The Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas Programme 2014

The Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas…

Daily, provocative shows led by outstanding academics. Every afternoon, 3.40pm at Stand in the Square (venue 372), St Andrew Square.

Tackling wide-ranging issues, from cocaine to designer babies, GM food to antidepressants and, of course, highly topical debates about benefit 'scroungers' and Scottish Independence, these shows are engaging, informative and ultimately entertaining.

It’s debate, discussion and discourse in the company of some of the fiercest intellects Scotland has to offer – in a Mongolian yurt!

Come along and shake that grey matter, challenge your ideas and put your opinion forward. Guests, debate and discussions change daily.

All tickets are £5, available from www.edfringe.com and www.thestand.co.uk.

For more information about the shows, see: http://codi2014.beltanenetwork.org/

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Friday 1st Saturday 2nd Sunday 3rd Monday 4th Tuesday 5th Wednesday 6th Thursday 7th Friday 8th Saturday 9th Sunday 10th Monday 11th Tuesday 12th Wednesday 13th Thursday 14th Friday 15th Saturday 16th Sunday 17th Monday 18th Tuesday 19th Wednesday 20th Thursday 21st Friday 22nd Saturday 23rd Sunday 24th Sunday 25th

Should Capitalism Be Criminal?

Cocaine - Between White Lines Benefit Scrounger - or unemployed worker?

The Internet - A Human Right?

In Pursuit of Beauty Speech Sucks: The Future Signs Alcohol Costs Too Much!

Antidepressants Are Not Overprescribed!

Is Scottish Independence Bad For Your Health?

The Trial of Chimpanzee Jack Are ‘Designer Babies’ a Slippery Slope?

The Hidden World of Functional Disorders The Bright Club Women! Science Is Not For You! I Know What You Ate Last Summer Keep The Kids Out! Breed Bilingual!

Brain Training On Trial What Skeletons Are In Your Closet?

Are We Wasting Your Data Sex-selective Abortions: Behind the Headlines Is Your Marmite Watching You? Prescriptions For Sunbeds?

We’d Eat GM Meat – Would You? Hug A Thug

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Aug 1st 3.40pm

Should Capitalism Be Criminal?

How effective is the law at protecting us from harm? Is our society too concerned about the apparent problem of ‘crime’ and punishment rather than recognising bigger threats to our wellbeing? Instead of focussing on punishing individual murderers, what would happen to crime rates if we got rid of inequality? Would society fall apart, or would life be better for us all?

DR LYNNE C OPSON

In this show, Dr Lynne Copson (The University of Edinburgh) asks you what kind of policies would really improve our daily lives, and whether crime rates are what we should be worrying about.

Aug 2nd 3.40pm

Cocaine – Between White Lines Scotland has the highest per-head consumption of cocaine on the planet, and it damages more than just our health. The inhabitants of wealthy nations pay a high price for their drug consumption, but it’s nowhere near high enough. The illicit production of cocaine has serious environmental and social consequences for Colombia, the world’s leading producer of the drug.

Colombian researchers from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh will tell you about the devastating effects of the cocaine trade on their country. Will it be enough to make you think twice, or are those white lines irresistible?

Aug 3rd 3.40pm

Benefit Scrounger – Or Unemployed Worker?

Politicians tell us that cutting benefits will motivate the unemployed to find work. They’re wrong – few unemployed people lack motivation. For the majority, unemployment is unpleasant, regardless of how much money the state gives them. Is it time we rethought the role of benefits – and distinguished between different groups of those unemployed?

DR JAN E ICHHORN

Dr Jan Eichhorn (The University of Edinburgh) reckons that if we want the unemployed to work, we should give them jobs, not cut their benefits. Do you agree? And where would these jobs come from? Have your say.

Aug 4th 3.40pm

The Internet – A Human Right?

The internet has unleashed the power of information, for good or ill. Society cannot function without it. Yet two-thirds of the world’s population, and almost one in six people in Scotland, have never used the internet. Should no one be excluded? Or do we need a right to remain offline? Should individuals and corporations have unfettered rights to wield the power of information? Or should only PROF M ICHAEL FOURMAN governments’ rights be unfettered?

Join us for a lively debate led by Professor Michael Fourman (The University of Edinburgh). Supported by The Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Aug 5th 3.40pm

In Pursuit of Beauty Do you think fashion should be socially responsible? Do you believe the industry should do more to communicate healthier and diverse beauty ideals? The Edinburgh College of Art and All Walks Diversity Network believe the fashion industry can be beautiful without being beastly. They have already got big names like H&M and the Scottish Government on their side - can they convince you?

