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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.

Episodes

The 12 Books of Christmas | Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall & ZOE’s Dr Federica Amati on Eating 30 Plants A Week

To celebrate 2024, we’re taking a look backwards, and diving into the standout thinkers who have taken to the Intelligence Squared stage in the past 12 months. You might still be on the hunt for that perfect gift for the avid reader in your life, or perhaps you’re after some food for thought over the festive period. Either way, this 12 episode mini series will highlight the books that shaped 2024. We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for more events that intrigue, fascinate and entertain. In recent ye...

Dec 30, 202447 minSeason 1Ep. 3134

The 12 Books of Christmas | David Baddiel on Family, Jewishness, and the Healing Power of Comedy

To celebrate 2024, we’re taking a look backwards, and diving into the standout thinkers who have taken to the Intelligence Squared stage in the past 12 months. You might still be on the hunt for that perfect gift for the avid reader in your life, or perhaps you’re after some food for thought over the festive period. Either way, this 12 episode mini series will highlight the books that shaped 2024. We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for more events that intrigue, fascinate and entertain. David Baddie...

Dec 29, 20241 hr 16 minSeason 1Ep. 3133

The 12 Books of Christmas | Rachel Cusk on Art, Womanhood and Redefining Fiction

To celebrate 2024, we’re taking a look backwards, and diving into the standout thinkers who have taken to the Intelligence Squared stage in the past 12 months. You might still be on the hunt for that perfect gift for the avid reader in your life, or perhaps you’re after some food for thought over the festive period. Either way, this 12 episode mini series will highlight the books that shaped 2024. We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for more events that intrigue, fascinate and entertain. The writing ...

Dec 27, 20241 hr 3 minSeason 1Ep. 3132

The 12 Books of Christmas | Adam Grant on The Science of Achieving Greatness

To celebrate 2024, we’re taking a look backwards, and diving into the standout thinkers who have taken to the Intelligence Squared stage in the past 12 months. You might still be on the hunt for that perfect gift for the avid reader in your life, or perhaps you’re after some food for thought over the festive period. Either way, this 12 episode mini series will highlight the books that shaped 2024. We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for more events that intrigue, fascinate and entertain. Organisation...

Dec 25, 20241 hr 2 minSeason 1Ep. 3131

The 12 Books of Christmas | Mishal Husain on Family, Empire and Why Partition Still Matters

To celebrate 2024, we’re taking a look backwards, and diving into the standout thinkers who have taken to the Intelligence Squared stage in the past 12 months. You might still be on the hunt for that perfect gift for the avid reader in your life, or perhaps you’re after some food for thought over the festive period. Either way, this 12 episode mini series will highlight the books that shaped 2024. We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for more events that intrigue, fascinate and entertain. Exploring th...

Dec 23, 20241 hr 6 minSeason 1Ep. 3130

The 12 Books of Christmas | Zeinab Badawi on an African History of Africa

To celebrate 2024, we’re taking a look backwards, and diving into the standout thinkers who have taken to the Intelligence Squared stage in the past 12 months. You might still be on the hunt for that perfect gift for the avid reader in your life, or perhaps you’re after some food for thought over the festive period. Either way, this 12 episode mini series will highlight the books that shaped 2024. We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for more events that intrigue, fascinate and entertain. Too often hi...

Dec 22, 20241 hr 6 minSeason 1Ep. 3129

The 12 Books of Christmas | Comfort Eating with Grace Dent

To celebrate 2024, we’re taking a look backwards, and diving into the standout thinkers who have taken to the Intelligence Squared stage in the past 12 months. You might still be on the hunt for that perfect gift for the avid reader in your life, or perhaps you’re after some food for thought over the festive period. Either way, this 12 episode mini series will highlight the books that shaped 2024. We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for more events that intrigue, fascinate and entertain. The deep con...

