HowTheLightGetsIn is one of the world’s most celebrated festivals of thought. The music and philosophy festival is returning to its Hay-on-Wye home after two years of Covid-19 disruption moved events online and to Hampstead Heath, with a compelling and thought-provoking line up. This year’s headliners include historian, philosopher and best-selling author of Sapiens and Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari; scientist and best-selling author of The God Delusion and The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins; firebrand philosopher Slavoj Žižek and Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Andrea Elliott.  

These great minds will come together in a series of debates and events including Harari and Žižek discussing “Nature: friend or foe” and Dawkins talking to biologist Denis Noble on the subject of “The Gene Machine”. The festival is organised by the Institute of Art and Ideas with the aim of, according to festival founder Hilary Lawson, getting ‘philosophy out of the academy and into people’s lives’.

Alongside debates and talks, HowTheLightGetsIn features live music from Groove Armada, Django Django, Talvin Singh and many more, as well as comedy, cabaret, disco and a series of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The Inner Circle events allow guests to join some of the world’s greatest thinkers at the table for breakfast, lunch, a wine tasting or cake and champagne for an open discussion. Talk about the future of China with Cindy Yu, activism with Emma Sulkowicz or join Hilary Lawson, Bjørn Ekeberg and Mazviita Chirimuuta for a philosophy salon.   

Once your brain needs a rest from a day of discussion, there are luxurious and tranquil yurts to stay in, free yoga classes and indulgent wellness treatments and a delicious selection of eateries – food for body and mind. If you’re hungry for more intellectual stimulation, HowTheLightGetsIn takes place at the same time as the Hay Festival so it’s a great opportunity to indulge in two of the country’s most exciting festivals at once – or simply relax in the bucolic setting of the Welsh countryside.

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