Leeds International Festival of Ideas

10/09/2026

Today is World Su***de Prevention Day, and today we are releasing a film we would like you to watch.

In 2024, David’s daughter Molly died by su***de. In Molly’s Dad, he talks about her life, her last days, and the letter she left him. He also talks about the part nobody prepares you for: breaking the news to her grandparents, and the question one of them asked him. Are you ashamed?

It is an old view, and it is still a common one. Su***de was a criminal offence in England and Wales until 1961, and the language never caught up. David’s answer is why we are programming How do we talk about su***de? at Leeds International Festival of Ideas this October. He wanted to share his story ahead of the event. We asked him to go first.

The film is 34 minutes long. It is his account, in his words. Please give it that time, and please share it if you think someone you know should see it.

Watch Molly’s Dad: https://leedsinternationalfestival.com/mollys-dad-a-new-film/

If you are struggling, Samaritans are there 24/7. Call 116 123 for free.

08/09/2026

Do you want kids? Can you afford kids? Is that even the same question anymore?

Birth rates are falling across the developed world, and the decision to have children has become one of modern life's defining questions. On Saturday 10 October, Are kids still part of the plan? puts it on stage at Leeds Playhouse.

Today we're pleased to announce two new panellists. Olivia Bentley, best known for Made in Chelsea and a vocal mental health advocate, and Johnny I'Anson, BBC Radio 5 Live broadcaster, who'll be adding a dad's perspective to a debate usually aimed squarely at women.

They join host Laura Hamilton, Dr SJ Beard, Yousra Samir Imran and Betty Mukherjee.

📍 Courtyard Theatre, Leeds Playhouse
🗓️ Saturday 10 October, 2pm to 3.30pm
🎟️ Tickets on sale now and selling fast: https://leedsinternationalfestival.com/event/are-kids-still-part-of-the-plan/

08/09/2026

🚨 ONE MONTH TO GO 🚨

Some people wait for answers. We'd rather chase the questions.

The awkward ones, the big ones, the ones that keep you up at night. For five days this October, Leeds International Festival of Ideas brings them to Leeds Playhouse, along with the people best placed to take them on. Voices you've read, and voices you haven't, yet.

Ideas worth leaving the house for. One month to go.

📍 Leeds Playhouse
🗓️ 6 to 10 October
🎟️ https://leedsinternationalfestival.com/programme/

06/09/2026

A community interest company. A generation of young men nobody was reaching. A conversation most of us still don't know how to start.

Donelle Lawrence is the founder and CEO of The Brave Project, a su***de prevention and wellbeing service built for Black, Asian and minority ethnic boys and young men, and their families. We caught up with her ahead of LIFI26 to talk about why culturally competent support matters, why the way we talk about su***de is as important as whether we talk at all, and what she's hoping people take away from the festival.

She's on the panel for 'How do we talk about su***de?' at the Courtyard Theatre on Wednesday 7 October, alongside Roman Kemp, Andy Airey MBE of 3 Dads Walking, Professor Rory O'Connor and Ellie Palma-Cass of Epic Hope, hosted by Amy Irons.

📍 Leeds Playhouse 🗓️ Wed 7 Oct, 7.30pm 🎟️ https://leedsinternationalfestival.com/event/how-do-we-talk-about-su***de/

If you're struggling, Samaritans are there 24/7 on 116 123.

***dePrevention

04/09/2026

Every event at Leeds International Festival of Ideas is BSL interpreted and open captioned. Every single one.

Flo from Topp Language Solutions, the Leeds interpreting team we work with across the festival, has been part of making that happen, and in this video she explains why we take it so seriously.

It's a commitment that runs through the whole programme, and it's front and centre on Thursday 8 October at Leeds Playhouse, when Dame Evelyn Glennie and Tasha Ghouri join BBC Radio 3 breakfast presenter Hannah French in conversation.

