Academy of Ideas

By academyofideas

The Academy of Ideas has been organising public debates to challenge contemporary knee-jerk orthodoxies since 2000. Subscribe to our channel for recordings of our live conferences, discussions and sal... more

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FAQs about Academy of Ideas:

How many episodes does Academy of Ideas have?

The podcast currently has 488 episodes available.

Academy of Ideas episodes:

January 27, 2015 #BattleFest2013: Do we live in a top-shelf society?
Sexually explicit material has always challenged censors
and traditional moralists. From the 1960s, liberal values on sex and
sexual relationships became one of the markers of a civilised, modern
society. Over the past decade, however, there’s a gnawing unease that
sexually explicit material has gradually stepped down from the top shelf
and into the mainstream. Whether it was Rihanna’s raunchy display on The X Factor,
Jonathan Ross’ lewd chat shows or Katie Perry simulating oral sex in
pop videos, pornographic imagery has become the wallpaper of
twenty-first-century society. With the rise of the increasingly
ubiquitous ‘celebrity sex tape’, fans of chart-friendly pop stars such
as Tulisa Contostavlos are exposed to increasingly graphic and intimate
depictions of their icons. And then there’s Fifty Shades of Grey.
Traditional moralists have always found much to censor in modern
society, but when former champions of sexual liberalism, such as Joan
Bakewell, start bemoaning the onslaught of naked flesh into the living
room, something appears to have changed. Indeed, it is fortysomething
ex-punk journalists turned parents who have started to wonder aloud why
thong-thrusting pop videos are being shown at lunchtime.

But could it be argued that we’ve been here many times before? From
Elvis Presley and David Bowie to Madonna and Prince, pop stars have
sought to challenge and question society’s taboos around sex. Surely
Rihanna and Perry are simply the latest practitioners of taboo busting
exhibitionism? Or is it the case that sex and relationships have become
devalued, with porn aesthetics the new low-grade currency? A civilised
society should be open about sex, but are we in danger of forgetting
that civilised values also means the separation of the public and
private, the decent and the debased? Is the rush to smash sexual taboos a
sign of healthy libertarianism or of self-loathing by a cultural elite
unwilling and unable to promote higher culture? Are the sexual-taboo
smashers really hammering elite traditionalists and conservatives or is
it a radical way of sneering at ordinary people’s ‘small minded’ values?

Neil Davenport
writer; head of sociology, JFS Sixth Form Centre; contributor, spiked
Dr Jan Macvarish
research
fellow, Centre for Health Services Studies; founding associate, Centre
for Parenting Culture Studies, University of Kent, Canterbury
Anna Percy
feminist
performance poet; member, Stirred Feminist Poetry collective; organiser
and facilitator, live poetry events and writing workshops
Chair:

Suzy Dean

freelance writer; blogger, Free Society
...more
1h 4min
January 27, 2015 Do we live in a top-shelf society?
Sexually explicit material has always challenged censors
and traditional moralists. From the 1960s, liberal values on sex and
sexual relationships became one of the markers of a civilised, modern
society. Over the past decade, however, there’s a gnawing unease that
sexually explicit material has gradually stepped down from the top shelf
and into the mainstream. Whether it was Rihanna’s raunchy display on The X Factor,
Jonathan Ross’ lewd chat shows or Katie Perry simulating oral sex in
pop videos, pornographic imagery has become the wallpaper of
twenty-first-century society. With the rise of the increasingly
ubiquitous ‘celebrity sex tape’, fans of chart-friendly pop stars such
as Tulisa Contostavlos are exposed to increasingly graphic and intimate
depictions of their icons. And then there’s Fifty Shades of Grey.
Traditional moralists have always found much to censor in modern
society, but when former champions of sexual liberalism, such as Joan
Bakewell, start bemoaning the onslaught of naked flesh into the living
room, something appears to have changed. Indeed, it is fortysomething
ex-punk journalists turned parents who have started to wonder aloud why
thong-thrusting pop videos are being shown at lunchtime.
But could it be argued that we’ve been here many times before? From
Elvis Presley and David Bowie to Madonna and Prince, pop stars have
sought to challenge and question society’s taboos around sex. Surely
Rihanna and Perry are simply the latest practitioners of taboo busting
exhibitionism? Or is it the case that sex and relationships have become
devalued, with porn aesthetics the new low-grade currency? A civilised
society should be open about sex, but are we in danger of forgetting
that civilised values also means the separation of the public and
private, the decent and the debased? Is the rush to smash sexual taboos a
sign of healthy libertarianism or of self-loathing by a cultural elite
unwilling and unable to promote higher culture? Are the sexual-taboo
smashers really hammering elite traditionalists and conservatives or is
it a radical way of sneering at ordinary people’s ‘small minded’ values?
Neil Davenport
writer; head of sociology, JFS Sixth Form Centre; contributor, spiked
Dr Jan Macvarish
research
fellow, Centre for Health Services Studies; founding associate, Centre
for Parenting Culture Studies, University of Kent, Canterbury
Anna Percy
feminist
performance poet; member, Stirred Feminist Poetry collective; organiser
and facilitator, live poetry events and writing workshops
Chair:

