Intelligence Squared: Arts & Culture

In celebration of Imaginary Conversations: An ERDEM Collection inspired by Duchess Deborah, join British fashion journalist Charlie Porter in conversation with Erdem Moralıoğlu, Creative Director of ERDEM, and Lady Burlington. Together they will discuss Moralıoğlu's creative process in designing a collection inspired by Duchess Deborah, drawing upon the historic textile collection and archives at...

Has London's cultural power essentially radiated outwards, influencing artists and creatives across the world? Or is London's creative preeminence dependent on the influx of global talent that has galvanised its artistic scene? In this panel discussion, curator and cultural historian Gus Casely-Hayford, journalist Dylan Jones, museum director Tim Marlow, Sotheby’s Europe chairman Helena Newman and...

London has long been a cultural melting pot for artists from around the world who, in their own unique ways, have revealed with each touch of a brush, the impact of the dynamic environment in which they found themselves. So in celebration of its role in the artistic journeys of so many, Sotheby’s has partnered with Art UK to showcase 12 extraordinary masterpieces by international artists on loan f...

With a rare first edition of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience about to go under the hammer, in this episode a panel of experts have come together for a conversation about the poet, artist and visionary. Chair and cultural critic Shahidha Bari is joined by art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon, cultural historian John Higgs and Sotheby’s Selby Kiffer to explore the enduring legacy o...

In this episode, Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries Hans Ulrich Obrist moderated a conversation between philanthropist and Creative Director of Lopud 1483 Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, artist Olafur Eliasson and President and CEO of World Monuments Fund Bénédicte de Montlaur. Together they discussed Francesca’s restoration of the 15th-Century Franciscan monastery Lopud 1483 in Croatia....

For millennia, female power has been portrayed, mediated and exerted through visual art. But to what extent have women been packaged to fit a male template? And how much have they been able to control their own image? In today’s episode, which was originally recorded as a live event at Sotheby’s in London, Sotheby’s specialist Holly Braine was joined by Britain’s best known classicist Mary Beard f...

In this episode, art historian Katy Hessel is joined by former National Gallery London curator Letizia Treves and Sotheby’s Edoardo Roberti for a conversation about the pioneering 17th-century artist Artemisia Gentileschi, whose work – in which she painted subjects that were traditionally the preserve of male artists, and intended for the male gaze – has inspired some of the greatest female artist...

The idea of the artist’s muse conjures up a glamorous but passive woman portrayed by a male artist. Yet many women who are commonly identified as muses have been talents in their own right; they are creatively inspired as well as sources of inspiration for others. In this episode, photographer Mary McCartney, Golden Lion prize-winning artist Sonia Boyce, and the Daily Telegraph’s fashion director...

Marina Abramović is one of our greatest living artists: an art world icon and a performance art pioneer. In 2023, Marina presented her solo exhibition After Life at the Royal Academy and  became the first female artist in the institution’s 250-year history to fill the entire gallery space with her art. Will Gompertz was joined by Sotheby’s Marina Ruiz Colomer and Marina Abramović for a conversatio...

In this episode, which was originally recorded as a live event, we are joined by two literary icons for a conversation about the beloved 19th-century novelist Jane Austen. Helen Fielding is the creator of the multi-million selling Bridget Jones novels and films, and Gill Hornby is the author of the bestselling Miss Austen, and The Story of Jane Austen. Along with Dr. Kalika Sands, a specialist fro...

Human beings have been making visual depictions of human life for tens of thousands of years. Fascination with our own likeness is one of the great constants of human history – and the portrait has long been the focus of that fascination. What can portraits tell us about the world? And what can they tell us about ourselves? In today’s episode – originally recorded live in Sotheby’s in the week tha...

In this episode, art historian and broadcaster Carrie Scott is joined by Turner Prize-winning artist and activist Lubaina Himid, writer Lauren Elkin and Head of Modern and Contemporary African Art at Sotheby’s Hannah O’Leary for a conversation exploring modern city life from the perspective of female artists. This podcast was originally a live event, time to highlight the touring exhibition Found...

There has never been a better time than now for women working in art, fashion and design. But female artists, gallerists, and collectors have always shaped taste, pushed patriarchal boundaries, and challenged orthodoxies to find ways of expressing themselves and championing the work of others. In this episode, originally recorded as a live event, Will Gompertz was joined at Sotheby’s in London by...

Julianne Moore is one of our greatest living actors: an Academy and Emmy award winner, and the first American woman to be awarded top acting prizes at the Cannes, Berlin and Venice film festivals. She is also an avid collector. In this episode, Julianne joins curator and author Glenn Adamson, curator Dakin Hart, gallerist Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand, and Sotheby’s Florent Jeanniard, for a conversation...

Edvard Munch pioneered Expressionism and embraced life’s most painful experiences to create art: his pursuit of emotional truth changed art forever. Tracey Emin, who has been a major figure in contemporary art for more than 25 years, has always been fascinated by the Norwegian master and, in 2021, she exhibited 25 of her own works alongside Munch’s oils and watercolours at the Royal Academy. In th...

In this episode, originally recorded at Sotheby’s in London, award-winning singer-songwriter Celeste is joined by Sotheby’s Helena Newman for a conversation about female surrealist artists, including Leonor Fini and Leonora Carrington, and the profound impact that their work – and the surrealism movement more broadly – has had on design and culture over the decades.  To see the works discussed in...

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...

For several years and more than a thousand miles, celebrated travel writer Robert Macfarlane has been following the vast network of old paths and routes that criss-cross Britain and its waters, looking at their connections to countries and continents beyond.  In this event, recorded at the Tabernacle in London On the 12th of June 2012, Macfarlane tells us his enthralling accounts of the ghosts and...

New from Intelligence Squared. Introducing VS, 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. Tune i...

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 2...

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 Beeth...

To mark the passing of one of Britain's most celebrated writers, we’re replaying an event recorded with us in November 2020. Martin Amis was often called the Mick Jagger of the British book world. As famous for his love affairs, his friendships and his complicated family history as for his dazzling prose, he dominated the literary scene for decades.  In this exclusive Intelligence Squared event, m...

This week we bring you an episode from one of our sister podcasts, How I Found My Voice, where host Samira Ahmed speaks to the incredible Gloria Estefan - Grammy award-winning singer, international superstar, and survivor of both political and physical adversity. From fleeing Cuba as a young child to selling over 120 million records worldwide, Gloria's journey is truly awe-inspiring. Discover how...

In this historic event, Stephen Fry and other friends of Christopher Hitchens came together to celebrate the life and work of this great writer, iconoclast and debater. Fry was joined on stage by Richard Dawkins and the two discussed Hitch’s unflinching commitment to the truth. Hollywood actor Sean Penn was beamed in from LA and, between cigarette puffs, read from Hitch’s acclaimed work, The Trial...

Steven Pinker is one of the world’s leading authorities on language, mind and human nature. A professor of psychology at Harvard, he is the bestselling author of eight books and regularly appears in lists of the world’s top 100 thinkers. In 2014 he returned to the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss his latest publication 'The Sense of Style', a short and entertaining writing guide for the 21st...