‘We live today in a perpetual superbloom – not of flowers but of messages’ –- Nicholas Carr

In this episode we explore the hidden costs of constant connection with American journalist and writer Nicholas Carr.  Best known for his New York Times bestselling book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, Carr discusses his latest book Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart. In conversation with writer and researcher Adam McCauley, Carr shows us how platforms such as Facebook and X which promised to democratise information and foster greater understanding have instead fueled tribalism, misinformation, and social fragmentation.

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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 of Behavioural Genetics Robert Plomin, the Developmental Clinical Psychologist Susan Pawlby, therapist, parenting counsellor and broadcaster Ann Pleshette Murphy, and Stuart Ritchie, lecturer in social genetics and developmental psychiatry and author of Science Fictions.

Hosting the debate was Doctor and broadcaster, Dr Xand van Tulleken.

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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 today is Surekha Davies. Writer and historian, who has written a book about these questions, Humans: A Monstrous History. 

Davies was joined in conversation by Sophie McBain, associate editor of The New Statesman to discuss the topic. 

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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 latest book The Challenges of Democracy: and the Rule of Law, he explores the enduring struggles and conflicts within democratic societies today — and how we might overcome them. Joining him in conversation is historian of ideas Sophie Scott-Brown. 

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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 to dismantle global trade. Wars in Ukraine and Gaza could continue to escalate and cause turmoil in diplomacy. And the race to develop AI will accelerate as China and the US battle it out for technological supremacy.

Who better to make sense of these unsettling and fast-changing times than Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times? Widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential writers on the global economy and a multi-award-winning financial journalist, Wolf has been chronicling and analysing geopolitical and economic upheaval for nearly 40 years. He has written five bestselling books. His latest, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, maps out the implications of globalisation, technological development and the impact of democratic decline on the global economy.

Wolf joined us onstage for the this installment of the Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook as he discussed what we can expect from 2025 and beyond in conversation with BBC News presenter and Royal Correspondent Jonny Dymond.

This recording is part of The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook series of events made in partnership with Guinness Global Investors, an independent British fund manager that helps both individuals and institutions harness the future drivers of growth to achieve their investment goals.

To find out more visit: https://www.guinnessgi.com/

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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 to dismantle global trade. Wars in Ukraine and Gaza could continue to escalate and cause turmoil in diplomacy. And the race to develop AI will accelerate as China and the US battle it out for technological supremacy.

Who better to make sense of these unsettling and fast-changing times than Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times? Widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential writers on the global economy and a multi-award-winning financial journalist, Wolf has been chronicling and analysing geopolitical and economic upheaval for nearly 40 years. He has written five bestselling books. His latest, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, maps out the implications of globalisation, technological development and the impact of democratic decline on the global economy.

Wolf joined us onstage for the this installment of the Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook as he discussed what we can expect from 2025 and beyond in conversation with BBC News presenter and Royal Correspondent Jonny Dymond.

This recording is part of The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook series of events made in partnership with Guinness Global Investors, an independent British fund manager that helps both individuals and institutions harness the future drivers of growth to achieve their investment goals.

To find out more visit: https://www.guinnessgi.com/

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Our guest today is Minna Salami, the feminist author, social critic and currently Program Chair at The New Institute. Her first book was Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone, and her writing can be found in the Guardian, Project Syndicate, Al Jazeera, and The Philosopher, and many others.

In her new book, Salami explores the question Can Feminism Be African?. Drawing from feminist thought, postcolonial theory, historical insights, and African knowledge systems, Salami combines personal reflection with cultural criticism to offer a vivid and cohesive discussion about power, identity, patriarchy, imagination, and the human condition.  

Joining Salami to discuss the book is Hannah Dawson, historian of ideas at King’s College London and editor of The Penguin Book of Feminist Writing.

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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 International Correspondent James Longman has witnessed the extremes of human existence firsthand.

But the story that has stayed with him the longest is closer to home. In his new memoir, The Inherited Mind, James applies his journalistic skills to explore a family legacy marked by mental illness, and the science and people that shape us.

James was just a preteen at boarding school when his father, who struggled with depression and schizophrenia, died by suicide. His uncle was also diagnosed with schizophrenia, and his grandfather also ended his life. As James grew older, his own battles with depression led him to examine how his father’s mental health might have influenced his own. Drawing on conversations with leading experts, he delves into the science of inheritance, the impact of environment on genetic predispositions, and how one can overcome a familial history of mental illness and trauma.

On January 30, James was joined in conversation with longtime friend, barrister and broadcaster Rob Rinder for a powerful discussion on family, resilience, and frontline reporting, live at the Kiln Theatre in London.

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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 International Correspondent James Longman has witnessed the extremes of human existence firsthand.

But the story that has stayed with him the longest is closer to home. In his new memoir, The Inherited Mind, James applies his journalistic skills to explore a family legacy marked by mental illness, and the science and people that shape us.

James was just a preteen at boarding school when his father, who struggled with depression and schizophrenia, died by suicide. His uncle was also diagnosed with schizophrenia, and his grandfather also ended his life. As James grew older, his own battles with depression led him to examine how his father’s mental health might have influenced his own. Drawing on conversations with leading experts, he delves into the science of inheritance, the impact of environment on genetic predispositions, and how one can overcome a familial history of mental illness and trauma.

On January 30, James was joined in conversation with longtime friend, barrister and broadcaster Rob Rinder for a powerful discussion on family, resilience, and frontline reporting, live at the Kiln Theatre in London.

---------

This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. 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 intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

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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 Jazeera America, Abrahamian’s reporting and criticism have appeared in the New York Review of Books, the New York Times, the London Review of Books, the Intercept, and many other publications.

In her new book, The Hidden Globe: How Wealth Hacks the World, Abrahamian maps the hidden geography of the wealthy elite, exposing a parallel universe that transcends national borders, bureaucracy and red tape. From the legal twilight zones of Geneva art warehouses to passports for sale, this is a geography of wealth in the modern age.

Joining her to discuss the book is Adam McCauley, the politics and philosophy writer and researcher.

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