A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas became an instant classic when he recorded it on vinyl in 1952. Snow falls gently, anticipation fills the air, and Thomas' lyrical account of his childhood Christmases in a small Welsh town comes to life with humour and wit. Seventy years on and with the support of Literature Wales, Hay Festival has commissioned Wales’ National Poet Hanan Issa to offer her own contemporary response to the famous work. Enjoy... Full-length Festival events can be watche...
Dec 01, 2022
Broadcaster and historian Janina Ramirez talks to Kavita Puri about reappraising women’s roles in medieval history with her new book Femina . She then joins Poppy Evans for a chat about life outside of work, including an elaborate burial plan to confuse future archaeologists. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Oct 06, 2022
Children’s author and activist Onjali Q Raúf talks about the inspirations behind her bestselling books and her work with refugees as well as reminiscing about childhood with Poppy Evans. Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Sep 29, 2022
Physicist Jim Al-Khalili discusses his guide to leading a more rational life The Joy of Science with Glyn Morgan, before chatting to Poppy Evans about teaching, technology and his everyday life. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Sep 22, 2022
Rebecca Mead’s reflection of leaving America to return to her native land, Home/Land raises poignant questions about place. She discusses these with lawyer Philippe Sands, before joining Poppy Evans backstage to talk about culture, swimming and shadowing Margaret Atwood after the 2016 election. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #Imagi...
Sep 15, 2022
Damon Galgut’s 2021 Booker Prize-winning novel charts a country in transition and a family in crisis. He discusses The Promise with author Elizabeth Day, as well as talking to Poppy Evans about everyday observations and rituals. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Sep 08, 2022
Wildlife writer and broadcaster Kate Humble talks about her debut cookbook Home Cooked with photographer Andrew Montgomery and Kitty Corrigan, before discussing everyday life, her failings at crafts and impostor syndrome with Poppy Evans. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Sep 01, 2022
Writer Liz Hyder discusses her new book The Gifts and how fiction illuminates the world with Sophie Haydock and Rebecca F John, before catching up with Poppy Evans about her time working at Hay Festival, and where she finds inspiration for her books. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Aug 25, 2022
Comedian and writer David Baddiel joins Simon Schama to talk about his book for people on the right side of history, Jews Don’t Count , before speaking to Poppy Evans about the cassette tape that led him to comedy, writing practices and saying yes to new opportunities. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Aug 18, 2022
Labour MP Jess Phillips tells Hugh Muir the inside story of Westminster with her book Everything You Really Need to Know About Politics: My Life as an MP . Afterwards Phillips speaks to Poppy Evans about childhood and life outside of parliament. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Aug 11, 2022
Writer Joanne Harris talks to Sophie Raworth about her latest novel A Narrow Door before joining Poppy Evans off-stage to talk about her many eclectic interests outside of work; including writing amulets, staying in hotels and lucid dreaming. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Aug 04, 2022
Classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes reimagines the story of Medusa, putting the woman back at the centre of the story with her trademark passion, wit and feminism. She then joins Poppy Evans to talk about the crush that led her to comedy, knitting and other influences in her life. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Jul 28, 2022
Global health expert Devi Sridhar delivers the John Maddox Lecture at Hay Festival with her new book Preventable: The Politics of Pandemics and How to Stop the Next One. She joins Poppy Evans for a chat about becoming a personal trainer, eating cake and reading romantic fiction. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Jul 21, 2022
Gardener, broadcaster, and novelist Alan Titchmarsh talks to Alex Clark about his latest novel The Gift before heading backstage to discuss his earliest gardening memories, designing a garden for Nelson Mandela and more with Poppy Evans. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Jul 14, 2022
Award-winning neurologist Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan talks to writer Oliver Balch about her book The Sleeping Beauties and travelling the world to investigate so-called mystery illnesses, before joining Poppy Evans backstage to talk about storytelling and the influences on her work. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Jul 07, 2022
Leading mathematician Marcus du Sautoy discusses his book Thinking Better – The Art of the Shortcut with neurologist Hannah Critchlow at Hay Festival 2022, before joining Poppy Evans backstage to talk more about his influences Listen to the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Jul 01, 2022
Poppy Evans talks to bestselling author and illustrator Cressida Cowell about the influences behind her writing, from childhood adventures on an island to Shakespeare’s ambiguity, with a sneak peek of her new book series, Which Way to Anywhere. Watch the full event Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld...
Jun 24, 2022
The historian selects letters that have changed the course of global events or expressed a timeless idea – whether passion, rage or humour – from ancient times to the 21st century. Some are noble and inspiring, some despicable and unsettling, some are exquisite works of literature, others brutal, coarse and frankly outrageous; many are erotic, others heartbreaking. His correspondents range from Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great to Mandela, Stalin and Picasso, from Fanny Burney and Emmeline Pan...
