Free society and politics events
Talks and debates on politics, international affairs, communities, inequality and how societies change, open to everyone.
563 upcoming events, 142 of them you can join online
Coming up
Events 1–20 of 556, soonest first
Tuesday 27 October
- 8:00 AM-9:00 AM in CaliforniaIn person and online
Pediatric Grand Rounds (CME): When Governments Swipe Left: Australia’s Social Media Policy
Office of Pediatric Education · Center for Academic Medicine, Grand Rounds Room, 453 Quarry Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304
When Governments Swipe Left: Australia’s Social Media Policy
- 4:00 PM-6:00 PM in the UKIn person and online
Beyond crisis: Reimagining “education and international development” for climate and debt justice
University College London · Room 777, UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL, United Kingdom
Join us for the first “Contemporary Global Challenges in Education and Justice” seminar series at the Centre for Education and International Development.
- 6:00 PM-7:00 PM in BeirutIn person
Latin America at a Crossroads: Prospects After Brazil’;s Elections
American University of Beirut · Taht el Shajra Restaurant, Jean d';Arc Street
Audience: Alumni,Faculty,Graduate,Public,Undergraduate Event Type: Talk
- 10:00 AM-11:30 AM in CalgaryIn person
The North American Long Game: Data and Strategies from New Research for a New Approach to a New Relationship
University of Calgary · FSS 4004, 120 University Private, University of Ottawa
The North American Long Game: Data and Strategies from New Research for a New Approach to a New Relationship Beyond tariff threats, negotiations for an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, and U.S.
- 9:30 AM-11:00 AM in VancouverIn person
Age and Immigration Policy in Canada: Roundtable Discussion
University of British Columbia · Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
Discrimination on the basis of age and family status is deeply embedded in Canadian immigration law and policy. How and why does age function as part of a broader system of border control?
- 5:00 PM-6:30 PM in the UKIn person
Book Launch: European Shiism
Birkbeck, University of London · Birkbeck Central
This is a book launch of the new Cambridge University Press monograph by Dr. Matthijs van den Bos titled 'European Shiism.'
- 5:00 PM in the UKIn person
Dressed for Dissent: Decolonial Fashion and the Queer Struggle for Palestine
University of Oxford · St Antony's College - MEC Boardroom, Kirdar Building
Speaker: Dr Roberto Filippello All welcome, no booking necessary. The event will be chaired by Professor Pascal Menoret
- 5:00 PM-7:00 PM in the UKIn person
Manchesterism: What does it mean for the North East?
Newcastle University · The Theatre, Ground Floor of the Catalyst Building, 3 Helix, Science Square, Newcastle Helix, NE4 5TG | Get directions
The event is free and open to all, but pre-booking is required.
- 12:15 PM-1:30 PM in AustinIn person
Rogue States: The Making of America’s Global War on Terror
Clements Center for National Security · RLP 1.302B, Patton Hall
On October 27, 2026, the Clements Center for National Security will host “Rogue States: The Making of America’s Global War on Terror,” with Matthew Frakes, historian of U.S. foreign relations and…
- 12:30 PM in ChicagoIn person and online
Book Talk - North: The Future of Post-Climate America
Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation · 1155 E. 60th Street, Room 101, Chicago IL
Climate change is already influencing how and where people live.
- 1:30 PM in Washington, DCOnline
Climate Change and Rural Livelihoods in Naryn, Kyrgyzstan
Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding
Dr. Azamat Azarov (University of Central Asia) explores how climate change is reshaping natural resources and agrarian life in Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn region, combining environmental analysis with…
- 5:30 PM-8:30 PM in the UKIn person
Grantham Institute Annual Lecture 2026 with Anne Hidalgo
Grantham Institute, Undaunted · City and Guilds Building, South Kensington Campus, London, United Kingdom
Progress in the face of pushback
- 5:45 PM-8:00 PM in the UKIn person
Annual Bishop's Lecture: Chine McDonald
Loughborough University · Martin Hall Lecture Theatre
The University Chaplaincy host the fourth annual Bishop's Lecture welcoming Chine McDonald, writer, broadcaster, author and director of the think tank, Theos.
