My
Theory
Is
An event where ten people stand up, present an idea they genuinely believe, and let a curious room pull it apart.
Everyone has a theory. Not a hunch. Not an opinion. A real, considered, genuinely held idea about how something works — about human behaviour, about systems, about history, about what's coming next. Most people never say it out loud. Not because they don't believe it, but because there's no room for it. No format. No context where it lands right.
That's the gap My Theory Is is built to fill.
"The braver and safer the space, the more honest — and more interesting — the ideas become."
Not a debate. Not a comedy night. Not a TED talk. A structured evening where people who actually believe something get to stand up, make their case in five slides and three minutes, and let a curious, open-minded room respond.
The format is simple. Ten people. Five slides each. Three minutes to present. Up to five questions from the room. You open with the same line every time:
"My name is ___. My theory is ___."
Then you make your argument. Evidence. Narrative. Proof case. Stakes. And then you sit down and let the room respond.
There's a reason this format matters. Most conversations about unconventional ideas happen in two registers: total dismissal or total credulity. You're either mocked or you're in an echo chamber with people who already agree. There is almost no space for the middle ground — where someone holds a genuine idea, presents it seriously, and gets challenged by people who are curious rather than combative.
That's the space we're trying to build.
This isn't about proving anyone right or wrong. It's about the quality of thinking that happens when you have to distil what you believe into five slides and defend it in front of a room of strangers. That process — the discipline of it — is where things get interesting.
Theories can come from anywhere. To give you a sense of the range we're hoping for:
"Most people don't actually have opinions — they have affiliations. And they work backwards from there."
"Attention is now the primary unit of economic value, and everything else — including truth — is downstream of that."
"The most consequential decisions in the 20th century were made by exhausted people in rooms with bad lighting."
"Loneliness is the defining public health crisis of our time, and we've decided to treat it as a personal problem."
"The housing crisis isn't a supply problem. It's a political choice that benefits enough voters to keep being made."
"Nostalgia is how industries sell you back something they took from you in the first place."
"We've massively underestimated the role of sleep in almost every chronic condition we're struggling to treat."
"Most institutional failure isn't corruption. It's incentive structures nobody is willing to redesign."
These are just prompts — the territory is much wider. What matters is that it's yours. Something you've thought about, returned to, built a case for in your head. The event gives that idea a room.
Five slides.
Three minutes.
Five questions.
- 01Doors open. Food, drink, introductions. 30 minutes.
- 02Host opens. Disclaimer read. Rules set. Timer starts.
- 03Ten presentations back to back. Each: 3 min talk + up to 5 questions from the floor.
- 04Presentations close. Networking session. Talk to the people whose theories intrigued you.
- 05Three hours total. Evening or weekend brunch format.
The slide structure is fixed. Every presenter uses the same five frames, in order. There is no variation. The constraint is the point — it forces clarity and prevents the kind of sprawling, everything-is-connected presentation that loses rooms.
There is one rule that overrides everything else: your theory has to be genuine. Not assigned. Not ironic. Not performed for laughs. You have to actually believe it. That's what makes the room work. That's what creates the atmosphere where real conversation can happen.
And there is a safety clause: any presenter can respond to a question with "I pass." No explanation required. The room respects it and moves on. The point is to create a space where people feel secure enough to be honest — not to put anyone in a corner.
We are looking for a venue, looking for presenters, and looking for an audience. The first event will be small — twenty to thirty-five people, an intimate room, good food, no corporate energy. If it works, we run it again. The format is built to repeat.
If you have a theory and the courage to present it — we want you. If you want to be in the room when someone else does — we want you too. And if you run a venue that would suit this kind of evening, we want to talk.
My name is ___.
My theory is ___.
If you have an idea you'd genuinely like to present — or just want us to know it exists — submit it below. All submissions are read. Presenter slots are limited to ten per event.
Received.
We've noted your theory and your details. We'll be in touch before the first event with next steps.
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