Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

RACISM AND HOW TO FIGHT IT

A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/racism-and-how-to-fight-it/

What does racism in the UK look like today, and how can we fight it? Is the contemporary anti-racist route of exposing white privilege the right way to challenge discrimination? Or does accentuating racial difference risk defeating any prospect of solidarity? Is it right to claim that society remains structurally racist, or should we be more specific about the differences between individual racist prejudices and institutional racism? Is contemporary anti-racism helping or hindering freedom and equality for people of colour, and who should have a say in how to fight for their rights?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

THE STATUS OF SCIENCE AFTER THE PANDEMIC

A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/the-status-of-science-after-the-pandemic/

As we emerge from the impacts of Covid, what should we conclude about scientific authority and accountability? How should science and politics relate to one another? In what circumstances, and in what capacity, should scientists feel free to speak their mind publicly? Conversely, when is it reasonable for lay people to direct criticism at scientists? How should scientists use, and relate to, traditional media and social media? And how have the everyday challenges of a jobbing scientist – obtaining funding, pressure to publish, demonstrating impact, negotiating tensions with one’s seniors and colleagues – affected, and been affected by, the politics of the pandemic?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

THE IRISH BORDER QUESTION: CAN THE UNION SURVIVE?

A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021:

https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/the-irish-border-question-can-the-union-survive/

 Is it time for Unionists to accept a border poll as a democratic resolution and prepare their best arguments to save the Union? How should British citizens view the threat to the Union? If Lord Frost eventually tears up the Protocol, will that save the Union and resolve the border tensions? Or has the unravelling of the border become a fait accompli, based on the instability inherent in partition?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

WILL GREEN JOBS SAVE US?

A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/will-green-jobs-save-us/

Will a shift to a green economy revive the UK economy? Is the ‘green economy’ just the latest Big Idea to boost growth that will ultimately prove illusory? Is encouraging economic growth simply bad for the planet and should we accept that environmental problems mean we should strive for a zero-growth society?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

CAN OUR DATA BE USED FOR GOOD? THE ETHICS OF RESEARCH

A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/can-our-data-be-used-for-good-the-ethics-of-research/

This debate was run in partnership with ADRUK.

When there is such extensive scope to improve lives by making better use of data, what guiding ethical principles and data protections should be in place? Can governments be trusted to use this data for good, or do they deserve scrutiny? Are there useful differences between public bodies and companies, or between researchers and governments? Is ‘anonymous’ data ever truly safe from being re-identified, and if not, how can we balance risk with the benefits afforded by the digital revolution?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

PROTECTION FOR ME BUT NOT FOR THEE? THE EQUALITY CONUNDRUM

A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/protection-for-me-but-not-for-thee-the-equality-conundrum/

Do we need to be recognised in law to feel secure about ourselves? Is there a difference in the role of the law to protect against discrimination and protect certain beliefs? Has the fight for equality and liberation been replaced by the demand for affirmation? Do concerns about equality end up tongue-tying workers who should be free to debate political and moral issues, or are there some things that should be off limits? Is equality worth fighting for any longer, or does it now mean something very different?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

HATE, HERESY AND THE FIGHT FOR FREE SPEECH

A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/hate-heresy-and-the-fight-for-free-speech/

Would a public square that embraced free expression be a dangerous thing? Can words be as dangerous as physical violence? Are we in danger of creating a new form of heresy when so-called social-justice warriors complain about hate speech on Twitter and governments simultaneously ban protests? Or should we embrace moves to get tough on hate? Could an increasingly volatile debate about free speech mean that more people are likely to self-censor for fear of being called a bigot? And if we decide that we do value free speech as a fundamental tenet of a liberal society, how can we mount a modern case for it in the twenty-first century?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

FEMINISM'S CIVIL WAR

A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/feminisms-civil-war/

Does feminism know what it stands for anymore? Are the current divides reflective of a sea-change for feminism, or does the current infighting stem from its roots in identity politics? Can feminism survive its current civil war, or is it time for a new women’s liberation movement?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

FROM PROFITS TO PROPHETS: WHY HAS BIG BUSINESS GONE WOKE?

A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/from-profits-to-prophets-why-has-big-business-gone-woke/

This debate was run in partnership with the Academy of Ideas Economy Forum.

Is it a positive sign that big corporations are starting to care about something more than profits? Are woke campaigns and branding a distraction from the need to provide good products and services that consumers want? Is there any truth in the critical joke ‘Get woke, go broke’? What does it mean for democracy if corporations play an increasingly activist role in pursuing a liberal agenda?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

IS THERE A CASE FOR FOSSIL FUELS?

A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/is-there-a-case-for-fossil-fuels/

This debate was held in partnership with the Ayn Rand Centre UK

Governments have been striving to phase out fossil fuels in favour of renewables, particularly in the past decade, to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. But renewables are intermittent and unreliable. So how can we get secure supplies of energy that are reliable and affordable? Have we been too hasty in phasing out fossil fuels? Is there still a place for them until a new technology, like nuclear fusion, can easily supply all the energy we need? Or is climate change such an immediate danger that we need to learn to live without coal, oil and gas?