- 6:00 PM in the UKIn person
Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History: Benjamin Moser in Conversation with Ahdaf Soueif
SOAS University of London · BGLT, SOAS Gallery
This Centre for Palestine Studies book event brings into conversation the Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser and the award-winning novelist Ahdaf Soueif.
- 6:00 PM-8:00 PM in the UKIn person
Book launch: 'Decolonizing African Politics: Bridging the Contours of Debate'
SOAS University of London · Khalili Lecture Theatre (KLT), Main Building
Dr Michael Amoah launches his new book, , in conversation with Professor of Security and International Development Zoë Marriage. Decolonizing African Politics serves as a unique contribution to the…
- 12:00 PM-1:15 PM in CaliforniaIn person
After Fission: Recognition and Contestation in the Atomic Age
Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) · Encina Hall, William J. Perry Conference Room, 616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305
About the event: Nuclear status is typically treated as a stable feature of a state's capacity to possess, use, or build nuclear weapons. Challenging this view, After Fission reveals how states…
- 12:00 PM-1:00 PM in CaliforniaIn person and online
Australia’s new social media legislation: the world is watching
Tech Impact and Policy Center · Building 120, McClatchy Hall, Main Quad, Studio S40 - bring your Stanford ID card/mobile ID to enter the building, Stanford, CA 94305
Join the Tech Impact and Policy Center on October 27th from 12PM–1PM Pacific for a seminar with Susan Sawyer
- 12:00 PM-1:15 PM in CaliforniaIn person
Maisha Winn, "Futuring Black Lives: Independent Black Institutions and the Literary Imagination," in conversation with Adam Banks
Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity · Building 360, CCSRE Conference Room, Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE), 450 Jane Stanford Way Building 360, Stanford, CA 94305
Learn more about Professor Winn's work in this May 2026 article, "AERA Presidential Address 2026 The Future Is Here: Historical Signals in Education Research."
- 7:00 PM-9:00 PM in the UKIn person and online
Making sense of the many Chinas: a dialogue between Xiaolu Guo and Jeffrey Wasserstrom
SOAS University of London · Wolfson Lecture Theatre (SWLT), Paul Webley Wing
As different as Xiaolu Guo's personal, story-driven Everyday Tang is from historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom's Everything You Wanted to Know about China, both are short new books by versatile authors, and…
- 4:00 PM in ChicagoIn person
BOOK TALK Gautham Rao on”White Power: Policing American Slavery”
Law, Letters, and Society · Social Science Research, Tea Room
The Forum on Law and Legalities workshop series welcomes Gautham Rao back to the Unviersity of Chicago to discuss his book “White Power: Policing American Slavery”.
On now: exhibitions and series
Running over several weeks.
- [Exhibition] A History of Black Theatre in Manchester 1827-2025: Celebrating presence · University of Manchesteruntil Friday 30 October
- New Exhibition: The North Revisited · University of Manchesteruntil Sunday 24 January 2027
- Innovation for the global good exhibition · ESRC Festival of Social Scienceuntil Saturday 7 November
- Remembering the Disappeared · ESRC Festival of Social Scienceuntil Friday 18 December
- Truro 2035: A Guided Tour · ESRC Festival of Social Scienceuntil Thursday 5 November
- The £1 Million Innovation Nobody Wanted · ESRC Festival of Social Scienceuntil Saturday 31 October
- How We Got Here: A Series On Contemporary Russian Political History · King's College Londonuntil Tuesday 8 December
Recently held
The kind of society and politics events universities open to the public. These have finished.
- Tue 27 OctPast eventAge of Deception: Cybersecurity as Secret Statecraft · King's College London
- Tue 27 OctPast eventBeyond the Usual Suspects: New Voices for Women, Peace and Security · King's College London
- Tue 27 OctPast eventCreatively being a Social Scientist · ESRC Festival of Social Science
- Tue 27 OctPast eventCrossroads of Movement · ESRC Festival of Social Science
- Tue 27 OctPast eventFeeding Children in Hard Times · ESRC Festival of Social Science
Where these events come from
- ESRC Festival of Social Science (68)
- Stanford University (53)
- Brown University (34)
- University College London (33)
- University of Chicago (29)
- University of Manchester (27)
- SOAS University of London (21)
- Rice University (18)
And 60 more universities: see them all in the catalogue.