SWINDLED – the story of food cheats, with BEE WILSON
MEDICINES & SOCIETY – pharmaceuticals and everyday life, with NICKY BRITTEN

Food is not free of cheats. Are you happy and safe with the food on your plate? Do you believe what you read on the label? Who makes food rules? Are they real rules for real food?

Medicine is not free of confusion. What do you know about the medicines you are prescribed? Where do they come from? What is the difference between conventional medicine and alternative treatment?

In her latest book, Swindled, erstwhile food critic for the New Statesman and food columnist for the Sunday Telegraph, Bee Wilson tells the full food story, including counterfeit coffee, poison sweets, and fake food panics.

In her latest book, Medicines & Society, Professor of Applied Healthcare Research at the Peninsula Medical School, Nicky Britten looks at prescriptions, self care, and complementary medicines.

This event looks at what we eat to keep us healthy and what we swallow to keep us well!

LIU HONG – on Wives of the East Wind

Whether in the East or the West, the way we lead our lives is inevitably caught up in the ideals of our political leaders ­– or is it?

When China shook off the effects of the Cultural Revolution, its people looked forward to building a bright new future. Meanwhile, in the West, we think brightness beckons daily!

What are the universal truths about any way of living, in the East or the West?

Author of four novels, and with work broadcast on Radio 4, Liu Hong hails from China’s north-eastern province of Liaoning but now lives happily in Wiltshire. She has more than one story to tell!

I FOUGHT THE LAW – a satirical ‘crime’ spree across the country,
with DAN KIERAN

When does a law become outdated and ridiculous? Did you know that, if you are not wearing socks, it is illegal for you to be within a hundred yards of the Queen; and that it is also against the law to take possession of a beached whale or beat a carpet in most parts of London?

Deputy editor of The Idler and travel writer for the Observer and Sunday Times, Dan Kieran has written a delightful book, I Fought the Law. It’s an unashamedly patriotic call to arms to all those for whom enough is enough, whether it’s fighting to protect the environment, freedom of choice, or the right to live in an unconventional way. Not surprisingly, it’s great fun!

A C GRAYLING – on liberty, rights, and the modern West!

Presented in association with the Swindon Philosophical Society

What part can philosophy play in modern life? Does it help us understand what’s happening now, and why? What constitutes collective and individual freedom?

One of Britain’s leading thinkers, a regular writer in newspapers and journals, and contributor to radio discussion programmes, Professor A C Grayling believes that philosophy should not be secreted away in ivory towers but rather, play an active role in society. In his latest book, Towards the Light, the story of the struggle for Liberty & Rights that made the Modern West, A C Grayling traces the idea in history of individual freedom. He will address the subject head on, and questions from Swindon philosophers too!