Evelyn is a deaf, GRAMMY-winning percussionist who has spent a career proving that hearing and listening are not the same thing. Tasha is a deaf advocate who took her story to millions as a finalist on Strictly in 2024. Together they'll be talking about what it takes to succeed in a world that isn't built for them, and for many like them.

Two remarkable women who have challenged attitudes on disability and turned their unique perspectives into their greatest strengths. Worth your Thursday night.

📅 Thursday 8 October
📍 Leeds Playhouse
🎟️ Tickets from £16. Book online or call the box office on 0113 213 7700

02/09/2026

Olivia Bentley on whether kids are part of the plan: not yet.

Not never, not opposed, just not ready, which for some reason is the one answer nobody accepts first time.

We sat her down before the festival to talk about it honestly. Watch the full interview above.

We also asked if she has ever been to Leeds. You will have to watch for that one.

Olivia joins host Laura Hamilton on our panel Are kids still part of the plan, Saturday 10 October, 2pm at Leeds Playhouse.

Tickets: https://leedsinternationalfestival.com/event/are-kids-still-part-of-the-plan/

31/08/2026

Someone worked out that we check our phones over a hundred times a day. That someone was probably an app, tracking how often we check our phones.

Somewhere along the way social media stopped being something we use and started being something that uses us. How we shop, how we vote, even how we date.

The BBC's Joe Tidy hosts Megan McKenna, Katy Leeson, Dr Sophie Bishop and Mark Farid for a proper argument about influencer culture, doomscrolling, disinformation, and whether it is finally time to switch it all off.

Friday 9 October, 7.30pm, Leeds Playhouse. Tickets here: https://leedsinternationalfestival.com/event/is-it-time-to-switch-off-social-media/

29/08/2026

We check our phones more than 100 times a day. Social media has changed how we think, vote, shop and date. The obvious question, should we just stop? — turns out to be much harder than it sounds.

Dr Sophie Bishop is an Associate Professor at the University of Leeds and one of the sharpest voices on influencer culture in the country. She advised a parliamentary inquiry on it, co-founded the EU's Influencer Legal Hub, and her book Influencer Creep won awards last year.

"Bringing these conversations out of the university is great."

She joins Mark Farid, Katy Leeson and Megan McKenna for 'Is it time to switch off social media?', hosted by Joe Tidy.

📍 Courtyard Theatre, Leeds Playhouse
📅 Friday 9 October, 7.30–9pm
🎟️ Selling fast https://leedsinternationalfestival.com/event/is-it-time-to-switch-off-social-media/

28/08/2026

The news agenda moved on. The atmosphere didn't.

Close to 490,000 hectares have burned across the EU. France is having its worst fire year on record. The UK's own total is the highest since 2012, and on 14 August the government sent an emergency alert to millions of phones telling people to put the barbecues away.

And yet climate has spent two years drifting down the news agenda. The story got bigger. The coverage got quieter.

Chris Packham CBE hosts Dr Mya-Rose Craig and Juergen Maier CBE at LIFI26 for a conversation about climate fatigue, political inaction, and keeping this on the radar when so many agendas have moved on.

Thursday 8 October, 8pm to 9.30pm, Quarry Theatre at Leeds Playhouse. Tickets on sale now.

🔗

Climate had slipped down the running order. Then the government sent an emergency alert to millions of phones. It sets the scene for one of LIFI26's most u

27/08/2026

Existential risk. Planetary limits. Whether to have kids at all.

Dr SJ Beard on what they actually study, why population is a harder question than the headlines allow, and why they can't wait for LIFI26.

"A sustainable population is one that is aware of its limits, aware of the damage it's causing, and aware of the solutions it can implement."

They're on the panel for 'Are kids still part of the plan?' at the Courtyard Theatre on Sat 10 Oct, alongside Yousra Samir Imran and Betty Mukherjee, hosted by Laura Hamilton.

Tickets on sale now.
🎟️ https://leedsinternationalfestival.com/event/are-kids-still-part-of-the-plan/
📍 Leeds Playhouse 🗓️ Sat 10 Oct, 2pm