Shows / Intelligence Squared
Intelligence Squared
Ideas shape the world. Intelligence Squared brings you the conversations that explain them. In every episode, we bring together leading thinkers, writers, scientists, policymakers and entrepreneurs, to challenge assumptions, test ideas and debate the questions shaping our future. If you want to think more clearly about the world and where it's heading, you're in the right place. If you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free…
Episodes
Intelligence SquaredRace and Guns in a Divided America, with Carol Anderson and Mark Mardell
Throughout history, the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States has protected the right to bear arms. For Black Americans, this has come with…
Intelligence SquaredThe Sunday Debate: The Catholic Church is a Force For Good in the World
The Roman Catholic Church is the oldest institution in the western world and has had a pivotal influence on western civilisation, ranging from matters of state…
Intelligence SquaredAlbums that Changed My Life, with Tom Gatti, David Mitchell and Preti Taneja
Our favourite albums are our most faithful companions. We listen to them over and over, we know them far better than any novel or film. These records don’t…
Intelligence SquaredEmma Dabiri and Alex Renton on Race, Reckoning and What We Can Do Next
Emma Dabiri, Irish-Nigerian academic and broadcaster, and Alex Renton, British-Canadian investigative journalist, have established themselves as important…
Intelligence SquaredThe Devil You Know, with Dr Gwen Adshead and Linda Yueh
Dr Gwen Adshead is one of Britain's leading forensic psychiatrists, and has spent thirty years providing therapy inside secure hospitals and prisons. Whatever…
Intelligence SquaredSurviving Disaster, with Max Brooks and Carl Miller
In this week's podcast we're joined by Max Brooks, global bestselling novelist of cult classic 'World War Z' and Hollywood screenwriter. He speaks to Carl…
Intelligence SquaredWhile Justice Sleeps, with Stacey Abrams and Tayari Jones
Stacey Abrams is widely considered one of the most prominent political power broker in the United States. She was the first African-American woman to become…
Intelligence SquaredDebate: We Must Stop Big Data's Pandemic Power Grab
In this week's podcast Nani Jansen Reventlow goes up against Rowena Luk to debate whether bringing big tech closer into our lives during the pandemic has been…
Intelligence SquaredIs Meritocracy a Myth? With Adrian Wooldridge and Mark Mardell
Join the debate and discuss this episode with fellow listeners on our Multytude conversation here: https://multytudelink.page.link/2u9nK2SP7SH7DCyU7 --…
Intelligence SquaredGillian Tett on a New Way To Understand Business and Life
To explain the power of anthropology to help us better understand the modern world, Financial Times journalist and bestselling author Gillian Tett joined us in…
Intelligence SquaredFraming: A Guide to Thinking in the 21st Century
An industrialist looks at a rain forest and sees trees to cut down and sell, while an environmentalist sees the ‘lungs of the planet’. To one person, complying…
Intelligence SquaredEd Miliband on How To Build a Better World
Is the pandemic a wake-up call to build a better world? Ed Miliband, politician and host of the award-winning Reasons to Be Cheerful podcast, thinks so. And in…
Intelligence SquaredSalman Rushdie on Truth, Language and the Power of Stories
Salman Rushdie, internationally bestselling author and ‘Best of the Booker’ winner, is a storyteller of the highest order, illuminating truths about our…
Intelligence SquaredCarlo Rovelli and Philip Pullman on the Science and Stories That Transform Our World
Carlo Rovelli is the internationally bestselling theoretical physicist whose many fans include Benedict Cumberbatch, Antony Gormley, Neil Gaiman and Lily Cole…
Intelligence SquaredMusic in the Age of COVID-19, with David Gray and Rosamund Urwin
In this week's episode acclaimed singer/songwriter David Gray speaks to Rosamund Urwin about how music and the arts have fared throughout the COVID-19…
Intelligence SquaredThe New Space Race, with Nicholas Schmidle and Helen Czerski
When Richard Branson founded Virgin Galactic in 2004, the goal was simple: to offer civilian space travel by the end of the decade. Seventeen years, a dozen…
Intelligence SquaredCommon Ground: How to Democratise Nature
Spending a mere two hours a week outside is scientifically proven to lower blood pressure, enhance the immune system and reduce anxiety. Yet, for many…
Intelligence SquaredChoices for a Better Now, with Ece Temelkuran and Matthew Taylor
Many of us felt it before but 2020 was the year it became undeniable: the status quo is not working. Political discontent is widespread – and for good reason…
Intelligence SquaredThe Hidden Language of Trees with Suzanne Simard
Trees have memories. They have wisdom. They cooperate in communities of immense complexity, communicating underground through a huge web of fungi, at the…
