including Art Monthly, Time Out, the Telegraph and the Spectator. Since 2006, he has worked on the editorial staff of the international art magazine ArtReview, where he is now editor. He has a PhD in art history from the Royal […]
previous speakers
James Woudhuysen
James Woudhuysen is a physics graduate and Visiting Professor in Forecasting and Innovation at London South Bank University. He specialises in Asia and, more broadly, he covers the economics, technology and sociology of innovation, especially in construction, energy, IT, infrastructure, transport and the office. He writes for spiked and has written for the Economist, The Times and Blueprint magazine. He is co-author of Energise! A future for energy innovation (Beautiful Books, […]
Luke Brunning
Luke Brunning is a Lecturer in Applied and Inter-Disciplinary Ethics at the IDEA Centre at the University of Leeds, where he runs the Centre for Love, Sex and Relationships and the Ethical Dating Online Research Network. He previously held a lectureship at the University of Birmingham and a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Oxford. His research concerns romantic relationships, the emotions, applied […]
Natasha McKeever
Natasha McKeever is a Lecturer in Applied Ethics at IDEA, the Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds, where she has worked since 2017. She co-directs the Centre for Love, Sex and Relationships there and co-leads the Ethical Dating Online Research Network. She has published on a number of topics related to the philosophy of love, sex and relationships, and is the editor of two […]
Denise Fahmy
Denise Fahmy is co-founder of Freedom in the Arts, a new organisation promoting freedom of speech and expression in the UK cultural sector. Together with choreographer Rosie Kay, she started the organisation having seen the growth of censorship and the impact on artists of being ‘cancelled’. Denise has worked in the cultural sector for 30 years and specialises in visual arts. She worked for Arts […]
Timandra Harkness
Timandra Harkness is a writer and broadcaster, being a regular on BBC Radio 4, writing and presenting FutureProofing, How To Disagree, Steelmanning and Political School, and documentaries including Data, Data Everywhere, Divided Nation, and What Has Sat-Nav Done To Our Brains. She was also resident reporter on the social psychology series The Human Zoo. Timandra is s fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, and the founder […]
Peter Bull
Professor Peter Bull is an Honorary Professor in Psychology at the University of York. His principal interest is the detailed microanalysis of interpersonal communication, in particular nonverbal communication and political discourse; he also has interests in the social psychology of health. Peter read modern history at the University of Oxford, and psychology at the University of Exeter, where he wrote a PhD thesis on the […]
Maurice Waddle
Dr Maurice Waddle is a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of York. His interests are in the interpersonal communication behaviour of politicians: including investigations into how politicians deal with challenging questions and the consequences of evasive responses, how political speakers and audiences interact, and the form and function of adversarial opposition at Prime Minister’s Questions. Maurice is co-author with Peter Bull of The Psychology […]
Nat Edwards
Nat Edwards is Director General of Royal Armouries Museum. As a museum curator and community activist, he has worked in museums, galleries and archives for almost 35 years – developing exhibitions, education and community-based projects as well as major capital projects. Nat is the author of Caledonia’s Last Stand: In Search of the Lost Scots of Darien (Luath Press Ltd, 2007). […]
Mark Westgarth
Mark Westgarth is Professor of the History of the Art Market at the University of Leeds. He is founder and Director of the Centre for the Study of the Art & Antiques Market in the School of Fine Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies. Mark is also Chair of the Museums & Galleries History Group. He was guest curator for the exhibition, ‘SOLD! The […]
Remi Adekoya
Dr Remi Adekoya is a politics lecturer at the University of York. Before academia, Remi was a journalist writing for the Guardian, Sunday Times, New Statesman, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, Politico, Spectator, Evening Standard and UnHerd. He’s provided commentary for CNN, BBC, Sky News, Al Jazeera, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, South African Broadcasting Corporation, African International Television, Radio France International, Talk Radio and Times […]