David Allen Green, a journalist and lawyer, is legal commentator for the Financial Times and is writing a book on Brexit for Oxford University Press.

Why Brexit will be more complicated than many leavers believe, and why it perhaps will not happen at all.

The venue:
The Elephant And Castle
White Hill
Lewes
BN7 2DJ

Tickets:
They are £3 and you can purchase them on the door or about a week before in the venue.

Over a decade of debate on the phenomena of radicalisation, extremism and terrorism have led to a wide range of approaches in tackling them. So is the UK government on the right track and are we any closer to countering extremism for good?

Jonathan Russell is the Head of Quilliam’s Policy and Communications Department. Jonathan joined Quilliam in 2012 and now looks after several of Quilliam’s programmes and its relations with policymakers.

This includes campaigning for a cross-party commitment to liberalised CT and CVE; the #NotAnotherBrother counter-narrative campaign; consultancy and advisory for public/private sector partners; management of FATE (Families Against Terrorism and Extremism); and the coordination of Extremely Together (A Kofi Annan Foundation Initiative for Young Leaders to Counter Violent Extremism).

Recently, Jonathan has written papers for Quilliam on the Role of Prevent in Countering Online Extremism; Counter-Extremism: A Decade on from 7/7; and Countering Islamist Extremist Narratives – A Strategic Briefing, and led the award-winning #NotAnotherBrother counterspeech campaign.

The venue:
The Elephant And Castle
White Hill
Lewes
BN7 2DJ

Tickets:
They are £3 and you can purchase them on the door or about a week before in the venue.

When Bubbles Burst

“When Bubbles Burst” provides a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of the global economy, examining the mechanics behind bubbles and crashes and suggesting trends for the future. In a globalized economy, it has become increasingly difficult for nations, companies and individuals to protect themselves from financial volatility. What causes our global system to generate unforeseen bubbles and catastrophic crashes? The picturesque Norwegian town of Vik provides a microcosm of the fallout of the financial crisis. Somehow, this tiny hamlet – populated by just 2,800 people – was sucked into schemes too complicated to understand and nearly bankrupt. We hear from players in the global economic casino, thinkers and world-class economists, like the celebrated writer Michael Lewis and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. They give an unflinching account of today’s situation and draw fascinating historical parallels.

Carlota Perez

Venezuelan-British researcher, lecturer and international consultant, Carlota Perez studies the history of technical change and its impact on economic growth and development.

In Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages (Elgar 2002), she put forward her theory of the emergence and diffusion of technological revolutions and of the role of finance in the process. Her work has contributed to the present understanding of the relationship between technology, innovation and economic development; between technical and institutional change; and between finance and technological diffusion. She is currently working on a sequel, Beyond the Technological Revolution, funded by the Anthemis Institute, which analyses the roles that government, business and civil society play in the deployment of the potential of each revolution.

She is Centennial Professor of International Development at the London School of Economics, UK; Professor of Technology and Socio-Economic Development at the Ragnar Nurkse School of Innovation and Governance at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia; and Honorary Professor at SPRU, the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, UK. Professor Perez’ books and papers are used as study material in post-graduate courses in universities around the world, and she has lectured at numerous seminars and student conferences.

Her long career has spanned civil service, consultancy, academic research and teaching, beginning in the 1970s with an investigation into the structural causes of the energy crisis in her home country of Venezuela. After working on international technology transfer at the Institute of Foreign Trade, she became the founding Director of Technological Development at the Ministry of Industry – where, alongside other policy instruments to promote innovation, she created the first venture capital fund in the country.

She has acted as consultant for several Latin American governments and for international organisations and multilateral agencies such as UNIDO, CEPAL, the Andean Pact, the World Bank, the OECD and the EU, where she recently chaired the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Expert Group for Green Growth and Jobs. In the early 1990s she was advisor to INTEVEP, the R&D and technology arm of PDVSA, the national oil company in Venezuela, and has carried out consultancy work for many global corporations including IBM, Cisco, Telefonica, Mondragon and Ericsson. Since the publication of her book, she has been regularly invited to participate as keynote speaker at international business conferences and public policy events.

Professor Perez received her License in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences (with Economics and Technology at the core) from the Faculty of Sciences, University of Paris VII, and her MA from San Francisco State University, where she developed the first formulation of her theory of technological revolutions and changing opportunities for development. Since working at the Central University of Venezuela, she has nurtured research links with several European universities. She was visiting scholar at IDS, University of Sussex and at INTECH-UNU, Maastricht. Her current position as Honorary Professor at SPRU started with a research fellowship in 1983, when she began a long-term collaboration with Professor Chris Freeman. She has been teaching a post-graduate course at the Tallinn University of Technology since 2007 and was affiliated to CERF at the Judge Business School, Cambridge University, from 2002 until 2014.