Join us for a showcase of student designs, and debate with experts about the responsibilities the fashion industry has towards consumers.

Whatever your beliefs, you’ll leave feeling beautiful - and empowered!

Aug 6th 3.40pm

Speech Sucks: The Future Signs You speak 15,000 words a day. You read 10 times more. You're forcefed 50 gigabytes of data daily.

Language is tired: mangled, mauled and meaningless. We've exhausted it. But we can breathe life into language – by learning to sign.

Signing opens your mind to a completely different way of seeing life and puts the world in the palm of your hand. And best of all – the PROF G RAHAM TURNER machines can't do it. Because when you sign, your body becomes your language.

Can Professor Graham Turner (Heriot-Watt University) persuade you to sign up for tomorrow?

This event will be in both British Sign Language and English.

Aug 7th 3.40pm

Alcohol Costs Too Much!

Is minimum alcohol pricing making our health worse? Dr Angus Bancroft (The University of Edinburgh) reckons so. By treating us like idiots, policymakers turn us into them. Nannying us stops us taking responsibility for ourselves we take bad risks and get into trouble.

Do you think alcohol should be cheaper and illicit drugs legal? And is DR ANGUS BANCROFT it really the case that it’s just how we get hold of booze and drugs that makes us do stupid things? Have you stopped drinking even at civilised parties because you just can’t trust yourself? Come have your say.

Aug 8th 3.40pm

Antidepressants Are Not Overprescribed!

Doctors are constantly accused of dishing out antidepressants 'like sweeties'. But the dramatic reports in the media ignore how common major depression is, how antidepressants work, and how prescription numbers are calculated.

Major depression can be lifeshattering, occasionally fatal. For these sufferers and their families, antidepressants are no ‘lifestyle drug’ - they are life-saving.

PROF S TEPHEN LAWRIE

Professor Stephen Lawrie, Head of Psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh, argues that doctors get antidepressant prescriptions right much more often than not. Do you agree? Or are antidepressants just a quick-fix for life’s little ups and downs? Have your say.

Aug 9th 3.40pm

Is Scottish Independence Bad for Your Health?

Scotland is the ‘sick man of Europe’. Would independence change this?

Polls show that access to quality healthcare is a key concern in the independence debate. Would we be better off with an independent health service, or should we put up with the limitations of the current devolved system? And what about health research? Scotland’s population is an excellent ‘living lab’.

Would research done in an independent Scotland yield the same benefits? Could we do even better?

Join academics from The University of Edinburgh’s Innogen Institute for a provocative discussion.

Aug 10th 3.40pm

The Trial of Chimpanzee Jack You are summoned for jury service.

Jack and his gang killed a member of another gang. He is now on trial for murder. But this trial has a difference - Jack is a chimpanzee.

As a chimp, does Jack understand that others are like him? Can he predict what will happen when he attacks another chimp? Does he have morals?

As members of the jury, you will hear the arguments from both sides, quiz the expert witnesses and help decide: can a chimp do human wrongs? Created by Lewis Dean (University of St Andrews).

Aug 11th 3.40pm

Are ‘Designer Babies’ a Slippery Slope?

Have you ever thought about what having children might mean in the future? What if you could design your own baby? Would you design your baby to have the intelligence of Stephen Hawking and the body (but not the temper) of Naomi Campbell? What features would you include in the design of your baby?

Should we design babies free from genetic disorders? Perhaps you find the idea abhorrent?

DR GARY KERR

Join Dr Gary Kerr (The University of Edinburgh) and tell us what you think the future of designer babies should look like .

Aug 12th 3.40pm

The Hidden World of Functional Disorders How would you feel if you were paralysed or had blackouts, only to be told you were imagining it or worse still - making it up? This is still the experience of some patients with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a very real but misunderstood condition that affects 15% of UK neurology outpatients. In spite of being relatively common, FND is remarkably hidden from public view.

DR JON S TONE

Dr Jon Stone, Consultant Neurologist at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital, brings this illness out of the shadows. Hear the science and lift the stigma.

Aug 13th 3.40pm

Bright Club Bright Club brings academics straight from the research field to the Fringe! It’s the freshest thing in stand-up – an academic comedy cocktail synthesised for your entertainment and enlightenment.

Its unique twist of pun-fact variety show blends comedy and research with diverse subjects ranging from art to zoology. Come and laugh along as interesting, funny people share gags and silliness about what they know best – their own work.

