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Intelligence Squared

Intelligence Squaredwww.intelligencesquared.com
Intelligence Squared is the home of lively debate and deep-dive discussion. Follow Intelligence Squared wherever you get your podcasts and enjoy four regular episodes per week taking you to the heart of the issues that matter in the company of the world’s great minds. 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 podcasts@intelligencesquared.com 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.
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Episodes

The New Long Life: Flourishing in a Changing World, with Lynda Gratton and Andrew J Scott

If we live to 100, will we ever really stop working? And how will an aging society change the way we love, manage and learn from others? In this week's episode Andrew J Scott and Lynda Gratton speak to Tom Whipple about their book 'The New Long Life: A Framework for Flourishing in a Changing World' and how we can navigate the challenges ahead. Find out more about the book here: https://amzn.to/3haErJV. ------------------------------ Intelligence Squared+. The world's best speakers. Your question...

Jun 09, 202053 min

Anand Giridharadas on Capitalism in the Time of Corona

In his 2019 book Winners Take All, Anand Giridharadas launched a searing attack on the global elites. Now he turns his thoughts to the post-pandemic world. Is the crisis an opportunity to create a more egalitarian society? How can the powerful be prevented from exploiting the situation to further entrench their advantages? And could this moment be an opportunity to reinvent the relationship between the citizen, the market and the state? Anand spoke to Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the RSA. ...

Jun 05, 20201 hr

The Passion Economy with Adam Davidson and Hugo Lindgren

Are the middle classes really dying off? Will robots really take our jobs? Contrary to common belief Adam Davidson argues the twenty-first-century economic paradigm offers new ways of making money, fresh paths toward professional fulfillment, and unprecedented opportunities for curious, ambitious individuals to combine the things they love with their careers. His new book 'The Passion Economy: The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century' is available to buy now: https://amzn.to/2MnbVX...

Jun 02, 20201 hr 5 min

Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection, with Dr Vivek Murthy and Ros Urwin

In this week's episode former Surgeon General of the United States, Dr Vivek Murthy speaks to Ros Urwin about how he discovered first hand how loneliness lies behind some of our greatest personal and societal challenges, from anxiety and depression to addiction and violence. To find out more and buy Dr Murthy's new book 'Together: Loneliness, Health and What Happens When We Find Connection' click here: https://amzn.to/3ckrolG. ---------------------------------------------- Intelligence Squared+....

May 29, 202057 min

Nervous States: How Feeling Took Over the World, with Will Davies and Carl Miller

Why do so many of us no longer trust experts, facts and statistics? Why has politics become so fractious and warlike? And how can the history of ideas help us understand our present? In this episode Professor Will Davies, author of Nervous States: How Feeling Took Over The World speaks to Carl Miller about the long history of how societies based on facts and reason were built and why they are now unravelling before our eyes. You can buy Will's book at: https://bit.ly/3gqNCp6. -------------------...

May 26, 202055 min

Putting Peer Pressure to Work with Robert H Frank and Linda Yueh

In this week's episode Robert H. Frank, author of 'Under the Influence: Putting Peer Pressure to Work' speaks to Linda Yueh about how our social environments influence our behaviour more than we think. They discuss why behaviours from smoking to cheating are largely products of social environments and how we can use this understanding to direct human behaviour toward choices we make for the benefit of everyone. Find out more about the book here: https://bit.ly/2Zut3SS ---------------------------...

May 22, 202047 min

No Visible Bruises: Why What we don't know about domestic violence can kill, with Rachel Louise Snyder

In this week's episode award-winning journalist Rachel Louise Snyder speaks to Helen Lewis about some common misconceptions about domestic violence: that it happens to an unlucky few; that it's a matter of poor choices; that if things are dire enough, victims will leave. Her perception changed when she began talking to the victims and perpetrators whose stories she tells in this episode and her book 'No Visible Bruises: what we don't know about domestic violence can kill us.' To find out more ab...

May 19, 202053 min

The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West, with David Kilcullen and Carl Miller

In this episode, leading soldier-scholar David Kilcullen speaks to Carl Miller about how the West’s opponents have learned from twenty-first-century conflict and explains how their cutting-edge tactics and adaptability pose a serious threat to America and its allies, disabling the West’s military advantage. Click here to find out more about David's book 'The Dragons and The Snakes': https://bit.ly/3fQrOTD. ------------------------- Intelligence Squared+. The world's best speakers. Your questions...

May 14, 202056 min

The Classical School, with Callum Williams and Linda Yueh

Intelligence Squared+. The world's best speakers. Your questions. £4.99 per month. Intelligence Squared+ will bring you live, interactive events every week on our new online platform. Just like at our real-life events, you’ll be able to put your questions to our speakers, vote in live polls and interact with other members of the audience. Your subscription will give you access to multiple events featuring the world’s top thinkers and opinion formers, including Thomas Piketty, Margaret Atwood, Cl...

