5x15

5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each. John Vaillant is the international bestselling author of The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival and The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed. He has written for, among others, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic and the Guardian. His latest book, Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World, is a page-turning account of a brutal urban wildfire, and a sweeping exploration of our rapidly changing relationship with fire. It won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2023. Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each. Cathy Newman is one of Channel 4 News' main studio presenters. She joined Channel 4 News as political correspondent in January 2006 after seven years writing for the Financial Times. Cathy is an award-winning investigative journalist whose scoops have included allegations of sexual harassment in Westminster, an investigation into a British paedophile who abused vulnerable boys in Kenya; and allegations of violent abuse by the British barrister John Smyth. She was the only broadcast journalist to travel with Angelina Jolie and the then foreign secretary William Hague to the Congo as part of their campaign against sexual violence. Cathy also hosts her own show on Times Radio, which has inspired her new book The Ladder, bringing together discussions between women – about work, love, growth, challenge, the big decisions and the stories of their lives

5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each. Jackie Morris is an award-winning British writer and illustrator. Morris studied at the Bath Academy of Art and started her career as an illustrator by working for magazines including Radio Times, New Statesman, New Society and Country Living. She has illustrated over 60 books, and is best known for the stunning The Lost Words (2017), co-written with Robert Macfarlane – a love song to many increasingly rare words pertaining to nature and the natural world. These illustrations earned Morris the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2019. Morris and Macfarlane’s second collaboration, The Lost Spells, was published in October 2020, and they are currently working on a third, The Book of Birds. Morris is nominated for the 2024 Andersen Award by the International Board of Books for Young People. Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com

5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each. Paula Byrne is the author of the bestselling biographies The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym, Perdita, Mad World, The Real Jane Austen, Belle, Kick and The Genius of Jane Austen. She is founder and chief executive of ReLit, the Bibliotherapy Foundation, a charity devoted to the mental health benefits of reading. Her new book, Hardy Women, re-examines Thomas Hardy’s life through the eyes of the women who made him—mother, sisters, girlfriends, wives, muses. In this highly innovative work, Byrne reveals that it is through hardy women that we can enter into the heart of the great novelist and poet. Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

Building upon Kew's commitment to re-examine the history of its collections, this discussion explores the colonial legacies of botany and botanic gardens, featuring a panel of leading writers and thinkers in this area. All too often history shows us that the origins of botanic gardens are intertwined with the histories of colonialism, imperialism and enslavement. How can understanding these connections pave the way to a more inclusive future? Given this legacy, what is the role that botanic gardens play today in supporting and addressing climate justice? Speakers Sathnam Sanghera is a journalist and best-selling author. His acclaimed books include The Boy with the Topknot and Empireland, which inspired the Channel 4 series Empire State of Mind. His highly anticipated new book, Empireworld, traces the legacies of the British empire around the world. Andrea Wulf is an award-winning author of several books, including The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession and the international bes

5x15 and The Writers' Prize present a powerhouse line-up of international writing talent to speak with host, literary critic, and journalist Alex Clark about their recent works, all in contention for this year's Prize. Paul Murray, The Bee Sting Paul Murray, born in Dublin in 1975, authored An Evening of Long Goodbyes, Skippy Dies, The Mark and the Void, and The Bee Sting. An Evening of Long Goodbyes was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award. Skippy Dies was shortlisted for the Costa Novel award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and longlisted for the Booker Prize. The Mark and the Void won the Everyman Wodehouse Prize 2016. The Bee Sting was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2023. Paul Murray lives in Dublin. Zadie Smith, The Fraud Zadie Smith, born in northwest London, authored White Teeth, The Autograph Man, On Beauty, NW, Swing Time, The Embassy of Cambodia, and collections of essays and short stories. The Fraud is her first historical novel. Laura Cumming, Thunderclap Laura Cumming

5x15 is thrilled to announce a special event with multi-award-winning writer and biologist Merlin Sheldrake, author of the smash-hit bestseller Entangled Life, in conversation Gaia Vince. The more we learn about fungi, the less makes sense without them. They can change our minds, heal our bodies and even help us avoid environmental disaster; they are metabolic masters, earth-makers and key players in most of nature's processes. In Entangled Life, Merlin Sheldrake takes us on a mind-altering journey into their spectacular world. Winner of the Royal Society Science Book Prize and the Wainwright Prize, and named a Book of the Year in The Times, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times, New Statesman and Time, among others, Entangled Life has been translated into twenty languages since its publication. It has now been reissued in a brand new illustrated edition, with over 100 spectacular full-colour images showcasing this wondrous lifeform as never before. Join us in December to hear Merlin Sheldrake live in conversation

