Intelligence Squared

PJ O'Rourke on the US Presidential Clash

14 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

As Donald Trump faces Hillary Clinton in what has been one of the most vitriolic and unpredictable races in recent US election history, we were joined...

The Gene: Unlocking the Human Code, with Siddhartha Mukherjee

07 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Genetics has revolutionised not just how we think of biology but how we think of ourselves. We are, in the words of one geneticist, the first organism...

Karl Marx Was Right

30 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We can’t say Karl Marx didn’t warn us: capitalism contains the seeds of its own destruction. In their chase for ever higher profits, the capitalis...

The End of Antibiotics?

23 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This panel discussion took place at the New York Academy of Sciences in September 2016 and was produced by Intelligence Squared, in partnership with t...

Yuval Noah Harari on the Myths we Need to Survive

19 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Myths. We tend to think they’re a thing of the past, fabrications that early humans needed to believe in because their understanding of the world wa...

David Eagleman on the Science of De- (and Re-) Humanisation (and Why it Matters)

16 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Which side were you on? The Jets or the Sharks? The Capulets or the Montagues? The Greeks or the Trojans? Antony or Caesar? William or Harold? And so ...

Yuval Noah Harari on the Rise of Homo Deus

09 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

“Studying history aims to loosen the grip of the past… It will not tell us what to choose, but at least it gives us more options.” – Yuval Noa...

Museums are Bad at Telling us Why Art Matters

02 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Museums are our new churches, as is commonly agreed. Millions of people flock to them to be uplifted, inspired, or distracted from everyday cares for ...

P J O'Rourke: The Funniest Man in America

10 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

P.J. O'Rourke is America's premier political satirist and has more citations in 'The Penguin Dictionary of Humorous Quotations' than any other living ...

Brexit Britain – Our Divided Nation

31 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This panel session was part of Brexit Britain, an afternoon of debate and discussion produced by BBC Newsnight in partnership with Intelligence Square...

Brexit Britain - Political Fallout

31 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This panel session was part of Brexit Britain, an afternoon of debate and discussion produced by BBC Newsnight in partnership with Intelligence Square...

Carlo Rovelli and Christophe Galfard on the Architecture of the Universe

29 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Does time exist? Was our universe born from a Big Bang, or from a Big Bounce triggered by a former universe imploding? Is this the only universe, or a...

Richard Dawkins: The Rational Revolutionary

22 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1960s and 70s, a revolution took place in the way we understand human nature. Out went Marx and Freud, and in came a rational, scientific appro...

Ancient Worlds: A Meeting of East and West

15 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a new school of history that’s revolutionising the way we look at the past. For centuries, our history has been taught in separate chunks,...

Brexit: What Next?

05 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The UK has made the momentous decision to leave the EU. Intelligence Squared staged an emergency event to discuss the ramifications. A panel including...

Yes, he Can! No, he couldn't. Obama Is A Failed President

23 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Eight years ago the banners said ‘Behold the new Kennedy!’ Tears flowed and expectations were sky-high as Obama spoke on election night surrounded...

One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Democracy is Not Always the Best Form of Government

22 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried. So said Winston Churchill and who would disagree? One man, one v...

The Return of History and the Death of Democracy, with Peter Frankopan and Kwasi Kwarteng

17 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

25 years ago, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the future looked rosy. Liberal democracy, freedom and individual rights were on the march, triumphing...

The Benefits System Perpetuates Misery

11 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Beveridge would be turning in his grave. The benefits system that his 1942 report introduced has become a travesty. Right now there are some 4.5m peop...

Let the bad guys be: foreign intervention does more harm than good

03 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In February 2012 Intelligence Squared Asia presented leading voices and influential figures in a debate about foreign intervention. This discussion ra...

The Great Intelligence Squared Brexit Debate

27 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How do we decide? The in-out referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union on June 23 is a once-in-a-generation vote. For some of us it’...

Is the Party Over for Economic Growth? When economic stagnation becomes the new normal

20 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It was a blast. Since the Industrial Revolution, we enjoyed unprecedented economic growth, propelled by a seemingly unstoppable wave of technological ...

Assisted suicide should be legalised

13 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The law allows me to kill myself, but what if I have a progressive illness and reach a stage when I long to end my life but cannot do so unaided. Isn'...

Michael Sandel on the Moral Limits of Markets

06 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Sandel is one of the world's most acclaimed and popular political philosophers. He has given the Reith lectures, been called "the most influen...

Tony Blair on Trial

29 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When Tony Blair became prime minister in May 1997, he had a landslide majority, an approval rating of 93 per cent, and he went on to become Labour’s...

The Future of Health: When Death Becomes Optional

22 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What if doctors no longer played God and you became CEO of your own health? What if medicine were tailor-made for your own DNA? What will the world be...

