Taking place just days after his inauguration, the first talk – on 31 January - will consider how President Donald Trump will deal with the challenges he is likely to face. This lecture, to be given by Professor Iwan Morgan, University College London, will also offer an evaluation of how history will judge President Obama’s leadership in an age of extreme polarisation.

This semester’s programme also features a number of social justice-themed talks. To mark LGBT History Month in February, renowned human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell will highlight how a lack of anti-LGBT laws has resulted in discrimination and violence against LGBT people remaining rife.

Also in February, a special lecture will be given as part of Freedom City 2017,  the programme to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King Jr receiving an Honorary Degree from Newcastle University: on 21 February, Reverend Jeffrey Brown will recount the lessons he learned from working with street gangs in Boston and his wider work bringing conflicting groups together.

Then in March, a conversation between Dame Vera Baird QC, the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner and Kaneez Shaid, Chair of Trustees, Citizens UK will explore how community alliances can create a platform for marginalised voices.

Professor Vicki Bruce, chair of Insights public lectures, said: “As ever, this semester’s programme offers a varied and thought-provoking line up of speakers, covering some hugely topical issues. 

“I’m very pleased that in the year that marks the 50^th anniversary of Martin Luther King receiving an Honorary Degree from Newcastle University, we will have a number of talks that reflect on the themes of war, poverty and equality for all that Dr King talked about when he visited Newcastle – themes that are as relevant today as they were in 1967. 

“The programme will also feature ‘New voices of social renewal’ - presentations from young researchers in our Institute for Social Renewal, and I’d urge people to come along to hear how their research is helping shape new ideas in response to the challenge of how our communities can thrive in a time of transformational change.”     

Other highlights of the Spring programme include Lord Stern on Thursday 2 February talking about the major questions about how we tackle climate change, ten years after the Stern Review.

And on Thursday 2 March, Newcastle University’s Professor Stephen Graham will offer insights into how power and inequality are revealed in a world where buildings are ever higher and we excavate ever deeper into the earth.

All Insights public lectures are free to attend and most take place at 5.30pm in the Curtis Auditorium of the University’s Herschel Building. See the full programme on the Events section of the University's website.