“Seeing education and intellectual achievement celebrated in this way is great. The show pulls off the trick of coating facts with laughter, without patronising us in process. It’s accessible, irreverent and often pleasingly tongue-in-cheek…a hugely enjoyable way to boost your knowledge while having a laugh in an atmosphere brimming with goodwill.” (Fest, August 2013) “Bright Club is the epitome of smart meets funny.” (The Skinny, June 2012)

Aug 14th 3.40pm

Women! Science Is Not for You! Why are women deserting sciences in droves? Is it unconscious bias, a lack of aspiration, lack of confidence or just lack of ability? Are we failing our daughters, or is this just the way things are?

With females making up half of the population, a lot of science, maths and engineering talent is going to waste.

D R CLARE TAYLOR & DR PAM CAMERON

Help Dr Clare Taylor (Edinburgh Napier University, ScienceGrrl) and Dr Pam Cameron (Novo Science, Science Grrl) figure out why the pipeline is so leaky and what, if anything, we should do about it.

Aug 15th 3.40pm

I Know What You Ate Last Summer Your supermarket loyalty card says a lot about you. What if this information was used for more than targeted advertising and money off vouchers? Researchers in universities and governmental departments could use it to study patterns in consumption, design public health policies or target healthy living campaigns - and why stop there?

DR M HAIRI A ITKEN

Should our information be thought of as private and belonging to us?

Or is it a public asset that should be sold in all our interests? Hear from Dr Mhairi Aitken (The University of Edinburgh) and have your say.

Aug 16th 3.40pm

Keep the Kids Out! They terrorise our streets, nuisance our neighbourhoods or, worst of all, never leave the house.

Are children an environmental threat? Or should we be adapting our environments to suit them? Do urban planners need to discover their inner child? Join us to reevaluate our urban landscapes and what they say about children.

Heading up the discussion is Jenny Wood, a PhD researcher at Heriot-Watt University, and David McAllister, Training and Communications Manager at Planning Aid Scotland. Chaired by Susan Morrison and with your contribution, can we work out how to keep the kids out(side)?

Aug 17th 3.40pm

Breed Bilingual!

We may not all read the Daily Mail, but many Brits still think that learning a second language is unnecessary.

When it comes to young children, some of us even think it’s damaging.

But research on bilingualism shows that learning a language when you’re young can give you a range of advantages that will benefit you in later life. Can language-learning be a long-term investment in a better society? Will learning French when we’re three make us more successful in later life?

P ROF ANTONELLA SORACE

Have your say in this with debate with Professor Antonella Sorace (The University of Edinburgh and Bilingualism Matters).

Aug 18th 3.40pm

Brain Training on Trial Spent your hard-earned cash on games that promise to protect your brain? Still forgetting why you went into that room? Then come and put brain training on trial.

Be our prosecution, defence and jury as we examine the claims that brain training games protect your brain. Hear the evidence for and against their effectiveness and cross-examine our expert witness.

As you question the evidence, what will your verdict be: brain training, guilty or not guilty?

DR ALAN GOW

With Dr Alan Gow, Heriot-Watt University and the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology (The University of Edinburgh).

Aug 19th 3.40pm

What Skeletons Are In Your Closet?

The pioneering Statistical Accounts of Scotland systematically described 18th-century Scotland and its people, capturing glimpses of the daily lives of those forgotten by the history books in the process: “women of bad fame” in Inverness; tenant farmers in Sandwick prohibited from reporting their rental agreements; “pauper lunatics” in Morningside…

If we created a modern Account how N ICOLA OSBORNE & HELEN AITON would we capture the details of daily life for our own outsiders? Who would record these lives, what would we ask and what might it reveal to historians of the future? With Nicola Osborne and Helen Aiton (EDINA).

Aug 20th 3.40pm

Are We Wasting Your Data?

Medical science has advanced thanks to what we’ve learnt from patients’ data. But are overprotective data laws hampering progress? Will doctors continue to make the same mistakes through ignorance, when better use of patients’ data could have prevented them? Most patients are surprised at the hurdles researchers have to negotiate to start research that would benefit DR FELICITY M EHENDALE patients - ironically, all in the name of protecting patients! Have we got the balance right? Come along and share ideas to stop the waste.

With Dr Felicity Mehendale (Consultant Plastic, Reconstructive and Cleft Surgeon and The University of Edinburgh).