5x15 is delighted to announce a special event with Nina Stibbe, the 'funniest person who owns a computer' (in the words of Ann Patchett), in conversation with acclaimed memoirist Cathy Rentzenbrink. This is not to be missed! Ten years after her beloved and multi-award winning book Love, Nina, Nina is back with Went to London, Took the Dog, a diary of her return to London in her sixty-first year. After two decades away, Nina is back in the city she used to call home, with her dog, Peggy. Together they take up lodging in Camden for a 'year-long sabbatical'. It’s a break from married life back in Cornwall, or even perhaps a fresh start altogether. Nina is not quite sure yet... By turns hilarious and irreverent, joyful as well as poignant, Went to London, Took the Dog is 'like spending an endless afternoon in the most sparkling company' (Frank Cottrell-Boyce). Join us for a sparkling evening in Nina's company, and an enlightening conversation on motherhood, independence, the menopause, branching out and growing

5x15 is delighted to announce the second event is our new events partnership with Rathbones, in collaboration with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on the theme of Regeneration. No discussion about climate change and biodiversity loss is complete without acknowledging the importance of children, adolescents and young adults. While activists look to involve and encourage new generations, many young people are themselves leading the way as instigators of change, faced with the urgency of the global crises. For this intergenerational conversation, we invite a range of speakers to share their perspectives, from those closely working with young people to the campaigners, naturalists and writers who inspire hope for a better future. Tori Tsui (she/they) is a climate justice organiser and writer from Hong Kong now based in Bristol. Her work focuses on the intersections between (environ)mental health and climate change, culminating in her debut book, It’s Not Just You. She is an organiser with Unite for Climate Action,

David Grann is a staff writer at The New Yorker. He has written about everything from New York City's antiquated water tunnels to the hunt for the giant squid. His stories have appeared in several anthologies. He has written for the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic Monthly, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the New Republic. He lives in New York with his wife and two children. His books include the international best-seller Killers of the Flower Moon, and his new book, The Wager, tells a mesmerising story of shipwreck, mutiny and murder. With thanks for your support for 5x15 online! Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

As plant-based diets gain popularity and outdoor activities like hiking and wild swimming become more advocated for wellness, the crucial link between nature and human health is gaining recognition. But what does it entail to derive nutrients, physical, and mental health benefits from the natural world? While the significance of dietary choices is well-established, can we also enhance agricultural practices to foster fertile soils, better health, and a deeper connection to the land? David R. Montgomery, a geomorphologist, delves into how Earth's surface processes shape ecological systems and human societies. His research spans from landslide impacts on mountain heights to soil's role in civilizations. Anne Biklé, a science writer, merges biology and environmental planning to explore humanity's complex bond with nature, focusing on agriculture, soil, and food. Their collaboration produced acclaimed works like "The Hidden Half of Nature" and "What Your Food Ate," examining soil health's influence on crops, ani

5x15's new season kicks off in January with a special conversation about consciousness and the world of psychedelics with two highly acclaimed authors, neuropsychologist Andy Mitchell and neuroscientist Anil Seth. The 'psychedelic renaissance' is upon us. While psychedelic drugs were once demonised, and are still largely illegal, they are now officially a 'breakthrough therapy' used to treat mental health disorders and enhance well-being. But there is a risk that making them safe or normal might ultimately destroy what makes them potent. What is at stake in normalising substances that alter our consciousness? In his book Ten Trips, Andy Mitchell argues that we should embrace what is strange and valuable about these drugs, less as a prescribed antidote for certain conditions than as a way to rethink mental health itself, and re-enchant us with the world. The psychedelic experience is, after all, part of the rich tapestry of consciousness, which is also not as simple as it once seemed. In his 'exhilarating' b

Kassia St Clair studied the history of women's dress and the masquerade during the eighteenth century at Bristol and Oxford. She has since written about design and culture for the Economist, House & Garden, TLS, Quartz and New Statesman, and has had a column about colour in Elle Decoration since 2013. Her first book The Secret Lives of Colour was a top-ten bestseller, a Radio 4 Book of the Week and has been translated into over a dozen languages; her second, The Golden Thread, was a Sunday Times Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Somerset Maugham Award. She lives in London. Her new book,The Race to the Future, tells the incredible true story of a quest against the odds that shaped the world we live in today. With thanks for your support for 5x15 online! Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

