Intelligence Squared

The Power of Good Conversation, with Jefferson Fisher (Part One)

14 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

‘Embracing the knowledge in The Next Conversation will vastly improve your life.’ – Andrew Huberman, creator of the Huberman Lab Podcast ‘ Th...

Sotheby's Talks | Shakespeare: A Man For All Time, with Tracy-Ann Oberman

12 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode, an episode from our friends at Sotheby's, exploring the world of Shakespeare. Sam Leith, author, journalist and literary editor ...

Is Nvidia the most important company in the world? With Stephen Witt

11 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In June 2024, Nvidia became the most valuable corporation on Earth. In Stephen Witt’s new book ‘The Thinking Machine’ he chronicles the astonis...

An Evening with Adam Buxton and Caitlin Moran (Part Two)

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

*** Click here to see the photograph referred to in the podcast introduction: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/an-evening-with-adam-buxton *...

An Evening with Adam Buxton and Caitlin Moran (Part One)

07 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

*** Click here to see the photograph referred to in the podcast introduction: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/an-evening-with-adam-buxton *...

How has resistance shaped Britain? With Steve McQueen (Part Two)

05 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Steve McQueen is one of Britain’s most acclaimed filmmakers and artists. He is the recipient of the Academy Award for Best Picture, two BAFTA Awards...

How has resistance shaped Britain? With Steve McQueen (Part One)

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Steve McQueen is one of Britain’s most acclaimed filmmakers and artists. He is the recipient of the Academy Award for Best Picture, two BAFTA Awards...

Understanding Xi: Is China’s President a Threat to the World? (Part Two)

01 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This event is part of our ⁠Age of the Strongman⁠ series. ⁠Click here⁠ to see the other events in the series. President Xi Jinping has rul...

Understanding Xi: Is China’s President a Threat to the World? (Part One)

31 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This event is part of our Age of the Strongman series. Click here to see the other events in the series. President Xi Jinping has ruled China for...

How To Cure Your Algorithm, with Jamie Bartlett

29 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This event is part of Critical Conversations, a new series on the age of misinformation by Intelligence Squared and Sage & Jester, hosted by Sophia Sm...

Truth Hurts: From Conflict to Connection, with Dr Julia Ebner

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This event is part of Critical Conversations, a new series on the age of misinformation by Intelligence Squared and Sage & Jester, hosted by Sophia Sm...

Tricks, Trolls, and LOLs: Comedy’s Crash Course in Spotting Lies, with Rachel Parris

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This event was part of Critical Conversations, a new series on the age of misinformation by Intelligence Squared and Sage & Jester, hosted by Sophia S...

Can we have prosperity without growth? With Tim Jackson

24 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is prosperity possible without growth? And in an age of environmental crisis and rising inequality, is our obsession with economic expansion doing mor...

Is Your Phone Controlling Your Life? With Kaitlyn Regehr (Part Two)

22 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The ‘Smartphone-free Childhood’ movement has alerted many of us to the dangers inherent in our – and our kids’ – use of devices. But while w...

Is Your Phone Controlling Your Life? With Kaitlyn Regehr (Part One)

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The ‘Smartphone-free Childhood’ movement has alerted many of us to the dangers inherent in our – and our kids’ – use of devices. But while w...

Tariff Special: The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook with Helen Thompson (Part Two)

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

‘The world as we knew it is gone’ – UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s response to Trump’s tariffs President Donald Trump recently annou...

Tariff Special: The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook with Helen Thompson (Part One)

17 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

‘The world as we knew it is gone’ – UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s response to Trump’s tariffs President Donald Trump recently annou...

Can Mathematics Fuel Creativity? With Marcus du Sautoy (Part Two)

15 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From the earliest stone circles to Mozart’s obsession with numbers to the radically modern architecture of Zaha Hadid, maths and creativity are inte...

Can Mathematics Fuel Creativity? With Marcus du Sautoy (Part One)

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From the earliest stone circles to Mozart’s obsession with numbers to the radically modern architecture of Zaha Hadid, maths and creativity are inte...

What Can Ancient Civilisations Teach Us About Survival? With Lizzie Wade

11 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if apocalypse isn’t the end of the world - but a chance to remake it? On today’s episode we’re joined by science journalist Lizzie Wade to...

What Can The Stoics Teach Us About Capitalism?

10 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Intelligence Squared, financier, philanthropist, and author Robert Rosenkranz joins host Bill Browder for a thought-provoking conve...

Are you morally ambitious? With Rutger Bregman (Part Two)

08 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Moral ambition is the will to make the world a wildly better place. To devote your career to the greatest challenges of our time. To be one of the bes...

Are you morally ambitious? With Rutger Bregman (Part One)

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Moral ambition is the will to make the world a wildly better place. To devote your career to the greatest challenges of our time. To be one of the bes...

