11:00 am, September 20 2026
Backyard Comedy Club, Bethnal Green
Speaker: Dr Laz Ranasinghe
Poet: Joe James
We have access to more food that any generation before us – so why are we hungrier than ever? We digested the answer…
Laz Ranasinghe is an award-winning doctor, personal trainer and nutrition coach: the ideal speaker to help us explore the science of hunger and satiety, and to explain what happens when the evolutionary biology that once helped us survive scarcity meets a modern food environment designed to keep us consuming.
Laz drew on his observations of diet-related disease, alongside evidence on ultra processed food and appetite. We found out what’s happening in our bodies, why some foods leave us wanting more, how knowing about fibre and whole foods can help us make more informed choices.
We also welcomed back Joe James to meet our craving for bittersweet poetry, from the travails of the food diary to the conspiracy of non-rhyming food words.
Our singalongs
Music is the food of love. So, as usual, there were four pop songs performed by our Sunday Assembly London band and connected to today’s theme.
- Hungry Eyes – Eric Carmen (1987)
- Hungry Like the Wolf – Duran Duran (1982)
- Raspberry Beret – Prince (1985)
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Deep Blue Something (1995)
The lyrics were projected on screen and everyone was welcome to sing (and dance) along.
→ Our next assembly: Rainbow Plaques, 4th October
← Our previous assembly: The Joy of Pests, 6th September