Wednesday 15th October 2025

Mishal Husain to deliver Oxford’s annual Romanes Lecture

Award-winning journalist and author Mishal Husain delivered Oxford University’s annual Romanes Lecture on Tuesday. Taking place in the Sheldonian Theatre, this year’s lecture was titled ‘Empire, Identity and the Search for Reason’.

In the lecture Husain explored both historical and contemporary narratives of identity, communities, and conflict. She reflected on our imperial past and talked of a search for points of light, finding them beyond the headlines in history and forgotten context.

Husain also examined the election of Dadabhai Naoroji, the first Asian MP elected to serve in the House of Commons, whose work was driven by the poverty gap between India and Britain. As a Liberal MP during Gladstone’s premiership, Naoroji’s critique of empire is thought to have influenced Gandhi and Jinnah. 

During the lecture, Husain said: “When I look at today’s undergraduates I am conscious that, at the same point in my life 30 years ago, I was emerging from my university education into a less troubled world. The Berlin Wall had been torn down, the Soviet Union had come to an end, it felt as though societies were moving towards more freedom and more prosperity. The 9/11 attacks had not happened.

“Today, the level of conflict, and the economic pressures on countries, and individuals, make for

a very different reality. The news is often hard to take, leading to a sense of overload. Even, at times, despair. The ‘search for reason’ is part of this lecture’s title because my own search for reason – a compass through these times – is how I try and make sense of dramatic events around us. It’s at the heart of my new on air work. And I hope that what I share about that compass – that search – may be of use to some of you, in providing points of light.”

Challenging the relationship between East and West, Mishal spoke of the lost religious context in the words of Rumi, reflected on the case of Shamima Begum, and shared little recognised connections between English architecture and Islamic buildings, including the Sheldonian Theatre – the venue of the Romanes lecture.

Mishal Husain is currently Editor-at-Large at Bloomberg Weekend. Prior to joining Bloomberg, Husain presented a number of BBC News programmes, including Radio 4’s Today Programme, which she stepped down from earlier this year.

Husain’s most notable journalistic moments include presenting on location in New York following the 9/11 terror attacks, and in Pakistan after the killing of Osama Bin Laden. She has been named ‘Broadcaster of the Year’ twice by the London Press Club and won the ‘Charles Wheeler Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Journalism’ in 2024. Husain’s memoir Broken Threads: A Family from Empire to Independence was a Sunday Times bestseller.

Established in 1891 with the funding of George John Romanes, the Romanes Lecture is delivered annually by a public figure by special invitation of the Vice-Chancellor. Past speakers have included Professor Geoffrey Hinton, Dame Catherine Bingham, and Hilary Clinton. 

Prime Minister William Gladstone was the first speaker to present the Romanes Lecture in 1892 when Dadabhai Naoroji was a serving MP.

Professor Irene Tracey described the lecture as “a valued Oxford tradition – an opportunity to engage with the ideas and individuals shaping our understanding of society, history, science and the arts”.
Further information about the annual Romanes Lecture is available on the University’s website.

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