The Hay 30 – Hannah CRITCHLOW

From the genetics of insects and groundbreaking x-ray technology to measuring the world’s forests with lasers, three Royal Society Research Fellows discuss their work at the forefront of science with neuroscientist and broadcaster Hannah Critchlow.

A classicist and a neuroscientist explore the Ancient Greek words Liberty, Comedy, Charisma, Xenia, Wisdom and Peace and travel both forwards and backwards in time, investigating how these ideas have been moulded by history and have made an impact on history and the human experience. Hughes is the author of Helen of Troy – Goddess, Whore and The Hemlock Cup. Critchlow is named as a British Council's Top 100 UK Scientist for her work in communication.

A theologian and a neuroscientist explore the concept of consciousness: is it unique to humans? Are we all simply machines? Do we have free will? Can we invoke an enhanced collective consciousness? Bringing together findings from science and insights from religion they unpick what it means to be conscious. Williams is Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge and a former Archbishop of Canterbury. Critchlow is named as a British Council's Top 100 UK Scientists for her work in communication and author of Consciousness: A LadyBird Expert book, which will be launched at Hay.

Start your day at Hay Festival with our daily news review. Join our leading journalists and special guests as they take us behind the headlines with insider perspectives, insights and an eye on what’s next. Strong coffee recommended!

Among today’s guests are neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow, author of Joined-up Thinking, Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford and author of Shattered Nation and AC Grayling, philosopher and Master of the New College of the Humanities at Northeastern University, London, and is chaired by leading science writer and broadcaster Vivienne Parry.

To solve the global challenges we face, we need our best brain power. So how do we create genius environments, help our brains flourish and boost group thinking to achieve that? Neuroscientist and author of The Science of Fate Hannah Critchlow shares why two heads are better than one, electrifying our minds with brain synchronicity, exploring the power of intuition and increasing our tolerance for uncertainty. Her new book is Joined-Up Thinking: The Science of Collective Intelligence and its Power to Change our Lives.

Are you willing to venture into the depths of your brain? Dr Critchlow will shock your senses, read your mind and explore how current neuroscience is shaping how we see our lives. Suitable for intrepid adventurers of all ages.

Join the superstar neuroscientist on a voyage of conscious discovery. A 1.5 kg brain tissue mass magically produces our individual view of the world, our myriad emotions, memories, associations and thoughts that make each of our lives unique. Why are neuroscientists only able to properly probe consciousness now? And what are we yet to discover? Come with an open mind... 

So many of us believe that we are free to shape our own destiny. But what if free will doesn’t exist? What if our lives are largely predetermined, hardwired in our brains, and our choices over what we eat, who we fall in love with, even what we believe are not real choices at all? Neuroscience is challenging everything we think we know about ourselves, revealing how we make decisions and form our own reality, unaware of the role of our unconscious minds.

Chaired by Bettany Hughes.

The neuroscientist and writer explains how the mind works – from memory to emotion, navigation to creativity, through nine extraordinary case studies.

World-leading microbiome scientist and surgeon James Kinross shows us how everything from exercise, sleep and diet through to antibiotics and ageing are directly impacted by the state of our microbiome. He introduces us to the microbiome, a vast genetic universe of ‘dark matter’ – bacteria, yeasts, viruses and parasites – living inside us, which adapts with us as we age and influences how we think and feel, our sex lives and even how fast we run. Kinross is a senior lecturer in colorectal surgery and consultant surgeon at Imperial College London. He talks to neuroscientist Dr Hannah Critchlow.

We celebrate the 500th anniversary of the death of the incomparable Renaissance man – artist, scientist, inventor and lover. Brotton and Fletcher are Renaissance historians, Critchlow is a neuroscientist and Greer is a scholar and art historian. Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most inspiring figures of European history.

How do you remember more and forget less? How can you earn more and become more creative just by moving house? And how do you pack a car boot most efficiently? Thinking Better offers clever strategies for daily complex problems via shortcuts. Shortcuts have enabled much of human progress, whether in constructing the first cities around the Euphrates 5,000 years ago, using calculus to determine the scale of the universe or in writing today's algorithms that help us find a new life partner. The Oxford mathematician shares his shortcut to the art of the shortcut with neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow.

From planetary exploration and micro-sensors to tropical disease and psychosis, two Royal Society Research Fellows discuss their work at the forefront of science. Lowe’s research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine involves understanding how environmental and socio-economic factors interact to determine the risk of disease transmission. Modinos’ work at King’s College London attempts to understand the neural mechanisms of emotion and stress response in schizophrenia. Chaired by Hannah Critchlow.

How do we guard against fake news about true science? President Trump tweeting “HIV is cured” isn’t anywhere close to the story. How do we ensure that the science that is published is robust and stands up to scrutiny as well as ensuring that this science is accurately and responsibly reported? Boycott is a cross-bench peer, who has edited both tabloid and broadsheet newspapers; Critchlow is a neuroscientist; Fox is Director of the Science Media Centre; Maddox is a journalist and Director of the Institute for Government; Skipper is Editor of the scientific journal Nature, which celebrates its 150th anniversary at Hay.

A conversation between two of the most inspiring contemporary science writers. Davis’ The Beautiful Cure: Harnessing Your Body’s Natural Defences describes the scientific quest to understand how the immune system works – and how it is affected by stress, sleep, age and our state of mind. Blakemore’s Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain won the 2018 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize. They talk to Hannah Critchlow.