Intelligence Squared

For this episode we’re heading back to the Poetry Pharmacy – a health-check for both mind and spirit – brought to you by poetry publisher, advocate and founder of the Forward Prizes for Poetry, William Sieghart. It’s not our first visit. Regular listeners may have enjoyed our previous two Poetry Pharmacy events, in which Sieghart and a host of acting talent explored the power of words to help us m...

The poet, writer and activist Benjamin Zephaniah sadly passed away this week, aged 65. In this archive discussion from 2019, journalist Samira Ahmed speaks with Zephaniah about his life's work and the journey that took him from his youth in Birmingham to becoming one of the UK's most distinct and relevant voices harnessing the power of poetry and the spoken word. Learn more about your ad choices....

In this episode from the Intelligence Squared archive, we jump back to 2019 for a discussion with the acclaimed food writer Michael Pollan, whose book How To Change Your Mind is a deep dive into the world of psychedelic exploration and what it can teach us about consciousness, addiction, depression and more. He was interviewed by the doctor and science broadcaster Xand Van Tulleken. If you'd like...

Michele Lamont is a Professor of Sociology and African and African American Studies at Harvard University, and a pioneer of cultural and comparative sociology. Her new book, Seeing Others: How to Redefine Worth in a Divided World, argues that we have lived for too long with the neoliberal idea that our worth is defined by our wealth and our achievements and calls for a new way of thinking about ho...

Taylor Lorenz is a writer, tech journalist and columnist for the Washington Post. Her new book is is Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence and Power on the Internet. The book tells the often messy and constantly evolving story of social media and the creator economy that's been building since the early 2000s to the present day. Host of this conversation is Conor Boyle, Senior Produ...

Paul Caruana Galizia is an award-winning journalist and now author. His new book is A Death in Malta, which tells the story of the life and death of his mother, the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated by a car bomb on the island of Malta in 2017. Joining Paul in conversation is the journalist and historian Anne Applebaum. She is staff writer for the Atlantic and a...

For episode three of Intelligence Squared's new podcast exploring Saudi Arabia's pursuit of global influence, award winning author and journalist James Montague, who focuses on the intersection of football and politics, explains the eye-watering sums of money Saudi Arabia is spending on sport and why the reasons for this are not as obvious as they might seem. Montague has reported from over 80 cou...

What are the true origins of gendered oppression? Why does gender inequality persist despite efforts for change? What part do we all play in keeping patriarchal structures alive? In Summer 2023 award-winning science journalist Angela Saini came to Intelligence Squared to address these questions and challenge long-held beliefs about gender and power. In conversation with acclaimed zoologist Lucy Co...

For this episode, we’re revisiting one of our favourite events from the past few years, The Poetry Pharmacy Returns. Back in 2019, we gathered a stellar line-up to celebrate the power of poetry all thanks to the vision of publisher William Sieghart. Sieghart’s Poetry Pharmacy books look to use the written word as a healing antidote to many of life’s everyday challenges. Sieghart will be returning...

In summer 2023, academic and politician Faiza Shaheen came to Intelligence Squared to argue that social mobility is collapsing in Britain and the government’s leveling up strategy does not work. Drawing from her recent book Know Your Place she discussed the ways in which inequality has continued to widen across various domains, from education to healthcare. She offered a manifesto for how we can r...

In this episode, Kamal Ahmed is joined by two bestselling authors: a life designer and a behavioural scientist to discuss the tools and insights that we can use to build happy and healthy lives. A mechanical engineer by training, Dave Evans teaches the overwhelmingly popular Designing Your Life courses at Stanford, and is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller Designing Your Life: How to B...

In this excerpt from Intelligence Squared's new podcast, The Saudi Project, Quinn Slobodian, author of Crack-Up Capitalism and Professor of History at Wellesley College, discusses how the development of cities like Dubai and countries like Qatar are influencing the Saudi economy and the huge projects the country is spending its money on. This episode was hosted and produced by Conor Boyle. If you'...

