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Themes of Our Time Dialogue, Reading Authors: Sarah Langford (London and Suffolk), Rowan Moore (London) Moderator: Rosie Goldsmith (London) The author and barrister Sarah Langford and the architecture critic Rowan Moore focus on the developments of living in the countryside and in the cities in Great Britain in two highly topical books. In her book Rooted. Stories of Life, Land and a Farming Revolution, Langford describes how her grandfather as a hero farmer grew the food to feed a starving nation, and today her uncle is made accountable for ecological disasters and climate change. Meanwhile, as a farmer herself, she experiences the revolution in agriculture after Brexit as well as a regenerative farming revolution and the related planning of a new farming life. Slow Burn City by Rowan Moore traces the dramatic changes in modern London and asks about the status of the liberal mind-set, cosmopolitan attitude and quality of life in the historically evolved metropolis. What role do digital technologies play in the process that, according to the concept of the smart city, should make urban living more efficient, effective and climate-friendly? Which developments are foreseeable today in Great Britain? What does leaving the European Union mean, and the falling cash flows? What about the use of AI in infrastructure with regard to the conflict between city and country? Sarah Langford is a British author. She worked as a barrister in London, moved to Suffolk in 2017, where with her family she runs a small family farm. Today, she travels between the city and country. In her book Rooted. Stories of Life, Land and a Farming Revolution she describes the transition in agriculture that is caused by climate change and imposed by Brexit. Recently published: In Your Defence, 2019. Langford manages to contain and convey the whole scale of the coming agricultural revolution. The Telegraph Rowan Moore b. 1961, is a British architecture critic and author. He writes for the Observer and The Guardian and was named Critic of the Year at the UK Press Awards. Publications include: Slow Burn City: London in the Twenty-First Century, 2017. A political book (Slow Burn City) in the best sense – helping us to imagine a better world, reminding us that ideas shape how we live and plotting a better future for London. The Telegraph