Talks & lectures within 5 miles of Edinburgh

Hear from the instantly recognisable but always believable actor about a life in film, from Begbie to Renard and beyond. Part of Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Senior curator Francis Fowle explores the recently acquired painting by the leader of the Glasgow Boys. Booking is essential.

A look at the work of Janet Henderson, who helped to establish the organic, local sourcing and healthy eating scene here in Scotland, and a glance at the future of food culture in the country. Booking is essential.

Broadcast simultaneously live on BBC Radio Scotland and sold out every year for the last decade, Fred MacAulay and Susan Calman bring you the pick of the very best comedy from the Fringe. Please note - This is a free event ticketed via a random draw. To enter the draw please visit www.bbc.co.uk/tickets.

Come and find out about participating in Brighton Fringe, England’s largest arts festival. For four weeks in May, Brighton is transformed with all types of performances in venues big and small. www.brightonfringe.org

Philip Glass is joined by Patti Smith to discuss their cross-art form collaboration The Poet Speaks with writer and broadcaster Richard Coles.

From the Marquis de Sade to Fifty Shades of Grey, from literary quickies to passionate epics, erotic stories continue to get us in a fluster. In this scintillating session Rowan Pelling, Telegraph columnist and former editor of the Erotic Review, shares some of her favourite excerpts and offers gentle guidance to…

The political columnist presents his new book, a companion to the three-part television series of the same name. Booking is essential.

Universal Quidem. Revealing, thought provoking and at times hilarious, BBC Radio 2 legend Johnnie Walker discovers the real person behind the celebrity. Famous for his years on pirate Radio Caroline and Radio's 1 and 2, Johnnie is regarded as one of the finest radio interviewers today. Now Johnnie escapes the studio…

Are you a university student at the Fringe? Network with your tech, acting, management, producing peers - make connections! Come meet other university students at this meet and greet sponsored by Fringe University.

Professors Maurice Moloney and David Hume talk about the future of biotechnology and genetics in crop and livestock development.

Peter Abrahams, Professor of Clinical Anatomy at Warwick University, explores the value of Leonardo’s anatomical drawings as a tool for understanding the human body, and how closely the artist anticipated the range of imagery used by the medical profession today.

A talk and discussion of the 1SCOTS and their time spent recently in Afghanistan.

The Fringe Society chats with actors at the top of their game. Hear how they started, their career highs and lows, what they would do differently. Previous guests include Miriam Margolyes, George Wendt and Anthony Rapp.

Painter Frederic Edwin Church travelled to Newfoundland and Labrador in 1859 and made some of the most awe-inspiring images of icebergs ever painted; his 1861 The Icebergs is but the most monumental. Maritime historian Trevor Ware discusses Church's work.

Join Alasdair Gray, Scottish author and artist most acclaimed for his first novel Lanark, which was described as 'one of the landmarks of 20th-century fiction' by the Guardian. Join him here, in conversation with the BBC’s Head of the Arts, Jonty Claypole. Gray has been described by Will Self as 'a great writer…

The amiable bushcraft expert shares stories from his three decades roughing it in the bush.

The historian and writer discusses her classic autobiography of Mary, Queen of Scots, published more than 40 years ago.

Professor of Epistemics Jon Oberlander, Professor of Composition and Electroacoustic Composition Peter Nelson, and Chris Speed of the Edinburgh College of Art discuss historical, conceptual and philosophical relationships between the performing arts and technology. Chaired by theatre specialist Olga Taxidou.