Suzy Dean

freelance writer; blogger, Free Society
...more
1h 4min
January 23, 2015 #PodcastofIdeas: Charlie Hebdo, Debating Matters and the Greek elections.
In the first podcast in a new series, Rob Lyons speaks to Dave Bowden about the state of press freedom in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Justine Brian fills us in on the latest news from Debating Matters, and Geoff Kidder gives us the lowdown on the upcoming Greek elections.
...more
24min
January 23, 2015 Podcast of Ideas 1: Charlie Hebdo, Debating Matters and the Greek elections.
In the first podcast in a new series, Rob Lyons speaks to Dave Bowden about the state of press freedom in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Justine Brian fills us in on the latest news from Debating Matters, and Geoff Kidder gives us the lowdown on the upcoming Greek elections.
...more
24min
January 16, 2015 #BattleFest2014: America - the twilight years?
America’s problems at home and abroad have
led many to wonder if the US is in decline. US foreign policy, from
Syria to Ukraine, appears rudderless and impotent. The Iraq War is
widely seen to have been a failure, while US forces are leaving
Afghanistan with the Taliban still active and the country far from being
a happy democracy.
The US recovery from the recession has been weak, too, while China
and India – and even parts of Africa - seem to offer more glittering
possibilities for expansion and wealth creation than the US. China may
overtake the US as the world’s largest economy in GDP terms by the end
of the decade.
At home, the American political class appears to be almost at an
impasse, unable to address its challenges, as epitomised by last year’s
shutdown of the federal government. Political commentator Timothy Garton
Ash argues ‘the politicians in Washington behave like rutting stags
with locked antlers’. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign
Relations, says that the failure of politics in Washington has been
‘hastening the emergence of a post-American world’.
Yet such declinist talk is hardly new, as exemplified by Paul Kennedy in his 1987 bestseller, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers.
America is still the largest economy in the world, despite having a
quarter of the population of either China or India. America is still by
far the greatest military power, has the world’s top universities and
produces the most cutting-edge research and technological innovation.
Even in ‘soft power’ terms, America is the pre-eminent source of the
world’s culture. In contrast, the much-vaunted ‘BRIC’ countries of
Brazil, Russia, India and China are all faltering in one way or another.
Is the US truly facing the prospect of being replaced as the world’s
greatest power? Is the sluggish America today in similar circumstances
to Britain at the time of First World War - the faded Greece to Asia’s
Rome? Or, is the declinist view overly pessimistic? After all, periods
of introspection and worry about US decline over the past 30 years have
given way to later resurgence. Is this time different?

Speakers

Dr Yaron Brook

Executive director, Ayn Rand Institute

Dr Jenny Clegg

senior lecturer, Asia Pacific Studies, University of Central Lancashire, Preston

Dr Sue Currell

chair, British Association for American Studies; reader, American Literature, Sussex University

James Matthews

management consultant; founding member, NY Salon; writer on economics and business

Sir Christopher Meyer

chairman, PagefieldAdvisory Board; former British Ambassador to the United States