May 12, 202049 min

The Corona Crash: How Bad Will It Be? With Mark Blyth and Anne McElvoy

Intelligence Squared+. The world's best speakers. Your questions. £4.99 per month. Intelligence Squared+ will bring you live, interactive events every week on our new online platform. Just like at our real-life events, you’ll be able to put your questions to our speakers, vote in live polls and interact with other members of the audience. Your subscription will give you access to multiple events featuring the world’s top thinkers and opinion formers, including Thomas Piketty, Margaret Atwood, Cl...

May 08, 202053 min

The Great Slowdown and Why It's Good, with Danny Dorling and Linda Yueh

Intelligence Squared+. The world's best speakers. Your questions. £4.99 per month. Intelligence Squared+ will bring you live, interactive events every week on our new online platform. Just like at our real-life events, you’ll be able to put your questions to our speakers, vote in live polls and interact with other members of the audience. Your subscription will give you access to multiple events featuring the world’s top thinkers and opinion formers, including Thomas Piketty, Margaret Atwood, Cl...

May 05, 20201 hr 2 min

Abolish Silicon Valley, with Wendy Liu and Carl Miller

Intelligence Squared+. The world's best speakers. Your questions. £4.99 per month. Intelligence Squared+ will bring you live, interactive events every week on our new online platform. Just like at our real-life events, you’ll be able to put your questions to our speakers, vote in live polls and interact with other members of the audience. Your subscription will give you access to multiple events featuring the world’s top thinkers and opinion formers, including Thomas Piketty, Margaret Atwood, Cl...

May 01, 202053 min

Ultras: Among The World's Most Extreme Fans, with James Montague and Ros Urwin

Ultras are football fans like no others. A hugely visible and controversial part of the sporting game. This movement of extreme fandom and politics is also one of the largest youth movements in the world. In this episode, James Montague, author of '1312: Among the Ultras: A journey with the world's most extreme fans' speaks to Ros Urwin about how the movement began and how it grew to become a global phenomenon that now dominates stadiums across the world. Support this show http://supporter.acast...

Apr 29, 202049 min

Coronavirus and the Stats: Your Questions Answered

Feeling confused by all the data and metrics about coronavirus that are flying around? In this episode, Britain’s most eminent statistician David Spiegelhalter, biometrics expert Sheila Bird, and the American scientist John Ioannidis, who has written that Covid-19 ‘might be a one-in-a-century evidence fiasco’. The conversation is chaired by Anne McElvoy of The Economist. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. ...

Apr 23, 20201 hr 1 min

Who We Listen To And Who We Don't, with Stephen Martin, Joseph Marks and Helen Lewis

Why are self-confident ignoramuses so often believed? Why are thoughtful experts so often given the cold shoulder? And why do apparently irrelevant details such as a person’s height, their relative wealth, or their Facebook photo influence whether or not we trust what they are saying? In this episode we are joined by Stephen Martin and Joseph Marks, behavioural scientists and authors of Messengers: Who We Listen To, Who We Don't, And Why, in conversation with Helen Lewis of The Atlantic. Support...

Apr 21, 202035 min

Coronavirus and the Economy: Your Questions Answered

What will the long-term economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic be? For the fourth in a new series of interactive events from Intelligence Squared - Coronavirus: Your Questions Answered - we brought together a panel of leading experts in a free live online event to examine how Covid-19 will affect the economy around the world. How deep and long-lasting is the upcoming recession likely to be? Will the pandemic exacerbate inequality? Will we ever go back to business as usual or is the crisis a...

Apr 17, 20201 hr 5 min

Hype, Smoke and Mirrors, with Gemma Milne and Carl Miller

Hype has a dark side. It can mislead, distract and blinker us from seeing what is actually going on. In this episode we are joined by Gemma Milne, tech journalist and author of Smoke and Mirrors: How Hype Obscures the Future and How to See Past It, in conversation with Carl Miller of the think tank Demos. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoice...

Apr 14, 202056 min

Coronavirus and Global Politics: Your Questions Answered

The coronavirus pandemic threatens to remake the world's political systems. But how exactly? In the third in a new series of interactive events from Intelligence Squared - Coronavirus: Your Questions Answered - we brought together a panel of leading commentators in a free live online event to examine how the crisis will affect politics around the world. Does the pandemic hail the return of big government? Will it prove to us that the globalised economy has gone too far, leaving us with dangerous...

Apr 10, 20201 hr 11 min

The Unravelling of the Modern Middle East, with Kim Ghattas and Brian Klaas

It all started in 1979. According to Kim Ghattas, the former BBC journalist and author of Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Rivalry That Unravelled the Middle East, this was the pivotal year that kickstarted a forty-year rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia, plunging the Middle East in turmoil. In this episode of the podcast, she examined this fascinating period of history with UCL political scientist Brian Klaas. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared . See acast...

Apr 07, 202041 min

Mind, Matter and Meaning, with Brian Greene and Tom Whipple

In both time and space, the cosmos is astoundingly vast, and yet is governed by simple, elegant, universal mathematical laws. In this episode we are joined by Brian Greene, theoretical physicist and author of Until The End of Time, in conversation with Tom Whipple, science editor of The Times. They discuss quantum mechanics, consciousness and how life and mind emerged from the chaos of the universe's beginning. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared . See acast.com/priv...

