Intelligence Squared

This episode is part two of our live event on economic growth. In May 2023, journalist Kamal Ahmed, was joined by three influential economists, Kate Raworth, Helen Thompson, and Bim Afolami to discuss if we can indeed have prosperity without growth.

Part three of this event is available ad free, for subscribers now. 

This conversation is part of Intelligence Squared’s live debate partnership with the Southbank Centre.

We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency . 

Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the UK and other countries around the world grapple with a bleak economic forecast and the creeping effects of climate change, the debate over economic growth and its role in our economies has come into sharp focus.

In part one of this live event journalist Kamal Ahmed, was joined by three influential economists, Kate Raworth, Helen Thompson, and Bim Afolami to discuss if we can indeed have prosperity without growth.

Part two and three of this event are available ad free, for subscribers now. And for our listeners who don’t subscribe part 2 will be available in our next episode. 

This conversation took place in May 2023 and is part of Intelligence Squared’s live debate partnership with the Southbank Centre.

We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency . 

Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VS is a light-hearted podcast about the little debates that are always a big deal to someone. Arsenal VS Spurs. McDonald’s VS KFC. Peep Show VS The Office. 80s VS 90s. And many more. Our host Coco Khan invites experts and fans to go head-to-head on the timeless debates that form the lifeblood of friendships. Who wins? You decide with our weekly vote. VS is an Intelligence Squared production. Tune in to new episodes every Friday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we bring you a thought-provoking discussion with renowned journalist and best-selling author, Sathnam Sanghera. Here he delves into patriotism, the culture wars, and the nuanced narratives of the British Empire and its forgotten, and often purposefully destroyed, history.

Sanghera is joined by fellow journalist and author Kavita Puri, prior to the release of his latest children's book, 'Stolen History'.

This episode was recorded on the 17th of May 2023. The producer was Senior Producer Conor Boyle with editing by Executive Producer Rowan Slaney

—

We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today.

Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode we explore the history of brainwashing - the process of pressuring someone into adopting radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible means.

Daniel Pick, a Psychoanalyst, Historian, and Professor Emeritus of History at Birkbeck College, University of London, joins Subhadra Das, broadcaster, academic and writer, with a keen interest in the history of eugenics, to delve into the murky history and psychology of brainwashing and to discuss Pick's latest book, 'Brainwashed: A New History of Thought Control'.

This episode was recorded on the 17th of April 2023. It was produced by Senior Producer Tom Hall, with editing by Executive Producer Rowan Slaney

—

We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today.

Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is part two of our live Bach vs Beethoven. The BBC’s Reeta Chakrabarti was joined by world-renowned cellist Steven Isserlis and acclaimed music critic Norman Lebrecht to discuss who was greater, Bach or Beethoven? Mishka Rushdie Momen accompanies this conversation on the piano.

Part three of this event is available ad free, for subscribers now. 

This conversation took place in April 2023. It was produced by Executive Producer Hannah Kaye, with editing by Lead Producer Catharine Hughes

—

We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today.

Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven are without doubt two of the most sublime musical geniuses who ever lived. But which of the two was the greater? 

To battle it out In part one of this live event, Intelligence Squared brought to the stage two celebrated figures from the world of music: world-renowned cellist Steven Isserlis for Bach and acclaimed music critic Norman Lebrecht for Beethoven. 

The event was hosted by the BBC’s Reeta Chakrabarti, with Mishka Rushdie Momen on the piano.

Part two and three of this event are available ad free, for subscribers now. And for our listeners who don’t subscribe part 2 will be available in our next episode. 

This conversation took place in April 2023. It was produced by Executive Producer Hannah Kaye, with editing by Lead Producer Catharine Hughes

—

We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today.

Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With roots in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, ballroom culture evolved into a vibrant movement that has since been a haven of self-expression, creativity, and community for the LGBTQ individuals, particularly those from the black and latino community. It's a world of flamboyant fashion, fierce competition, and above all, a celebration of identity. In this episode, we're not just exploring the sequins and voguing, we're delving deeper. We discuss the significant impact of ballroom culture on popular culture and its commodification in the mainstream, and we address its crucial role as a form of protest and its influence on the fight for LGBTQ rights and acceptance.

And the Category Is…Inside New York’s Vogue, House, and Ballroom Community, By Ricky Tucker

—

We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency . 

Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When writer and musician Eliza Hull was pregnant with her first child, like most parents-to-be she felt a mix of nerves and excitement. But as a disabled person she faced added complexities. Would the pregnancy be too hard? Would people judge her? Would she cope with the demands of parenting?

On May 24th, 2023, Hull came to Intelligence Squared with host, writer, and campaigner Lucy Webster, where they discussed the themes of Hull's new book, 'We've Got This: Essays By Disabled Parents.' The anthology explores the highs and lows of their parenting journeys, showing that often the greatest obstacles lie in other people's attitudes.

This event was produced by Executive Producer Hannah Kaye with editing by Executive Producer Rowan Slaney.

—

We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency .

Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode we bring you our event ‘The Battle for Your Brain’, recorded on the 2nd of May 2023.

Imagine a world where people who suffer from epilepsy receive alerts moments before a seizure, where the average person can peer into their own mind to eliminate painful memories and we can easily cure addictions. This is also a world where your brain could be interrogated to learn your political beliefs, your thoughts can be used as evidence of a crime, and your own feelings can be held against you. 

One of the world’s foremost experts on the ethics of neuroscience, Professor Nita Farahany claims that neuroscience has already made all of this possible today, and neurotechnology will soon become the ‘universal controller’ for all of our interactions with technology. According to Farahany, the growth of commercial neurotechnology could be of immense benefit to humanity, but without safeguards, it could seriously threaten our fundamental human rights to privacy, freedom of thought and self-determination. 

With our host Research Director for the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the think tank Demos, Carl Miller, Farahany offers a path forward to navigate the complex legal and ethical dilemmas that will fundamentally impact our freedom to understand and define ourselves.

To hear the full length episode of this event and to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, head to intelligence Squared.com/members.

This event was produced by Executive Producer Conor Boyle with editing by Executive Producer Rowan Slaney.

—

We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. 

Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us @intelligence2. 

And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency . 

Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices