After the Conservative Party’s victory in the general election, it now looks likely that David Cameron will follow through on his promise to hold an in/out referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union by the end of 2017. Although Cameron himself would prefer the UK to remain a member, there is now a serious possibility of ‘Brexit’, particularly given the rise of UKIP and a general disillusionment with the EU among many voters across the political spectrum. Euroscepticism has re-emerge...
Dec 18, 2015•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 1
Dr Michael Fitzpatrick discusses public health's war on our bad habits. In the run up to Christmas, the season of excess and indulgence, Rob Lyons and David Bowden are joined by writer and retired GP Michael Fitzpatrick to discuss the ever increasing curbs on our ability to eat, drink, smoke and be merry.
Dec 11, 2015•33 min•Ep. 1
Listen to the team discuss the Paris attacks, bombing Syria and the climate change talks In this week’s Podcast of Ideas Rob Lyons, Claire Fox and David Bowden discuss the aftermath of the Paris attacks, intervention in Syria, Jeremy Corbyn’s embattled position as Labour leader and this week’s UN climate change conference .
Dec 01, 2015•28 min•Ep. 1
When Jeremy Corbyn went from being the token lefty candidate for Labour leader to the favourite to lead the party this summer, it became clear that the old assumptions no longer apply. But while the ‘Corbyn Wave’ appeared to be something new, there was an unmistakable paradox in the fact that the man of the moment had been hiding in plain sight at Westminster since 1983. So is he a blast from the past or a harbinger of things to come? Some suggest his rise represents a momentous shift to the lef...
Nov 27, 2015•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 1
Listen to the special Battle of Ideas satellite put on in Stockholm in the wake of the Paris attacks At last weekend’s series of Battle of Idea Satellite debates in Stockholm an impromptu session was held in response to last Fridays terror attacks in Paris. Speakers Isobel Hadley-Kamptz author and journalist Kashif Mahmood Virk imam, Stockholm Ahmmadiyya congregation Brendan O’Neill editor, spiked Chair Rob Lyons science and technology director, Institute of Ideas...
Nov 20, 2015•25 min•Ep. 1
Listen to this session from the International Battles strand of the recent Battle of Ideas festival In the past few years, the Middle East has undergone serious convulsions, from the collapse of Iraq to the Arab Spring, the Syrian war and the Saudi-led bombardment of Yemen. The spread of Islamic State has wiped out one hundred-year-old borders in a matter of months, with large areas of Iraq and Syria now part of those countries only in name. America’s interest and power in the region seems to wa...
Nov 16, 2015•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 1
Nov 09, 2015•8 min•Ep. 1
In recent years, the popularity of e-cigarettes has exploded. They have been celebrated by many as being the greatest aid to smoking cessation ever invented, with even the anti-smoking group ASH giving them grudging approval. E-cigarettes do not contain the tar and toxins that make cigarettes harmful, but as this is a relatively new technology, some argue we cannot be sure of their long-term effects on people’s health. And even if they do turn out to be harmless, detractors worry they will ‘reno...
Nov 06, 2015•54 min•Ep. 1
Debate at the Battle of Ideas 2015 (http://www.battleofideas.org.uk) With the rise of fantasy and sci-fi, geek culture is now mainstream. Yet trailing its success has come vicious infighting amongst fans. 'Gamergate' moved quickly from a dispute between game developers and journalists to a row over gamers' attitudes towards women. Dr Matt Taylor's choice of a bawdy shirt overshadowed his work in landing the Philae lander on a comet. The rise of social media has led to 'calling people out', harne...
Oct 30, 2015•35 min•Ep. 1
Trigger warning: 'If you're easily offended you really shouldn't come.' - Claire Fox With just a few days to go before the Institute’s annual Battle of Ideas at the Barbican in London, Rob Lyons, Claire Fox and David Bowden get together to talk about what makes the festival unique and why it’s an unapologetically unsafe space where ideas are fought over and contested, as well as discussing some of the sessions they’re looking forward to most. To find out more about this weekend’s festival and bu...
Oct 13, 2015•19 min•Ep. 1
Listen to the introductory remarks from last week's Battle of Ideas satellite in Amsterdam We are living longer, healthier and richer lifes than ever before. These trends have already spread to billions of people in poorer countries. But are the costs of all this progress beginning to outweigh the benefits? Greens worry that the Earth cannot sustain our desire for more, more, more. Do their worries halt progress? Some believe that environmental concerns have gone too far, putting a brake on grow...
Oct 07, 2015•33 min•Ep. 30
Listen to the introductory remarks from this week's Battle of Ideas satellite at the House of St. Barnabas in London The announcement that the UK population grew last year by half a million – roughly the population of Edinburgh – has provoked much discussion about whether the country will cope with an increasing demand on resources. With half that rise coming from migration rather than births, there have been inevitable calls to impose tougher limitations on who can move to this country, heighte...
Oct 02, 2015•24 min•Ep. 29
Podcast: Rob Lyons speaks to Dr Shirley Lawes about the state of French politics and society The world’s spotlight fell on France early this year with the attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo. The subsequent wave of solidarity, which rallied France around the slogan ‘Je suis Charlie’, was heralded by many as a bold reassertion of the nation’s commitment to the liberal values of the French Revolution. Indeed, Voltaire’s ‘Treatise on Tolerance’ climbed to the top of France’s bestseller list in ...
