#21 Edition | What's On
Sunday, 16 April 2023
Join us for a thought-provoking springtime extravaganza. Expect the usual irreverent conversations, debates and live music performances as well as restorative walks, fiery Bloody Mary's and much more. Read below for full line-up details ...
Sunday Papers Live takes place at
Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road, NW1 7AY.
Doors open: 12:30
Show: 13:00 - 21:00
Full day ticket buyers: Entry from 13:00
Evening only ticket buyers: Entry from 17:30
Please note that pets are no longer permitted inside the venue.
The Line-Up - Sunday Papers
POLITICS

Ian Dunt on Westminster
Political pundit, author and podcaster Ian Dunt lifts the lid on the clunky, archaic traditions at the heart of our political system. Drawing on the extensive research from his forthcoming book How Westminster Works ... and Why it Doesn't, Dunts analysis veers between tragedy and farce, unearthing a baffling institution as decrepit as its architecture.
The rise of the SPAD, fraught media relationships and the psychology of the whipping system are all explored in depth. Dunt will provide us with an overview of his research and help us to understand the news of the day through the lens of Westminsters peculiar infrastructure.
BUSINESS

Mariana Mazzucato on Consultancies
Mariana Mazzucato is a Professor at University College London and author of the highly-acclaimed recent book The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantalizes our Governments and Warps Our Economies, a no-holds barred account of how consultancies know less than they claim and cost more than you'd think - but are they stopping in-house specialisms from developing, in both business and public sector?
Mazzucato advises policy-makers around the world, currently working for the WHO, the European Space Agency and the United Nations.
SPORT

Calum Jacobs on Football
Calum Jacobs is a writer, editor and creative from South London whose work draws on sociology, history and culture to explore Black British life. In 2022 he published his first book, A New Formation: How Black Footballers shaped the Modern Game, receiving critical acclaim from the likes of the Guardian, GQ and the Observer.
Jonathan Liew described it as 'quite simply one of the most important football books ever written', Jacobs will share some of his insights into the history of modern football and the extraordinary role that Black players have had in the evolution of the game.
LIFESTYLE

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett on Cats (and motherhood)
Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett writes columns and reviews fiction for the Guardian and has published three books. Her most recent work The Year of the Cat: A Love Story is a tender story of how adopting a kitten during lockdown helped her stop worrying and start living.
In her thirties, Cosslett and her husband start planning for the future. The desire for a baby is never far, but after growing up as her brother's carer, does she really want to devote herself to motherhood? Her memoir charters the way a kitten called Mackerel walked into her Cosslett's home and taught her to face down her fears.
STYLE

Terry Newman on Harry Styles
No other contemporary pop-star has used fashion quite so effectively as Harry Styles. He transcended his boyband cheeky chappie persona to become a global megastar - utilising stylistic references from Mick Jagger to David Bowie to Kurt Cobain. What role do his clothes play in this transformation to superstardom? And how exactly has he broken fashion norms?
Terry Newman, former fashion journalist and stylist and now author of Harry Styles: The Clothes He Wears takes us through her analysis of Harry and some of his iconic red carpet looks.
CULTURE

William Lee Adams on Eurovision
Vietnamese-American writer William Lee Adams discovered Eurovision while working as a journalist in London and it was, quite simply, revelatory.
Eurovision can teach us a lot about joy, self-expression and acceptance, and Adams will delve into its history and significance as we approach Liverpool's once-in-a-generation event.
William Lee Adams upcoming memoir Wild Dances: My Queer and Curious Journey to Eurovision is published on 9 May 2023.
FOOD & DRINK

