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An Evening with Yassmin Abdel-Magied: Stories of Power and Survival

History &
Social Policy

One woman’s struggle to survive an impending natural catastrophe all whilst negotiating the fraught dynamics of power, gender and ambition

This event is part of Conversations at the Kiln, an event series at Kiln Theatre programmed by Intelligence Squared. To see the full line-up click here.

Writer, broadcaster, and award-winning social advocate Yassmin Abdel-Magied has long challenged how we see the world. Since founding Youth Without Borders at the age of sixteen, a youth-led initiative focused on empowering young people to enact positive change in their communities, she has become a leading public voice on justice, identity, and storytelling. Her TED Talk, ‘What Does My Headscarf Mean to You?,’ has been viewed more than 2.5 million times and was named one of TED’s Top Ten Ideas of 2015.

In May 2026 she joined us in person to discuss her debut novel for adults, At Sea. Drawing on her own time working as an engineer on offshore oil rigs, she traced one woman’s struggle to survive an impending natural catastrophe all whilst negotiating the fraught dynamics of power, gender and ambition so entrenched in the world of Big Oil and the world of work more broadly.

Speaker

  • Yassmin Abdel-Magied

    Sudanese author, broadcaster and award-winning social advocate

Host

  • Coco Khan

    Journalist and Co-Host of Pod Save the UK

Speakers

Speaker

Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Sudanese author, broadcaster and award-winning social advocate

Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese author, broadcaster and advocate, as well as a former mechanical engineer. She is the author of multiple books, including the essay collection Talking About A Revolution as well as a series of novels for younger readers, You Must Be Layla and Listen, Layla. In 2024, Yassmin was selected for the coveted ITV Original Voices placement, joining the team on acclaimed British Continuing Drama, Emmerdale.
Host

Coco Khan

Journalist and Co-Host of Pod Save the UK

Writer, journalist and co-host of the politics podcast Pod Save the UK with comedian Nish Kumar. She writes regularly for The Guardian, and has contributed to books including The Good Immigrant.