Sep 30, 2015•11 min•Ep. 28
Rob Lyons speaks to Sandy Starr about the history of eugenics and whether the term is useful today Using techniques like mitochondrial donation - ‘three-person IVF’ - we can alter genes to resolve congenital medical conditions. Other techniques that change our heritable characteristics will follow. But such developments often inspire resistance: the ability to manipulate our germlines is sometimes described as ‘eugenics’, invoking the horrors of Nazi racial policies, although the term was coined...
Sep 25, 2015•10 min•Ep. 27
Listen to the opening remarks from the Battle of Ideas launch event at the Barbican in London London has, by most accounts, emerged as one of the premier cities of the twenty-first century: firmly established as a global hub for finance, technology and culture. Yet there have been growing anxieties about the effect rising inequality levels are having on the city and its inhabitants. Soaring private rental prices and strain on social housing have fuelled fears about gentrification driving out lon...
Sep 18, 2015•27 min•Ep. 26
Rob Lyons speaks to philosopher Piers Benn about the nature of happiness and why it has become a Government policy objective in recent years.
Sep 16, 2015•13 min•Ep. 25
In this week's Podcast of Ideas Rob Lyons, Claire Fox and David Bowden discuss the week's news, including the migrant crisis and the drone assassinations of two British Jihadis in the Islamic State.
Sep 11, 2015•27 min•Ep. 24
In this week’s Podcast of Ideas, Rob Lyons, Claire Fox and David Bowden discuss the murder of two journalists on live television by a disgruntled former colleague in the United States, and the latest tragic events in the ongoing European migration crisis. Rob talks to Martyn Perks about the growing fears about the role of artificial intelligence and robots in society in everything from manufacturing to warfare, and why a machine could never become truly human, ahead of his session at the upcomin...
Aug 28, 2015•40 min•Ep. 22
Discussion of the news, race and policing in America and Immanuel Kant In this edition of the Podcast of Ideas, Rob Lyons, Claire Fox and Dave Bowden discuss the big stories of the past few weeks, including the scandal at Kid’s Company, doping in sport and the row over falling milk prices. Rob speaks to Jean Smith from the New York Salon about race and policing in America ahead of her session on the subject at the Battle of Ideas, and we have Steve Murphy’s mini lecture from the Institute’s rece...
Aug 14, 2015•51 min•Ep. 1
In this edition of the Podcast of Ideas Rob Lyons, Claire Fox and Dave Bowden discuss the big stories of the last few weeks including the rise of Jeremy Corbyn, the fall of Lord Sewell, the Ashley Madison leak, David Cameron's miguided strategy for tackling ISIS and the Brighton smoking ban.
Jul 31, 2015•26 min•Ep. 1
Highlights from the AOI's Justice Money Power debates at the City of London Festival In this week’s podcast we here some of the most informative and inspiring speeches from the Institute’s recent Justice, Money and Power debates at the City of London Festival, including chairman of the Night Time Industry Association’s Alan Miller’s defence of the night-time economy as a force for societal good at our Fight For Your Right To Party debate at the Bishopsgate Institute. Economist Phil Mullan gives ...
Jul 17, 2015•37 min•Ep. 1
In this week’s Podcast of Ideas, Rob speaks to Greg Lukianoff from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) about the fight for freedom of speech on US campuses amid an increasingly intolerant climate. Following the Institute’s inaugural University in One Day this week, we hear Sebastian Morello’s mini-lecture from the event on why Pico della Mirandola’s 1486 Oration on the Dignity of Man is a foundational work for humanist thought. David Bowden and Adam Rawcliffe come in to give...
Jul 03, 2015•43 min•Ep. 1
In this week’s Podcast of Ideas, Rob Lyons and David Bowden dissect the week’s news including the pope’s encyclical on climate change, the Rachel Dolezal fiasco and the oppressive licensing laws killing off the nation’s nightlife. Professor Alan Hudson talks about University in One Day, the Institute’s new initiative for sixth formers, and why the Renaissance matters. Jason Smith tells us about next week’s Debating Matters National Final, and we hear some of the highlights from the recent Birmin...
Jun 19, 2015•34 min•Ep. 1
Jun 05, 2015•31 min•Ep. 1
In official terms, ‘the vulnerable’ used to be narrowly defined by the 1995 Care Commission report as referring to people in extreme circumstances, like the homeless, or those unable to look after themselves mentally or physically. Today, however, it is the term of choice to describe anyone and everyone deemed to be in need of sympathy, especially those hit by government cuts – ‘a savage attack on the most vulnerable members of our society’, etc - but also much more widely. The unemployed are vu...
May 29, 2015•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 1
May 22, 2015•34 min•Ep. 1
May 08, 2015•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 1
May 01, 2015•48 min•Ep. 30
Apr 24, 2015•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 29
In this edition of the Podcast of Ideas, Rob Lyons talks to Alastair Donald from the Future Cities Project about what can be done to solve the UK's housing crisis and barrister Jon Holbrook comes in to tell us why he would scrap the Human Rights Act. Rob also talks to Dr Fiona McEwen from King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry on new research, which appears to show that autism is largely caused by genetic and not environmental factors, members of the Institute of Ideas team give us thei...
Apr 17, 2015•41 min•Ep. 28
