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 Squared
Generation One: The Climate Podcast | Brought to you by UCL
This is an episode of Generation One: The Climate Podcast, brought to you by UCL. Generation One is a collective of people committed to a new era of positive…
- Intelligence Squared
The Story of Wartime Kyiv, with Illia Ponomarenko
Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko is a co-founder of The Kyiv Independent and former defence and security reporter for the Kyiv Post. He's been one of the…
- Intelligence Squared
Gut Feelings: A History of Our Most Mysterious Organ, with Elsa Richardson
Cultural historian Elsa Richardson discusses her book, Rumbles: A Curious History of the Gut. It looks at our relationship over the centuries with a very…
- Intelligence Squared
How Inequality in Healthcare Makes Society Sick, with Layal Liverpool and Chris van Tulleken, Part Two
The is the second instalment of a two-part discussion. We’re living longer than ever before but we are also spending more years in poor health and some…
- Intelligence Squared
How Inequality in Healthcare Makes Society Sick, with Layal Liverpool and Chris van Tulleken, Part One
The is the first instalment of a two-part discussion. We’re living longer than ever before but we are also spending more years in poor health and some…
- Intelligence Squared
Surprise Gift: How Inherited Generational Traits Underpin Our Societies, with Harvey Whitehouse
Renowned social anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse is Director of the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Oxford and has…
- Intelligence Squared
Why Parenthood is a Numbers Game, with Emily Oster
Emily Oster is an economist whose analytical eye is often focused on how to make better sense of the data behind raising children. As professor of economics at…
- Intelligence Squared
Archive – Can We Fix Capitalism? Yanis Varoufakis vs Gillian Tett
This is a dip back into the extensive Intelligence Squared archive from October, 2021. Should capitalism be reformed or replaced? Former Greek Finance Minister…
- Intelligence Squared
The Invisible Science of Gas, with Mark Miodownik
Mark Miodownik is the materials scientist and engineer whose new book is It’s a Gas: The Magnificent and Elusive Elements that Expand Our World. The book is an…
- Intelligence Squared
Why Turkey is a Country of Endless Curiosity, with Sami Kent
The history of Turkey is often told in well-worn tropes but journalist, audio producer and now author Sami Kent is going for something a little more heartfelt…
- Intelligence Squared
Archive – The New Science of the Body Clock, with Russell Foster
This is a dip back into the extensive Intelligence Squared archive from May, 2022 Every second of the day, tiny biological clocks are ticking throughout your…
- Intelligence Squared
Exploring the History of Ideas, with David Runciman
The spectres of political disillusionment and apathy have weighed heavily on this year of momentous elections but can we take inspiration from the past to…
- Intelligence Squared
Growing Up in the Shadow of China, with Edward Wong
Edward Wong is a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times and its former Beijing bureau chief. The son of Chinese immigrants in Washington, DC, his work…
- Intelligence Squared
Archive – The Gift of a Radio, with Justin Webb
This is a dip back into the extensive Intelligence Squared archive from February, 2022. Justin Webb is a familiar voice to many radio listeners. He has been…
- Intelligence Squared
Sotheby's Talks – Imaginary Conversations: An ERDEM Collection, with Lady Burlington
In celebration of Imaginary Conversations: An ERDEM Collection inspired by Duchess Deborah, join British fashion journalist Charlie Porter in conversation with…
- Intelligence Squared
Jon Ronson on Conspiracies, Culture Wars and How Things Fell Apart, Part Two
The is the second instalment of a two-part discussion. For this episode, Jon Ronson – the journalist, author, and filmmaker – dives into the world of…
- Intelligence Squared
Jon Ronson on Conspiracies, Culture Wars and How Things Fell Apart, Part One
The is the first instalment of a two-part discussion. For this episode, Jon Ronson – the journalist, author, and filmmaker – dives into the world of…
- Intelligence Squared
Why Politics Matters, with Alastair Campbell
The political strategist, journalist and author turned hit podcast host of The Rest is Politics returns to Intelligence Squared to discuss why politics matters…
- Intelligence Squared
Sotheby's Talks – Creative London: An Artistic Crossroads, with Grayson Perry
Has London's cultural power essentially radiated outwards, influencing artists and creatives across the world? Or is London's creative preeminence dependent on…
- Intelligence Squared
The Magic Number for Creating a Successful Team, with Robin Dunbar
The anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar is Emeritus Professor of evolutionary psychology at Oxford University. He’s also part of a small…
- Intelligence Squared
