Lunchtime keynote

Timandra Harkness

Timandra Harkness is a science writer, broadcaster, and comedian. She has performed maths standup, presented documentaries on Radio 4, including Data, Data Everywhere, and written a book; Big Data: does size matter? Since it began, she has also been the moderator of the Data Debate series of events held in collaboration between the Alan Turing Institute and the British Library.

After performing improvised and stand-up comedy, hosting cabaret, and touring with a tented circus, Timandra formed the first comedy science double-act in the UK with neuroscientist Dr Helen Pilcher.

Now a regular writing and presenting on Radio 4, Timandra also co-hosts FutureProofing, with Leo Johnson, which sees her looking at the future of everything from language to war, ageing to food. She’s also the resident reporter on social psychology series The Human Zoo.

Away from the microphone and since winning a competition in the Independent with a piece on goat-borrowing, she has written for publications including the Telegraph, Guardian, Sunday Times, Evening Standard, WIRED, Men's Health, and Significance (the journal of the Royal Statistical Society). Her book Big Data: does size matter? gives a history of data collection and collation, how it’s changing the world, and its shortcomings from politics to health to smart cities.

Combining unusual facts with insight and humour, Timandra looks at how the future will affect business and society. As well as looking at big data, she tackles AI and robotics, and considers topics around our relationship with science and technology.

On stage, Timandra has appeared in and co-written Your Days Are Numbered: the maths of death and Science Burlesque, which brought the Cheltenham Science Festival its first audience that included a hen party.