Author of Four Thousand Weeks Oliver Burkeman on How To Live Well (Part Two)

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Acclaimed author and journalist Oliver Burkeman has captivated readers with his refreshing insights on how to embrace the finiteness of existence and ...

Author of Four Thousand Weeks Oliver Burkeman on How To Live Well (Part One)

03 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Acclaimed author and journalist Oliver Burkeman has captivated readers with his refreshing insights on how to embrace the finiteness of existence and ...

Jonathan Haidt on How to Free the Anxious Generation (Part Two)

01 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“This great rewiring of childhood, I argue, is the single largest reason for the tidal wave of adolescent mental illness that began in the early 201...

Jonathan Haidt on How to Free the Anxious Generation (Part One)

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“This great rewiring of childhood, I argue, is the single largest reason for the tidal wave of adolescent mental illness that began in the early 201...

A Cultural History of Privacy, with Tiffany Jenkins

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to have a private life? Our guest today is Tiffany Jenkins, a writer, cultural historian and broadcaster. She is the author of the ...

Britain Should Not Have Fought in the First World War

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this week's Sunday Debate, we're dipping back into the archive to 2014, when we gathered a panel of expert historians to debate whether Britain wa...

The Tree of Life: Mapping Evolution’s Greatest Story, with Max Telford

24 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Understanding how the diversity of life on earth came to be is one of the greatest puzzles in biology. In his new book, The Tree of Life: Solving Scie...

Ritual, Ancestry, and Cultural History in Modern China, with Alice Mah

23 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What do we owe to the dead? What responsibilities do we inherit from the past, and how do they intersect with the crises of the present? In an era of ...

Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global, with Laura Spinney

21 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if a single ancient language lay at the root of nearly half of the world’s spoken tongues? In today’s episode, acclaimed science writer and ...

Classic Debate: Austen vs Brontë

20 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jane Austen created the definitive picture of Georgian England. No writer matches Austen’s sensitive ear for the hypocrisy and irony lurking beneath...

An Evening with Elif Shafak and Peter Frankopan

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Elif Shafak’s award-winning novels are celebrated globally. Her work has been translated into 58 languages, and her latest, There Are Rivers in th...

Abundance: A New Blueprint for Liberal Politics, With Derek Thompson

16 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if the biggest threat to liberal democracy isn’t authoritarianism - but our failure to build? On today’s episode we’re joined by journalis...

The Illegals: A Secret History of Soviet Espionage, with Shaun Walker

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode: the untold history of Russia’s deep cover spy programme. Shaun Walker is an international correspondent for The Guardian. He ...

Who Owns Our Digital Afterlives? With Carl Öhman

12 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

These days, so much of our lives takes place online - but what about our afterlives? A recent study by the Oxford Internet Institute predicts that the...

Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History, with Moudhy Al-Rashid

10 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode, Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid sheds light on the history of Ancient Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates r...

The World in 2025 with Robert Kaplan: Finding A Way Through Permanent Crisis (Part Two)

08 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We are entering a new era of global instability. The world is facing an era of war, climate change, great power rivalry and unprecedented technologica...

The World in 2025 with Robert Kaplan: Finding A Way Through Permanent Crisis (Part One)

06 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We are entering a new era of global instability. The world is facing an era of war, climate change, great power rivalry and unprecedented technologica...

Classic Debate: Ian Fleming vs John le Carré

05 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

They are the titans of the spy novel, who have elevated thrillers to the level of literary fiction. Much imitated, much adapted by the big and small s...

John and Paul: A Beatles Love Story in Songs (Part Two)

03 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1957 John Lennon and Paul McCartney were two ordinary teenagers who met in suburban Liverpool and decided to play rock and roll together. Twenty-th...

John and Paul: A Beatles Love Story in Songs (Part One)

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1957 John Lennon and Paul McCartney were two ordinary teenagers who met in suburban Liverpool and decided to play rock and roll together. Twenty-th...

Revisiting Wages for Housework, with Emily Callaci

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Unpaid domestic labor has long been the invisible backbone of economies worldwide - but what if it were compensated? In this episode, historian Emily ...

Six Kings and the Making of the English State, with Caroline Burt and Richard Partington

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Between 1199 and 1399, English politics was high drama. These two centuries witnessed savage political blood-letting - including civil war, deposition...

LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman on What Could Go Right with Our AI Future (Part Two)

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Reid Hoffman is one of the world’s most influential and successful entrepreneurs. The co-founder of LinkedIn, Manas AI, Inflection AI and part of t...

LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman on What Could Go Right with Our AI Future (Part One)

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Reid Hoffman is one of the world’s most influential and successful entrepreneurs. The co-founder of LinkedIn, Manas AI, Inflection AI and part of t...

