Intelligence Squared

Why Politics Matters, with Alastair Campbell

26 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The political strategist, journalist and author turned hit podcast host of The Rest is Politics returns to Intelligence Squared to discuss why politic...

Sotheby's Talks – Creative London: An Artistic Crossroads, with Grayson Perry

24 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Has London's cultural power essentially radiated outwards, influencing artists and creatives across the world? Or is London's creative preeminence dep...

The Magic Number for Creating a Successful Team, with Robin Dunbar

23 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar is Emeritus Professor of evolutionary psychology at Oxford University. He’s also part ...

Mishal Husain on Family, Empire and Why Partition Still Matters, Part Two

20 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The is the second instalment of a two-part discussion. On August 15 1947 Pakistan and India gained their independence and colonialism came to an end i...

Mishal Husain on Family, Empire and Why Partition Still Matters, Part One

19 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The is the first instalment of a two-part discussion. On August 15 1947 Pakistan and India gained their independence and colonialism came to an end in...

Sotheby's Talks – London: An Artistic Crossroads | Gallery Open House

16 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

London has long been a cultural melting pot for artists from around the world who, in their own unique ways, have revealed with each touch of a brush,...

Rachel Cusk on Art, Womanhood and Redefining Fiction, Part Two

15 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second instalment of three-part discussion. The writing of Rachel Cusk poses us constant challenges. Her critically acclaimed Outline tril...

Rachel Cusk on Art, Womanhood and Redefining Fiction, Part One

14 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the first instalment of three-part discussion. The writing of Rachel Cusk poses us constant challenges. Her critically acclaimed Outline trilo...

Sotheby's Talks – William Blake: Artist, Poet and Visionary, with Andrew Graham-Dixon and John Higgs

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With a rare first edition of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience about to go under the hammer, in this episode a panel of experts h...

The New Colonialism of Big Tech, with Nick Couldry and Ulises A. Mejias

10 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Who owns and profits from our data, both big and small, has become one of the defining issues of the post-internet age. In their new book, Data Grab, ...

The Story of the Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster, with Adam Higginbotham

09 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The voyage of the space shuttle Challenger on the morning of January 28th, 1986, lasted just minutes before it broke up mid-flight. The tragic outcome...

Archive – How I Found My Voice: Michael Palin

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is an archive episode from 2019 from the second series of How I Found My Voice, a podcast from Intelligence Squared. Presented by the BBC journal...

The Volatile Future of US Politics, with Robert Kagan

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There's rarely a week in which Donald Trump doesn't make the headlines but the last few have been particularly potent with the former US president hav...

Swimming Against the Tide with Athlete Turned Advocate, Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a competitive field defined by record breakers, medals and podium places, being first in sport is often considered the primary marker of success bu...

A History of Nostalgia, with Agnes Arnold-Forster

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Writer and historian Agnes Arnold-Forster's most recent book, Nostalgia: A History of a Dangerous Emotion, blends fields such as neuroscience and psyc...

Max Hastings on On the Secret Mission to Defeat Hitler, Part Two

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second instalment of a three-part conversation. Military historian, journalist, author and broadcaster Max Hastings comes to the Intellige...

Max Hastings on On the Secret Mission to Defeat Hitler, Part One

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Military historian, journalist, author and broadcaster Max Hastings comes to the Intelligence Squared stage to recount the remarkable story of Operati...

The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook China Special, with Keyu Jin

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

China’s economic power has been growing for decades. The capitalist reforms of Deng Xiaoping quickly transformed China into the world’s fastest-gr...

Archive: Debate – The Left has right on its side

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Following the recent announcement of a general election in the UK, we revisit our debate from 2018 in which key politicians debated the merits of Left...

Archive: Western Intervention and the Rise of Guerrilla Warfare, with David Kilcullen

24 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this archive discussion from 2020, David Kilcullen, former soldier, diplomat, and senior counterinsurgency adviser for the US during the Iraq and A...

The Garden as a Personal Paradise, with Olivia Laing

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The acclaimed writer and critic Olivia Laing is the author of seven books distilling challenging topics that should be difficult to wrap beautiful wor...

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall & ZOE’s Dr Federica Amati on Eating 30 Plants A Week, Part Two

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second instalment of a two-part conversation. In recent years the benefits of eating a diet rich in plants have increasingly been at the f...

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall & ZOE’s Dr Federica Amati on Eating 30 Plants A Week, Part One

18 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In recent years the benefits of eating a diet rich in plants have increasingly been at the forefront of our conversations about food. You may have hea...

Zeinab Badawi on an African History of Africa, Part Two

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second instalment of a three-part conversation. Too often historians have told the history of Africa through the prism of colonialism. But...

Zeinab Badawi on an African History of Africa, Part One

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the first instalment of a three-part conversation. Too often historians have told the history of Africa through the prism of colonialism. But ...

