Leeds International Festival of Ideas at Leeds Playhouse

Expect big names and bold conversation this October as Leeds International Festival of Ideas returns to the city. Featuring 46 speakers over five days, LIFI25 aims to tackle some of the biggest questions of our time through inspiring talks, intimate chat, and thought-provoking panel discussions. This year, audiences have the chance to hear from the likes of Chuck D, David Baddiel, Caitlin Moran, Sally Wainwright OBE, Victoria Derbyshire, and many more, as they debate everything from Who rules the World? to Where have all the good men gone?

Indeed, Leeds International Festival of Ideas doesn’t shy away from tough topics. Comedian David Baddiel asks “Can you be a religious atheist?” in a scheduled discussion with broadcaster and academic Professor Mona Siddiqui, as the pair explore the complexities of human experience and the significance of spirtuality. While panel discussion “How level is the playing field?” faces up to the big questions surrounding women’s sport, from pay gaps and sexist commentary, to trans exclusion and racial underrepresentation.

On the lighter end of the spectrum, in Manners cost nowt, etiquette expert William Hanson and cultural academic Dr Kirsty Sedgman promise an entertaining voyage through the origins and quirks of British decorum as they ask what counts as good manners, and just who decides — a topic that touches on class, culture and upbringing. Finding hope in creativity, LIFI25 also features BAFTA-winning actor Vicky McLure (Line of Duty) who is joined by Leeds Playhouse’s Dr Nicky Taylor to share the moving story of Our Dementia Choir, and talk about the idea of music as medicine, followed by a heartfelt live performance from the choir.

Culture vultures are well catered for here too. The chance to hear hip-hop titan Chuck D of Public Enemy tackle everything from social justice to his own, genre-defying sound is an undoubted coup for the festival. As is the arrival of multi-BAFTA-winning writer Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley) and actor Tamsin Greig to discuss their upcoming BBC television drama Riot Women, about five Northern women who form a punk band. In conversation with Leeds’ own Gaynor Faye, the pair will talk through the series’ themes of rebellious women, gender stereotypes and subverting dramatic cliché.

New for 2025, the Young LIFI strand seeks to engage and empower as an inspirational, cross-discipline panel of experts gather

New for 2025, the Young LIFI strand seeks to engage and empower as an inspirational, cross-discipline panel of experts gather to examine how young people can bounce back from setbacks, challenges and the negative noise of the modern world. The challenges of life in 2025 are a recurring theme across the festival. In Can Mums have it all?, Myleene Klass leads a raw and relatable conversation on the expectations of modern motherhood, while a panel including television’s Fred Sirieix takes a look at the rising costs of today’s hospitality industry and asks who’s picking up the bill.

“Leeds has always been a city of voices” says LIFI Festival Director, Martin Dickson, explaining that “In an increasingly polarised world we need safe spaces to explore difficult topics with empathy, expertise and a sense of hope.” Audiences should find all of the above in the line-up for this year’s festival, where organisers have brought together leading voices from across media, industry, and the world to start talking, and engage the people of Leeds in thoughtful, vital conversation.