Cambridge Festival: Velvet's pick of the programme

Embark on a fact-finding mission at this month’s Cambridge Festival, which features more than 360 events, spanning AI football, climate change, the future of meat and how to make a heart valve. Louise Cummings picks out five highlights

1 On The Origin Of Time; Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory

He passed away in 2018, but could Stephen Hawking’s legacy be a new theory of the universe? Ahead of the highly-anticipated publication of his new book, cosmologist Professor Thomas Hertog (Hawking’s close collaborator) presents a striking new vision. “Holed up in the theoretical physics department at Cambridge, Stephen Hawking and I worked shoulder to shoulder for 20 years, developing a new theory of the cosmos that could account for the emergence of life,” he reveals. “Peering into the extreme quantum physics of cosmic holograms and venturing far back in time to our deepest roots, we were startled to find a deeper level of evolution in which the physical laws themselves transform until particles, forces, and even time itself fades away. Once upon a time, perhaps, there was no time?”

2 Don’t Call Me Weird: Australia’s Amazing Mammals

Head Down Under to delve into the world of Australia’s most weird and wonderful animals as festival favourite Dr Jack Ashby, Director of the Museum of Zoology in Cambridge, presents two lively talks. Prepare to be persuaded that mammals from Oz are the best in the world, from the platypus (the only mammals that can produce venom, detect electricity and lay eggs) to wombats (who poop cubes, defend themselves with reinforced rears, and whose teeth never stop growing). Just, wow!

3. 12 Last Songs

Witness an extraordinary 12-hour (yes, 12 hour!) performance showcasing how we spend out time at work. There are no actors involved, just hard workers performing paid shifts, toiling industriously from midday to midnight. Offering a fleeting portrait of society, this epic ‘show’ may feature a builder constructing a wall or a hairdresser cutting someone’s locks. The latest work by ensemble Quarantine, 12 Last Songs is being directed by Richard Gregory.

4 The Sun, Our Star

Internationally renowned solar scientist Dr Helen Mason OBE turns her gaze skyward to review what we have learnt about our dynamic sun. Dr Mason has worked on many joint NASA, ESA and Japanese solar space missions. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe was launched in August 2018 and ESA’s Solar Orbiter in 2020 – and these satellites will travel closer to the sun than ever before. Find out what we know about sunspots, solar active regions and flares (huge explosions), and how the sun affects the earth’s environment.

5. Britain: A Crisis of Identity?

Where does Britain sit amid a world of great upheaval and shifting global geopolitics? Join a panel of leading thinkers as they seek to answer this (slightly anxiety-inducing) question.

Panellists include Professor Michael Kenny (sharing pearls of wisdom from his forthcoming book, Governing a Troubled Union); Dr Chandrika Kaul; Professor Saul Dubow; and Zoë Billingham, director of the IPPR North think tank. Chairing the discussion will be Peter Geoghegan, editor-in-chief at the news website openDemocracy.

This year’s festival – organised by the University of Cambridge - is divided into five themes - power, society, health, environment and discovery – and includes debates, talks, exhibitions, workshops, films, tours, performances, and launch events for several exciting new books.

Cambridge Festival runs from March 17 to April 2. Find out more and book tickets at festival.cam.ac.uk