The Art of North Korea

Nick Bonner

A dive into the captivating world of North Korean social realist art. Discover the untold stories of Korean artists who fled to the North and whose personal journeys and art have remained shrouded in mystery—until now.

The Life and Times of the Legendary Opera Impresario Domenico Barbaja

Philip Eisenbeiss

Domenico Barbaja was a gambling magnate and the most important opera impresario of the 19th century. Lost to history, revel in his wild, rags-to-riches story at the heart of the bel canto period, and how he shepherded the careers of Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini and Gaetano Donizetti.

An Extractive History of Architecture for a Planetary Age

Edward Denison & Guang Yu Ren

Architecture has always depended on extraction, a history that has largely gone unwritten. In this provocative talk, Denison and Ren reframe architectural history not as a neutral record of styles and achievements, but as a story shaped by power, exclusion, and the systematic appropriation of resources.

Being Black, Looking East: Stories from the American Counterculture

Aaliyah Bilal

Moderated by: Clara Schindler

From the dawn of the 20th century, discourses of Asia have assumed a prominent place in the U.S. Black radical imagination. This presentation explores contemporary fiction and nonfiction narratives of Black intellectual engagement with the politics of the Near and Far East.

From Idea to Book

Harriet Welty Rochefort

Moderated by: Dana Pitts

Harriet Welty Rochefort, a fifth-generation Iowan who made France her home, has drawn inspiration from the enduring surprises of Franco-American cultural differences. In this presentation, she will share how cross-cultural experiences have shaped her storytelling and discuss the unexpected challenges of transitioning from nonfiction to fiction writing.

The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz: An Illustrated Talk

Anne Sebba

Moderated by: Paul French

An illustrated talk about the brave girls and women, several of them French, who played daily marches in horrific circumstances at one of the most brutal Nazi death camps...in the hope it would save their lives, which it mostly did, but at great cost.

Global Development After the American Century: 1917–2025

Ross Garnaut

Moderated by: John Garnaut

The self-destruction of Europe in WWI left the US as the world's most powerful economy and polity, eclipsing the British Empire. It was reluctant to use that power in global leadership until Pearl Harbour in 1941. After WWII, the US-led international system contributed much to extending modern economic development through much of Asia and elsewhere. Almost a century later, success in China and internal tensions have led to the US withdrawal during the second Trump Presidency. Where does global development go now?

Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food

Fuchsia Dunlop

Moderated by: Hamish Pollitt

Chinese food is popular all over the world, and yet it's often been under-appreciated and misunderstood in the West. In conversation with Hamish Pollitt, Fuchsia Dunlop explores the rich history and extraordinary diversity of Chinese cuisine, and explores what it offers anyone interested in the pleasures of the kitchen and the table.

L'extrême droite en France

Victor Mallet

Modéré par : Frederic Lemaitre

Ces dernières années, les populistes et nationalistes de droite ont conquis le pouvoir dans de nombreux pays à travers le monde. Depuis les années 1980, l'auteur et journaliste Victor Mallet observe l'ascension inexorable du Front National devenu aujourd'hui le Rassemblement National, d'abord sous la direction du défunt Jean-Marie Le Pen, puis de sa fille Marine Le Pen. Victor a parcouru la France pour comprendre pourquoi tant d'électeurs sont en colère au point d'être prêts à porter ce mouvement au pouvoir et à transformer durablement le pays.

Bienvenue à La Concession Française de Shanghai

Paul French

Shanghai's French Concession (1849–1943) was always more cosmopolitan, more raffish, and, frankly, more corrupt. Within its borders were Shanghai's wildest nightclubs, a concentration of Russian émigrés on a street known as "Little Odessa", and all the city's legendary Chinese gangs. Paul French (City of Devils: A Shanghai Noir) introduces a cast of characters that once inhabited La Concession from Shanghai Godfather Du Yuesheng to Sûreté chief Louis Fabre, the Parisian and Corsican mobsters who bolt-holed in Frenchtown, to the courageous Shanghai Free French of WWII.

