Listen to Johnian talks at the Hay Festival online

Johnians past and present spoke at this year's Hay Festival of Literature and Arts.

Several high-profile College alumni and Fellows were booked to give talks and presentations to the several thousand strong crowd of festival goers. A number of their talks can also be heard online via the University of Cambridge on SoundCloud.

Johnians who presented talks at the Festival included Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England, Professor Robert Mair, Master of Jesus College and Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project.

Professor Chris Dobson and his wife Mary led a discussion on dementia and Alzheimer's disease, the '21st century plagues' that pose major challenges to our aging populations. Their talk also examined the scientific research that may offer hope for current and future generations.

The Hay Festival, described by former US President Bill Clinton as 'the Woodstock of the mind', is an annual festival of literature, arts and sciences, held for ten days in May-June in the small town of Hay-on-Wye in the Welsh Borders. First devised in 1988, the Hay Festival brings together writers and thinkers from around the world to discuss everything from popular literature to cutting-edge scientific theories and more.

The University of Cambridge has for six years ran a special series of talks and events as part of the Hay Festival. This year's Cambridge series included nineteen academics and alumni from the University.