Intelligence Squared

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. 

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Society & Culture
Arts
News Commentary
951
Business Weekly: Exponential, with Azeem Azhar
We are entering the Exponential Age. Between faster computers, better software and bigger data, ours is the first era in human history in which technology is constantly accelerating. Azeem Azhar - writer, technologist, and creator of the acclaimed Ex...
39 min
952
The Sunday Debate: Identity Politics is Tearing...
Is identity politics tearing society apart or is it a call for social justice for everyone? That's the theme of this week's Sunday Debate.  For the motion were journalist and author of 'We Need To Ta...
56 min
953
AI 2041: Why the Future is Already Here, with K...
Kai-Fu Lee is one of the world’s leading AI experts and a bestselling author. He founded Microsoft Asia’s research lab that has trained CTOs and AI heads at Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba and Huawei. As President of Google China he helped establish the compan...
58 min
954
Should Black Americans Move to the South?
In this week's episode Charles Blow speaks to journalist Dele Olojede about the arguments in his new book The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto. He argued that if enough African-Americans move south, the demographic balance in the S...
53 min
955
Business Weekly: What is Economic Growth?
In this week's episode we're featuring a podcast produced by Intelligence Squared called 'It’s The Economy' in which host Nicola Walton breaks down the complex economic ideas we have all heard of but may not fully understand in unde...
16 min
956
The Sunday Debate: Break Up The Tech Giants
With so much data and power centralised in the hands of a few West Coast companies, the tech giants have become a serious threat to our basic freedoms and must be broken up. That’s the argument that was made at this major Intelligence Squared debate by...
60 min
957
The Status Game, with Will Storr
Does owning a big house and supporting ‘correct’ social causes not just make you feel good about yourself but actually make you healthier and live longer? The answer is yes. This is just one of the fascinating findings that bestselling writer Will...
56 min
958
Salman Rushdie: Touchstones with Razia Iqbal
53 min
959
Business Weekly: Can Crypto Bank the Unbanked?
On Monday September 7th El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender. Businesses in the country will be obliged where possible to accept the digital coins as payment and citizens will be expected to download the government...
50 min
960
Debate: Michael Sandel vs Adrian Wooldridge on ...
Meritocracy has long been an article of faith in the modern Western world. Get an education, work hard and the rewards of success will be yours, regardless of class, privilege or wealth. But recently meritocracy has come under attack, with the charge l...
59 min
961
Negotiating Survival: Civilian Relations with t...
While the Taliban have the power of violence on their side in Afghanistan, they nonetheless need civilians to comply with their authority. Both strategically and by necessity, civilians have leveraged this reliance on their obedience in order to influe...
38 min
962
Business Weekly: No Bullsh*t Leadership with Re...
In this episode Chris Hirst speaks to Laxman Narasimhan, CEO of Reckitt, about his approach to leadership and how to connect with staff in a global company. Reckitt is the global consumer goods giant behind household brands such as Dettol, Durex, Vanis...
44 min
963
Dickens vs Tolstoy: The Battle Of The Great 19t...
34 min
964
How to Lead a Sustainable Business and the Futu...
Today's episode comes from the How To Lead a Sustainable Business, brought to you by Selfridges Group and Intelligence Squared. In the podcast, Alannah Weston, Chairman of Selfridges Group, speaks to inspiring leaders at the forefront of sustainab...
21 min
965
Debate: Crypto vs The Environment
Debate: Crypto vs The Environment  It is estimated that the global Bitcoin network currently consumes about 133 terawatt-hours of electricity annually - roughly equal to what is consumed by the nation of Sweden. Crypto skeptics warn that the...
56 min
966
The Sunday Debate: The West Should Cut Ties wit...
In this week's episode of the Sunday debate we go back to 2019. In the aftermath of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul we brought together leading experts to debate how the West should res...
60 min
967
They: What Muslims and Non-Muslims Get Wrong Ab...
In this week's episode Sarfraz Manzoor speaks to Ros Urwin about his investigative journey across Britain in search of the roots of division - from the fear that Islam promotes violence, to the suspicion that Muslims wish to live segregated lives,...
41 min
968
Debate: Bitcoin vs Gold with Anthony Scaramucci...
Since the world economy was plunged into crisis as a result of COVID-19 many economists have predicted a period of great instability. In normal times investors would seek to hedge against volatility by buying gold. But this time some are putting their ...
52 min
969
The Sunday Debate: The War on Terror was the ri...
Have the West’s efforts to eradicate Al-Qaeda around the world simply been fuelling the flames of hatred and violence? Or would we have suffered even more atrocities if we’d left the militants to plot in their hiding places? Is the US right to be pursu...
46 min
970
Afghanistan: What Next?
In this week's episode we examine the unfolding situation in Afghanistan and what it means for the Afghan people and the world. In Part 1 Shabnam Nasimi reflects on the last few days as an Afghan living abroad watching as the Taliban swept to powe...
56 min
971
China's Alternative Vision for the Internet, wi...
Once little more than a pornography filter, China’s ‘Great Firewall’ has evolved into the most sophisticated system of online censorship in the world. As the Chinese internet grows and online businesses thrive, speech is controlled, dissent quashed, an...
36 min
972
The Sunday Debate: To Stop Climate Collapse, We...
George Monbiot, Farhana Yamin, Adair Turner and Tony Juniper debated the single most important issue we face as a civilisation.
65 min
973
The Country of Others, with Leïla Slimani and S...
In conversation with writer and cultural historian Shahidha Bari, Slimani shared her insights into the impact of colonialism and the ways in which women in particular find themselves othered, politically, culturally and historically.To buy her new b...
55 min
974
Stop Pretending We Can Save the Planet, with Jo...
Let’s face it, argues Jonathan Franzen: the climate apocalypse is coming. We’ve already messed up the planet. The polar bears are running out of ice to stand on. Australia and California will burn again. Temperatures keep rising. Our chance to prevent ...
52 min
975
The Sunday Debate: Parenting Doesn’t Matter
How important is parenting? The multibillion-pound parenting industry tells us we can all shape our children to be joyful, resilient and successful. But what if it’s all bunk? Intelligence Squared brought together a panel of leading experts to explore ...
59 min