309 episodes

5 speakers, 15 minutes each. No script. The world's leading figures in the arts, science and media give talks about their enduring achievements, wildest moments or deepest passions. It's inspiring, informative, provoking, and above all, entertaining. Based in London but making forays to Sydney, New York and Milan, 5x15 has featured Joanna Lumley, Brian Eno, Jonathan Safran Foer, Jung Chang, Ruby Wax and Alain de Botton.
(Podcasts produced by Russell Finch)

5x15 Stories and inspiration from 5x15

    • Arts
    • 4.4 • 7 Ratings

5 speakers, 15 minutes each. No script. The world's leading figures in the arts, science and media give talks about their enduring achievements, wildest moments or deepest passions. It's inspiring, informative, provoking, and above all, entertaining. Based in London but making forays to Sydney, New York and Milan, 5x15 has featured Joanna Lumley, Brian Eno, Jonathan Safran Foer, Jung Chang, Ruby Wax and Alain de Botton.
(Podcasts produced by Russell Finch)

    John Vaillant On Fire Weather: A True Story From A Hotter World

    John Vaillant On Fire Weather: A True Story From A Hotter World

    5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each.

    John Vaillant is the international bestselling author of The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival and The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed. He has written for, among others, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic and the Guardian. His latest book, Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World, is a page-turning account of a brutal urban wildfire, and a sweeping exploration of our rapidly changing relationship with fire. It won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2023.

    Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com
    Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories
    Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

    • 14 min
    Cathy Newman On The Ladder

    Cathy Newman On The Ladder

    5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each.

    Cathy Newman is one of Channel 4 News' main studio presenters. She joined Channel 4 News as political correspondent in January 2006 after seven years writing for the Financial Times. Cathy is an award-winning investigative journalist whose scoops have included allegations of sexual harassment in Westminster, an investigation into a British paedophile who abused vulnerable boys in Kenya; and allegations of violent abuse by the British barrister John Smyth. She was the only broadcast journalist to travel with Angelina Jolie and the then foreign secretary William Hague to the Congo as part of their campaign against sexual violence. Cathy also hosts her own show on Times Radio, which has inspired her new book The Ladder, bringing together discussions between women – about work, love, growth, challenge, the big decisions and the stories of their lives.

    Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com
    Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories
    Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

    • 15 min
    Jackie Morris On The Book Of Birds

    Jackie Morris On The Book Of Birds

    5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each.

    Jackie Morris is an award-winning British writer and illustrator. Morris studied at the Bath Academy of Art and started her career as an illustrator by working for magazines including Radio Times, New Statesman, New Society and Country Living. She has illustrated over 60 books, and is best known for the stunning The Lost Words (2017), co-written with Robert Macfarlane – a love song to many increasingly rare words pertaining to nature and the natural world. These illustrations earned Morris the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2019. Morris and Macfarlane’s second collaboration, The Lost Spells, was published in October 2020, and they are currently working on a third, The Book of Birds. Morris is nominated for the 2024 Andersen Award by the International Board of Books for Young People.

    Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com
    Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories
    Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

    • 11 min
    Paula Byrne On Hardy Women

    Paula Byrne On Hardy Women

    5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each.

    Paula Byrne is the author of the bestselling biographies The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym, Perdita, Mad World, The Real Jane Austen, Belle, Kick and The Genius of Jane Austen. She is founder and chief executive of ReLit, the Bibliotherapy Foundation, a charity devoted to the mental health benefits of reading. Her new book, Hardy Women, re-examines Thomas Hardy’s life through the eyes of the women who made him—mother, sisters, girlfriends, wives, muses. In this highly innovative work, Byrne reveals that it is through hardy women that we can enter into the heart of the great novelist and poet.

    Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com
    Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories
    Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

    • 12 min
    5x15 On Botanic Gardens Past And Future With Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

    5x15 On Botanic Gardens Past And Future With Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

    Building upon Kew's commitment to re-examine the history of its collections, this discussion explores the colonial legacies of botany and botanic gardens, featuring a panel of leading writers and thinkers in this area. All too often history shows us that the origins of botanic gardens are intertwined with the histories of colonialism, imperialism and enslavement. How can understanding these connections pave the way to a more inclusive future? Given this legacy, what is the role that botanic gardens play today in supporting and addressing climate justice?


    Speakers
    Sathnam Sanghera is a journalist and best-selling author. His acclaimed books include The Boy with the Topknot and Empireland, which inspired the Channel 4 series Empire State of Mind. His highly anticipated new book, Empireworld, traces the legacies of the British empire around the world.