May 13, 2022
The writer and actor’s life is full of riotous adventures: Jennifer talks accidentally enrolling on a teacher training course with a young Dawn French, dressing up as punks and scaring people on the underground, bluffing her way to each BBC series, and shooting Ab Fab with Joanna Lumley. Watch the full event Dawn French talks to Miranda Sawyer Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook ...
May 06, 2022
The Pakistani activist and writer Malala Yousafzai won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in favour of the right of children, particularly girls, to education. Aged 17 when she received the award, she became the youngest ever person to receive a Nobel in any category. A BBC blogger since 2009, she has been a persistent critic of the Taliban in her country, which resulted in an attempt on her life when she was on a bus near her home in Pakistan in 2012. She studied Philosophy, Politics and E...
Apr 29, 2022
Peter, a brilliant scientist, is told he will lose everything he loves – his husband, family, friends. He has Motor Neurone Disease, a condition universally considered to be terminal. He is told it will destroy his nerve cells and that within two years, it will take his life, too. But face-to-face with death, he decides there is another way and using science and technology, he navigates a new path that will enable him not just to survive, but to thrive. This is true story about the first person ...
Apr 22, 2022
A gripping and triumphant tale of human compassion, All the Young Men is the true story of a young, single mother who finds herself driven to the forefront of the AIDS crisis and who risks everything to give victims back their humanity. In 1986, 26-year-old Ruth Corker Burks visited a friend in hospital when she noticed that the door to one of the patient’s rooms is painted red. The nurses were reluctant to enter, drawing straws to decide who will tend to the sick person inside. Out of impulse, ...
Apr 15, 2022
Think of any problem that we face and you may be surprised to learn that there is already a solution out there. We just need to know where to look – and have the courage to think big. Everywhere, people are devising ingenious ways to tackle everything from inequality and the climate crisis to the challenges of housing, technology and demographic change. Based on his podcast Reasons to Be Cheerful , Ed Miliband investigates transformative schemes and why they work. He demonstrates that a differen...
Apr 08, 2022
The walker discusses her mesmerising and inspirational memoir: just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of thirty-two years, is terminally ill, their home is taken away and they lose their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall. Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered...
Apr 01, 2022
Eric Ngalle Charles is a poet, author and playwright who has claimed asylum in Wales. His uplifting story describes how literature and creative writing helped him to overcome his hasty departure from Cameroon when he was 17, how he survived being a victim of human trafficking and living on the streets in Russia before eventually coming to live in Wales. He talks to author Jenny Valentine . Watch the full event Eric Ngalle Charles performs Death on the Third Floor at Hay Festival 2019 Full-length...
Mar 25, 2022
Leïla Slimani is the first Moroccan woman to win France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, which she won for the shocking thriller and global best-seller, Lullaby . She discusses her work and her novel Adèle with lawyer Philippe Sands . Watch the full event Leïla Slimani in conversation with Sophie Hughes, Hay Festival Arequipa 2019 Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org or on Twitter, Instagram, F...
Mar 18, 2022
Carole Cadwalladr won the Orwell Prize and the Reporters Without Borders Award among many others for her investigative journalism in The Observer into the subversion of the democratic process and the impact of big data analytics and interventions on the EU Referendum and the American Presidential Election of 2016. She discusses her work with Oliver Bullough . Watch the full event Carole Cadwalladr discusses the political landscape at Gwlad in 2019 Full-length Festival events can be watched over ...
Mar 11, 2022
Actor, writer and director Ethan Hawke talks to author David Mitchell at Hay Festival 2021 about his first novel in nearly 20 years: A Bright Ray of Darkness . A young man makes his Broadway debut as his marriage implodes – a blistering story about love, fame and the healing power of art. Watch the full event David Mitchell talks to John Mitchinson at Hay Festival Digital 2020 Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival.org o...
Mar 04, 2022
Award-winning violinist, broadcaster, author and journalist Clemency Burton-Hill discusses the joys of classical music with Peter Florence at Hay Festival 2018. Clemency’s book Year of Wonder is a personal selection of 365 pieces of music for classical music geeks and novices alike. Watch the full event Hay Festival 2021 Opening Gala: A Night of Hope Clemency’s Hay Festival playlist Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer . Contact us at publicity@hayfestival...
Feb 24, 2022
For the last episode of this series, stars of literature, stage and screen come together to celebrate the unique power of words in our very special Hay Festival 2021 Gala. Join host Natalie Haynes for this evening of joy and celebration with guests including Stephen Fry , Louise Brealey , Hafsa Zayyan , Maggie Aderin-Pocock , Rob Brydon , Clemency Burton-Hill , Juno Dawson and many more. The Hay Festival Podcast is supported by Baillie Gifford Investment Managers. Full-length Festival events can...
Jul 08, 2021
