Jo Marchant and Helen Czerski take us on a journey through humanity’s relationship with the heavens. The stars have shaped who we are - our religious beliefs, power structures, scientific advances and even our biology. But over the last few centuries we have separated ourselves from the universe that surrounds us. And that disconnect comes at a cost. To find out more about Jo Marchant’s book, The Human Cosmos, click here: http://bit.ly/humancosmos -------------------------- Intelligence Squared+...
Sep 18, 2020•55 min
At the end of World War II, the United States dominated the world militarily, economically, and in moral standing – seen as the victor over tyranny and a champion of freedom. But it was clear – to some – that the Soviet Union was already executing a plan to expand and foment revolution around the world. The American government’s strategy in response relied on the secret efforts of a newly-formed CIA. In this week's episode Scott Anderson joins us to discuss his new book 'The Quiet Americans' chr...
Sep 15, 2020•49 min
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared ------ One summer’s night in 1946, over 1,000 European Jews waited silently on an Italian beach to board a secret ship. They had survived Auschwitz, hidden and fought in forests and endured death marches—now they were taking on the Royal Navy, running the British blockade of Palestine. From Eastern Europe to Israel via Germany and Italy, Rosie Whitehouse speaks to Edward Lucas about her new book following the footsteps of those sec...
Sep 11, 2020•40 min
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared ------ We still talk about the British conquering India, but that phrase disguises a more sinister reality. For it was not the British government that began seizing chunks of India in the mid-18th century, as historian William Dalrymple points out, but a dangerously unregulated private company headquartered in one small office, five windows wide, in London, and managed in India by a violent, ruthless and mentally unstable corporate...
Sep 08, 2020•57 min
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared ------ In this week's episode we brought together two of Britain’s most esteemed experts on global pandemics to discuss what we got wrong about the virus and how we can learn from those mistakes going forward. Drawing on examples from history and scientific research, medical historian Mark Honigsbaum and former Chief Scientific Advisor to the U.K Government Sir David King, outlined the measures that need to be put in place, at both...
Sep 04, 2020•58 min
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared ------ Every week in England and Wales, two women are killed by a current or former partner. And still we ask the question: 'Why didn't she leave?' According to author award winning Jess Hill, we should be asking 'Why did he do it?' In this episode Hill speaks to Rosamund Urwin about the perpetrators of abuse and the systems that enable them. Her radical reframing of domestic abuse takes us beyond the home and explores some innovat...
Sep 01, 2020•41 min
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared ------ As Japan's longest serving premier, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, steps down due to health concerns, we examine his life and legacy in a special bonus episode. We were joined by Tobias Harris, author of the new book 'The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan' to discuss the story of Abe’s meteoric rise and stunning fall, his remarkable comeback, and his unlikely emergence as a global statesman laying the groundwork for Japan...
Aug 29, 2020•43 min
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared ------ Human beings, we’re taught, are by nature selfish and governed by self-interest. From Hobbes’ theory about the state of nature to Richard Dawkins’ ‘selfish gene’, the roots of this belief are deeply ingrained in Western thought. But historian Rutger Bregman believes we have got human nature wrong – and that deep down we are all pretty decent. On August 3 Bregman came to the Intelligence Squared to persuade us that it is real...
Aug 28, 2020•1 hr
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared ------ Democracy is in crisis, and unaccountable and untraceable flows of money are helping to destroy it. According to Peter Geoghegan, politicians lie gleefully, making wild claims that can be shared instantly with millions of people on social media. Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Jair Bolsonaro and populists in many other countries are the beneficiaries. This week Geoghegan speaks to Nick Cohen, columnist at the Observer, about th...
Aug 25, 2020•42 min
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared. -------- Race, class, gender. These are the categories that are commonly thought to define our lives. But Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson argues that ultimately the determining factor in societies is a more powerful, unspoken system of divisions: caste. On August 17 Wilkerson came to Intelligence Squared to talk about this hidden phenomenon, which she sets out in her acclaimed new book, Caste: The Lies That Divide U...
Aug 21, 2020•58 min
Ian Urbina, investigative reporter of The New York Times for 17 years returns to the podcast to discuss a new investigation, which he believes to uncover the largest known case of illegal fishing perpetrated by a single industrial fleet operating in another nation’s waters (a Chinese fleet of squid boats fishing in North Korean waters in violation of UN sanctions). He spoke to Rosamund Urwin about the case and why dead North Koreans were washing up on the shores of Japan. They also discussed the...