The Anxious Generation: Jonathan Haidt on How Smartphones Rewired Childhood, Part Two

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second instalment of a three-part conversation. Bestselling author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has dedicated his career to sp...

The Anxious Generation: Jonathan Haidt on How Smartphones Rewired Childhood, Part One

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bestselling author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has dedicated his career to speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most challenging spac...

Being Human in an AI World, with Susie Alegre

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence is no longer a figment of our imagination a plot pulled from the pages of science fiction. Recent rapid advances mean it is no...

How the Legacy of the British Empire Still Shapes Our World, with Sathnam Sanghera

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sathnam Sanghera is a writer and author of bestselling books exploring British identity, the latest of which is Empireworld: How British Imperialism H...

Archive: Doughnut Economics, with Kate Raworth

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Oxford University economist Kate Raworth has been described by the author and environmentalist George Monbiot as, "The John Maynard Keynes of the 21st...

The Circle of Life, with Joe Roman

04 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Roman is a conservation biologist and marine ecologist fascinated with the natural processes that go on within animal biology and how those in tur...

The World in 2024 with Niall Ferguson: Crisis, Conflict and Consequences, Part Two

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is a the second instalment of a three-part discussion. There are few big thinkers better placed to explain global events than historian Niall Fer...

The World in 2024 with Niall Ferguson: Crisis, Conflict and Consequences, Part One

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are few big thinkers better placed to explain global events than historian Niall Ferguson. He has not just a profound understanding of past cris...

George the Poet on Combatting the War on Blackness

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As a performer, London-based George the Poet has helped elevate genres ranging from traditional spoken word to rap and grime over recent years as well...

Searching for Another England, with Caroline Lucas and Grace Blakeley, Part Two

27 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Englishness has been hijacked by the right. The flag of St. George’s Cross is proudly waved at far-right rallies. Conservative politicians insult th...

Searching for Another England, with Caroline Lucas and Grace Blakeley, Part One

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Englishness has been hijacked by the right. The flag of St. George’s Cross is proudly waved at far-right rallies. Conservative politicians insult th...

Arash Azizi on Iran's Turbulent Past and its Uncertain Future

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Regularly embroiled in international conflicts – both militarily and diplomatically – and locked in a cycle of protest and heavy government crackd...

Getting Weird with Physics, with Harry Cliff

21 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode, particle physicist Harry Cliff takes us on a deep dive into some of the universe's most perplexing scientific mysteries. His recent ...

Istanbul: Crossroads of the World, with Alexander Christie-Miller

20 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alexander Christie-Miller is a former Istanbul correspondent for The Times newspaper, whose writing has also appeared in outlets such as Newsweek, Th...

Keir Starmer, Will Hutton, Alastair Campbell and Sonia Sodha on How to Remake Britain, Part Two

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is Part Two of a three-part episode. Britain is in big trouble. The country has dipped into recession, local councils are going bankrupt and trus...

Keir Starmer, Will Hutton, Alastair Campbell and Sonia Sodha on How to Remake Britain, Part One

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Britain is in big trouble. The country has dipped into recession, local councils are going bankrupt and trust in our politics has collapsed. Could Lab...

The Great London Novel, with Andrew O'Hagan

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew O’Hagan has written seven novels, three non-fiction books, a play and many standout journalism pieces on topics ranging from the origins of c...

The F Word: Re-evaluating Society's Approach to Body Image, with Kate Manne

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In her latest book, writer and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Cornell University, Kate Manne, turns her analytical lens towards prejudice and di...

Unlocking the Power of Memory, with Charan Ranganath

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Charan Ranganath is the Director of the Memory and Plasticity Program and a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of California a...

Going Nuclear: Could a Catastrophic Conflict Take Place? with Annie Jacobsen

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Annie Jacobsen is an investigative journalist and author whose books probe the periphery of what we know about state warcraft and read like unputdowna...

Finding the Story within Ordinary Human Failings, with Megan Nolan

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Megan Nolan is an Irish journalist and author who has made a name for herself by cutting to the quick of the most uncomfortable facets of the human ex...

Why We Need to Slow Down to Save the Planet, with Kohei Saito

06 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kohei Saito is the Japanese philosopher and associate professor of philosophy at the University of Tokyo, whose ideas have become highly influential i...

A Journey Into Our Geopolitical Future, with Elliot Ackerman

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With AI's capabilities now beginning to conjure visions reminiscent of science fiction, it's fiction writers who are pointing the way to where these t...

Are You Free? How Work Relentlessly Eats Up Our Time

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a world increasingly built around convenience, why do we often feel so short of free time? It’s a question that’s been on the minds of authors ...

Comedy in Dark Times, with Armando Iannucci and Helen Lewis, Part Two

31 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second instalment of a three-part discussion. Armando Iannucci is one of Britain’s best-loved comedy writers. The creator of hit shows s...