Chair

Jean Smith

co-founder and director, NY Salon
...more
1h 23min
January 16, 2015 America: the twilight years?
America’s problems at home and abroad have
led many to wonder if the US is in decline. US foreign policy, from
Syria to Ukraine, appears rudderless and impotent. The Iraq War is
widely seen to have been a failure, while US forces are leaving
Afghanistan with the Taliban still active and the country far from being
a happy democracy.
The US recovery from the recession has been weak, too, while China
and India – and even parts of Africa - seem to offer more glittering
possibilities for expansion and wealth creation than the US. China may
overtake the US as the world’s largest economy in GDP terms by the end
of the decade.
At home, the American political class appears to be almost at an
impasse, unable to address its challenges, as epitomised by last year’s
shutdown of the federal government. Political commentator Timothy Garton
Ash argues ‘the politicians in Washington behave like rutting stags
with locked antlers’. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign
Relations, says that the failure of politics in Washington has been
‘hastening the emergence of a post-American world’.
Yet such declinist talk is hardly new, as exemplified by Paul Kennedy in his 1987 bestseller, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers.
America is still the largest economy in the world, despite having a
quarter of the population of either China or India. America is still by
far the greatest military power, has the world’s top universities and
produces the most cutting-edge research and technological innovation.
Even in ‘soft power’ terms, America is the pre-eminent source of the
world’s culture. In contrast, the much-vaunted ‘BRIC’ countries of
Brazil, Russia, India and China are all faltering in one way or another.
Is the US truly facing the prospect of being replaced as the world’s
greatest power? Is the sluggish America today in similar circumstances
to Britain at the time of First World War - the faded Greece to Asia’s
Rome? Or, is the declinist view overly pessimistic? After all, periods
of introspection and worry about US decline over the past 30 years have
given way to later resurgence. Is this time different?

Speakers

Dr Yaron Brook

Executive director, Ayn Rand Institute

Dr Jenny Clegg

senior lecturer, Asia Pacific Studies, University of Central Lancashire, Preston

Dr Sue Currell

chair, British Association for American Studies; reader, American Literature, Sussex University

James Matthews

management consultant; founding member, NY Salon; writer on economics and business

Sir Christopher Meyer

chairman, PagefieldAdvisory Board; former British Ambassador to the United States

Chair

Jean Smith

co-founder and director, NY Salon
...more
1h 23min
January 09, 2015 #BattleFest2014: Shopping and fretting - the ethics of buying the right thing
The public outrage that followed the
discovery of several ‘forced labour’ labels sewn into clothes stocked by
budget clothing shop Primark has brought the issue of the ethics of the
supply chain back into the headlines. Just what is the real cost of
cheap goods in the West? In April 2013, 1,100 people – including garment
workers who had been producing clothes for UK retailers - died when the
Rana Plaza commercial block in Bangladesh collapsed. Earlier this year,
the Guardian claimed fishmeal used to produce farmed prawns for
UK supermarkets was produced using fish caught with slave labour. These
revelations fit into a history of claims made about ‘sweatshop’
conditions faced by workers producing everything from fashionable
footwear to top-of-the-range consumer electronics. However the problem
is not restricted to developing countries, as cases of exploitation and
abuse of labourers continue to emerge across the UK, too.
Some have called for UK retailers to boycott firms or even entire
countries that allow unacceptable working practices. After the Rana
Plaza disaster, Labour MP Michael Connarty demanded legislation to force
UK firms to audit their supply chains. But others believe boycotts do
more harm than good and that a better solution is to maintain commercial
links while demanding suppliers improve and work towards higher
standards. As a recent report by the British Retail Consortium notes:
‘Retailers drive positive change by embedding certain values and
standards in their supply chain that are central to its brand and which
address specific issues or concerns that are important to their customer
base.’ Withdrawing entirely from a country, some argue, would actually
make things worse by causing thousands of relatively poor people to lose
their jobs. What is more, given the long and complicated international
supply chains that big retailers deal with today, is it really possible
to ensure goods are produced in an ethical fashion? Or do we need ever
more scrutiny of big businesses to ensure they don’t turn a blind eye
for the sake of profit?
While retailers debate how best to restore trust and demonstrate that
their products are ethically sourced – for example, by making details
of supply chains more transparent - shoppers are under pressure to ‘buy
responsibly’. Maybe it makes business sense, too, as ethical fashion
labels have become trendy and no doubt attract higher profit-margins
than low-cost clothing. However, some commentators warn against
demonising those who seek out cheap bargains or undermining the harmless
joys of shopping by turning retail therapy into an anxious moral maze
of label-checking.
Is virtuous shopping really a case of guilt-ridden consumers in the
West showing off their consciences rather than helping exploited
producers? Or is it at least better than nothing, a morally worthwhile
alternative that reminds us of our responsibility to others? Could
clumsy interventions by retailers, responding to pressure from
campaigners, make things worse rather than better for developing-world
workers? Should concerns about working conditions be dealt with by
governments and workers in the producing countries rather than by
shoppers and stores in the UK?