Diane Purkiss on English Cuisine
'English Civilisation is ... bound up with solid breakfasts and gloomy Sundays' wrote George Orwell. Though our stodgy national cuisine is something of an international joke on Reddit groups and Twitter threads - it is, like the weather, somehow character-building. Who doesn't feel soothed by a plate of beans on toast?
Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford and culinary historian tells the extraordinary story of English cuisine in her latest book English Food: A People's History. Who were the first breeders of British beef, why were we eating parsnip ice-cream and why does English food look (and taste) the way it does?
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Georgina Sturge on Data
Georgina Sturge is one of twelve Statisticians at the House of Commons Library who carry out research and provide data analysis for our 650 MPs. Trained in Quantitative Public Policy, Sturge sees first hand how governments and big businesses can get led astray by data.
Numbers are often not the shining objective truth we hope they are and in her recent book, Bad Data, Sturge delves into the strange ways that shoddy statistics can mislead us - and the increasing role they play in policy decisions.
HEALTH

Bruce Daisley on Fortitude
Bruce Daisley, former boss of Twitter in Europe has become a leading expert on work and wellbeing. His 2019 book The Joy of Work was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
He now turns his attention to our contemporary obsession with resilience - and how it might be a toxic myth that tells us we need to be tough and stubborn in order to be successful.
Daisley breaks apart this belief in his latest book Fortitude: Unlocking the Secrets of Inner Strength, offering up an alternative way of building self-confidence. For Daisley, fortitude is a gentler, more accessible path to courage and inner strength.
UK NEWS

Rob Powell and Joe Mulhall on the Media
From Brexit and election campaigns to Gary Lineker and migration, how news is processed and presented has never been under closer focus. Is the quest for impartiality actually pulling journalists further from analysis? In the digital age, is objectivity even possible anymore?
Joe Mulhall is a writer and journalist who works for anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate. He has published three books and spent his career working to bring down the far-right, often working undercover.
Rob Powell is a Political Correspondent at Sky News who has witnessed five Prime Ministers and seven Chancellors since starting in 2016.
They are good friends, and bring their regular pub-style debates about the media and immigration to Sunday Papers Live for one lively discussion.
Sunday Supplements Line-Up
The Line-Up - Sunday Supplements
THE WALK

Matthew Beaumont on London's fantastical landscape
Matthew Beaumont is a Professor of English Literature and Co-Director of Urban Lab at University College London. He is interested particularly interested in London's urban history. His most recent book The Walker: On Losing and Finding Oneself in the Modern City explores the unique experience of walking in the metropolis.
At Sunday Papers Live he will lead a walk past the Zoo and up Primrose Hill, mediating on the strange history of this part of London, from its fantastical landscape of lakes, canals, artificial mountains and netted sanctuaries for birds to excavate the druidic myths associated with the hill.
One 45-minute walk at 3pm.
THE FEAST

Sunday is for feasting ...
Here's what we have in store:
HOG ROAST | Simply Hog Roast
Hog roast food-truckers Simply Hog Roast bring a bespoke menu of hearty Sunday specials. Vegetarian and Vegan options available
BLOODY MARY'S | Danny the Chef
Hangover-busting Bloody Mary's available from the garden bar.
BEER, WINE & ALES | Cecil Sharp Bar
Draught pints and wines available from the basement bar all day.
COFFEE | Cooper's Coffee Bar
Get your oat flat white fix at our pop-up coffee stall. (Yes, there's be dairy milk too for those who partake).
THE PUB QUIZ

Joe Deeney of Quiz Dog
Quiz Dog began in 2014 bringing pub quizzes to venues across London. Their mission is simple - to host the funnest quizzes around with an irreverent blend of trivia, comedy and gameshow. Their head quiz writer, Joe Deeney, has worked for Trivial Pursuit and Nintendo - and his pub quizzes are always lively and challenging.
Get your thinking caps at the ready!
THE IN-HOUSE BAND

The Debt Collective
Musician Kai Carter leads a troupe of musicians sharing a love of vintage jazz music. The Debt Collective bring a selection of well-travelled and timeless tunes to life to be cherished once more.
For Sunday Papers Live, Joplin Parnell will be on piano and vocals, bringing his detailed knowledge and love of New Orleans jazz.
THE HOUSE

Cecil Sharp House
Talks take place in the main hall, decked out with chesterfields and cosy armchairs while the garden is opened up with street food stalls and bars.
THE PERFORMANCE

Live band to be revealed!
Stay tuned for updates on our intimate live band performance from 8pm - 9pm.