Kevin Greenbank, archivist at the Centre of South Asian Studies, explores the ways in which the home movie offers fascinating insights into the lives of those in front of, and behind, the camera – as rare footage of a 1935 Raj picnic shows.

Matthew Machin-Autenrieth (Faculty of Music) discusses flamenco and its use as a tool of social activism.

Virginia Barbour, Executive Officer, Australasian Open Access Support Group, Australian National University; Danny Kingsley, Executive Officer for the Australian Open Access Support Group, University of Cambridge; James Bradley, Lecturer in History of Medicine/Life Science, University of Melbourne; Keyan Tomaselli, Distinguished Professor, University of Johannesburg; Lucy Montgomery, Director, Centre for Culture and Technology, Curtin University, and Tom Cochrane, Adjunct Professor Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology answer questions about open access.

Rebecca Merkelbach (Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic) discusses the monstrous heroes of Scandinavian mythology and literature.

Ulinka Rublack, Professor of Early Modern European History, discusses the reputation of astronomer Johannes Kepler and his mother Katharina, and the criminal trial for witchcraft that lasted six years. 

The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, U is for Unicorn. Despite being notoriously difficult to catch, they feature on maiolica plates, in 15th century heraldry, and in early recipes for anti-poison.

We avoid them in formal writing but they pepper our emails … In 'Ellipsis in English Literature', Dr Anne Toner explores the history of dots, dashes and asterisks used to mark silence of some kind. The focus of the book – the first to look exclusively at the backstory of these marks – is communication.

Khaled Soufani (Cambridge Judge Business School), Mark Esposito (Grenoble Ecole de Management and Harvard University) and Terence Tse (i7 Institute for Innovation and Competitiveness, ESCP Europe) discuss fast-expanding markets in the world's biggest emerging economies.

Almost 40 years have passed since Bhupen Khakhar painted one of the most iconic paintings in the history of Indian modern art. Dr Devika Singh offers fresh insights into a generation of Indian artists whose work reflects the politics and social turmoil of a fascinating era.

Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2015 launches today with over 250 events exploring arts, society and culture.