Speakers

Sandy Black

professor of fashion & textile design & technology,
London College of Fashion, University of the Arts, London; editor and
co-author, The Sustainable Fashion Handbook; author, Eco Chic the Fashion Paradox

Barbara Crowther

director of policy and public affairs, Fairtrade Foundation

Andrew Opie

director for food and sustainability, British Retail Consortium

Nathalie Rothschild

freelance journalist; producer and reporter for Sweden's public service radio

Chair

Jason Smith

partnerships coordinator, Debating Matters Competition; freelance journalist; co-founder, Birmingham Salon
...more
1h 5min
January 09, 2015 Shopping and fretting: the ethics of buying the right thing
The public outrage that followed the
discovery of several ‘forced labour’ labels sewn into clothes stocked by
budget clothing shop Primark has brought the issue of the ethics of the
supply chain back into the headlines. Just what is the real cost of
cheap goods in the West? In April 2013, 1,100 people – including garment
workers who had been producing clothes for UK retailers - died when the
Rana Plaza commercial block in Bangladesh collapsed. Earlier this year,
the Guardian claimed fishmeal used to produce farmed prawns for
UK supermarkets was produced using fish caught with slave labour. These
revelations fit into a history of claims made about ‘sweatshop’
conditions faced by workers producing everything from fashionable
footwear to top-of-the-range consumer electronics. However the problem
is not restricted to developing countries, as cases of exploitation and
abuse of labourers continue to emerge across the UK, too.
Some have called for UK retailers to boycott firms or even entire
countries that allow unacceptable working practices. After the Rana
Plaza disaster, Labour MP Michael Connarty demanded legislation to force
UK firms to audit their supply chains. But others believe boycotts do
more harm than good and that a better solution is to maintain commercial
links while demanding suppliers improve and work towards higher
standards. As a recent report by the British Retail Consortium notes:
‘Retailers drive positive change by embedding certain values and
standards in their supply chain that are central to its brand and which
address specific issues or concerns that are important to their customer
base.’ Withdrawing entirely from a country, some argue, would actually
make things worse by causing thousands of relatively poor people to lose
their jobs. What is more, given the long and complicated international
supply chains that big retailers deal with today, is it really possible
to ensure goods are produced in an ethical fashion? Or do we need ever
more scrutiny of big businesses to ensure they don’t turn a blind eye
for the sake of profit?
While retailers debate how best to restore trust and demonstrate that
their products are ethically sourced – for example, by making details
of supply chains more transparent - shoppers are under pressure to ‘buy
responsibly’. Maybe it makes business sense, too, as ethical fashion
labels have become trendy and no doubt attract higher profit-margins
than low-cost clothing. However, some commentators warn against
demonising those who seek out cheap bargains or undermining the harmless
joys of shopping by turning retail therapy into an anxious moral maze
of label-checking.
Is virtuous shopping really a case of guilt-ridden consumers in the
West showing off their consciences rather than helping exploited
producers? Or is it at least better than nothing, a morally worthwhile
alternative that reminds us of our responsibility to others? Could
clumsy interventions by retailers, responding to pressure from
campaigners, make things worse rather than better for developing-world
workers? Should concerns about working conditions be dealt with by
governments and workers in the producing countries rather than by
shoppers and stores in the UK?

Speakers

Sandy Black

professor of fashion & textile design & technology,
London College of Fashion, University of the Arts, London; editor and
co-author, The Sustainable Fashion Handbook; author, Eco Chic the Fashion Paradox

