Events

What are friends for?
What is the nature of friendship? What is its purpose and what does it require? And why do humans have friends in the first place?
Past Events
2025

Are our minds wild enough?
In a world on fire with environmental change it’s time to update our ideas about humans and nature

The wisdom of history
By confronting our past and reflecting upon its lessons we can better navigate the dangerous waters ahead

The limits of civility
In a highly polarised world, when should we talk it over, and when should we fight?

How to live well in a slippery world
For Aztec thinkers, the good life meant navigating a precarious path above a terrifying abyss
2024

Listening to the language of the brain
The chatter of individual neurons shapes all aspects of our mental universe. Can we understand what they’re telling us?

How to be long-minded
A flourishing future for humanity and nature rests on our ability to reimagine time

Free your attention
It’s hard to live a philosophical life when your mind is not your own. Can meditation help?

What’s wrong with death
Have we forgotten how to die well? Could we grieve better? Can philosophy help?

Insight or illusion?
Psychedelic insights have a curious sense of authority, but the feeling of knowing doesn’t mean they’re true

The philosophy you already have
Liberalism is not just a rational political philosophy but the basis of a truly meaningful life
2023

Does play make us human?
Delve into ritual, play and the imagination with archaeologist Michelle Langley, professor of education Marilyn Fleer and musician Genevieve Lacey

Can we imagine power without violence?
On the political philosophy of Hannah Arendt in the 21st century, featuring Lyndsey Stonebridge and Syrian musician Lynn Adib

Sagas of the Icelanders
Delve into themes of love, honour, exile and magic with writer and scholar Kári Gíslason, actor Eloïse Mignon, and musicians Erkki Veltheim and Aviva Endean

Africana philosophy
Encounter this liberatory emerging philosophical field with philosopher Lewis Gordon and musician Moor Mother

Survival at the edge
Find out what drives people to the depths and edges of the known world, and how they survive it, with psychologist Emma Barrett and drummer/composer Charles Hayward

The meaning of time
An evening of metaphysical exploration with philosopher Kristie Miller, musician James Rushford and dancer/choreographer Lilian Steiner

Love, sex and existentialism
An evening exploring the romantic and carnal side of life through a trio of European existentialists, guided by the philosopher Skye Cleary and the musician Darian Donovan Thomas

Is philosophy a way of life?
Philosopher Margaret Cameron with jazz great Paul Grabowsky, explore ancient ideas and contemporary ethics

Is the Universe made of math?
Science writer and artist Margaret Wertheim, along with jazz pianist Dan Tepfer, explore the nature of reality
2022

Goddess
A poetic evening invoking Athena, Artemis and Aphrodite, with classicist Edith Hall, actor Corinne Jaber and musician Leo Abrahams

Bring your self to mind
Come and explore the frontiers of consciousness with philosopher Jakob Hohwy, percussionist Maria Moles, and Tibetan composer/performer Tenzin Choegyal

Speaking across the divide
Exploring communication across cultures with translator Esther Allen, maqam singer Hamid Al-Saadi and trumpeter Amir ElSaffar

Beauty and the good life
Philosopher Tom Cochrane and singer-songwriter Lior explore the value of beauty and other aesthetic experiences

What work is
Anthropologist Manvir Singh and dancer-choreographers Molly Lieber and Eleanor Smith ask whether work is a universal human experience

From Deep Time to the Deep Future
Geographer and Wiradjuri man Michael-Shawn Fletcher, with sound artist Ros Bandt and Djirri Djirri on ecological knowledge and ethics

Taking cosmopolitanism seriously
Author and political theorist Lea Ypi, filmmaker Katie Barlow, and musician and composer Joseph Tawadros on urgent questions of justice in our interconnected world

Where mysticism went
Composer John Zorn, the JACK Quartet and vocalist Helga Davis join philosopher Simon Critchley in search of contemporary transcendence

Listen to your body
Neuroscientist Sarah Garfinkel and musicians Sebastian Rochford and Kit Downes unveil the hidden sense of interoception

Waking mind, dreaming mind
Delve into states of consciousness with philosopher Jennifer Windt, and musicians Mindy Meng Wang and Samuel Pankhurst