Adam Rutherford: A Scientific Scandal

In 2020, Francis Galton’s name was removed from University College London buildings. The ‘father of eugenics’ had authored theories of selective procreation used to justify racism and genocide. Discussing his book Control: The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics, geneticist Adam Rutherford examines its continuing effects on people’s lives. His previous nonfiction blockbusters include The Book of Humans and How to Argue with a Racist.

Book Festival News

Book Festival reveals first author events for 2024 Book Festival reveals first author events for 2024
Sunday 14 April

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Watch more

Brit Bennett: How the Other Twin Lives Brit Bennett: How the Other Twin Lives For a novel that begins in 1968, Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half may well be the timeliest fiction book of the year. Back in 2014, following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Bennett wrote an essay for Jezebel called ‘I don’t know … Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 Highlights 24–26 August Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 Highlights 24–26 August In the final days of another fantastic Book Festival we saw authors including Mary Robinson, Cressida Cowell, Colson Whitehead and more… Matt Haig (2017 Event) Matt Haig (2017 Event) Acclaimed writer of novels and screenplays for adults and children, Matt Haig’s new book, How to Stop Time, was so heavily anticipated that Benedict Cumberbatch signed up to play the key role in the movie adaptation well before its actual publication da… Elif Shafak (2012) Elif Shafak (2012) Elif Shafak’s novel Honour is a moving account of love and family set in Kurdistan, Istanbul and London… Salman Rushdie with Allan Little: Standing in the Rubble of Truth Salman Rushdie with Allan Little: Standing in the Rubble of Truth World famous for his novels, Salman Rushdie is the author of fourteen works of fiction including the Booker Prize-winning Midnight’s Children and his most recent book Quichotte, shortlisted for the Booker in 2019. Alongside his storytelling, Rushd… Holly Baxter and Rhiannon Cosslett (2014 event) Holly Baxter and Rhiannon Cosslett (2014 event) Co-founders of The Vagenda blog, journalists Rhiannon Cosslett and Holly Baxter ended up with an instant hit; the blog received over 7 million views in year one and has received votes of approval from the likes of Caitlin Moran and Laurie Penny. In this h… Polly Barton & Eley Williams: Words That Define Us Polly Barton & Eley Williams: Words That Define Us We define words – and then they define us. Meet two authors whose delightful relationship with words and meaning comes to the foreground in their work. Eley Williams won the James Tait Black Prize for her debut short story collection Attrib., a word-of-… Alan Warner: Confessions of a Rock Groupie Alan Warner: Confessions of a Rock Groupie 1970s England – the days of glam rock, then punk rock; of Multi-Coloured Swap Shop and Branston Pickle. This is the period Alan Warner sets his novel Kitchenly 434. The place: a remote country house owned by one of the world’s best-known rock stars, M… Thomas Keneally at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Thomas Keneally at the Edinburgh International Book Festival The Booker Prize-winning Australian author of Schindler’s Ark, Thomas Keneally comes to Edinburgh having woven another masterpiece in The Book of Science and Antiquities. Ancient human remains are found in Western Australia, causing controversy: was the… Ian Rankin talks to Phill Jupitus at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Ian Rankin talks to Phill Jupitus at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Since Ian Rankin’s appearance at last year’s Book Festival, his iconic detective Rebus has made his stage debut in Long Shadows and is set to star in a television series by Black Watch playwright Gregory Burke. Rankin’s latest, In a House of Lies, i…