Apr 03, 202044 min

Coronavirus: Your Questions Answered

How can we protect ourselves from coronavirus? How long will the current situation last? Why has the death rate been so high in Italy? And why have some other countries apparently been more successful at reducing the spread of the virus? This episode is from a live online event that we staged on Friday March 27, and it features science broadcaster Xand Van Tulleken, epidemiologist David Heymann, economist Linda Yueh and disease control expert Bharat Pankhania. Stay tuned for more information abo...

Mar 31, 20201 hr 12 min

Coronavirus and Morality: Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Ritula Shah in conversation

The UK's former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks appears in this special episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast, recorded remotely while he self-isolates in his home. In an in-depth discussion with the BBC's Ritula Shah, he discusses how our society can restore its sense of morality and the common good during the coronavirus pandemic. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Mar 27, 202049 min

A Century of Conflict, with Rashid Khalidi and Jonathan Freedland

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been raging for decades, with seemingly no end in sight. In this episode, we are joined by Rashid Khalidi, Palestinian-American historian and Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University. He is the author of a new book, titled The Hundred Years' War On Palestine, and in this episode he appears in conversation with The Guardian's Jonathan Freedland for a challenging examination of his perspective on the conflict. Support this show http://suppor...

Mar 24, 20201 hr 9 min

Radical Uncertainty, with Mervyn King, John Kay and Jesse Norman

In these incredibly uncertain times, we're exploring the concept of 'radical uncertainty' in this episode with Mervyn King, the former Governor of the Bank of England, alongside renowned economist John Kay and Jesse Norman MP. Mervyn and John are the co-authors of a new book titled Radical Uncertainty: Decision-Making Beyond the Numbers, and in this episode they discuss the most successful - and most short-sighted - methods of dealing with an unknowable future using history, mathematics, economi...

Mar 20, 202055 min

Kate Murphy and Ros Urwin on the Importance of Listening

When was the last time you listened to someone, or someone really listened to you? At work, we’re taught to lead the conversation. On social media, we shape our personal narratives. At parties, we talk over one another. So do our politicians. We’re not listening. And no one is listening to us. This episode features Kate Murphy, the New York Times contributor and bestselling author of You're Not Listening, in conversation with Ros Urwin of the Sunday Times, on the importance of listening to us as...

Mar 17, 202049 min

Eighty Is The New Thirty: A Guide To Getting Older, PART 1

We tend to associate old age with deterioration, especially of our mental powers and memory. But today we are seeing a new cohort of the so-called young-old, people in their sixties, seventies and beyond, who are still healthy, active and fully engaged with life. Neuroscientist and bestselling author Daniel Levitin is at the forefront of research to find out how to lead a long and healthy life and in 2020 he came to the Intelligence Squared to share the findings of his book The Changing Mind: A ...

Mar 13, 202024 min

One Of Them, with Michael Cashman and Razia Iqbal

Michael Cashman has been an actor, a politician and one of the pioneers of the struggle for LGBT equality in the UK. He is the author of a new book titled One Of Them: From Albert Square to Parliament Square and in this episode of the podcast he was interviewed by Razia Iqbal of the BBC on his fascinating life and career, as well as the stirring history of the British LGBT rights movement. Photo: Nikki Powell Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared . See acast.com/privac...

Mar 10, 202044 min

Difficult Women: The Defining Fights of Feminism, with Helen Lewis and Caroline Criado Perez

In this episode of the Intelligence Squared podcast we are joined by Helen Lewis, staff writer for the Atlantic, who claims that too many pioneers of women’s rights have been whitewashed or forgotten because society likes its heroines to be cuddly and safe. Lewis believes it’s time to reclaim the history of feminism as a history of difficult women, and on Tuesday February 25 she came to the Intelligence Squared stage to set out the arguments of her new book, Difficult Women: A History of Feminis...

Mar 06, 20201 hr 3 min

Why Myanmar Matters, with Thant Myint-U and Ros Urwin

In this episode we are joined by Thant Myint-U, the Burmese historian, former adviser to the President of Myanmar, and author of The Hidden History of Burma: Race, Capitalism, and the Crisis of Democracy in the 21st Century. In this podcast, Thant explores the fascinating history of Myanmar, and how after a promising period of hope following the end of military rule, the country spiralled into horrific intercommunal violence with the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees. Photo cr...

Mar 03, 202052 min

Armando Iannucci, Jess Phillips and Jan Ravens on Satire in an Age of Absurdity

Has satire lost its power in this new world of fake news and ‘alternative facts’ - when our leaders lie so blatantly and frequently, and still manage to get away with it? Or is humour a more important tool than ever to hold those in power to account? We were joined by celebrated comedy writer and producer Armando Iannucci, Labour MP Jess Phillips, and satirist and impressionist Jan Ravens to unpack these questions live on stage at the Union chapel in London. The event was chaired by journalist, ...

Feb 28, 20201 hr 5 min
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