Barbara Crowther

director of policy and public affairs, Fairtrade Foundation

Andrew Opie

director for food and sustainability, British Retail Consortium

Nathalie Rothschild

freelance journalist; producer and reporter for Sweden's public service radio

Chair

Jason Smith

partnerships coordinator, Debating Matters Competition; freelance journalist; co-founder, Birmingham Salon
...more
1h 5min
December 19, 2014 #BattleFest2014: To boldly go - what is the point of space exploration?
When Neil Armstrong made his first steps on
the moon on 21 July 1969, he was watched by over 500million people. Many
stayed up through the night to witness it, and those who were children
at the time often recall being woken up to see the momentous occasion.
Today, numerous scientists, engineers, writers and others cite
witnessing the moon landings as an inspiring moment that influenced
their choice of career. While achieved by Americans, the positive
reaction was international – there was a sense that what had been
achieved was on behalf of all mankind, and had opened up a sense of
unlimited possibilities.
But it is the moon landings’ backdrop of the Cold War space race that
perhaps dominates how we view them today. Increasingly, we are given to
viewing the Apollo missions as political, with dubious scientific merit
– certainly, at least, some argue that the money could have been better
spent on less glamorous but more worthy missions like probes or
telescopes. Those who are even less charitable see the moon landings as a
colossal vanity project, wasting millions that could have been spent
alleviating problems here on Earth.
Today, the worth of manned space missions is under discussion again, with the Chinese Chang’e 3
lander seen as the start of a push to place taikonauts on the moon
within a decade. India has followed suit, making its own plans for a
manned landing. The Americans, too, have begun to talk again about
returning to the lunar surface. More generally, manned spaceflight seems
to be coming back into fashion, as exemplified by the rise to celebrity
status of Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield.
Are we witnessing the return of the space race? Are these plans any
more than just propaganda missions, aimed at projecting the power of
rising countries like India and China? Do the missions have enough
scientific merit, and should we celebrate them even if the benefits are
slight? Should we have gone to the moon in the first place, or should we
have been focusing on more earthly concerns?

Speakers

Professor Ian Crawford

professor of planetary science and astrobiology, Birkbeck College, University of London

Ashley Dove-Jay

PhD researcher, University of Bristol; programme member on NASA/ESA-related projects

David Perks

principal, East London Science School; author, What is science education for?; co-author, Sir Richard Sykes Review of school examinations and A defence of subject-based education

Dr Jill Stuart

visiting fellow, London School of Economics; editor-in-chief, Space Policy

Will Whitehorn

chairman, Transport Systems Catapult and Speed Communications; former president, Virgin Galactic

Chair

Craig Fairnington

online resources manager, Institute of Ideas
...more
1h 12min
December 19, 2014 To boldly go: what is the point of space exploration?
When Neil Armstrong made his first steps on
the moon on 21 July 1969, he was watched by over 500million people. Many
stayed up through the night to witness it, and those who were children
at the time often recall being woken up to see the momentous occasion.
Today, numerous scientists, engineers, writers and others cite
witnessing the moon landings as an inspiring moment that influenced
their choice of career. While achieved by Americans, the positive
reaction was international – there was a sense that what had been
achieved was on behalf of all mankind, and had opened up a sense of
unlimited possibilities.
But it is the moon landings’ backdrop of the Cold War space race that
perhaps dominates how we view them today. Increasingly, we are given to
viewing the Apollo missions as political, with dubious scientific merit
– certainly, at least, some argue that the money could have been better
spent on less glamorous but more worthy missions like probes or
telescopes. Those who are even less charitable see the moon landings as a
colossal vanity project, wasting millions that could have been spent
alleviating problems here on Earth.
Today, the worth of manned space missions is under discussion again, with the Chinese Chang’e 3
lander seen as the start of a push to place taikonauts on the moon
within a decade. India has followed suit, making its own plans for a
manned landing. The Americans, too, have begun to talk again about
returning to the lunar surface. More generally, manned spaceflight seems
to be coming back into fashion, as exemplified by the rise to celebrity
status of Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield.
Are we witnessing the return of the space race? Are these plans any
more than just propaganda missions, aimed at projecting the power of
rising countries like India and China? Do the missions have enough
scientific merit, and should we celebrate them even if the benefits are
slight? Should we have gone to the moon in the first place, or should we
have been focusing on more earthly concerns?

Speakers

Professor Ian Crawford

professor of planetary science and astrobiology, Birkbeck College, University of London

Ashley Dove-Jay

PhD researcher, University of Bristol; programme member on NASA/ESA-related projects

David Perks

principal, East London Science School; author, What is science education for?; co-author, Sir Richard Sykes Review of school examinations and A defence of subject-based education

Dr Jill Stuart

visiting fellow, London School of Economics; editor-in-chief, Space Policy

Will Whitehorn

chairman, Transport Systems Catapult and Speed Communications; former president, Virgin Galactic

Chair

Craig Fairnington

online resources manager, Institute of Ideas
...more
1h 12min

FAQs about Academy of Ideas:

How many episodes does Academy of Ideas have?

The podcast currently has 488 episodes available.

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