New Scientist Live, the world's greatest festival of ideas and discovery, is returning to ExCeL London from Saturday 7 until Sunday 8 October, with a dedicated Schools' Day on Monday 9 October. There is a stunning line-up of more than 50 speakers, five stages and a wide array of exhibitors and experiences. Whether you are interested in deep oceans, distant galaxies, mental health, technology or ancient humans, there will be something to entertain and educate you, but here is what seven members of the New Scientist editorial staff are most looking forward to seeing there. Alison Flood Comment & Culture Editor This is my first time at New Scientist Live and there's so much to choose from, but I'll definitely be at Claudia Hammond's talk on the science of kindness, in the hope of picking up some tips. My kids will be coming along too and are very excited about seeing Maddie Moate in the flesh – Maddie's Do You Know? has been a staple in our house for years.

Until maybe a couple of years ago had I been asked what is the most pressing and important conversation we should be having about our future, I might have said climate change or one of the other big challenges facing humanity, such as terrorism, antimicrobial resistance, the threat of pandemics or world poverty,

Meteorologists can now reliably tell us if it is going to rain tomorrow, but wouldn't dream of forecasting rain a year from now. Similarly, scientists find it much easier to predict what the world will look like in the next decade rather than in a century. This is because the technology of tomorrow relies on the science of today – it is only after we have understood a certain concept that we can think about how to put it to use. A famous example is Michael Faraday's research into electricity and magnetism in the 1830s. It was only decades later that others saw how to use this new knowledge to build electric motors and power generators, inventions that transformed our world.