Dec 20, 20241 hr 11 minSeason 1Ep. 3128

The 12 Books of Christmas | Jordan Stephens on Love, Chaos and Becoming a Man

To celebrate 2024, we’re taking a look backwards, and diving into the standout thinkers who have taken to the Intelligence Squared stage in the past 12 months. You might still be on the hunt for that perfect gift for the avid reader in your life, or perhaps you’re after some food for thought over the festive period. Either way, this 12 episode mini series will highlight the books that shaped 2024. We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for more events that intrigue, fascinate and entertain. Jordan Steph...

Dec 18, 202458 minSeason 1Ep. 3127

The 12 Books of Christmas | The Dictators Who Want to Run the World, with Anne Applebaum

To celebrate 2024, we’re taking a look backwards, and diving into the standout thinkers who have taken to the Intelligence Squared stage in the past 12 months. You might still be on the hunt for that perfect gift for the avid reader in your life, or perhaps you’re after some food for thought over the festive period. Either way, this 12 episode mini series will highlight the books that shaped 2024. We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for more events that intrigue, fascinate and entertain. In the 20th ...

Dec 16, 20241 hr 10 minSeason 1Ep. 3126

The 12 Books of Christmas | The Anxious Generation: Jonathan Haidt on How Smartphones Rewired Childhood

To celebrate 2024, we’re taking a look backwards, and diving into the standout thinkers who have taken to the Intelligence Squared stage in the past 12 months. You might still be on the hunt for that perfect gift for the avid reader in your life, or perhaps you’re after some food for thought over the festive period. Either way, this 12 episode mini series will highlight the books that shaped 2024. We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for more events that intrigue, fascinate and entertain. Bestselling ...

Dec 15, 20241 hr 2 minSeason 1Ep. 3125

The 12 Books of Christmas | An Evening with Marina Diamandis

To celebrate 2024, we’re taking a look backwards, and diving into the standout thinkers who have taken to the Intelligence Squared stage in the past 12 months. You might still be on the hunt for that perfect gift for the avid reader in your life, or perhaps you’re after some food for thought over the festive period. Either way, this 12 episode mini series will highlight the books that shaped 2024. We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for more events that intrigue, fascinate and entertain. Platinum-cer...

Dec 13, 20242 hr 30 minSeason 1Ep. 3124

The 12 Books of Christmas | Think Again: Is Free Speech Under Threat? with Suzanne Nossel and Charlotte Lydia Riley

Many liberals believe that in recent years we have seen an erosion of the right to air unpopular opinions without the risk of being cancelled. We are in an ever-intensifying shutting down of conversation, they maintain, with constituencies on both the left and the right demanding that opinions they don’t like be declared out of bounds, socially, morally or legally. But some argue otherwise: that the so-called free speech crisis is completely a fiction. What we’re really seeing is a rebalance of ...

Dec 11, 20241 hrSeason 1Ep. 3123

The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook, with Tim Harford, Part Two

This event was supported by Guinness Global Investors. For the final instalment of the Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook series for 2024, Financial Times columnist Tim Harford joined us to interrogate what the numbers are really telling us about the economy – and what those numbers tell us about what lies ahead. As the FT’s Undercover Economist, Harford demonstrates a remarkable ability to explain and communicate complex economic data in ways that are compelling and entertaining. This episod...

Dec 06, 202431 minSeason 1Ep. 3120

The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook, with Tim Harford, Part One

This event was supported by Guinness Global Investors. For the final instalment of the Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook series for 2024, Financial Times columnist Tim Harford joined us to interrogate what the numbers are really telling us about the economy – and what those numbers tell us about what lies ahead. As the FT’s Undercover Economist, Harford demonstrates a remarkable ability to explain and communicate complex economic data in ways that are compelling and entertaining. This episod...

Dec 05, 202434 minSeason 1Ep. 3119

David Baddiel on Family, Jewishness, and the Healing Power of Comedy, Part Two

David Baddiel has been on our screens for over 35 years. The creator of The Mary Whitehouse Experience and one half of Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned, he spent his early career in the world of television comedy. More recently, he has become a leading voice on Jewishness and antisemitism in the U.K after releasing his award-winning documentary and book Jews Don’t Count. In October 2024 he came to the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss how both comedy and Jewishness have shaped his career and li...

