I Didn’t Know Philosophers Did That! Leeds 2026

Thank you to the University of Leeds for having us for our I Didn’t Know Philosophers Did That! 2026.

I Didn’t Know Philosophers Did That! is a free one-day event for state school students. The event series concept was developed in 2025 by philosophers Showkat Ali, Lewis Williams and myself when we met at an Early Career Researcher Day at the Institute of Philosophy. We aim to support young people who might be considering philosophy as their subject at university presenting snippets of our research (the gritty truth, the highs and lows, the funny and the odd, the engaging with research and staying curious). At each event we have a series of philosophers presenting their own field of research.

This year along with Showkat, Lewis and myself we also had workshops, live podcast recording and lectures by the wonderful Simon Kirchin, Sophie Goddard, Carl Fox, Gah-Kai Leung, Andy Kirton & Paula Satne. Thank you!!

As Showkat writes: “Over the course of the day students are introduced to topics that they might be surprised to learn are things modern philosophers think and write about—topics such as mental health, disability, online dating, food and drink, natural disasters, gaming and virtual reality, wealth inequality, and even rap music. Students engage with speakers’ research and innovation on these topics through a variety of traditional and modern delivery methods: a lecture, a seminar, an interactive presentation, and a podcast-style interview.”

The first I Didn’t Know Philosophers Did That! was at Senate House, London, generously supported by the Institute of Philosophy. Our second IDKPDT was supported by the British Philosophical Association and the Royal Institute of Philosophy and took place at the University of Leeds and helps to support state school students in northern England.

As part of IDKPDT I presented two workshops describing a chapter of my PhD research on microorganisms. The pupils and their teachers produced some brilliant artwork as part of rethinking fearful aspects in terms of ‘kawaii’ design.

Thank you to all the brilliant pupils and their teachers that took part this year. We loved meeting you all!