The Rise of Spotify, with Liz Pelly

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Music has become increasingly playlisted, personalized, and autoplayed. But how did we get here, and what does it mean for artists, listeners, and the...

Kavita Puri and Sathnam Sanghera on War, Empire and the Untold Story of the Bengal Famine (Part Two)

23 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Bengal Famine is the forgotten story of the Second World War. Between 1943 and 1944, at least three million Indians, all of whom were British subj...

Kavita Puri and Sathnam Sanghera on War, Empire and the Untold Story of the Bengal Famine (Part One)

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Bengal Famine is the forgotten story of the Second World War. Between 1943 and 1944, at least three million Indians, all of whom were British subj...

Earthling Ed: How to Argue with a Meat Eater (Part Two)

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ed Winters, known to his millions of online followers as Earthling Ed, has perfected the art of persuasion. During his extensive career as an activis...

Earthling Ed: How to Argue with a Meat Eater (Part One)

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ed Winters, known to his millions of online followers as Earthling Ed, has perfected the art of persuasion. During his extensive career as an activis...

The Age of the Strongman: Understanding Putin, with Catherine Belton (Part Two)

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This event was part of our Age of the Strongman series. Click here to see the other events in the series: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/the-age-...

The Age of the Strongman: Understanding Putin, with Catherine Belton (Part One)

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This event was part of our Age of the Strongman series. Click here to see the other events in the series: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/the-age-...

George the Poet on Music, Memory, and the War on Blackness Art & Culture (Part Two)

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

George Mpanga, known as George the Poet, is seen by many as one of the UK’s most compelling voices in poetry, music, and social commentary. Orig...

George the Poet on Music, Memory, and the War on Blackness (Part One)

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

George Mpanga, known as George the Poet, is seen by many as one of the UK’s most compelling voices in poetry, music, and social commentary. Orig...

Classic Debate: There is Nothing Wrong With Rearing and Killing Animals for Human Consumption

09 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This event took place on the 31st of October 2016 at the Royal Institution in London. CHAIR: Afua Hirsch - Writer and broadcaster SPEAKERS FOR THE MO...

Douglas Stuart on Shuggie Bain, Storytelling, and the Human Condition (Part Two)

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This event is part of Conversations at the Kiln, a new event series at Kiln Theatre programmed by Intelligence Squared. For more events with speakers ...

Douglas Stuart on Shuggie Bain, Storytelling, and the Human Condition (Part One)

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This event is part of Conversations at the Kiln, a new event series at Kiln Theatre programmed by Intelligence Squared. For more events with speakers ...

Sam McAlister on Scandals, Scoops, and the Prince Andrew Interview (Part Two)

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sam McAlister is the woman who secured the now infamous Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew, when he claimed to Emily Maitlis that he was in a Piz...

Sam McAlister on Scandals, Scoops, and the Prince Andrew Interview (Part One)

02 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sam McAlister is the woman who secured the now infamous Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew, when he claimed to Emily Maitlis that he was in a Piz...

Justin Webb on The Trump World Order (Part 2)

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On February 24, veteran BBC journalist, former North America editor and presenter Justin Webb came to Intelligence Squared to discuss what we all need...

Justin Webb on The Trump World Order (Part 1)

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On February 24, veteran BBC journalist, former North America editor and presenter Justin Webb came to Intelligence Squared to discuss what we all need...

Classic Debate: Rembrandt vs Vermeer - The Titans of Dutch Painting

24 Feb 2025

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 ...

Chokepoints: Economic Warfare in the Modern World, with Edward Fishman

23 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we’re joined by Edward Fishman, one of the foremost experts on economic statecraft and sanctions. With a career spanning roles at t...

Nicholas Carr on How Technologies of Communication Tear Us Apart

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

‘We live today in a perpetual superbloom – not of flowers but of messages’ –- Nicholas Carr In this episode we explore the hidden costs of ...

Classic Debate: Parenting Doesn’t Matter (Or Not As Much As You Think)

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For today's Classic Debate we're revisiting our 2018 debate "Parenting Doesn’t Matter (Or Not As Much As You Think)". We were joined by Professor o...

Humans: A Monstrous History

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What is a monster? Why do humans create stories about otherness? What does it tell you about a society that engages in monster making? Our guest toda...

Jonathan Sumption on the Challenges of Democracy

16 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is democracy in crisis? British judge and historian Jonathan Sumption thinks so and in this episode he explains why. Drawing from the themes of his la...

The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook with Martin Wolf (Part 2)

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

2025 is set to be a seismic year for the global economy. Donald Trump will return to the White House with an ‘America First’ agenda that threatens...

