Intelligence Squared

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Intelligence Squared is the world’s leading forum for debate and intelligent discussion. Live and online we take you to the heart of the issues that matter, in the company of some of the world’s sharpest minds and most exciting orators. Join the debate at www.intelligencesquared.com and download our weekly podcast every Friday.

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Ibram X. Kendi and Razia Iq...

08.23.2019

What's the difference between being merely non-racist and being an antiracist? And what will it take to completely uproot racism from our societies, institutions and our own selves? In this episode were were joined by Ibram X. Kendi, the founding ...

Intelligence Squared episodes:

08.23.2019 Ibram X. Kendi and Razia Iqbal on How To Be An Antiracist What's the difference between being merely non-racist and being an antiracist? And what will it take to completely uproot racism from our societies, institutions and our own selves? In this episode were were joined by Ibram X. Kendi, the founding ...
08.16.2019 Michael Pollan and Xand Van Tulleken on the New Science of Psychedelics In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by the acclaimed food writer Michael Pollan, whose most recent book How To Change Your Mind is a deep dive into the world of psychedelic drugs and what they ...
08.09.2019 Nessa Carey and Xand Van Tulleken on How Gene Editing Will Rewrite Our Futures In this week's episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Nessa Carey, the molecular biologist and author of Hacking The Code Of Life. She was interviewed by the doctor and TV presenter Xand Van Tulleken in a ...
08.02.2019 Chris Hirst and Helen Lewis on No Bullsht Leadership In this week's episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Chris Hirst, Global CEO for the advertising company Havas Creative Network and author of No Bullsht Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That ...
07.26.2019 Mark Galeotti and Edward Lucas on what the West gets wrong about Putin In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Mark Galeotti, Russia expert and author of We Need to Talk About Putin. He was interviewed by Edward Lucas of The Times in an in-depth examination of the ...
07.19.2019 Paul Mason and Jesse Norman on a Revolutionary Defence of Humanity In this week's episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast, the left-wing economics journalist Paul Mason was interviewed by the Conservative MP Jesse Norman. They discussed Mason's vision for a utopian future, which he sets out in his new book Clear ...
07.12.2019 Old Testament vs New Testament: Passion, Poetry and the World’s Greatest Stories Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Moses and the Ten Commandments, the parting of the Red Sea. These are a few of the stories from the Old Testament. And then there’s the New Testament, with its account of the life of ...
07.05.2019 Jeffrey Sachs on the End of American Supremacy Last month we were joined onstage by the University of Columbia economics professor Jeffrey Sachs, as he laid out his radical new vision for U.S. foreign policy. Instead of a world where America reigns as the sole superpower, Sachs argued ...
06.28.2019 Mark Zuckerberg on Trial: Facebook is Damaging Society According to his critics, Mark Zuckerberg presides over a company which is undermining our basic freedoms. But should we give him the benefit of the doubt as he seeks to rebuild the world’s trust in Facebook? Defending Zuckerberg we had ...
06.21.2019 Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism Is there a country in the world that attracts so much criticism as Israel? Studies consistently show Israel to be one of the most disliked nations in the world (along with Iran and North Korea). But how much of this ...
06.14.2019 The Revolt Against The Rich, with Anand Giridharadas and Anne McElvoy Thought-leaders, change agents, the new philanthropists. These are some of the terms used to describe rich and powerful figures who talk publicly and enthusiastically about their efforts to build a better world. But to Anand Giridharadas — Editor-at-Large at TIME ...
06.07.2019 The Daily: The Rise of Nationalism Across the Globe In this week's podcast, we hosted a live conversation from "The Daily", The New York Times' flagship podcast. In an event in partnership with The New York Times, we were joined by the podcast's host Michael Barbaro, as well as ...
05.31.2019 Identity Politics Is Tearing Society Apart Is identity politics, with its emphasis on gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation, sowing division? Or is it a call for social justice for everyone? On 22nd May 2019 we were joined by a panel of experts to debate the motion ...
05.24.2019 The Victorians Who Made Britain: Jacob Rees-Mogg vs Tristram Hunt For Jacob Rees-Mogg the 19th century was a golden era. It was a time of moral certainty, of a global vision for Great Britain, and a confidence in the essential goodness of our great nation. And it is a period ...
05.17.2019 Jennifer Eberhardt and Razia Iqbal on the Psychology of Racial Bias For this week's episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Jennifer Eberhardt, Social Psychologist at Stanford University and author of Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do. In a wide-ranging interview ...
05.10.2019 Eric Kaufmann and Razia Iqbal on the End of White Majorities In this week's podcast we were joined by Eric Kaufmann, Birkbeck politics professor and author of Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration and the Future of White Majorities, in conversation with the BBC's Razia Iqbal. In a challenging and wide-ranging conversation, they discussed ...
