What’s Happening?

Looking back at the Blackfriars Talks 2020

The 2020 Blackfriars Talks offered a unique snapshot of how Britain’s top historians were feeling, thinking and reflecting in September 2020. A 10-day time capsule in an extraordinary year. From Colston to Covid, quarantine culture to university education, the US election to China’s future, it’s all here and combined with profound, wry and honest insights into writing history and what being a historian was really like in 2020.

Highlights last year included Mary Beard, David Olusoga and Neil Gaiman, leading historian and broadcaster Michael Wood bringing to life the history of China, Olivette Otele talking about her new book African Europeans: An Untold History, Michael Scott star of the BBC TV series Ancient Invisible Cities and Festival President Janina Ramirez who shares enthralling tales of medieval women.