Mishal Husain on Family, Empire and Why Partition Still Matters, Part Two
The is the second instalment of a two-part discussion. On August 15 1947 Pakistan and India gained their independence and colonialism came to an end in the…
- Intelligence Squared
Mishal Husain on Family, Empire and Why Partition Still Matters, Part One
The is the first instalment of a two-part discussion. On August 15 1947 Pakistan and India gained their independence and colonialism came to an end in the…
- Intelligence Squared
Sotheby's Talks – London: An Artistic Crossroads | Gallery Open House
London has long been a cultural melting pot for artists from around the world who, in their own unique ways, have revealed with each touch of a brush, the…
- Intelligence Squared
Rachel Cusk on Art, Womanhood and Redefining Fiction, Part Two
This is the second instalment of three-part discussion. The writing of Rachel Cusk poses us constant challenges. Her critically acclaimed Outline trilogy and…
- Intelligence Squared
Rachel Cusk on Art, Womanhood and Redefining Fiction, Part One
This is the first instalment of three-part discussion. The writing of Rachel Cusk poses us constant challenges. Her critically acclaimed Outline trilogy and…
- Intelligence Squared
Sotheby's Talks – William Blake: Artist, Poet and Visionary, with Andrew Graham-Dixon and John Higgs
With a rare first edition of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience about to go under the hammer, in this episode a panel of experts have come…
- Intelligence Squared
The New Colonialism of Big Tech, with Nick Couldry and Ulises A. Mejias
Who owns and profits from our data, both big and small, has become one of the defining issues of the post-internet age. In their new book, Data Grab, critical…
- Intelligence Squared
The Story of the Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster, with Adam Higginbotham
The voyage of the space shuttle Challenger on the morning of January 28th, 1986, lasted just minutes before it broke up mid-flight. The tragic outcome for its…
- Intelligence Squared
Archive – How I Found My Voice: Michael Palin
This is an archive episode from 2019 from the second series of How I Found My Voice, a podcast from Intelligence Squared. Presented by the BBC journalist…
- Intelligence Squared
The Volatile Future of US Politics, with Robert Kagan
There's rarely a week in which Donald Trump doesn't make the headlines but the last few have been particularly potent with the former US president having been…
- Intelligence Squared
Swimming Against the Tide with Athlete Turned Advocate, Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell
In a competitive field defined by record breakers, medals and podium places, being first in sport is often considered the primary marker of success but being…
- Intelligence Squared
A History of Nostalgia, with Agnes Arnold-Forster
Writer and historian Agnes Arnold-Forster's most recent book, Nostalgia: A History of a Dangerous Emotion, blends fields such as neuroscience and psychology…
- Intelligence Squared
Max Hastings on On the Secret Mission to Defeat Hitler, Part Two
This is the second instalment of a three-part conversation. Military historian, journalist, author and broadcaster Max Hastings comes to the Intelligence…
- Intelligence Squared
Max Hastings on On the Secret Mission to Defeat Hitler, Part One
Military historian, journalist, author and broadcaster Max Hastings comes to the Intelligence Squared stage to recount the remarkable story of Operation Biting…
- Intelligence Squared
The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook China Special, with Keyu Jin
China’s economic power has been growing for decades. The capitalist reforms of Deng Xiaoping quickly transformed China into the world’s fastest-growing major…
- Intelligence Squared
Archive: Debate – The Left has right on its side
Following the recent announcement of a general election in the UK, we revisit our debate from 2018 in which key politicians debated the merits of Left vs Right…
- Intelligence Squared
Archive: Western Intervention and the Rise of Guerrilla Warfare, with David Kilcullen
In this archive discussion from 2020, David Kilcullen, former soldier, diplomat, and senior counterinsurgency adviser for the US during the Iraq and…
- Intelligence Squared
The Garden as a Personal Paradise, with Olivia Laing
The acclaimed writer and critic Olivia Laing is the author of seven books distilling challenging topics that should be difficult to wrap beautiful words…
- Intelligence Squared
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall & ZOE’s Dr Federica Amati on Eating 30 Plants A Week, Part Two
This is the second instalment of a two-part conversation. In recent years the benefits of eating a diet rich in plants have increasingly been at the forefront…
- Intelligence Squared
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall & ZOE’s Dr Federica Amati on Eating 30 Plants A Week, Part One
In recent years the benefits of eating a diet rich in plants have increasingly been at the forefront of our conversations about food. You may have heard…