Paul Caruana Galizia became a reporter after his mother Daphne was assassinated and since then has won a British Journalism Award, a Media Excellence Award from the Association of International Broadcasters, a silver medal at the British Podcast Awards, and a bronze medal at the Radio Academy ARIAs. With his two brothers, he won a Magnitsky Human Rights Award and an Anderson-Norman-Lucas Award for. His book A Death in Malta is a spellbinding account of the shocking murder of his muckraking mother and the search for justice that has reverberated far beyond their tiny homeland. With thanks for your support for 5x15 online! Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

Rosamund Young is the bestselling author of The Secret Life of Cows - named a Times book of the year - and the recently published The Wisdom of Sheep & Other Animals. Alongside her brother Richard and her partner Gareth she runs Kite’s Nest Farm on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment, where nature is left to itself as much as possible and the animals receive exceptional kindness and consideration. The farm produces beef and lamb from 100% grass-fed animals which are sold in the farm shop. Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

Adam Sisman is a writer specialising in biography, living in Bristol, England. He is the author of Boswell's Presumptuous Task, winner of a National Book Critics Circle Award, and the biographer of John le Carré, A. J. P. Taylor and Hugh Trevor-Roper. Among his other works are two volumes of letters by Patrick Leigh Fermor. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Honorary Professor at the University of St Andrews. "Mr. Sisman has an ideal biographical style: inquisitive and open, serious yet not severe," Dwight Garner wrote of Sisman's life of Hugh Trevor-Roper in the New York Times: "I’d read him on anyone.” With thanks for your support for 5x15 online! Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

The Six Ideas to Change the World series, in partnership with Keystone Positive Change Investment Trust, concludes in November with writer and journalist Jeff Goodell, author of the best-selling book The Heat Will Kill You First. The planet is changing in extreme ways. Spring is arriving a few weeks earlier and autumn a few weeks later. Heatwaves are becoming more intense and more common. Heat is the first order threat that drives other climate change impacts, and it will affect everything from our food supply to disease outbreaks. The basic science behind rising temperatures is not complicated, but the failure to act now is revealing significant fault lines in our governments, our economy and our values. For the final event in this series on the future of the planet, join us for an eye-opening conversation about heat, and how it it will dramatically change the world as we know it. Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Jeff Goodell will be live at 5x15 in conversation with the BBC's Climate Editor

The Six Ideas to Change the World series, in partnership with Keystone Positive Change Investment Trust, continues in October with award-winning writer and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert, author of the international best-seller The Sixth Extinction. Plastics are poisoning us. In the midst of a global pollution crisis, research clearly illustrates the toxic effects of microplastics, which both release and attract dangerous chemicals. But while plastics are a relatively recent human invention, they have become so ubiquitous as to seem indispensable. Will our planet ever be rid of them? Join us to hear Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Kolbert discuss life beyond plastics and the wider conundrums posed by human inventions and technologies; how they contribute to and create environmental problems, but also retain important uses and may even be used as solutions. Speakers Elizabeth Kolbert is the author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change and the international best-seller The Sixth E

The first event in 5x15's new series with Rathbones, in collaboration with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is a celebration of Nature's Diversity. This panel discussion explores how nature can teach us to challenge traditional expectations. From plants and fungi living outside orthodoxies, to the symbolic connections between plants and queerness through LGBTQ+ history, and the stories of writers and artists who have been drawn to nature, our expert panel of scientists and storytellers will illuminate how the natural world can inspire new ways of thinking. Brigitte Baptiste is one of Colombia’s most eminent scientists, an expert in matters related to the environment and biodiversity, and a leading expert in gender diversity. She was director for 10 years of the Alexander Von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute and currently serves as Chancellor of Universidad Ean, a higher education institution focused in sustainable entrepreneurship. She is considered an expert in environmental issues and biodivers

When it comes to playing games, asking the right questions is everything. Where should you move first in Connect 4? What is the best property in Monopoly? And how can pi help you win rock paper scissors? In his new book Around the World in 80 Games, the award-winning mathematician Marcus du Sautoy explores the maths behind the games we love to play, and why we love to play them. Spanning millennia, countries and cultures, he discovers how maths and games have been integral to human psychology and culture. For 5x15, Marcus is in conversation with Alex Bellos a grandmaster of the puzzling world, brilliant on all things cryptic. His bestselling, award-winning books include Alex’s Adventures in Numberland, Alex Through the Looking-Glass and Can You Solve My Problems? For as long as there have been people, there have been games, and for nearly as long, we have been exploring and discovering mathematics. Join us for a playful and adventurous discussion about our human passion for both. Speakers Marcus du Saut