Expatrié, Immigré, Migrant, Colonial

Aube Rey Lescure

Modéré par : Clara Schindler

Les récits de migration, d'expatriation et de bouleversements familiaux s'intéressent souvent à l'immigration vers les «pays occidentaux». Mais qu'en est-il de la fiction du XXIᵉ siècle qui explore l'impact de l'installation d'Occidentaux dans les pays dits «en développement»? Rejoignez Aube Rey Lescure, auteure du roman River East, River West, sélectionné pour le Women's Prize, pour une conversation autour du passage à l'âge adulte dans une Chine en pleine transformation. Elle évoquera comment l'afflux d'expatriés crée des croisements culturels et des tensions qui demeurent encore trop peu explorés dans la fiction contemporaine.

Le Sud

Tash Aw

Modéré par : Duncan Clark

Le Sud, de Tash Aw, premier volume d'une ambitieuse tétralogie, raconte le désir qui naît entre deux garçons alors qu'eux-mêmes et leurs familles traversent une période de profonds bouleversements. Il nous rejoint pour une discussion sur le foyer, le sentiment d'appartenance et les tentatives que nous faisons pour résister aux pressions exercées par la société — y compris celles de nos propres familles.

Don't Eat the Rich! - How regenerative wealth — not confiscation — builds a fairer economy

Philip Marcovici

Philip's talk on his book, The Transformative Power of Family Wealth, offers a fast-paced overview of how wealth and business-owning families can ensure long-term sustainability — for themselves, their communities, and the planet. Drawing on circular economy principles and a Theory of Change framework, he explores how families can turn wealth into a regenerative force rather than a destructive one. From navigating taxation and political risk to addressing the psychology of wealth and succession planning, Philip argues that smarter, more humane approaches to family wealth — not confiscation — are what build fairer, more resilient economies.

De l'idée à la scène : comment naît une pièce de théâtre

Jonathan Kerr & Bénédicte Charpiat

Les auteurs Jonathan Kerr et Bénédicte Charpiat proposeront une rencontre autour de l'écriture théâtrale. Ils partageront leur expérience du processus de création : comment une idée, une image, un souvenir ou une question se transforme peu à peu en personnage, en dialogue puis en pièce de théâtre. Une conversation vivante sur les chemins parfois inattendus qui mènent de l'imaginaire à la scène.

Where Roots Take Flavor: Grandmothers' Recipes and Stories from Inle Lake

Yin Myo Su (Misuu)

Moderated by: Laura Fan

What can a simple family recipe teach us about identity, resilience, and belonging? Drawing from a book project documenting the recipes and stories of grandmothers from Inle Lake, Myanmar, Yin Myo Su (aka) Misuu explores how food carries memory, wisdom, and cultural heritage across generations. Through personal stories, photographs, and reflections, she shares how traditional knowledge can help us stay grounded in a rapidly changing world, and what these humble recipes can teach us about community, sustainability, and our shared humanity.

Être journaliste occidental dans la Chine de Xi Jinping : un défi passionnant

Frederic Lemaitre

Contrairement aux autres expatriés, les journalistes occidentaux sont officiellement perçus par le Parti communiste comme des « fauteurs de troubles ». La Chine doit les accepter, mais préférerait s'en passer. Être journaliste en Chine est pourtant un privilège. Cela oblige à voir le monde sous un autre angle. Car si la Chine est une dictature, il est indéniable qu'elle bénéficie du soutien d'une part importante de la population. Une réalité à prendre en compte au moment où la Chine est en mesure de contester la suprématie américaine.

The Backyard Bird Chronicles: On Grief, Birds, and the Art of Attention

Amy Tan

Moderated by: Helen Scales

Amy Tan turns to the birds outside her window as a way of bearing witness—to the rhythms of the natural world, the passage of time, and the experience of grief. What began as a daily practice of observation and sketching gradually became something more intimate: a record of loss, love, and the unexpected consolations of attention. Tan considers what it means to truly see—and how that act of seeing might lead to a deeper understanding of the self.