The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook with Martin Wolf (Part 1)

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

2025 is set to be a seismic year for the global economy. Donald Trump will return to the White House with an ‘America First’ agenda that threatens...

Can Feminism Be African? With Minna Salami

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Minna Salami, the feminist author, social critic and currently Program Chair at The New Institute. Her first book was Sensuous Know...

ABC’s James Longman on Family, Trauma, and Reporting from the Frontlines (Part 2)

09 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Having reported from over sixty countries, from the front lines of wars in Ukraine and Syria to the wilds of the Antarctic, ABC News Chief Internation...

ABC’s James Longman on Family, Trauma, and Reporting from the Frontlines (Part 1)

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Having reported from over sixty countries, from the front lines of wars in Ukraine and Syria to the wilds of the Antarctic, ABC News Chief Internation...

The Hidden Globe: How Wealth Hacks the World, with Atossa Abrahamian

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Atossa Araxia Abrahamian is a journalist and author who writes about the cracks in the nation-state system. A former editor at the Nation and Al Jazee...

For the Love of Art: The Story of The Secret Painter

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we uncover the story of a painter who was never recognised for his art during his lifetime with television scriptwriter Joe Tucker. D...

Archive: Debate – There’s Not Much Great About Britain

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode we're revisiting our debate from January 2020, "There's Not Much Great About Britain". Our panel of top speakers battle it out ov...

Markus Zusak: From The Book Thief to Three Wild Dogs

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Markus Zusak, the international bestselling author of The Book Thief discusses his new book Three Wild Dogs (and the truth) – a mem...

The Science of Racism with Dr Keon West

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Polls show that over 50% of us don’t believe racism exists. In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Keon West, a social psychologist at the Uni...

Music as Medicine: How to Harness its Therapeutic Power, with Daniel Levitin (Part Two)

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We are only just beginning to appreciate the healing power of music. In recent years, a wave of scientific research has upended everything we once kne...

Music as Medicine: How to Harness its Therapeutic Power, with Daniel Levitin (Part One)

26 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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What Went Wrong with Liberalism and How We Can Save it, with Samuel Moyn

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Samuel Moyn, Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University, explores what he sees as the profound crisis facing lib...

Max Richter on Finding Inspiration, with Shahidha Bari

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Max Richter is an acclaimed composer and pianist, whose work spans film, dance, opera, television and more. Here, in conversation with critic and br...

Inside Andrew Tate's Manosphere, with Matt Shea and Jamie Tahsin

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In recent years, the kickboxer turned reality TV star, Andrew Tate, has become a figurehead for a burgeoning sphere of toxic masculinity online. Drawn...

A History of British Architecture with Simon Jenkins and Rory Stewart

19 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How has modern architecture transformed our cities — and is it for the better? In this episode, bestselling historian Simon Jenkins and co-host of t...

Scandal, Sleaze and the Collapse of Credit Suisse, with Duncan Mavin

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Duncan Mavin is a seasoned international financial journalist, editor at Bloomberg and critically acclaimed author. In his new book, Meltdown: Scan...

How AI is Changing Warfare ? Live at Web Summit Lisbon 2024

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

AI is changing the face of war. Autonomous weapons, facial recognition technologies and industrial-scale disinformation systems are already being depl...

Re-examining the Life of Paul Gauguin, with Sue Prideaux

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesq...

Susie Dent On the Wonders of the English Language (Part 2)

12 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The genius of Countdown’s dictionary corner Susie Dent is the master of the English language. Lexicographer and etymologist by training, she has spe...

Susie Dent On the Wonders of the English Language (Part 1)

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The genius of Countdown’s dictionary corner Susie Dent is the master of the English language. Lexicographer and etymologist by training, she has spe...

The Teen Mental Health Crisis and How Adolescence Shapes Us, with Lucy Foulkes and Pandora Sykes (Part 2)

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Adolescence is the most dramatic and formative period of our lives. Once puberty kicks in and we move to secondary school, our peers take centre stage...

The Teen Mental Health Crisis and How Adolescence Shapes Us, with Lucy Foulkes and Pandora Sykes (Part 1)

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Adolescence is the most dramatic and formative period of our lives. Once puberty kicks in and we move to secondary school, our peers take centre stage...

My Childhood in the Care System, with Baroness Lola Young

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Baroness Lola Young. Lola Young is a member of the House of Lords, as well as an actress, an academic, an activist and campaigner f...

How to Win Every Game, with Marcus du Sautoy, Part Two

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Where should you move first in Connect 4? Which property is best in Monopoly? How can pi help you win Rock Paper Scissors? In October 2024 award-wi...

How to Win Every Game, with Marcus du Sautoy, Part One

01 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Where should you move first in Connect 4? Which property is best in Monopoly? How can pi help you win Rock Paper Scissors? In October 2024 award-wi...