    Andrea Wulf is an award-winning author of several books, including The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession and the international bestseller The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World which is published in 27 languages. A New York Times bestseller, it also won fifteen international literary awards, including the Royal Society Science Book Prize, Costa Biography Award and the LA Times Book Prize. Her latest book Magnificent Rebels was published under great acclaim in autumn 2022. Andrea is a member of PEN American Center and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

    Emma Nicolson is Head of Art at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh where she spearheads a transformative arts strategy, integrating nature, science, and environmental concerns. Initiating projects like Climate House and collaborating with institutions like Serpentine Galleries, Emma engages audiences with climate and ecological issues. With a background as the founding director of ATLAS Arts and senior roles at institutions like the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Emma has a proven passion for collaborative, audience-building initiatives.

    Chaired by Rosie Boycott, Crossbench Peer, Food Campaigner, and co-founder of 5x15.

    This talk is part of a series of activities planned by RBG Kew, aligning with its objectives under its Manifesto for Change and History, Equity, and Inclusion Plan. As part of its own journey of introspection and exploration, Kew Gardens looks to promote open dialogue, platform diverse perspectives and foster learning from the rich tapestry of voices that surround these matters. Kew is not only a botanic garden; it is a leading centre of plant and fungal science and a repository of history, a living testament to the relationships between humans and plants over centuries. In examining the history of its collections, the RBG Kew aims to enrich the stories it tells its visitors, providing different layers of information on plant history and the pivotal role of botanic gardens.

    Responsible investing at Rathbones Investment Management
    We see it as our responsibility to invest for everyone’s tomorrow. That means doing the right thing for our clients and for others too. Keeping the future in mind when we make decisions today. Looking beyond the short term for the most sustainable outcome. This is how we build enduring value for our clients, make a wider contribution to society and create a lasting legacy. Recordings of Rathbones and 5x15's online series The Earth Convention can be viewed on 5x15's Youtube channel.

    Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com
    Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories
    Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

    • 1 hr
    5x15 And The Writers' Prize

    5x15 And The Writers' Prize

    5x15 and The Writers' Prize present a powerhouse line-up of international writing talent to speak with host, literary critic, and journalist Alex Clark about their recent works, all in contention for this year's Prize.

    Paul Murray, The Bee Sting

    Paul Murray, born in Dublin in 1975, authored An Evening of Long Goodbyes, Skippy Dies, The Mark and the Void, and The Bee Sting. An Evening of Long Goodbyes was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award. Skippy Dies was shortlisted for the Costa Novel award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and longlisted for the Booker Prize. The Mark and the Void won the Everyman Wodehouse Prize 2016. The Bee Sting was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2023. Paul Murray lives in Dublin.

    Zadie Smith, The Fraud

    Zadie Smith, born in northwest London, authored White Teeth, The Autograph Man, On Beauty, NW, Swing Time, The Embassy of Cambodia, and collections of essays and short stories. The Fraud is her first historical novel.

    Laura Cumming, Thunderclap

    Laura Cumming has been the art critic of the Observer since 1999. The Vanishing Man was longlisted for the Baillie-Gifford Prize, shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, and won the 2017 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography. On Chapel Sands was shortlisted for several prizes.

    Naomi Klein, Doppelganger

    Naomi Klein authored international bestsellers including This Changes Everything, The Shock Doctrine, No Logo, No Is Not Enough, and On Fire. She is an associate professor at the University of British Columbia and has launched a regular column for The Guardian.

    Liz Berry, The Home Child

    Liz Berry, an award-winning poet, authored collections including Black Country, The Republic of Motherhood, The Dereliction, and The Home Child, a novel in verse. Liz has received the Somerset Maugham Award and Forward Prizes.

    Mark O'Connell, A Thread of Violence

    Mark O’Connell authored A Thread of Violence, Notes from an Apocalypse, and To Be a Machine, awarded the Wellcome Book Prize and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. His work appears in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Slate, and The Guardian.

    Jason Allen-Paisant, Self-Portrait as Othello

    Jason Allen-Paisant is a Jamaican writer and academic at the University of Manchester. He’s the author of Thinking with Trees, winner of the OCM Bocas Prize, and Self-Portrait as Othello. His non-fiction book, Scanning the Bush, will be published in 2024.

    Our Host

    Alex Clark, a seasoned critic and broadcaster, chairs the discussion.

    Winners will be announced on March 13th, 2024.

    • 1 hr 24 min

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
7 Ratings

7 Ratings

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