I was contacted recently by Funzing, an organisation that is hereย “to re-invent your evenings, creating an exciting alternative to having a drink in your local pub or bar. Funzing Talks pull together an impressive array of leading entrepreneurs, intellectuals, bright thinkers and incredible individuals to inspire your evenings and expand your mind.ย Held in a carefully selected range of intimate spaces, Funzing Talks is the ultimate boredom-buster.”

Pitched as a unique post-work event, the talks have previously been held in London, Manchester and Bristol, and are now coming to Leeds.

The upcoming events include:

They all sound fascinating and exactly the kind of thing I’d buy a book about but never get round to reading. Hearing someone tell me all the interesting bits in a couple of hours whilst I get to have a drink sounds much more appealing.

The reviews for the events that have been held in previous cities all sound very positive. Most of them have been described as interesting, engaging and entertaining. The speakers all have impressive and appropriate backgrounds as well. For example, one is a TEDx speaker and Huffington Post blogger, another is a journalist and broadcaster.

As much as I love going out eating and drinking in Leeds, I’m always on the lookout for something different to do. Escape games are fun; I loved the bettakultcha event I went to; and I’m a regular at the Waterstones book quiz (although continuing to get second place recently is starting to become irksome!). I think these Funzing Talks will be a great addition.

There seems to be an increasing interest in learning about various subjects from accessible media such as TED talks and podcasts like the Infinite Monkey Cage (based on my friends’ habits – I have no research to back this up!) so I think there’ll be a hunger for local events like these talks too.ย You can feel a bit smug as well as it sounds like quite an intellectual way to spend an evening, even though you’re still sitting in a bar enjoying a drink.

I can see how the various talks appeal to different people. I have no prior knowledge of any of the subjects, but as a fan of the TV show “The Big Bang Theory”, that’s enough to get me interested in the Quantum Physics talk. There’s a lot out there at the moment about both physical and mental wellbeing, so the “How the mind heals the body” session appeals to me. Fans of true crime shows (and there are many on Netflix) will no doubt be interested in the talk with serial killers. And if you spend as much time as I do hitting refresh on your social media apps, the talk on the neuroscience of digital disruption will probably be one you’re keen to attend!

If I had the time, I’d go to all these events as they all sound intriguing. (Full disclosure – Funzing offered me a press ticket to one of the talks in exchange for a blog post, but as you can probably tell from my previous posts, they do genuinely sound right up my street.)

The five current Leeds talks are on in September and October. To find out more information and to purchase tickets, visit the website.