Intelligence SquaredNiall Ferguson on the Politics of Catastrophe
Why was the response of the UK and US to the coronavirus pandemic so bungled? How can we be better prepared when the next disaster strikes? These are the…
Intelligence SquaredJoe Biden: Moderate or Radical? With Evan Osnos and Mark Mardell
As we pass Joe Biden's first one hundred days in office as President of the United States, we're joined by The New Yorker's Evan Osnos author of the biography…
Intelligence SquaredMona Eltahawy on the Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls
Be angry, ambitious, profane, violent, attention-seeking, lustful, and powerful. These are the “seven necessary sins” that Egyptian writer and activist Mona…
Intelligence SquaredGetting into the Doughnut, with Kate Raworth and Matthew Taylor
In this week's episode Kate Raworth, Oxford University economist discusses what she calls Doughnut Economics, an idea she came up with to help humanity deal…
Intelligence SquaredThe Social Dilemma, with Tristan Harris and Helen Lewis
In this week's episode Tristan Harris, star of Netflix hit documentary 'The Social Dilemma' speak to Helen Lewis about the the enormous power technology has in…
Intelligence SquaredDifficult Women, with Helen Lewis and Rosamund Urwin
Helen Lewis argues that feminism's success is down to complicated, contradictory, imperfect women, who fought each other as well as fighting for equal rights…
Intelligence SquaredDebate: The West Must Engage not Confront China
This week's episode features a debate from Intelligence Squared Germany in partnership with the ECFR. Kerry Brown goes up against Anastasia Lin on the question…
Intelligence SquaredJews Don't Count, with David Baddiel and Armando Iannucci
In this week's episode comedian and writer David Baddiel discusses his new book, Jews Don’t Count. He argues that the progressive movement which often prides…
Intelligence SquaredGene Editing and the Future of the Human Race, with Walter Isaacson and Dr Guddi Singh
Walter Isaacson is the bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci, Einstein and Steve Jobs. His new book is The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing and…
Intelligence SquaredAmal Clooney, Geoffrey Robertson and Bill Browder on a Plan B for Human Rights
Geoffrey Robertson QC is one of Britain’s leading human rights champions. Twenty years ago he helped fuel the global justice movement with his groundbreaking…
Intelligence SquaredBonus: The Economy and Markets After Covid-19
In this special bonus episode, brought to you in partnership with online trading platform IG, Joshua Mahoney, Senior Markets analyst at IG, speaks to Linda…
Intelligence SquaredFrom Bridgerton to Peaky Blinders: Historic Houses in Film & TV with World Monuments Fund Britain
This episode is made in partnership with international heritage charity World Monuments Fund Britain. Together we explore the fascinating world of on-screen…
Intelligence SquaredThe Handshake: A Gripping History
Friends do it, strangers do it and so do chimpanzees - and it's not just deeply embedded in our history and culture, it may even be written in our DNA. The…
Intelligence SquaredDebate: Is The West Fundamentally Racist?
The West is rich because the rest is poor. Capitalism is racism. So argues Kehinde Andrews, academic and self-described Black radical, who came to Intelligence…
Intelligence SquaredWas Jesus A Great Moral Teacher? With Julian Baggini and Mark Mardell
Even if we don't believe that Jesus was the son of God, we tend to think he was a great moral teacher. But was he? And how closely do idealised values such as…
Intelligence SquaredDebate: The Time Is Right for Scottish Independence
Should Scotland be independent? In this week's podcast Alex Massie and Lesley Riddoch go head to head on the question of whether the time has come to break up…
Intelligence SquaredA New Vision for Capitalism, with Anne Case, Angus Deaton and Francine Lacqua
Each year hundreds of thousands of Americans die as a result of drug abuse, alcoholism or suicide – and the numbers are rising. This has contributed to a fall…
Intelligence SquaredNFT's and Why Blockchain Means Business, with Sheila Warren and Carl Miller
In this week's episode we discuss the explosive rise of NFT's as well as the long terms trends in blockchain that will change how we do business and live our…
Intelligence SquaredThe Science of Friendship, with Robin Dunbar and Helen Czerski
Robin Dunbar is the world-renowned psychologist and author who famously discovered Dunbar’s number: how our capacity for friendship is limited to around 150…
Intelligence SquaredThe Accidental President, with James Fletcher and Mark Mardell
In 2016, almost anyone you asked, or any poll you consulted, pointed you to a Hillary Clinton landslide. The Accidental President is a balanced feature…
Intelligence SquaredIntelligence Squared Recommends – Climate Solutions: Is COVID-19 good or bad for the climate?