Art Today Has Sold Out To The Market

15 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s global art market is reminiscent of a roller coaster - even as it rotates and retrenches - the ride continues to propel, excite and surprise...

Democracy is India's Achilles' heel

08 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We assume that democracy is what every country should have. But what has democracy done for India? Easy. It has stimulated corruption on a massive sca...

George Steiner on the Poetry of Thought

31 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Renowned polyglot and polymath, George Steiner has long been recognised as one of the most original minds and brilliant lecturers of our generation. I...

The United Nations is terminally paralysed: the democratic world needs a forum of its own

24 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In January 2009, a panel of experts came to the Intelligence Squared stage to debate the motion "The United Nations is terminally paralysed: the democ...

Obama's foreign policy is a gift to America's enemies

18 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Barack Obama’s foreign policy came under expert scrutiny in this Intelligence Squared debate from 2010, as influential hawks and doves debated wheth...

Both Britain and the EU would be happier if they got divorced

10 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Some people just can’t bring themselves to acknowledge that a relationship is over. Finished. Unsalvageable. David Cameron, for instance. His long a...

The Trouble with This Country Is the Daily Mail

04 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

"Immigrant-bashing, woman-hating, Muslim-smearing, NHS-undermining, gay-baiting”. That’s how one critic has described the Daily Mail. It depicts a...

Umberto Eco in conversation with Paul Holdengräber

26 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

RIP Umberto Eco, bestselling Italian author and semiotician perhaps best-known for his novel 'The Name of the Rose', who sadly died aged 84 earlier th...

Defeating Isis means Western Boots on the Ground

19 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Enough is enough. Paris, Sharm El-Sheikh, Istanbul, Jakarta. Isis is the global crucible of terrorism and must be stopped using all means available. A...

The Catholic Church is Beyond Redemption: Pope Francis Cannot Save it

12 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mired in allegations of sexual abuse, corruption in the Vatican and the first papal resignation in six centuries, the Catholic Church is in crisis. Tw...

Greece versus Rome, with Boris Johnson and Mary Beard

05 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On November 19th Intelligence Squared hosted the ultimate clash of civilisations: Greece vs Rome. It was also the ultimate clash of intellectual titan...

What Next For Feminism?

29 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Anne-Marie Slaughter is the Washington power player who upset the feminist applecart. At the peak of her career — as first female Director of Policy...

From The Library: The Art World Is A Boys' Club

18 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Botticelli's Venus. Warhol's Marilyn. Chen Yifei’s Beauties. Historically, the creation of art has been largely the preserve of men. And not a lot h...

Anthony Sattin on Cairo

15 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Cairo. The facts say one thing: the biggest city in Africa and the Middle East and now so chaotic and polluted that most visitors to Egypt prefer to a...

From the Library - Daniel Goleman On Focus: The Secret to High Performance and Fulfilment

08 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Psychologist Daniel Goleman shot to fame with his groundbreaking bestseller 'Emotional Intelligence'. The premise of the book, now widely accepted, is...

From the Library: The Parthenon Marbles Should Be Returned To Athens

30 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What’s all this nonsense about sending the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece? If Lord Elgin hadn’t rescued them from the Parthenon in Athens and pr...

Terry Eagleton in conversation with Roger Scruton

18 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What really divides the left and the right? To answer this question, Intelligence Squared brought together two giants of British intellectual culture ...

The Right To Bear Arms Is A Freedom Too Far

10 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Filmed at the Sadler's Wells Lilian Baylis Studio on 27th March 2013. Arguing in favour of the motion was journalist, novelist and broadcaster Will Se...

Effective Altruism: A Better Way to Lead an Ethical Life

04 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Almost all of us want to make a difference in our lives. So we give to charity, recycle, volunteer, or cut down our carbon emissions. But are we getti...

The Great European Refugees And Migrants Debate

27 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Europe is gripped by the biggest migrant crisis since the Second World War. The parallels with that earlier crisis are hard to avoid. When in 1938 ten...

Fight Your Own Battles: Foreign powers shouldn't intervene in the Middle East

18 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Filmed at Sadler's Wells on 17th July 2013. Speaking for the motion were Palestinian-American writer, human rights campaigner and political commentato...

The Nuclear Deal With Iran Won't Make the World a Safer Place

12 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What’s not to like? The deal reached between Iran and six world powers in July is a major diplomatic breakthrough. In exchange for Tehran halting it...

Karl Ove Knausgaard: The Alchemist of the Ordinary

06 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Novelists worship him. Critics fall over themselves to explain his genius. His celebrity fans say his books are like drugs. ‘I just read 200 pages a...

The Art of Political Power, with Robert Caro and William Hague

30 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Every industry has its guru. And when it comes to the dark arts of political statecraft, the American biographer Robert Caro is the mentor politicians...