05.03.2019 Steven Pinker and David Runciman on Optimism, Enlightenment and Progress In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Steven Pinker, cognitive psychologist and author of Enlightenment Now, in conversation with Cambridge University's David Runciman. They discussed the advances made in our societies over the last several ...
04.26.2019 Adam Higginbotham and Evan Ratliff on the Untold Story of Chernobyl In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast, released on the 33rd anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, journalist and author Evan Ratliff was joined by Adam Higginbotham, author of Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear ...
04.19.2019 Julia Shaw and Rosamund Urwin on the Science Behind Humanity's Dark Side In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Julia Shaw the psychologist and author of Making Evil, alongside Rosamund Urwin of the Sunday Times, in a wide-ranging exploration of evil — why do humans do and ...
04.12.2019 Thomas Friedman On The World In 2019 Earlier this month we were joined by Thomas Friedman as he brought his wisdom and insight to the world’s current predicaments: How should the West respond to an emboldened China? How do we rebuild the global economy so that it ...
04.05.2019 Viral Sensation Rutger Bregman On How Utopian Ideas Can Become Reality This week's episode features Rutger Bregman, historian and author of Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There. In conversation with Helen Lewis, associate editor of the New Statesman, he discusses subjects ranging from Universal Basic Income, the benefits ...
03.29.2019 How I Found My Voice: Rose McGowan This week's episode is something a little different: an episode of Intelligence Squared's new podcast How I Found My Voice. How I Found My Voice is the podcast that explores how some of the world's greatest artists and thinkers became ...
03.22.2019 Nationalism is a Delusion: Our Futures Depend on Ever Closer Union This week's episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast is a special episode produced by Intelligence Squared Germany in collaboration with the ECFR. Arguing for the motion "Nationalism is a Delusion: Our Futures Depend on Ever Closer Union" were Polish politician ...
03.15.2019 Letters That Changed The World Following on from Intelligence Squared’s acclaimed events on great speeches and poetry, when Carey Mulligan, Simon Russell Beale, Helena Bonham Carter and other stars took to our stage, we now present Letters That Changed The World, based on award-winning historian ...
03.08.2019 On The Brink Of A No-Deal Brexit: The Town Hall Debate Britain is now facing one of the biggest constitutional crises in its history. As Brexit looms, Intelligence Squared staged a special town hall meeting with some of the country’s most prominent political leaders. We were joined on stage by former ...
03.01.2019 China: Friend or Foe? Is China, with its unfair trade policies and shameless theft of intellectual property, an enemy that needs to be reined in? Or is it in the West’s best interests to view China as a strategic partner and aim for mutual ...
02.22.2019 Blame Liberals For the Rise of Populism Have the left’s policies of high immigration and multiculturalism caused the disaffection which has given rise to populism? Or is it the right, with its tabloid scare stories about foreigners eroding national identity? We were joined by Matthew Goodwin, Professor ...
02.15.2019 David Wootton and Giles Fraser on the Philosophy of Profit, Power and Pleasure This week's episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast features David Wootton, historian and author of Power, Pleasure, and Profit, in a wide-ranging conversation with the journalist and Anglican priest Giles Fraser. They examined the four centuries of Western thought — ...
02.08.2019 The West Should Cut Ties With Saudi Arabia Should the West end its alliance with the Saudi regime? Or should we give its Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman a chance? In this Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Mehdi Hasan, Madawi al-Rasheed, Mamoun Fandy, Crispin Blunt and ...
02.01.2019 Leonard Mlodinow and Rosamund Urwin on the Power of Elastic Thinking In this episode we were joined by Leonard Mlodinow, the theoretical physicist, Star Trek screenwriter and author of Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Time of Change in conversation with Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin. In a wide-ranging discussion, they talked ...
01.25.2019 Germany Is Endangering European Stability This week's podcast comes from an event hosted by Intelligence Squared Germany, in collaboration with ECFR Berlin. Our panel of speakers, including representatives of the Five Star Movement, Fidesz and the ECFR asked: is Germany really the bastion of European ...
01.18.2019 Bruce Daisley and Jamie Bartlett on Re-Envisioning the World of Work In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Twitter's European VP and author of The Joy of Work Bruce Daisley and tech journalist Jamie Bartlett, for a wide-ranging conversation on how to to re-imagine the world ...
01.11.2019 Rachel Botsman and Helen Lewis on Technology and Trust In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Rachel Botsman, world renowned trust expert, Oxford academic and author of Who Can You Trust? She was interviewed by Helen Lewis, associate editor of the New Statesman, for ...
