Intelligence Squared

Russia's war on Ukraine, Liz Truss's mini budget and soaring inflation have all hammered the UK in recent months. But as the country begins a new year with a new Prime Minister – how much drama and uncertainty should we expect in 2023? In this episode we bring together an expert panel to debate and discuss the big questions facing the British economy. Will inflation be brought under control? Can the country cope without closer ties to the EU? And how prepared is Europe for more geopolitical tension with Russia and China? Our chair Manveen Rana is joined by Jonathan Portes, economist and Professor of Economics and Public Policy at King's College, London; Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment at Interactive Investor, and Gerard Lyons, Chief Economic Strategist at the wealth manager Netwealth. ... Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go.  It’s packed with more than 20 years’ wo

Some of the richest people in the world have decided against bequeathing their fortunes to their children; from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, to Daniel Craig and Michael Sheen. The proponents of this view offer many arguments, including the idea that inheriting huge wealth can detrimentally impact children, distorting anything they might do with their life. They also argue that the wealthy are morally obliged to give most, or all, of their wealth away to effective causes – children, or no children.  Nonetheless, historically, the vast majority of parents have decided to hand down their wealth to their children, believing it will help rather than harm them.  In this episode, three leading thinkers come together to debate the motion ‘The kindest thing a parent can do for their child is to leave them nothing.’ Utilitarian philosopher Professor Peter Singer champions the moral imperative for the wealthy to give to the global poor; Julia Davies, a member of Patriotic Millionaires UK, advocates for a wealth tax,

Powerful women have too often been overlooked by history. Of course we know about Boudica, Cleopatra, Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great. But there are many others whose stories are just as dramatic and deserve to be better known. For this episode of Intelligence Squared, acclaimed historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of the new book The World: A Family History and the historical novelist Kate Mosse, whose latest publication is Warrior Queens and Quiet Revolutionaries: How Women (Also) Built the World, talk about how to reframe the role of women in historical narratives. In conversation with historian and broadcaster Kate Williams they discuss great women from across the globe and the whole span of human history – how they gained power, how they wielded it and how, given that it was largely men who wrote history and often distorted it to suit their own ends, we can establish the truth about these women and celebrate their contribution to the human story.  ... Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers

Are narwhals the closest creature to unicorns that we can ever know? How does the Greenland shark fill its 500 years on our planet? Is the iridescent golden mole a mole or an elephant? On this episode of the podcast we're joined by award-winning author and academic Katherine Rundell. In conversation with environmental historian and broadcaster Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough, they discuss the individual strangeness and beauty of the animal kingdom and the fragility of our natural world. — We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be about. Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected].  At Intelligence Squared we’ve got our own online streaming platform, Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go. It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s most important topics as well as exclusive podcast content. Tune in to live event

To celebrate some of the most influential and impactful speeches ever made, we invited Barack Obama’s director of speechwriting, Cody Keenan and Tony Blair’s former speechwriter, Philip Collins, to discuss the power of the spoken word. Our host was journalist and presenter Emily Maitlis, with actors including Jeremy Irons and Carey Mulligan joining us to reenact speeches that have defined pivotal moments in history.  — We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be about. Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected].  At Intelligence Squared we’ve got our own online streaming platform, Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go. It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s most important topics as well as exclusive podcast content. Tune in to live events, ask your questions or watch on-demand, totally ad-free with hours

Letters grant us a glimpse into fascinating lives, whether through the eyes of a genius, a monster or of an ordinary person. For this archive event, we matched up award-winning historian Simon Sebag Montefiore and No 1 bestselling novelist Kate Mosse to discuss the letters of Michelangelo, Catherine the Great, Sarah Bernhardt, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Virginia Woolf, Alan Turing and more. A cast of performers including Young Vic director Kwame Kwei-Armah, plus actors Jade Anouka, Jack Lowden and Tamsin Greig provided readings live onstage.   — We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be about. Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected].  At Intelligence Squared we’ve got our own online streaming platform, Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go. It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s most important topi