China picks better leaders than the West

23 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

As Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the UK for a four-day state visit and David Cameron hails a "golden era" in the relationship between the two co...

Niall Ferguson: Henry Kissinger Reappraised, with Andrew Roberts

16 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

No American statesman has been as revered and as reviled as Henry Kissinger. To the late Christopher Hitchens he was a war criminal who should be pros...

Inside The Head Of Terry Gilliam

09 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Terry Gilliam is one of the most multifaceted, visionary talents alive. He first found fame as a member of Monty Python, the surreal comedy troupe tha...

Let's end the tyranny of the test. Relentless school testing demeans education

02 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

British children are the most tested in the industrialised world. Is regular testing worthwhile training for success in later life, or have our school...

Yuval Noah Harari on the myths we need to survive

25 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Myths. We tend to think they’re a thing of the past, fabrications that early humans needed to believe in because their understanding of the world wa...

Western Liberal Democracy Would Be Wrong for China

18 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

People everywhere are better off living in liberal democracy: that has been the reigning assumption of the western world. But could it be we’ve got ...

Ten Years After 9/11: The World Remade

11 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Fourteen years on from 9/11, we revisit our event "Ten Years after 9/11: The World Remade" from 2011. In this special Intelligence Squared event, form...

Jimmy Carter in Conversation with Jon Snow

04 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

President Jimmy Carter is a Nobel Prize winner, author, humanitarian, professor, farmer, naval officer and carpenter. In this special Intelligence Squ...

Europe is failing its Muslims

28 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The debate "Europe is failing its Muslims" took place on February 23rd at Cadogan Hall in London, in association with BBC World News and the British C...

Robert Macfarlane on Landscape and the Human Heart

20 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

For several years and more than a thousand miles, celebrated travel writer Robert Macfarlane has been following the vast network of old paths and rout...

Norman Stone on Istanbul

14 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In this talk from October 2011 the historian Norman Stone, who has lived in Turkey since 1997, took us on a journey through the country's turbulent hi...

Israel Is Destroying Itself With Its Settlement Policy

07 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Patriacide. Nationcide. Whatever you want to call it, that is what Israel is doing with its settlement policy: it is killing itself. If ever greater n...

Roberto Saviano on the War Against Organised Crime

31 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Roberto Saviano made a rare appearance in the UK in July 2015 when he came to the Intelligence Squared stage. In conversation with Intelligence Square...

John Gray and Adam Phillips in conversation on humankind's search for immortality

24 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Political philosopher John Gray and psychotherapist and essayist Adam Phillips came to the Intelligence Squared stage in 2011 to discuss themes of sci...

Digital Summit Highlights: 'London's Star Tech Enterprise' and 'Who we are on the Web'

15 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This week's episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast features two sessions from our recent Digital Summit with Vanity Fair. In the first session, ...

Churchill was more a liability than an asset to the free world

10 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Does the fact that Winston Churchill is routinely cited as Britain’s greatest hero say more about us than it does about him? Yes, he warned us of th...

Digital Summit Highlights: 'The Hopes of the Pioneers' and 'Artificial Intelligence'

02 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This week's episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast features two sessions from our recent Digital Summit with Vanity Fair. In the first session, ...

Angela Merkel is destroying Europe

01 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The stakes couldn’t be higher, as Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras seeks a new agreement on a bailout and German chancellor Angela Merkel refuses...

The West should get out of bed with the House Of Saud

25 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Have we no morals? We know that the Saudis created the monster that is Islamic terrorism, allegedly spending some $100 billion on exporting fanatical ...

The internet is a failed utopia

18 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This week's podcast comes from the closing session of our recent Digital Summit with Vanity Fair. See intelligencesquared.com for more information abo...

Faramerz Dabhoiwala on the Origins of Sex

10 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Rising star historian Faramerz Dabhoiwala came to the Intelligence Squared stage in February 2012 to describe how the permissive society arrived in We...

David Brooks on the Road to Character

04 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On May 26th 2015, New York Times columnist David Brooks came to the Intelligence Squared stage to share the insights of his latest book, 'The Road to ...

Joseph Stiglitz on the Great Divide

28 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Inequality is an increasing problem in the Western world, leaving everyone – the rich as well as the poor – worse off. The dream of a socially mob...

Spotlight On Piketty

21 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In this rare appearance in London, French economist Thomas Piketty appeared centre stage for Intelligence Squared, along with a panel of experts, to d...

Post-Election Dissection

14 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On May 12th, before the dust had settled on the General Election, Intelligence Squared hosted a post-election dissection with pundits and politicians ...

Simon Sebag Montefiore on Jerusalem

08 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Jerusalem. How did this small, remote town became the Holy City, the desire of every empire, and the key to Middle East peace? In this dazzling talk f...