Comedy in Dark Times, with Armando Iannucci and Helen Lewis, Part One

31 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Armando Iannucci is one of Britain’s best-loved comedy writers. The creator of hit shows such as The Thick Of It, Veep and Alan Partridge, Iannucci ...

Love and Brotherhood in Black Gay Britain, with Jason Okundaye

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jason Okundaye is a writer whose essays and work have been published in titles such as The London Review of Books, the Guardian, British GQ and more. ...

How Technology Has Made Us What We Are, with Tom Chatfield

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Chatfield is a tech philosopher whose new book looks at how humans have lived side by side with technology for millennia and offers ideas for how ...

Misogyny and the Middle-Aged Woman, with Victoria Smith, Hadley Freeman and Sonia Sodha, Part Two

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is Part Two of a three-part discussion. Why are middle-aged women these days subject to so much rage and hatred – frequently from people who se...

Misogyny and the Middle-Aged Woman, with Victoria Smith, Hadley Freeman and Sonia Sodha, Part One

24 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is Part One of a three-part discussion. Why are middle-aged women these days subject to so much rage and hatred – frequently from people who se...

The Long Shadow of AI, with Madhumita Murgia

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As a writer who focuses on technology and as AI Editor for The Financial Times, Madhumita Murgia has been unable to ignore the increasing reach of AI ...

How to Fix the Inequality of Wealth, with Liam Byrne

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Labour MP Liam Byrne is Chair of the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee. He also served on the front bench for both prime minist...

Page-Turner: A History of the Notebook

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Roland Allen is a publisher and author whose new book is a history of that everyday essential, the humble notebook. His book – The Notebook: A Histo...

Reimagining the Life of Mary, Queen of Scots, with Flora Carr

17 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Debut novelist Flora Carr's new book, The Tower, looks at the life Scotland's 16th-century monarch Mary, Queen of Scots. In this tale of desire and fr...

The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook with Martin Wolf

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

2024 is set to be a seismic year. A win by Donald Trump in the US presidential election could upend the world economy, ongoing military conflicts coul...

Can You Put a Price Tag on a Life? with Jenny Kleeman

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s often said that you can’t put a price on a life but in the name of business many organisations do it everyday. Drawing from the themes of her...

The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler, with Peter Pomerantsev

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Pomerantsev is the journalist, author and academic who specialises in disinformation and the more covert mass communication techniques of our ge...

Debate: Save Our Private Schools – VAT Should Not Be Charged On Private School Fees, Part Two

10 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second instalment of our live debate with an expert panel deciding whether the UK's private schools should continue to enjoy their tax adv...

Debate: Save Our Private Schools – VAT Should Not Be Charged On Private School Fees, Part One

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this live debate, our expert panel decides whether the UK's private schools should continue to enjoy their tax advantages. The UK has an education ...

Fluke: How Chance and Chaos Shapes Our Existence, with Brian Klaas

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a world of chaos and disaster where many of us already feel powerless, it can be humbling to consider the idea of chance and fate having a big hand...

Tim Marshall: How Geography Explains Our World, Part Two

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second instalment of our two-part discussion. Tim Marshall is one of the world’s most successful authors on foreign affairs. He’s the ...

Tim Marshall: How Geography Explains Our World, Part One

03 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Marshall is one of the world’s most successful authors on foreign affairs. He’s the writer who put the ‘geo’ into geopolitics with his mul...

Sotheby's Talks: Impressionism and its Legacy

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Helen Newman, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe is joined by Paul Signac’s great granddaughter Charlotte Hellman, artist Erik Madigan ...

Archive: The Joy of Science, with Jim Al-Khalili

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this archive listen from 2022, Professor Jim Al-Khalili is the physicist who makes science look easy. He’s the author of several books including ...

Stuck in the Middle? Sociologist Corey Keyes on the Condition of Languishing

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Corey Keyes is a sociologist and a professor at Emory University in Georgia who studies positive wellbeing: how humans thrive and flourish. He coined ...

Head of TED Chris Anderson and Jon Ronson on Translating Optimism Into Action, Part Two

25 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Part Two of our double episode discussion, we're once again joined by head of TED, Chris Anderson. He has had a ringside view of the world’s mo...

Head of TED Chris Anderson and Jon Ronson on Translating Optimism Into Action, Part One

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As head of TED, Chris Anderson has had a ringside view of the world’s most influential thinkers in action. TED’s annual conference in Vancouver ...

Archive: Killer in the Kremlin, with John Sweeney

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The recent death of Russian anti-corruption activist, opposition leader and political prisoner Alexei Navalny while serving a decades-long sentence in...

Six Centuries of Feminist Writing, with Hannah Dawson and Merve Emre

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How has feminist thought evolved throughout the ages? Beginning in the fifteenth century with Christine de Pizan, who imagined a City of Ladies that w...