Aug 18, 2020•36 min
The division of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 into India and Pakistan saw millions uprooted and resulted in unspeakable violence. It happened far away, but it would shape modern Britain. In this week's episode Kavita Puri speaks to Rajini Vaidyanathan about how she tracked down and uncovered remarkable testimonies from former subjects of the Raj who are now British citizens - and persuaded them to break their silence. To find out more about Kavita Puri's book click here: https://www.bloomsbury...
Aug 14, 2020•50 min
As Covid-19 continues to suspend normal life across much of the globe, many commentators have argued the present moment offers a unique opening to re-imagine our societies and economic system. On this week's episode we delved into this topic with impact investor, Warren Valdmanis, and Michelle Meagher, founder of the inclusive Competition Forum, to discuss whether businesses can be a part of the solution to delivering social good in the age of Covid-19. The podcast was moderated by economist and...
Aug 11, 2020•37 min
In this week's podcast Nina Schick speaks to Carl Miller about the rise of Deepfakes and what she believes is an impending 'Infocalypse'. Advances in AI mean that by scanning images of a person (for example using Facebook), a powerful machine learning system can create new video images and place them in scenarios and situations which never actually happened. When combined with powerful voice AI, the results are utterly convincing. So-called 'Deep Fakes' are not only a real threat for democracy b...
Aug 07, 2020•46 min
There are few big thinkers better placed to explain the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic than historian Niall Ferguson. In addition to his profound understanding of past crises, since early March he has been meticulously collating and analysing data about the one we are facing now – tracking how the pandemic began, how we got to where we are today and extrapolating what the future is likely to hold. In this special podcast taken from an Intelligence Squared+ online event Ferguson tackled th...
Aug 04, 2020•59 min
In this week's episode world-leading privacy expert Ivana Bartoletti speaks about the reality behind the AI revolution, from the low-paid workers who train algorithms to recognise cancerous polyps, to the rise of data violence and the symbiotic relationship between AI and social media anger. She spoke to author and writer Yassmin Abdel-Maggied. To find out more about the book click here: https://amzn.to/2D8Rbl9. ------------------------------ Intelligence Squared+. The world's best speakers. You...
Jul 31, 2020•46 min
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of G.W.F. Hegel, Slavoj Žižek speaks to Shahidha Bari about the philosophical giant that changed our way of thinking about posthumanism. Together they investigate what he might have had to say about the idea of the 'singularity' and the 'wired brain' – what happens when a direct link between our mental processes and a digital machine emerges. For more information on Slavoj Zizek's new book, click here: https://bit.ly/3g8E15M ------------------...
Jul 28, 2020•43 min
In this rare public appearance together, chaired by the BBC’s Rajini Vaidyanathan, the former Labour prime minister Tony Blair and cabinet minister Andrew Adonis discussed how the man known as ‘the working-class John Bull’ grew to become one of this country’s greatest political leaders and what lessons can be learned from his legacy today for politics and crisis today. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Le...
Jul 24, 2020•48 min
Medicine, education, health, parenting – wherever it really matters, we look to science for guidance and answers. In this episode Stuart Ritchie discusses his new book 'Science Fictions' and reveals the disturbing flaws that undermine our understanding of all of these fields and more. He spoke to Tom Whipple the science editor at The Times and to find out more about the book click here: https://amzn.to/2OF9a4C. ------------------------------ Intelligence Squared+. The world's best speakers. Your...
Jul 21, 2020•45 min
Award-winning journalist and documentary-maker Jenny Kleeman takes us on a journey into the world of the people who are changing what it means to be human. Focusing on the central pillars of the human experience–birth, food, sex, and death. to find out more about the book click here: https://amzn.to/3ewD59X ------------------------------ Intelligence Squared+. The world's best speakers. Your questions. £4.99 per month. Intelligence Squared+ will bring you live, interactive events every week on o...
Jul 17, 2020•45 min
Why are measures of stress and anxiety on the rise, when economists and politicians tell us we have never had it so good? While statistics tell us that the vast majority of people are getting steadily richer the world most of us experience day-in and day-out feels increasingly uncertain, unfair, and ever more expensive. In this week's podcast Professor Mark Blyth and Eric Lonergan speak to economist and broadcaster Linda Yueh about their new book 'Angrynomics', why the world feels so angry and h...