The World Needs Religion Even if it Doesn't Need God

29 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

God is dead and man has no need of the myths and false consolation that religion offers. That’s the battle-cry of Richard Dawkins and other tough-mi...

The Future of Parliamentary Democracy

24 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of the MPs’ expenses scandal (May-June 2009), we brought a panel of politicians and journalists to the Intelligence Squared stage to dis...

Can art be taught to the Facebook generation?

17 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We were joined at the Saatchi Gallery in July 2009 by Turner Prize-winning artists Grayson Perry and Antony Gormley; author, philosopher and televisio...

Debate: Burgundy vs Bordeaux

09 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Among wine lovers, there is no greater divide than that between Burgundy and Bordeaux. These are the world’s most celebrated wine regions. What sepa...

The Extreme Present: An Evening of Self-Help for Planet Earth

02 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Shumon Basar, writer, thinker and cultural critic, Douglas Coupland, the renowned author of 'Generation X', and Hans Ulrich Obrist, one of the world’...

The Art World is a Boys' Club

26 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Botticelli's Venus. Warhol's Marilyn. Chen Yifei’s Beauties. Historically, the creation of art has been largely the preserve of men. And not a lo...

Muhammad Yunus on a new kind of capitalism

20 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

‘Making money is a happiness. And that’s a great incentive. Making other people happy is a super-happiness.’ These are the words of Muhammad Yu...

Be afraid, be very afraid: the robots are coming and they will destroy our livelihoods

13 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

They are coming to an office near you: job-gobbling robots that can do your work better and more cheaply than you can. One in three jobs could be take...

Rembrandt Vs Vermeer: The Titans of Dutch Painting

05 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Rembrandt van Rijn is the best known of all the Dutch masters. His range was vast, from landscapes to portraits to Biblical scenes; he revolutionised ...

Money can grow on trees: what's good for nature is good for business

27 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Capitalists don’t care about the environment. Industry, agriculture and commerce have long exploited nature’s resources. The pursuit of profit pay...

Keep 'em off the streets and behind bars: tough prison sentences mean a safer society

19 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Lock them up. That’s the way we’ve always dealt with offenders. Criminals deserve to be put away for their crimes. Prison works because it keeps t...

Magna Carta: Myth and Meaning

12 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

June 2015 will see the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, the ‘Great Charter’ which was signed at Runnymede by King John to resolve a political cri...

Art must be beautiful

05 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In May 2011, Intelligence Squared Asia presented four leading voices in the arts to argue the motion "Art must be beautiful". Can aesthetic standards ...

An evening with Britain's best poets

29 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Love. Sorrow. Anger. Death. Laughter. God. Sex. Hell. Home. Only one profession can get to the heart of that lot – the poets. And not any old poets...

The High Street is dead, long live the High Street

22 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A screen, an image, a click. Proceed to checkout. Sign for it the next day. We are the first generation to enjoy the thrill and convenience of online ...

The War on Terror was the right response to 9/11

15 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Have the West’s efforts to eradicate Al-Qaeda around the world simply been fuelling the flames of hatred and violence? Or would we have suffered ev...

Bernard-Henri Lévy on the Libyan intervention and universal values

08 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Bernard-Henri Lévy is France’s best-known public intellectual, passionately committed to the causes he believes to be just. A writer, journalist, ...

Beware of the dragon: Africa should not look to China

23 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

We all know that the Chinese are the neo-colonialists of Africa. They've plundered the continent of its natural resources, tossing aside any concern f...

Umberto Eco In Conversation With Paul Holdengräber

18 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

The persistence of conspiracies. Grasping the infinity of lists. Writing fiction about the real. The future of books. These are some of the topics Um...

Brian Cox & Alice Roberts on the Incredible Unlikeliness of Human Existence

11 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Who are we? Why are we here? Are we alone in the universe? How did we become the creatures that we are? How might we further evolve? These are some o...

P.J. O'Rourke: The Funniest Man in America

04 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

P.J. O'Rourke is America's premier political satirist and has more citations in The Penguin Dictionary of Humorous Quotations than any other living wr...

I'd rather Be a Roundhead than a Cavalier

26 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1640s England was devastated by a civil war that divided the nation into two tribes – Roundheads and Cavaliers. Counties, towns, even familie...

David Grossman in conversation with Linda Grant

20 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

One of Israel’s most acclaimed writers, David Grossman is the author of numerous pieces of fiction, nonfiction and children's literature. His work h...

Psychiatrists & the pharma industry are to blame for the current ‘epidemic’ of mental disorders

13 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Drug pushers. We tend to associate them with the bleak underworld of criminality. But some would argue that there’s another class of drug pushers, j...