- Intelligence Squared
Zeinab Badawi on an African History of Africa, Part Two
This is the second instalment of a three-part conversation. Too often historians have told the history of Africa through the prism of colonialism. But what…
- Intelligence Squared
Zeinab Badawi on an African History of Africa, Part One
This is the first instalment of a three-part conversation. Too often historians have told the history of Africa through the prism of colonialism. But what…
- Intelligence Squared
The Anxious Generation: Jonathan Haidt on How Smartphones Rewired Childhood, Part Two
This is the second instalment of a three-part conversation. Bestselling author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has dedicated his career to speaking…
- Intelligence Squared
The Anxious Generation: Jonathan Haidt on How Smartphones Rewired Childhood, Part One
Bestselling author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has dedicated his career to speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most challenging spaces –…
- Intelligence Squared
Being Human in an AI World, with Susie Alegre
Artificial intelligence is no longer a figment of our imagination a plot pulled from the pages of science fiction. Recent rapid advances mean it is now seeping…
- Intelligence Squared
How the Legacy of the British Empire Still Shapes Our World, with Sathnam Sanghera
Sathnam Sanghera is a writer and author of bestselling books exploring British identity, the latest of which is Empireworld: How British Imperialism Has Shaped…
- Intelligence Squared
Archive: Doughnut Economics, with Kate Raworth
Oxford University economist Kate Raworth has been described by the author and environmentalist George Monbiot as, "The John Maynard Keynes of the 21st…
- Intelligence Squared
The Circle of Life, with Joe Roman
Joe Roman is a conservation biologist and marine ecologist fascinated with the natural processes that go on within animal biology and how those in turn shape…
- Intelligence Squared
The World in 2024 with Niall Ferguson: Crisis, Conflict and Consequences, Part Two
This is a the second instalment of a three-part discussion. There are few big thinkers better placed to explain global events than historian Niall Ferguson. He…
- Intelligence Squared
The World in 2024 with Niall Ferguson: Crisis, Conflict and Consequences, Part One
There are few big thinkers better placed to explain global events than historian Niall Ferguson. He has not just a profound understanding of past crises, but…
- Intelligence Squared
George the Poet on Combatting the War on Blackness
As a performer, London-based George the Poet has helped elevate genres ranging from traditional spoken word to rap and grime over recent years as well as…
- Intelligence Squared
Searching for Another England, with Caroline Lucas and Grace Blakeley, Part Two
Englishness has been hijacked by the right. The flag of St. George’s Cross is proudly waved at far-right rallies. Conservative politicians insult the Left as…
- Intelligence Squared
Searching for Another England, with Caroline Lucas and Grace Blakeley, Part One
Englishness has been hijacked by the right. The flag of St. George’s Cross is proudly waved at far-right rallies. Conservative politicians insult the Left as…
- Intelligence Squared
Arash Azizi on Iran's Turbulent Past and its Uncertain Future
Regularly embroiled in international conflicts – both militarily and diplomatically – and locked in a cycle of protest and heavy government crackdowns on the…
- Intelligence Squared
Getting Weird with Physics, with Harry Cliff
For this episode, particle physicist Harry Cliff takes us on a deep dive into some of the universe's most perplexing scientific mysteries. His recent book…
- Intelligence Squared
Istanbul: Crossroads of the World, with Alexander Christie-Miller
Alexander Christie-Miller is a former Istanbul correspondent for The Times newspaper, whose writing has also appeared in outlets such as Newsweek, The Atlantic…
- Intelligence Squared
Keir Starmer, Will Hutton, Alastair Campbell and Sonia Sodha on How to Remake Britain, Part Two
This is Part Two of a three-part episode. Britain is in big trouble. The country has dipped into recession, local councils are going bankrupt and trust in our…
- Intelligence Squared
Keir Starmer, Will Hutton, Alastair Campbell and Sonia Sodha on How to Remake Britain, Part One
Britain is in big trouble. The country has dipped into recession, local councils are going bankrupt and trust in our politics has collapsed. Could Labour…
- Intelligence Squared
The Great London Novel, with Andrew O'Hagan
Andrew O’Hagan has written seven novels, three non-fiction books, a play and many standout journalism pieces on topics ranging from the origins of…
- Intelligence Squared
The F Word: Re-evaluating Society's Approach to Body Image, with Kate Manne
In her latest book, writer and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Cornell University, Kate Manne, turns her analytical lens towards prejudice and…