Calendar 2026
See below all our talks and workshops (not including Kids Philosophy club)
April 2026
Flipping the switch: From oil wars and price shocks to renewable energy and community wealth, with Kirsten Ayris & Rich Lane
23rd April 2026
Recent events have thrust us back into another energy crisis, only five years since we last saw climbing bills and headlines about resilience and security. In this talk, Kirsten Ayris and Rich Lane of York Community Energy will discuss responses to the complexity of our energy system and will 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.
29th April 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100 years)
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)
Co-Creating the Future with Jean Boulton
11th June 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.
17th June 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100 years)
The importance of ritual in these time, with Kathryn Edwards
18th June 2026
Details coming soon
July 2026
1st July 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100 years)
Falling in love with the future, with Rob Hopkins
July 2026 - Date TBC
This will be a whole day event. Details coming soon
15th July 2026
Singing Circle
Singing for the joy of it, for all ages (10-100 years)
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.