Dec 02, 202445 minSeason 1Ep. 3117

David Baddiel on Family, Jewishness, and the Healing Power of Comedy, Part One

David Baddiel has been on our screens for over 35 years. The creator of The Mary Whitehouse Experience and one half of Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned, he spent his early career in the world of television comedy. More recently, he has become a leading voice on Jewishness and antisemitism in the U.K after releasing his award-winning documentary and book Jews Don’t Count. In October 2024 he came to the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss how both comedy and Jewishness have shaped his career and li...

Dec 01, 202440 minSeason 1Ep. 3117

The World in 2025 with Peter Frankopan and Emily Maitlis: Making Sense of our Past, Present and Future (Part Two)

We’re living in a time of upheaval. The war in the Middle East is intensifying. Russia is making gains in Ukraine. America faces an election of unparalleled importance. Climate change and AI appear on the brink of changing our world forever. How are we to make sense of the world today? Study its past, argues acclaimed historian Peter Frankopan, who returned to the Intelligence Squared stage in November 2024. Now that his remarkably turbulent year is almost over, attention is turning to 2025 and ...

Nov 29, 202429 minSeason 1Ep. 3116

The World in 2025 with Peter Frankopan and Emily Maitlis: Making Sense of our Past, Present and Future (Part One)

We’re living in a time of upheaval. The war in the Middle East is intensifying. Russia is making gains in Ukraine. America faces an election of unparalleled importance. Climate change and AI appear on the brink of changing our world forever. How are we to make sense of the world today? Study its past, argues acclaimed historian Peter Frankopan, who returned to the Intelligence Squared stage in November 2024. Now that his remarkably turbulent year is almost over, attention is turning to 2025 and ...

Nov 27, 202434 minSeason 1Ep. 3115

Ayaan Hirsi Ali On Her Fight to Save the West

Decades ago, I escaped the Islamic world and came to the West. Many don’t know how good the West is, or how fragile. I fight for the restoration of what made the West great.’ – Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ever since writer and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali publicly disavowed Islam, controversy has followed her every step. For many years the Somali-born former Muslim was a fierce critic of religion – particularly Islam – and became famous worldwide after publishing her controversial bestselling autobiography 'Inf...

Nov 25, 202456 minSeason 1Ep. 3114

How Crowd Psychology Made the Modern World, with Dan Hancox

Journalist and author Dan Hancox argues that despite what politicians, philosophers and the press have long told us, every peaceful crowd is not a violent mob in waiting. His new book. Multitudes, asks readers to rethink long-held assumptions about crowd behaviour and psychology, as well as the part crowds play in our lives. Hancox has written for the Guardian, the New Statesman, The Independent, The Wire and many more. His previous books include Inner City Pressure: The Story of Grime and The V...

Nov 24, 202459 minSeason 1Ep. 3113

Thomas Friedman on the Future of America and the World: The Post-Election Dissection, Part Two

This is the second instalment of our full-length in-depth discussion. With Donald Trump now declared winner of the 2024 presidential race, the United States stands on the brink of a new era. Yet, as New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman has warned, the implications of Trump’s ambitious agenda may be far from harmonious. Trump has vowed to end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office, impose tariffs on China, and pressure Israel to conclude the war in Gaz...

Nov 22, 202439 minSeason 1Ep. 3112

Thomas Friedman on the Future of America and the World: The Post-Election Dissection, Part One

With Donald Trump now declared winner of the 2024 presidential race, the United States stands on the brink of a new era. Yet, as New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman has warned, the implications of Trump’s ambitious agenda may be far from harmonious. Trump has vowed to end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office, impose tariffs on China, and pressure Israel to conclude the war in Gaza. But will these bold promises stabilise global tensions — or further...

Nov 20, 202438 minSeason 1Ep. 3111

Sotheby's Talks – Radical Modernity: From Bloomsbury to Charleston, with Kim Jones and Darren Clarke

In this episode, writer, academic and critic Frances Wilson is joined by Artistic Director of Dior Homme and Vice President of Charleston, Kim Jones, Dr Darren Clarke, Head of Collections, Research and Exhibitions at Charleston and Sotheby’s, and Jen Hardie, Director and Senior Specialist in Modern British & Irish Art at Sotheby’s in London, for a conversation about the indefatigable spirit of the Bloomsbury group and the renewed interest in their work and lives today, across paintings, drawings...