We have a special bonus episode for you today - we wanted to introduce you to a podcast we think you'll really enjoy, called Climate Solutions, from our…
Intelligence SquaredBONUS: International Women's Day Special with Margaret Atwood, Bernardine Evaristo, Rose McGowan and more
For International Women's Day we bring to you a special bonus episode of our award-winning podcast, How I Found My Voice presented by the BBC journalist Samira…
Intelligence SquaredJon Sopel on Fear and Loathing on the US Campaign Trail
In this week's episode BBC North America Editor Jon Sopel takes us behind the scenes of perhaps the most extraordinary election campaign ever in American…
Intelligence SquaredIntelligence Squared Recommends – Change Makers, with Yanis Varoufakis
We have a special bonus episode for you today – we wanted to introduce you to a podcast we think you'll really enjoy, called Change Makers. Change Makers…
Intelligence SquaredThe Cyber Weapons Arms Race, with Nicole Perlroth and Josh Glancy
Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero…
Intelligence SquaredBONUS: Kate Winslet on Titanic, Hollywood and Finding Her Voice
This bonus podcast features an episode from another Intelligence Squared podcast called How I Found My Voice. In this episode Hollywood star Kate Winslet…
Intelligence SquaredFacebook, Free Speech and the Fight for Digital Democracy, With Marietje Schaake and Carl Miller
In this week's episode Marietje Schaake International Director of Policy at Stanford University's Cyber Policy Centre speaks to Carl Miller about Facebook's…
Intelligence SquaredThe New Climate War, with Michael Mann and Clover Hogan
In this week's episode renowned climate scientist Michael Mann speaks to Clover Hogan about the thirty-year war to deflect blame and delay action on climate…
Intelligence SquaredDebate: Big Tech was Right to Deplatform Trump
Shortly after a pro Trump mob stormed the Capitol on January 6th - Big Tech unplugged the President. For years he’d used social media to communicate directly…
Intelligence SquaredNo Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram, with Sarah Frier and Linda Yueh
In 2010, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger released a photo-sharing app called Instagram, with one simple but irresistible feature: it would make anything you…
Intelligence SquaredBritain Alone: From Suez to Brexit, with Philip Stephens and Mark Mardell
In this week's episode Philip Stephens the Financial Times chief political commentator speaks to Mark Mardell about why Britain is a nation struggling to…
Intelligence SquaredThe Last Untamed Frontier, with Ian Urbina and Helen Czerski
There are few remaining frontiers on our planet. But perhaps the wildest, and least understood, are the world's oceans: too big to police, and under no clear…
Intelligence SquaredBellingcat Founder Eliot Higgins on Navalny, Syria and Skripal
In this week's episode Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, tells the dramatic story of how he went from college dropout to pioneering a new category of…
Intelligence SquaredThe Great Decoupling, with Nigel Inkster and Linda Yueh
In this week's episode Nigel Inkster argues that growing tension between the USA and China could result in the two superpowers decoupling their technology—with…
Intelligence SquaredJim Al-Khalili on The World According to Physics
Why does physics matter? What can the study of energy and force, of matter and its motion and behaviour through space and time teach us about the universe and…
Intelligence SquaredHow to Save The Planet, with Mike Berners Lee and Jenny Kleeman
Climate change, feeding the world, biodiversity, plastics – the list of environmental concerns seems endless. But which of these is the most pressing and…
Intelligence SquaredThe Power of Ethics, with Susan Liautaud and Josh Lowe
In this week's episode ethics expert Susan Liautaud speaks to journalist and writer about how we can make sense of ethical dilemmas and be more attuned to the…
Intelligence SquaredCan Joe Biden Heal America?
On January 20 Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. But as the storming of the Capitol on January 6 by supporters of Donald…
Intelligence SquaredPopulista! The Rise of Latin America's Strongman, with Will Grant and Mark Mardell
For more than six decades, Fidel Castro's words have echoed through the politics of Latin America. His towering political influence still looms over the region…
Intelligence SquaredIntelligence Squared Recommends – Power: The Maxwells
For today's episode we have something a little different for you. We wanted to introduce you to a new podcast we think you’ll love called Power: The Maxwells…
Intelligence SquaredDavid Epstein On Why Generalists Are More Successful Than Specialists
Studying the world's most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors and scientists, David Epstein demonstrates why in most fields – especially those…