For the first episode of Intelligence Squared's new podcast, The Saudi Project, Saudi Arabian professor of social anthropology and author of Salman's Legacy: The Dilemmas of a New Era in Saudi Arabia, Madawi Al-Rasheed, joins Senior Producer Conor Boyle. She explains the foundations of the Saudi state and how two key factors – religion and oil – shaped the kingdom. Search for The Saudi Project whe...

This is Part Two of a three-episode discussion. Who gets to win power and how do they keep it – and lose it? These are the questions that Mary Beard and Rory Stewart addressed when they came to Intelligence Squared on in November 2023. Beard, Britain’s best known classicist, has won legions of fans through her enthusiasm for the ancient world and her exploration of our cultural assumptions about p...

Who gets to win power and how do they keep it – and lose it? These are the questions that Mary Beard and Rory Stewart addressed when they came to Intelligence Squared on in November 2023. Beard, Britain’s best known classicist, has won legions of fans through her enthusiasm for the ancient world and her exploration of our cultural assumptions about powerful women, as depicted in her bestseller Wom...

Helen Fielding, creator of the Bridget Jones novels and films, and Gill Hornby, author of the bestseller Miss Austen, join Sotheby’s books specialist Kalika Sands and novelist Kate Mosse for a conversation in partnership with Sotheby's and held at Sotheby’s in London about the enduring appeal of the 19th-century novelist Jane Austen. Fielding explains that when it came to turning her newspaper col...

Robin Lane Fox, the classicist, ancient historian and also green-fingered gardening writer, discusses his most recent book: Homer and His Iliad. The Iliad, and epic poem written by the ancient Greek poet, Homer, has been a constant source of inspiration and reinterpretation for historians and writers over the centuries. Fox is an expert in Greek and Roman history and is Emeritus Fellow of New Coll...

For this episode, Yascha Mounk, the writer and political scientist discusses his recent book The Identity Trap, which explores what Mounk refers to as the modern world’s counterproductive obsession with group identity in all its forms. Joining Mounk in conversation is writer Tomiwa Owolade, author of the book This is Not America.  Want the hear the full extended conversation right now? Become a su...

Can we love the art of monstrous men? Can we truly separate the art from the artist? To answer these questions author and critic Claire Dederer came to Intelligence Squared to discuss the debate, which is the topic of her recent book: Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma. Our host for the this episode is acclaimed writer Lisa Taddeo, author of Three Women.  Want the hear the full extended conversation right...

The Government has introduced new legislation requiring annual rounds of oil and gas licensing in the North Sea. What is the relationship between licensing policy and the energy transition?  In the third instalment of the new podcast series from Intelligence Squared, Tides of Transformation: An Oil Story, produced in partnership with the Fraying Ties? project, Gavin Bridge from Durham University a...

In the final instalment of POWER TRIP, Carl Miller is looking towards the future and asking: will it be as dystopian as many fear? The difference between a well-trained algorithm and human emotional sophistication is still vast but as technology learns to mimic humanity, Carl learns that our perceptions of what feels human enough are evolving too. Featuring Henry Ajder, Generative AI & Deepfakes E...

Academic, activist and author Kehinde Andrews is Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University. His books include Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century and Resisting Racism: Race, Inequality and the Black Supplementary School Movement. His latest is The Psychosis of Whiteness, which explores why society cannot face up to the racism at its heart and in its histor...

For almost 40 years, the Parthenon Marbles, or Elgin Marbles as they are also known, have been at the centre of the great restitution debate. Taken from Greece in contested circumstances by Lord Elgin in the 19th century, the marble sculptures that were part of the Parthenon and other structures on the Acropolis are housed in the British Museum. UK law prevents the museum from giving away objects...

Is China’s ascendance to world leadership an unstoppable force or a challenge we can overcome? Axios reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian's recent book, Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized Its Economy to Confront the World, looks to help answer that question. For several decades Chinese ascendancy has been supported by an astonishingly broad and deep portfolio of quiet coercion. The stories are breat...

Can AI be controlled? In this episode Carl Miller discovers what governments and governing bodies are doing to ensure AI is evolving in a way that can benefit society. Law and regulation look to balance safety and innovation – but are they at odds with one another? Will nations regulating with a light touch speed ahead in the global AI arms race? Featuring Darren Jones MP Chair of the Commons busi...