The South

Tash Aw

Moderated by: Daniel Elan

Tash Aw's The South, the first in a sweeping four-book series, tells of the longing that blooms between two boys as they and their families navigate great change. He joins us to discuss home, belonging and our attempts to resist the pressures exerted upon us by society—including by our families.

L'écrit de demain

Simone Gelin

Modéré par : Gail de Courcy Ireland

Le métier d'écrivain va-t-il disparaître ? Pouvons-nous rivaliser avec les IA? Le livre est devenu un objet de consommation éphémère et un profusion des sorties littéraires. L'ordinateur a déjà facilité l'accès à l'écrit, permettant d'augmenter la production (si on pense aux grands auteurs du XIXe, qui écrivaient leurs chefs-d'œuvre à la plume!) L'IA va-t-elle permettre d'écrire un roman en quelques heures ? Quels sont les dangers ? Existe-t-il un genre, un style, une écriture humaine que l'IA ne pourrait jamais reproduire ?

Expat, Immigrant, Migrant, Colonial

Aube Rey Lescure

Moderated by: Martha Swift

Stories of migration, relocation, and familial upheaval often focus on immigration narratives to "Western countries," but what about 21st-century fiction examining the impact of Westerners moving to the "developing world"? Join Aube Rey Lescure, author of the Women's Prize-shortlisted novel River East, River West, for a discussion on coming-of-age in a rapidly developing China, where the influx of expats creates cultural cross-currents and tensions often underexplored in fiction.

Une Trajectoire

Marie NDiaye

Modéré par : Bénédicte Charpiat

Marie NDiaye, auteure maintes fois récompensée de romans, de pièces de théâtre, de scénarios et d'autres œuvres, viendra parler de ses derniers livres, Le Bon Denis et Ma Chérie. Sa pièce Papa doit manger a été créée à la Comédie-Française en 2003, marquant la première fois que cette institution mettait à l'affiche l'œuvre d'une auteure vivante. En 2009, son roman Trois Femmes Puissantes a remporté le Prix Goncourt, la propulsant au premier rang de la scène littéraire française et internationale.

What the Wild Sea Can Be

Helen Scales

Moderated by: Victor Mallet

Life in the ocean matters to us all and is changing faster than anywhere on Earth. In her book, What the Wild Sea Can Be, Helen Scales weaves together more than twenty years of her marine explorations with a deep dive into a cast of species, including ice-walking penguins and ocean-roaming sharks, to show how it's possible to build a more just and thriving future for the ocean.

Exploring the Idea of Englishness & Gay Life in Britain

Alan Hollinghurst

Moderated by: Tash Aw

Over the course of seven novels Alan Hollinghurst has explored ideas and experiences of Englishness, and especially the history of gay life in Britain since the start of the twentieth century. Tash Aw talks to him about his work, its preoccupations and its literary affiliations.

Far Right France

Victor Mallet

Moderated by: John Elliot

Right-wing populists and nationalists have been sweeping into power across the world in recent years. Since the 1980s, author and journalist Victor Mallet has observed the inexorable rise of the anti-immigration Front National – now the Rassemblement National – first under the late Jean-Marie Le Pen and now under his daughter Marine Le Pen. Victor has travelled across France to understand why voters are so angry that they are poised to take over the country and change it forever.

The Extraordinary Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor

Anne Sebba & Paul French

A unique opportunity to hear Anne Sebba (That Woman) and Paul French (Her Lotus Year) together to discuss the extraordinary life of Wallis Simpson. From her notorious yet little-known time in 1920s China, to the dramatic events of the Abdication Crisis and the long years of exile as the Duchess of Windsor, this conversation promises fresh insights into one of the 20th century's most controversial women.