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Is Geography Destiny?

Jewish Book Week 2025

Wed 5 Mar
Words

Is Geography Destiny?

Jewish Book Week 2025

Speaker Ian Morris
Chair Mark Malcolmson

Stanford Historian Ian Morris explores the mutual influences between geography and civilisations, and the way they have shaped our interconnected world.


While geography has remained unchanged since sea levels stabilised after the Ice Age, its impact on human societies has shifted dramatically over millennia—and is now evolving faster than ever. For 10,000 years, the Middle East has been a critical land bridge between Africa and Asia, by turns marginal to global affairs or at the very heart of history. Stanford historian and author of Why the West Rules – For Now, Ian Morris, joins City Lit Principal Mark Malcolmson to explore how geography shapes human destiny, how human choices shape geography, and what it all means for our interconnected world.

This event will last approximately 1 hour, without an interval. 


About the speakers:

Ian Morris teaches at Stanford University, where he has won the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is also a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Society for the Arts, and at the London School of Economics, and has directed archaeological digs in Britain, Greece, and Sicily. He studies long-term global history, asking what the patterns of the past tell us about the future. His fifteen books include the prize-winning Why the West Rules—For Now, and, most recently, Geography is Destiny: Britain and the World, a 10,000-Year History. He has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, delivered the Tanner Lectures in Human Values at Princeton, and has advised the World Bank, the US National Intelligence Council, the Australian Army, and other institutions. He is currently writing a book called What Happened in History.

Mark Malcolmson has been Principal and Chief Executive of City Lit, Europe’s biggest adult education college, since 2011. He has facilitated, interviewed, taught and lectured on five continents. In the last 10 years, he has conducted a great variety of interviews, both online and in-person. Mark was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List for services to adult education.

Plan your visit

Getting here
Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.

Our address is:
90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.

The Venue 
Our performance spaces are situated on the lower ground floor. Hall One, Hall Two and St Pancras are located in level -2, reached by stairs, escalator and lift from the ground floor entrance level.

Event Times 
Door times indicate auditorium entrance times only. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Kings Place seating areas, gallery-level art, canal-side terrace, café, restaurant and bar throughout the day and evening.

  • Our events begin promptly at the advertised start time. Typically, there is no support unless otherwise stated.
  • We recommend arriving in good time before the performance. The Hall doors will open 30 minutes before the performance to allow time to take your seats, or to choose a space for standing shows.
  • Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance where possible

Access

We aim to make your visit to Kings Place as comfortable as possible. For more information about the accessibility of Kings Place, including details about our Access Scheme, please visit this page.

If you would like to discuss your access requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch with the Box Office team at info@kingsplace.co.uk. 

 

Food & Drink

Rotunda Bar & Restaurant
Rotunda, situated on the ground floor of Kings Place, offers a unique dining and drinking experience alongside Regent’s Canal. The concert bar in the venue foyer will also be open for select events.

Green & Fortune Café
Recently re-furbished and now open with a new look, the Green & Fortune Café is open for selected concerts. Serving hot and cold food and drinks, including sandwiches, salads, soup, stew and a pie of the day, alongside a choice of cakes made by the on-site bakery team. See here for selected concert dates and standard opening hours.

Date:Wed 5 Mar
Start time:7pm (Doors: 6.30pm)
Venue:Hall One
Price:£5.00-£22.00
+ 12.5% (£6 cap) Transaction fee.
+ £1 Building levy. More info
Availability:Tickets available
£5 Under 30s tickets at JBW
A limited number of £5 tickets for attendees aged under 30 are available for this show. To purchase an 'Under 30s' ticket, please choose the 'Under 30s' price type when selecting your ticket(s). If the option does not appear, this means all 'Under 30s' tickets have sold out. Please note that proof of age may be requested at the venue.
Unwaged tickets at JBW
Tickets at a special rate of 50% off are available to those in receipt of Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support or Job Seekers allowance. Please contact info@jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk to book a concession priced ticket.
SAVE 15% when you book 3+ JBW events
Discount automatically applied when 3+ events have been added to your online basket. This offer applies to all in-person paid events at Kings Place (not online, off-site or free events). Offer excludes Under 30s & Unwaged Tickets.

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