Continuing our series of cultural highlights from the Intelligence Squared archive, we revisit the event The Power of Poetry, which saw actors Helena Bonham Carter and Jason Isaacs bringing the words of the great poets alive onstage. The event also featured William Sieghart telling the extraordinary story of his bestselling book, The Poetry Pharmacy, award-winning author Jeanette Winterson and presenter, comedian and writer Sue Perkins. ... Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go.  It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s hottest topics. Tune in to live events, ask your questions or watch back on-demand totally ad-free with hours of discussion to dive into for just £14.99 a month. Visit intelligencesquaredplus.com to start watching today.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intelligence Squared has been producing agenda-setting events for over a decade. During the holiday season we're looking back over that extensive archive to pick out some of our favourite and most enlightening listens. For this episode we revisit 2018 and our event with James Rhodes and Armando Iannucci reflecting on the Transformative Power of Music. The chair was broadcaster, author and leading voice on all things musical, Clemency Burton-Hill. ... Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go.  It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s hottest topics. Tune in to live events, ask your questions or watch back on-demand totally ad-free with hours of discussion to dive into for just £14.99 a month. Visit intelligencesquaredplus.com to start watching today.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is it about Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol that has enchanted the public since its publication in 1843? Few people are as well placed to answer that question than John Mullan and Simon Callow. Mullan is a professor of English literature, whose recent book, The Artful Dickens, reveals the tricks and ploys of this most eccentric of literary geniuses. Callow, renowned actor, director and author, has written two books on Dickens, portrayed him on film and television, and has been thrilling audiences since 2011 with his sold-out one-man performances of A Christmas Carol.  Mullan and Callow join us on the podcast to celebrate this most beloved of Dickens’ stories and discuss how a work which Dickens originally intended to be a political tract about the misery of the Victorian poor became one of the most enduring Christmas classics.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For our final look at some of the best books to have hit shelves in 2022, we dive back into standout discussions from the past 12 months including Jonathan Freedland, whose book, The Escape Artist, tells the story of Auschwitz escapees Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler. We also revisit our discussion with philosopher Will MacAskill, whose book, What We Owe The Future, claims that society needs to take a far longer-sighted view of how altruism can be effective. The book has also come under scrutiny in the latter half of 2022 due to its influence on the behaviour of billionaire philanthropists. We finish the 12 Books of Christmas with a sneak preview from our upcoming episode with author Katherine Rundell. Her latest book, The Golden Mole, celebrates the irreplaceable diversity found within the animal kingdom.   ... Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go.  It’s packed with more

For the third in our 12 Books of Christmas episodes, we revisit a thought-provoking discussion with Dipo Faloyin, whose book Africa Is Not A Country challenges the stereotypical thinking that can misrepresent African nations. Another highlight book of 2022 was Lea Ypi's Free, and the writer joined us to discuss her memoir that tells the story of her upbringing in Albania amid the shifting geopolitics of nations affected by the break up of the Soviet Union. We also listen back to our conversation with food writer Melissa Thompson, whose book Motherland celebrates the traditions and influence of Jamaican cuisine.  ... Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go.  It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s hottest topics. Tune in to live events, ask your questions or watch back on-demand totally ad-free with hours of discussion to

For the second instalment of our 12 Books of Christmas series, we hear from three more authors who have set the agenda for original thinking and progressive literature in 2022. Brown University economist Oded Galor discusses his book that takes an expansive view of global history, The Journey of Humanity. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Andrea Elliott speaks with fellow author Alex Preston about her account of the homelessness crisis in New York as told in her book, Invisible Child, and Orhan Pamuk, one of the world’s best-loved novelists discusses his latest work, Nights of Plague. ... Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go.  It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s hottest topics. Tune in to live events, ask your questions or watch back on-demand totally ad-free with hours of discussion to dive into for just £14.99 a mont

Intelligence Squared has enjoyed hundreds of great conversations on the podcast, across our online talks and onstage at our live events across 2022. For the festive season, we’re highlighting 12 voices whose books and work have both encapsulated the big themes of the year and enriched our listening over the past 12 months. For the first instalment, we listen back to conversations with writer Reni Eddo-Lodge discussing the new edition of her bestseller, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race. Plus, historian Orlando Figes on his book, The Story of Russia, and The New York Times' Elizabeth Williamson talks through her book, Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy, with fellow author and filmmaker Jon Ronson. ... Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go.  It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s hottest topics. Tune in t

Given the disruptive events unfolding in China in recent weeks, what does the future holds for Xi Jinping and the country? Some say that this is a pivotal moment for Xi’s strongman rule, especially given that the Chinese economy is also suffering. And what do China’s political and economic challenges mean for the rest of the world? To answer these questions we’re joined by Yasheng Huang professor at MIT and author of Capitalism with Chinese characteristics and Kerry Brown, Director of the Lau China Institute at Kings College London and author of Xi: A study in power. Our host for this episode is Carl Miller. Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go.  It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s hottest topics. Tune in to live events, ask your questions or watch back on-demand totally ad-free with hours of discussion to dive int