Aug 21st 3.40pm

Sex-Selective Abortions – Behind the Headlines The selective abortion of female babies is a high-profile reason for why some countries have more men than women. But do we know the real reasons why it happens, or is all our knowledge from sensationalist newspaper headlines? The ratio of men to women actually varies greatly between countries. Are males in other regions subject to different - but equally catastrophic inequalities and deprivations? What do feminist perspectives bring to the discussion, and what do they miss?

PROF PRABIR B HATTACHARYA

Join Professor Prabir Bhattacharya (Heriot-Watt University) for an extremely provocative discussion.

Aug 22nd 3.40pm

Is your Marmite Watching You? How would you feel if your Marmite suggested you get a divorce?

Join us for a show that explores what it might be like when all of the objects in our lives become intelligent and talk to one another and us. This ‘Internet of Things’ is currently being developed by technology companies. Will it threaten our relationships, or give us new opportunities?

Bring your smartphone for a humorous and disturbing performance from the Design Informatics Research Centre (The University of Edinburgh), a poet, an actor, and a jar of Marmite. We’re sure it will provoke a fascinating discussion!

Aug 23rd 3.40pm

Prescriptions for Sunbeds?

Everyone knows that sunbathing is the fastest way for skin cancer...but are we missing something? We have known for years about the skin cancer risk, but how much does this really matter? Should we risk cancer (and wrinkles and age spots) to have healthier hearts and minds? Might sunlight deprivation explain the notoriously poor health of Scotland, the ‘sick nation of Europe’?

DR R ICHARD WELLER

Join Dr Richard Weller, a dermatologist at The University of Edinburgh, to find out how close we are to getting prescriptions for sunbeds, and decide whether you’d want one.

Aug 24th 3.40pm

We’d Eat GM Meat – Would You? Would you eat bacon from a labdesigned pig? Is GM meat really a solution to future food shortages?

Debates about genetically modifying our food raise many concerns. Some are about the methods used. Some are about the concept itself. And some people can’t see what all the fuss is about.

Hear about the cutting-edge genetic engineering research happening right here PROF BRUCE W HITELAW in Edinburgh, discuss the risks and PROF H ELEN SANG opportunities with the scientists involved and decide for yourself – would you eat GM meat?

With Professors Helen Sang and Bruce Whitelaw (The Roslin Institute).

Aug 25th 3.40pm

Hug a Thug Do you think the criminal justice system is a soft touch? Do you think that prisons make life too easy for criminals? Would you like to bring back hanging? Then this is for you!

Through poetry and song, you will hear the stories of prisoners and victims, many of whom committed crimes from a young age. You will also have the chance to design your ideal prison.

The University of Edinburgh academics will challenge your preconceptions about crime and punishment. You’ll leave wanting to hug a thug, or your money back!

The Beltane Public Engagement Network is here to encourage, support and help researchers with public engagement activities across Edinburgh, such as helping to bridge the gap between working at the cutting edge and the people their research will affect.

Beltane is a small team based in The University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Academic Development (IAD). They support staff and students in their network through formal and informal learning programmes, fellowships, and opportunities to engage. They provide information about the growing field of, and issues around public engagement through their website, twitter, ebulletins, and introductory sessions.

They also work to build meaningful dialogue about the role of engaged universities in Scotland with MSPs at the Scottish Parliament.

Beltane is supported by four Edinburgh universities: The University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University and Queen Margaret University.

Their vision is of a Scotland where a culture of public engagement is embedded in Higher Education Institutes, where researchers feel willing and able to engage, and public engagement is supported, recognised, rewarded and valued in Higher Education Institutions.

Twitter: @edbeltane Facebook: BeltaneNetwork www.beltanenetwork.org

Fair Pley The Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas is produced by Glasgow-based production company Fair Pley.

Established in 2003, Fair Pley has developed a reputation for promoting ethical arts events including music, theatre, comedy and special events.

Twitter: @Fair_Pley

www.fairpley.com

Susan Morrison A professional comedian, regular compere at The Stand, author, children’s TV actress, broadcaster, Titanic expert and advisor to Bright Club Scotland.

Susan is MC for the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas shows.

Susan is an associate of Beltane and our resident chair interested in academia becoming more accessible – through comedy preferably. She did a great job of balancing entertainment with the sobriety needed to discuss sometimes quite upsetting and personally affecting topics during our Cabaret shows last year and we’ll see if she brings back her robots and builders’ hats this year as well.

Twitter: @suziemo

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