Recently Heathrow Airport has agreed to suspend night flights and curb noise pollution if indeed a new runway is to be built there. Noise is no respecter of space. Many complain about the noise of automobiles, the deafening roar of lorries, pneumatic drills, unwanted Muzac in shops, streets and everywhere else, the babble of overheard conversations on smart phones, on trains, in cinemas and concert halls. Technological innovations have turned up the volume of everyday life. Our response to amplification is often contradictory. Sonic defense often consists of producing a compensatory envelope – not silence – but more noise as we recreate the cinema in our living rooms using digital wrap around sound for our ever larger television sets – 80% of all complaints about noise involve noisy neighbours! If part of our sense of the social concerns how we share space with others, then understanding the multiple, contradictory and changing nature of our auditory environment becomes a compelling concern.

Michael Bull is Professor of Sound Studies at the University of Sussex. After writing books on the nature and meaning of new mobile technologies (the Walkman and then the iPod) the New York Times described him as the world’s leading authority on the use of mobile technologies. Michael is the founding editor of two journals – Senses and Society – he’s keen to point out that he researches all of the senses – and the Sound Studies Journal (both published by Routledge) He is also the editor of a new book series entitled The Study of Sound (Bloomsbury Press) for which he is writing a book on Sirens – from Myth to Materiality. Michael is also a founding member of The European Sound Studies Association and is a core member of The European Think Tank – Future Trends Forum based in Madrid. He advises a range of international companies on the design and development of their sonic products. Prior to becoming an academic Michael ran ‘Jazz at the Seven Dials’ in Covent Garden in the 1980s. Living locally – he is interested in all things educational – having until recently been Chair of Governors at Iford and Kingston Primary School and now on the governing body of Priory School in Lewes.

The Brexit Debate: What are the arguments, and who will win?

Speaker:
Professor Simon Hix
London School of Economics

A joint event with the Skeptics in the Pub of Lewes

As the UK approaches the EU referendum the polls suggest a close race. What’s clearer though is that the vast majority of people feel woefully under-informed about the key issues. So how do we navigate our way through the issues and the, often passionate, declarations made by the different sides? Simon will explain the main political and economic claims from the Remain and Leave sides in the campaign and evaluate the evidence supporting them. He will also analyse the state of public opinion, explaining why some opinion polls are more trustworthy than others. He will look at who is likely to vote to Leave and who is likely to vote to Remain, and who are the swing voters. From this analysis he will consider who is likely to win on 23 June and what the implications might be for Britain and Europe. This talk is part of a wider initiative by the ‘UK in a Changing Europe Project’. This initiative is intended to promote high-quality and independent research into relationship between the UK and the EU. It provides non-partisan information, insights and analysis about UK-EU relations that stands aside from the politics surrounding the debate.

Simon Hix is the Harold Laski Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics, Senior Fellow on the ESRC’s UK in a Changing Europe programme, and a Fellow of the British Academy. Simon is one of the leading researchers, teachers, and commentators on EU politics in the UK. He has published over 100 books and articles on European, British and comparative politics. He regularly gives evidence to committees in the House of Commons and House of Lords, and has advised the Cabinet Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office under both Labour and Conservative administrations. He has held visiting professor positions at many universities, including Stanford, Berkeley, UC San Diego, Sciences Po in Paris, the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, and the Korean Institute for International Economic Policy in Seoul. In 2013, on the 40th anniversary of the UK’s membership of the EU, EurActiv.com named Simon in their list of “the 40 most influential Brits on EU policy”. He is also a local boy as he was born and grew up in Crowborough, East Sussex. You can follow him on Twitter @simonjhix.

Dr Peter Naish

Headstrong Club, May 20, 2016

Trust and Abuse

The horrors of the Savile scandal seem to have precipitated a witch hunt for abusers – some would say with the Commissioner of the Met acting like the witch-finder general. Accusers are told to come forward, “You will be believed!” Really? What became of ‘innocent until proven guilty’? Perhaps ‘erring on the safe side’ is justified if great harm is done by childhood sexual abuse, but if that is so, shouldn’t more effort be put into stopping it in the first place rather than wasting millions on the likes of Operation Midland? Come to that,
what is the evidence that great harm is done? Another evil to come out of the lurid stories is the redoubling of the efforts by certain therapists to unearth the abuse that they are convinced underpins their clients’ problems. False memories are created. If real abuse impacts the mind, then might the effects be as bad if a person comes to believe that they were abused? If it turns out that as much harm is done by believed-in abuse as by the real thing, shouldn’t Society track down the perpetrators with a zeal equal to that currently employed in the paedophile hunt? Answers will be offered for many of these questions: the remainder are long overdue for debate.