Why are women known as the slimier sex? How did the US Navy replicate hagfish slime for ballistics protection? In this episode we’re joined by science journalist Susanne Wedlich to look at the weird and wonderful, cultural and biological, history of slime. And for those of you who don’t love slime, we encourage you to listen for some great facts about the powers and potential of this substance and learn why we shouldn't be so repulsed by slime. Our host for this episode is journalist Amelia Tait. Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go.  It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s hottest topics. Tune in to live events, ask your questions or watch back on-demand totally ad-free with hours of discussion to dive into. The usual price is £14.99 a month, but we want to give our podcast listeners a special offer to try it out. For

ChatGPT is the Internet's new favourite toy. This is some of AI’s most impressive technology yet, but could the creation of an all-knowing human-like chatbot - a tool which can create answers, emails, poems, stories, and essays instantly - mean that writing as we know it could cease to exist? Or could it be a renaissance for the ways in which we view and approach writing? To explore these questions we’re joined by novelist, essayist, and cultural commentator - Stephen Marche; and academic, critic and broadcaster - Shahidha Bari. Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go.  It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s hottest topics. Tune in to live events, ask your questions or watch back on-demand totally ad-free with hours of discussion to dive into. The usual price is £14.99 a month, but we want to give our podcast listeners a

In February 2022 Russian shells rained down on Kyiv as tanks crossed the border into Ukraine. At the time American forces prepared to evacuate President Volodymyr Zelensky for fear of his life. But Zelensky refused to abandon his country, saying ‘I need ammunition, not a ride,’ and quickly became the national symbol of Ukrainian resistance. But how did Zelensky, once an actor who played the president on television, come to be one of the most significant wartime leaders in recent history? The Zelensky Effect is the new book telling that story from Dr Olga Onuch, Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Manchester, and Henry Hale, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University. The co-authors join our host Carl Miller, Research Director at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the think tank Demos, to discuss it.  Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Square

Since Russia invaded Ukraine last February the West has ramped up sanctions against Russia to an unprecedented level, but are the measures having the desired effect? On today’s episode of The Sunday Debate the motion is: Sanctions against Russia won’t work. For the motion we have Richard Connolly, Associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Simon Jenkins, journalist and author. And against the motion we were joined by Russia expert Owen Matthews - and historian and journalist, Anna Reid. Our host for the debate was broadcaster and academic, Philippa Thomas. Premium subscribers to Intelligence Squared can also access an extended audience Q&A with our panel as well as the final and deciding vote for this debate. ... Did you know that Intelligence Squared offers way more than podcasts? We’ve just launched a new online streaming platform Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go.  It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s hottest

Will democracy survive? According to Nobel Peace Prize Winner Maria Ressa, "we're in the last two minutes". In November she sat down with journalist Gabriel Gatehouse to discuss her lifetime commitment to journalism, the potential 99 years in jail which hang over her for standing up to former president Rodrigo Duterte's authoritarian regime, and her optimism for a brighter future. Maria and Gabriel also examine the greed of big tech in the destruction of democracies and why the Philippines is often ground zero for events which spread to the rest of the world.  ... Sign up for Intelligence Squared Premium here: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/ for ad-free listening, bonus content, early access and much more. Here’s a reminder of the benefits you’ll receive as a subscriber: Ad-free listening, because we know some of you would prefer to listen without interruption  One early episode per week Two bonus episodes per month A 25% discount on IQ2+, our exciting streaming service, where you can watch and take

Sign up for Intelligence Squared Premium here: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/ for ad-free listening, bonus content, early access and much more. See below for details. Robert Harris is one of the great storytellers of our times. His novels explore the dark side of power and the corrosive effect it has on those who wield it. In his latest bestseller, Act of Oblivion, Harris turns his attention to one of the most divisive episodes in English history, the Civil War, in which Royalists and Parliamentarians fought to determine whether the country should be a republic or a monarchy. The novel follows two fugitives who have been found guilty in absentia for the murder of Charles I and have fled to colonial North America to hide among the Puritan settlers there. Richard Nayler, secretary of the regicide committee of the Privy Council, is tasked with tracking down the fugitives and he’ll stop at nothing until the two men are brought to justice. Hosting the discussion is award-winning author and historian Jessie Chil