Calendar 2026
See below all our talks and workshops (not including Kids Philosophy club)
January 2026
7th January 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
Arriving at the Year; Listening to what’s asking to be heard
15th January 2026
This dialogue session will offer the space to take a pause at the start of the year. To sit in circle, reflect and give attention to what we might not usually acknowledge. Hosted by Fay Andrews-Hodgson Poesis Director & Dialogue practitioner; we will be exploring the question: ‘What is wanting to emerge for us at the start of this year?’ Connecting with others in a different way, all voices are welcomed and no conclusions are required. This is a particularly good for those seeking to explore a practices of deep listening and being present to whatever is happening.
21st January 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
Could Radical Democracy Avert Collapse? with Luke Kemp
29th January 2026
Why have previous societies collapsed? What did it mean for the people living through it? Is our own globalised, industrialised society also heading for collapse and what can we do to prevent it?
In this talk, Luke Kemp, researcher at Cambridge University’s Center for the Study of Existential Risk, explored the ideas in his recent book “Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse”. Through a radical retelling of human history, he dispelled many myths about civilisation and collapse.
Considering the ways forward for our own society, he looked at how different forms of Open Democracy, from citizens assemblies to mass digital deliberations, might help us to avoid the catastrophic risks we face today.
February 2026
4th February 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
Strategic Adaptation For Emergency Resilience (“SAFER”) with Rupert Read
12th February 2026
We are deep into the danger zone and about to go much deeper. The meta-crisis - of which the climate crisis is merely the leading edge - is already upon us. It will increasingly define the rest of our lives and the lives of those who come after us.
With its new campaign Strategic Adaptation For Emergency Resilience, "SAFER", the Climate Majority Project is calling for an end to the delusion that our current civilisation has a future. By instead embracing a spirit of transformative and strategic adaptation we could, even now, co-create a new civilisation. In this interactive session Rupert will invite us to explore a variety of questions such as ‘What are the consequences of this realisation, including the practical implications for how we re-plan our lives?’
25th February 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
The Gods the Gods! Kirsty Claxton & Alison Kidd
26th February 2026
This session you are invited to join in the act of drawing and making as a different way of exploring and understanding the world. There is no need to be artist to enjoy this evening!
Led by visual artist, Kirsty Claxton, and an experimental psychologist, Alison Kidd, you will be invited to join them in the making of ‘gods’ out of cardboard; these will bring attention to the invisible concepts and powers shaping our country’s thinking, values, politics and everyday culture, such as Convenience, Justice, Luck, Death, Meritocracy, and Growth.
Through the process of drawing, cutting up cardboard or browsing magazines for words and images, previously unknown ’gods’ or archetypes emerge, allowing us to explore what they might be saying to us through conversation
Singing Circle
11th March 2026
March 2026
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
Transformation to our Ecocene: Re-learning to walk in the world as if we are nature, with Professor Ioan Fazey
12th March 2026
Whether we like it or not, we are at the end of the world as we know it. The burgeoning impacts of challenges like climate change, rising inequalities, and rapid rise of AI demands shifts to very different ways of knowing, doing and being. In short, we face an existential emergency where we urgently need to re-consider who we are, why we are here, and for what.
So how can we begin to seriously address our existential and separation challenge? In our gathering we will explore some of the origins of our human-nature separation and new and emerging opportunities to learn how to relate to others and our world differently. We will then explore what system science can tell us about how to cohere and align those involved and establish collaborative action that supports a deeper shift in consciousness.
Singing Circle
25th March 2026
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
It could be otherwise: Change for our energy system, with Kirsten Ayris & Rich Lane
26th March 2026
Energy is at the heart of so much of modern life - heating our homes, lighting up our buildings, running our transport. Our relationship with energy is crucial, but for so many people, the system behind our energy is invisible.
The modern energy system is hugely complex, and to those outside the industry, it can be almost impossible to see how we can adapt that system for a greener, fairer future. Join Kirsten Ayris and Rich Lane of York Community Energy to talk about some of the alternatives for our energy future - not just making the hugely important switch from fossil fuels to renewables, but thinking about ways that we can make the energy system work for us.
April 2026
15th April 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
Co-Creating the Future with Jean Boulton
16th April 2026
"The path is made through walking". This Daoist-informed quote by Antonio Machado (translated and adopted by Francisco Varela) conveys the complexity inherent in living systems, and the idea that we co-create the future through our actions and intentions. In this talk, Jean Boulton, a leading thinker in the field of complexity science and author of The Dao of Complexity, will explore what the science of complexity - with its emphasis on dynamic patterning, paradox and emergence - has to offer as we consider our future. She will reflect on the uncanny resonance between Daoist philosophy from the 5th century B.C.E. and complexity science. And explore how do they help us to decide what to do, how to be and how to ‘cultivate’ ourselves with people, planet and the future in mind.
Singing Circle
29th April 2026
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
May 2026
The Good Apocalypse Guide with Alex Evans
7th May 2026
We have apocalypses all wrong. They can be much more hopeful, creative, empowering, energising and fruitful than the gloomy stories of collapse that we keep hearing about. Real apocalypses are much more interesting than that. Yes, they’re moments of extreme turbulence - but they can also be incubators for new futures, that bring out the best of us like nothing else. And while they can certainly lead to catastrophic breakdowns, they can also be times of extraordinary breakthrough.
So what tips the balance? In this talk, Alex Evans – author of the The Good Apocalypse Guide on Substack – will explore how our ancestors made sense of moments of cataclysm, why our mental and emotional states are so central to the kind of future we’ll inhabit, and why the ‘religion shaped hole’ in modern life matters most during apocalyptic times.
13th May 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
June 2026
3rd June 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
To be Confirmed
4th June 2026
17th June 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
18th June 2026
The importance of ritual in these time, with Kathryn Edwards
Details coming soon
July 2026
1st July 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
Falling in love with the future, with Rob Hopkins
2nd July 2026
Details coming soon
Singing Circle
15th July 2026
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100)
Warm Data Lab: Discover new ways of seeing and being together
16th July 2026
In a world that can often feel overwhelming, you are invited into a space of care, curiosity, and humility to learn together and build relationships as we explore new ways of seeing the world and each other. Through this Warm Data process, we will explore how we are all in this together. We will share stories, curiosities, and reflections with one another..
Warm Data Labs were developed by Nora Bateson and are made for a fragmented world. They have been described as a “kaleidoscope of conversation”, filled with enriching stories, laughter, and insight. They are not about quick fixes, but rather about exploring together what’s possible when we pay attention to how we relate to one another.