Peter Naish has a background in the Physical Sciences as well as Psychology. Although it is in the latter field that he is principally known, his ‘hard science’ training has provided valuable tools and perspectives to his psychological work. After obtaining his doctorate in the University of Oxford’s Department of Experimental Psychology, he spent most of his working life in academia, but he has carried out research for the Home Office, and in the Ministry of Defence too. A good deal of his own research has concerned the nature of hypnosis, its place within our understanding of consciousness and its role in the production of false memories. These interests are underlined by his membership of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, his stint as President of the Section for Hypnosis at the Royal Society of Medicine, and his Chairmanship of the scientific advisory board to the British False Memory Society. Peter is a keen advocate of the dissemination of science, and as well as making TV and radio appearances has spoken on many occasions at all the major science festivals, including the British Science Festival, Cheltenham and Edinburgh.

Elsa González is a member and spokesperson of the London Circulo of Podemos. She has been with the Circulo since its initial months of existence and she is the events coordinator of the circulo. She was born in 1981, only 10 days before the Tejero coup that put at risk Spain’s transition to democracy. This fact marked and defined her personal and professional path and therefore she has been involved in different social movements, charities and political movements that fight for freedom and search for social justice. She has studied social work and she has specialized in public services, social policies and research. She now works in a charity in south London in a hospital supporting low income and low social class children and young patients affected by cancer.

Elsa will initiate the debate with the following topics:

 Political context of the birth of Podemos as a party and movement

 First steps in the way to democracy in Spain

 Crisis, migration and social reality in Spain

 The changes in the narratives in Spain, how two years have changed Spanish history

 How does Podemos get organized? Doing politics in a democratic way.

 Looking forward, the political program of Podemos and its place in Europe.

Russell Arnott is an oceanographer, science teacher, homebrewer and punkrock guitarist. He currently works for Whalefest Outreach, visiting schools around the country to educate pupils of all ages about the marine environment.

Fake plastic seas.
Despite international efforts, the state of our oceans is at an all time low; overfishing has depleted global fish stocks while increased levels of atmospheric CO2 is causing widespread acidification of our oceans. However, one of the most worrying developments is the increased amounts of plastic waste that is accumulating in our seas. Where is this plastic coming from? What impact does it have on marine life? What impact does it have on us? And what can we do about it?

It is well known in the space exploration community that a manned mission to Mars is always “20 years away” and has been since Apollo 11 in 1969. Yet there are a number of prominent public figures that insist that human beings must colonise another planet sooner rather than later, or face inevitable extinction, and a mission to Mars once again seems to be spreading through the public imagination. Adam’s talk will lead us through some of the intricacies of colonising other planets and look at potential political systems that might arise in extra-terrestrial colonies to ask ‘is living on another planet something we really want to do?’

Adam Stevens is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Edinburgh, working in the UK Centre for Astrobiology to investigate the habitability of extra-terrestrial environments.
He has a broad background in space exploration, including an MSc in Space Technology and Planetary Exploration and a PhD in Planetary Science, and has published articles on a number of topics such as the subsurface of Mars, detecting microbial life in extra-terrestrial analogues, detecting intelligent life on Exoplanets and the economics of extra-terrestrial colonisation.
His website is www.echusoverlook.net and he tweets occasionally @adamhstevens

“Raphie Kaplinsky is a development economist and an Honorary professor at the Science Policy Research Unit, Sussex University and an Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex and at the Open University. He has published extensively on the related themes of globalisation and unequalisation. He has also assisted governments, the United Nations, firms and local authorities in developing policies to promote industrial and technological restructuring. More recently he has been working on urban regeneration in Newhaven and on the North Street Quarter in Lewes and is assisting the United Nations economic Commission on Africa in the development of their Green Growth Strategy”

On the talk.

“We live in an era of considerable economic insecurity, with the global and UK economies slowing from the high levels achieved in earlier decades. We also live in an era of growing social and political turmoil. Are these developments related?

This (highly speculative) talk will explore the extent to which these unfolding events can be explained by the exhaustion of a pattern of globalisation which has driven economic growth in much of the world since the end of WW2.”