Jim Al-Khalili, Mike Wendling, and Lily O’Farrell join the European Skeptics Congress 2026 line-up

With less than three months to go until we bring skeptics from all across Europe to Liverpool for the 2026 European Skeptics Congress, we’re delighted to announce three new additions to our line-up: physicist and author Jim Al-Khalili, journalist Mike Wendling, and Internet culture and feminist podcaster Lily O’Farrell.

Jim Al-Khalili is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Surrey and one of Britain’s leading science communicators. He has written numerous books that have been translated into twenty-six languages, among them The Joy of Science and The World According to Physics (both Princeton). A fellow of the Royal Society, he is a regular presenter of TV science documentaries and is best-known in the UK for his long-running BBC Radio program, The Life Scientific.

Mike Wendling is a journalist who specialises in covering the US and international far-right, conspiracy theories and fringe movements and American politics. A former editor of BBC Trending and co-founder of the BBC’s disinformation unit, he is the author of two books – Alt-Right: From 4chan to the White House and Day of Reckoning: How the Far-Right Declared War on Democracy.

Lily O’Farrell is a writer, cartoonist and feminist commentator. Her documentary podcast series, No Worries If Not! has just finished its fourth season, exploring the intersection of culture, misinformation, the Internet, and feminism. Since 2018, she has been publishing funny, educational cartoons about misogyny, feminism, and Internet culture, building an audience of more than 400k online followers, with translations into Vietnamese, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic and several other languages. She has collaborated with organisations including the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, Refuge, the End Violence Against Women Coalition and Good Law Project, helping to turn their campaigns into accessible, engaging cartoons.

Tickets for the European Skeptics Congress are currently on sale, costing £140, or £120 for members of ECSO organisations - pick up yours today!