Jul 14, 2020•45 min
In this week's episode BBC presenter and DJ Ashley 'Dotty' Charles joins us to discuss her new book 'Outrage' and the insatiable appetite for anger in today's world. In conversation with Ash Sarkar, she explores how outrage culture has limited capacity to achieve social change and why we need to be more selective in our outrage for the fights that matter. To find out more and buy Dotty's book click here: https://amzn.to/2ZWPoqD ------------------------------ Intelligence Squared+. The world's be...
Jul 10, 2020•49 min
Former Moscow correspondent and investigative journalist Catherine Belton reveals the untold story of how Vladimir Putin and his entourage of KGB men seized power in Russia and built a new league of oligarchs. Through exclusive interviews with key inside players, Belton tells how Putin’s people conducted their relentless seizure of private companies, took over the economy, siphoned billions, blurred the lines between organised crime and political powers, shut down opponents, and then used their ...
Jul 07, 2020•49 min
Is Iran an enemy to be confronted or a potential ally to engage with? In this week's podcast we debate 'Iran is not our enemy' with Mehdi Hasan, Azadeh Moaveni, Daniel Hannan and Salman Al-Ansari. The debate was chaired by the BBC's Lyse Doucet. ------------------------------ 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’...
Jul 03, 2020•1 hr 4 min
In this week's episode writer and lawyer Antony Dapiran joins us from Hong Kong to discuss the protests and turmoil that have engulfed the city since the summer of 2019. He spoke to political economist Shirley Yu. Together they discussed the history of dissent in the city and the future of China's "One Country, Two Systems" as a new security law threatens Hong Kong's autonomy.To find out more and buy Antony's new book click here: https://amzn.to/2Nw216s. ------------------------------ Intelligen...
Jun 30, 2020•1 hr 9 min
A great reckoning is taking place in the wake of the brutal killing of George Floyd and the protests that followed his death. Companies and organisations are looking afresh at how they can do a better job of combatting institutional bias and racism. Employees are increasingly speaking out about their experiences and calling for change. In this special event recorded on Thursday June 25 2020, Intelligence Squared brought together two leading voices from the arts, Kwame Kwei-Armah, artistic direct...
Jun 26, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Amidst the current global conversation around police brutality in the United States and the experience of black people the world over, this week we speak to Layla Saad to investigate the role each of us has to play in dismantling white supremacy. Layla Saad spoke to author, academic and broadcaster Emma Dabiri about her book Me and White Supremacy to discuss her experience as both a black woman and ‘third culture kid’, and the challenges of anti-racist work and what it means to be a ‘good ancest...
Jun 23, 2020•1 hr 7 min
In the wake of sweeping protests about racism and police brutality, this week we speak to Dr Pragya Agarwal to unravel the way our implicit or 'unintentional' biases affect the way we communicate and perceive the world. Dr Agarwal spoke to author and BBC broadcaster Kavita Puri about her new book 'Sway' and to answer questions like: is prejudice rooted in our evolutionary past? How has bias affected technology? And how can understanding bias help us root our racism and discrimination in our soci...
Jun 19, 2020•50 min
Why does Donald Trump have such a good relationship with white evangelical christians despite his questionable conservative credentials? In this week's episode Sarah Posner, author of 'Unholy: Why White Evangelicals Worship at the Altar of Donald Trump' speaks to Washington Post columnist and host of the 'Power Corrupts' podcast Brian Klaas to discuss. To find out more about the book click here: https://amzn.to/2BeIHHE To listen to Brian Klaas's podcast visit: https://bit.ly/2zCla3b ------------...
Jun 16, 2020•50 min
Following the death of George Floyd, global Black Lives Matter protests, and debates raging over statues from Colston to Churchill, Intelligence Squared hosted an online discussion with historian David Olusoga, Labour MP Dawn Butler, and philosopher Susan Neiman who is author of 'Learning from the Germans: Confronting Race and the Memory of Evil'. The conversation was chaired by broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied. ------------------------------ Intelligence Squared+. The world's best speakers. You...
Jun 12, 2020•1 hr 14 min
