29 July 2025: Downstream IRL: Ash Sarkar in Conversation With William Dalrymple

How the East Made The West

Join us for a compelling evening as Novara Media’s Ash Sarkar sits down with acclaimed historian and author William Dalrymple for a wide-ranging conversation at the crossroads of empire, resistance, and the long shadows of colonialism.

From the rich histories traced in The Golden Road to the urgent realities of Gaza and the deeper fault lines of South Asia’s past, this is a discussion that cuts across centuries—and continents. Dalrymple brings his signature insight into how East shaped West, and asks us to reimagine our sense of where power lay in the ancient world.

Before this, Aaron Bastani will be kicking the event off with Josephine Quinn, one of Britain’s most respected historians of antiquity. They will be discussing her brilliant recent book and exploring what lessons the distant past holds for the challenges of the 21st century.

Expect big questions, bold analysis, and the kind of conversation you simply won’t find anywhere else.

The event will begin at 7.30pm and it will be followed by a social in the bar, where William will be signing books and Novara merch will be on sale.

As always, all the money raised from this event will support Novara Media’s independent, truthful journalism. It is only thanks to our supporters that we exist at all and can continue to provide these events.