01.04.2019 Siva Vaidhyanathan and Helen Lewis on How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by the cultural historian, media scholar and author of Antisocial Media Siva Vaidhyanathan in conversation with the New Statesman's Helen Lewis. In this wide-ranging discussion, they looked at how ...
12.28.2018 Bruno Maçães and Linda Yueh on the Chinese World Order In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Bruno Maçães, the former Europe minister of Portugal, in conversation with Oxford economist and broadcaster Linda Yueh. They talked about China's Belt and Road strategy, widely acknowledged to ...
12.21.2018 Mishal Husain and Martha Lane Fox on Careers, Life and Leadership Equal pay. Gender bias. Sexual harassment. A year on from the start of the #MeToo movement, conversations around these topics have exploded – and progress on many fronts can seem slow. Nearly 80 percent of British companies have a gender ...
12.14.2018 LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman on Building a Billion-Dollar Business at Lightning Speed Some of the world’s most successful and powerful companies began as tiny startups and became global giants within only a few years. The list is long and includes world-changing companies like Amazon, Google, Airbnb, Facebook, Uber and Alibaba. But what ...
12.07.2018 The Battle Over Free Speech: Are Trigger Warnings, Safe Spaces and No-Platforming Harming Young Minds? Many would argue that these are the fundamental goals of a good education. So why has Cambridge University taken to warning its students that the sexual violence in Titus Andronicus might be traumatic for them? Why are other universities in ...
12.04.2018 Bonus Episode - The Brexit Deal: Decision Time It’s a defining moment for British democracy. This December, Parliament will vote on whether to approve or reject Theresa May’s draft Brexit withdrawal agreement. With the nation’s future hanging in the balance, some have called this the greatest crisis Britain ...
11.30.2018 Jeanne Marie Laskas and Bonnie Greer on Love, Hate, Anger, and Hope in the Obama Years In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we had Jeanne Marie Laskas, the American professor, journalist and author of To Obama, looking back at the Obama presidency through the lens of tens of thousands of letters the President received ...
11.23.2018 Parenting Doesn't Matter (Or Not As Much As You Think) The multibillion-pound parenting industry tells us we can all shape our children to be joyful, resilient and successful. But what if it’s all bunk? Intelligence Squared are bringing together a panel of top geneticists and parenting experts to explore just ...
11.16.2018 Special episode with Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Director of Communications In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House Director of Communications for a whopping 11 days. He was interviewed by Josh Lowe, Deputy Editor of Apolitical, for a wide-ranging and ...
11.09.2018 Kamal Ahmed and Razia Iqbal on Identity, Race and Prejudice This week's episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast was a wide-ranging conversation about race and identity in Britain. In the studio we had Kamal Ahmed, BBC Editorial Director and author of The Life and Times of a Very British Man ...
11.06.2018 Bonus Episode: The Impeachment Election? Trump, Mueller and the Fight for America Is this the last stand for American democracy? That’s what many of Donald Trump’s opponents believe. The upcoming US midterm election is the last chance to prevent the United States from becoming a truly authoritarian state. That fear has the ...
11.02.2018 James Barr and Catherine Philp on the Secret British-American Rivalry in the Middle East In this week’s episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast, the historian and author of Lords of the Desert James Barr sat down with Times journalist Catherine Philp to reveal the the story of the hidden 25-year rivalry between Britain and ...
10.26.2018 Kate Raworth and Matthew Taylor on Rethinking Economics For The 21st Century In this week’s episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast, Oxford economist and author of Doughnut Economics Kate Raworth sat down with Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the RSA, to discuss her transformative ideas for a new economy. For information regarding ...
10.19.2018 Mistaken Identities: The Conflict Over Culture, Class, Gender and Nation with Kwame Anthony Appiah and John Gray Race, religion and identity are being talked about as never before. While minority groups raise their voices for recognition and inclusion, others feel that their culture is being eroded. In these increasingly febrile times, Intelligence Squared brought together two of ...
10.12.2018 Dickens vs Tolstoy: The Battle Of The Great 19th-century Novelists Dickens. Tolstoy. Their names and reputations shake the ground – and so do their books, if you drop one. They are the two greatest novelists from the century when novels were really great. Both captured their countries’ very souls and, ...
10.05.2018 Peter Biskind and Helen Lewis on Vampires, Zombies, X-Men and Political Extremism In this Intelligence Squared podcast we were joined by Peter Biskind, cultural critic and author of The Sky Is Falling, alongside the New Statesman's Helen Lewis, in an examination of how popular culture has fuelled extremism in our politics. For ...
09.28.2018 Tristan Harris and Helen Lewis on how tech has hijacked our brains In this episode of Intelligence Squared we were joined by Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google in conversation with the New Statesman's Helen Lewis, as they discussed the threat that technology poses to society and our minds. For information ...

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