Hay Festival 2025
I had the privilege of chairing four events at the Hay Festival this year, as well as appearing as part of a panel discussing how the law could better protect nature.
I interviewed Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey on publication day for his book ‘Why I Care and Why Care Matters’ and we discussed his personal story, why he’s so passionate about better supporting family carers and how he’s grown to realise the importance of allowing emotion into his politics.
Lucy Mangan chatted to me about her love of books. Which three would she take to a desert island? She opted for Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy, some P. G. Wodehouse and Tom’s Midnight Garden.
I spoke to the Vincent Wildlife Trust’s CEO Lucy Rogers and principal scientist Jenny MacPherson about the Trust’s work protecting rare species and pioneering reintroduction projects. Much of our conversation focussed on pine martens, stoats and weasels because those mustelids are the subject of Jenny’s book, and the audience enjoyed the story of a pine marten released in Wales who surprised everyone by turning up at a port in Georgia, USA.
I also had a very moving conversation with Dr Rachel Clarke about her extraordinary book The Story of a Heart which depicts, in astonishing detail, how a heart came to be transplanted from a little girl called Keira to a little boy called Max. It’s a book that marvels at medical ingenuity, celebrates the best of the NHS and reminds us of our common humanity and capacity for generosity in the darkest times.
You can listen to all these events, and thousands more, on the Hay Festival Anytime player – access costs just £20 for a year! I’m now catching up on some of the gems that I missed.