Nov 18, 202449 minSeason 1Ep. 3109

Trump, Podcasters and the New Age of Confusion, with Jamie Bartlett

In this episode of Intelligence Squared, head of programming Conor Boyle speaks with author and tech expert Jamie Bartlett about how podcasting, video and social media have transformed modern politics and public discourse. Bartlett unpacks the role of podcasters in shaping new political narratives and how our online information ecosystem is designed in a way that perfectly suits digital populism and political figures like Donald Trump. To hear more from Jamie Bartlett subscribe to his Substack, ...

Nov 17, 202447 minSeason 1Ep. 3108

Tim Marshall on the Power of Geography, Part Two

This is the second instalment of our full-length in-depth discussion. Tim Marshall is one of the world’s most successful authors on foreign affairs. He’s the writer who put the ‘geo’ into geopolitics with his multi-million-selling books Prisoners of Geography and The Power of Geography. Marshall’s principal argument is that without geography we cannot understand the world. Geography explains why Vladimir Putin wanted to annex Crimea; to remain a world power, Russia needs to maintain a navy and s...

Nov 15, 202438 minSeason 1Ep. 3107

Tim Marshall on the Power of Geography, Part One

Tim Marshall is one of the world’s most successful authors on foreign affairs. He’s the writer who put the ‘geo’ into geopolitics with his multi-million-selling books Prisoners of Geography and The Power of Geography. Marshall’s principal argument is that without geography we cannot understand the world. Geography explains why Vladimir Putin wanted to annex Crimea; to remain a world power, Russia needs to maintain a navy and since Russian ports are frozen for half the year, Putin wants to contro...

Nov 13, 202446 minSeason 1Ep. 3106

Oleksandr Zinchenko on Football, Ukraine and Achieving Greatness, Part Two

This is the second instalment of our full-length in-depth discussion. A fan favourite at Arsenal and previously Manchester City, Oleksandr Zinchenko has been lighting up the Premier League with his fearless performances for many years. But his success has come while facing immense challenges. Having begun his career as a teenager at Shakhtar Donetsk, on the border with Russia, he was acutely aware of the politics of sport. Initially he played football as an amateur because no club would sign him...

Nov 11, 202442 minSeason 1Ep. 3104

Oleksandr Zinchenko on Football, Ukraine and Achieving Greatness, Part One

A fan favourite at Arsenal and previously Manchester City, Oleksandr Zinchenko has been lighting up the Premier League with his fearless performances for many years. But his success has come while facing immense challenges. Having begun his career as a teenager at Shakhtar Donetsk, on the border with Russia, he was acutely aware of the politics of sport. Initially he played football as an amateur because no club would sign him. But he fought his way to the top and joined Manchester City in 2016 ...

Nov 10, 202440 minSeason 1Ep. 3103

John Gray on the US Election and a World After Liberalism, Part Two

This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. We once thought liberalism could and should be universal. But recent decades have shown that this presumption could be flawed. Now, with the re-election of Donad Trump in the US, liberalism has fallen out of favour at the ballot box with populism and authoritarianism taking root globally. Where do we go from here? On the day of the US election, November 6th, John Gray, the renowned philosopher whose ideas often examine the idea of liberalism...

Nov 08, 202443 minSeason 1Ep. 3101

John Gray on the US Election and a World After Liberalism, Part One

We once thought liberalism could and should be universal. But recent decades have shown that this presumption could be flawed. Now, with the re-election of Donad Trump in the US, liberalism has fallen out of favour at the ballot box with populism and authoritarianism taking root globally. Where do we go from here? On the day of the US election, November 6th, John Gray, the renowned philosopher whose ideas often examine the idea of liberalism and ask whether its future is assured, discussed his l...

Nov 06, 202437 minSeason 1Ep. 3100