Material World: How Six Crucial Substances Shape the Global Economy

18 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are six crucial substances in human history, according to writer and broadcaster Ed Conway: sand, iron, salt, oil, copper and lithium. They took...

Energised: How Do We Create A Green Jobs Revolution?

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Solar panel installers, architects, environmental scientists, recycling coordinators, wind turbine engineers, geologists, project managers, electric v...

Novelist Helen Oyeyemi on Why the City of Prague has Main Character Energy

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The latest book from critically acclaimed writer Helen Oyeyemi, Parasol Against the Axe, is a novel set among the city of Prague’s streets. It’s o...

Why the Political World's a Stage

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Richard Sennett is a sociologist and the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics, whose work has given particular focus to...

Is Democracy Future-proof? with Jonathan White and David Runciman

11 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

2024 is set to be the biggest election year in history but what happens to politics when it’s always about the next election? We lose our sense of p...

Alastair Campbell on Starmer, Sunak, and Saving Britain From Itself, Part Two

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second instalment of a three-part discussion. Often described as the second most powerful figure in Britain during the Blair governments, ...

Alastair Campbell on Starmer, Sunak, and Saving Britain From Itself, Part One

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Often described as the second most powerful figure in Britain during the Blair governments, Alastair Campbell was pivotal as a strategist in leading N...

A History of Magic and Astrology

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In uncertain times, people look to the stars and otherworldly influences for guidance. It has always been so, says Professor of History at Princeton U...

The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade

04 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hannah Durkin is a historian whose new book, Survivors: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade, shines a light on the final...

The Showman: How Volodymyr Zelensky Shines on the World Stage

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Simon Shuster is senior correspondent for Time. As a journalist working in both Russia and Ukraine for nearly two decades, he has watched and reported...

How to Prevent Dementia, with Richard Restak

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

According to the WHO, Alzheimer’s ranks as the seventh leading cause of death globally. By 2050 or earlier in the absence of a breakthrough, the num...

How to be a Supercommunicator, with Charles Duhigg

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer prize-winning reporter and the celebrated author of bestselling book, The Power of Habit. The writer for the New Yorker r...

Adam Grant and Tim Harford on Achieving Greatness, Part Two

28 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second instalment of our thee-part conversation with organisational psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant. He is one of the most ...

Adam Grant and Tim Harford on Achieving Greatness, Part One

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Adam Grant is one of the most sought-after organisational psychologists in the world. He has provided expert advice to many of the world’s greatest ...

Fame, Women and the Toxic Noughties

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Columnist and writer Sarah Ditum is the author of Toxic, which explores how internet culture changed the face of celebrity forever during the early 20...

Adventures in Philosophy with Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two formidable minds explore the worlds of philosophy, science and the places where those two disciplines meet for this episode. Daniel Dennett is the...

Life Lessons from the Early Greeks with Adam Nicolson

21 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Adam Nicolson is the writer and author whose past books have explored immersive and at times weighty topics such as our understanding of the Bible and...

The Mend is Nigh: Hannah Ritchie on How to Build a Sustainable Planet

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hannah Ritchie is the influential data scientist and researcher whose new book adds a rare glimpse of optimism to the conversation surrounding the fut...

Daniel Goleman on How to Reach the Optimal Mindset

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The psychologist, writer and journalist Daniel Goleman is the author the bestselling book Emotional Intelligence and many more popular titles explorin...

Another Side of the Moon: How the Lunar Landscape Inspires Imagination

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rebecca Boyle is an award-winning science writer whose words have appeared in titles such as The Atlantic, New Scientist and the New York Times. Her n...

The Political Thought of Xi Jinping

14 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

China’s President Xi Jinping is a figure of extraordinary influence around the world but it in the West the nuances and intricacies of his political...

Sotheby’s Talks: Munch, with Tracey Emin

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is an episode of Sotheby's Talks, the podcast that celebrates art, culture, and collecting. Edvard Munch pioneered Expressionism and embraced l...

How The Female Body Has Driven Evolution

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cat Bohannon is a researcher and author with a PhD from Columbia University in the evolution of narrative and cognition. Her essays and poems have app...

Power Grab: David Runciman on the Reach of Corporations, States and AI

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

David Runciman is Professor of Politics at Cambridge University and the author of books including The Politics of Good Intentions, Political Hypocrisy...

All Talk: How Dialects and Diversity Enrich the Culture of the UK

07 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rob Drummond is Professor of Sociolinguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University. His recent book You’re All Talk explores the enormous diversity...

Fixing France: Nabila Ramdani on How to Repair a Broken Republic

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nabila Ramdani is a French-Algerian writer, broadcaster and academic, whose recent book is Fixing France: How to Repair a Broken Republic. Historicall...