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.
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1451
David Eagleman on the Science of De- (and Re-) ...
Which side were you on? The Jets or the Sharks? The Capulets or the Montagues? The Greeks or the Trojans? Antony or Caesar? William or Harold? And so the list goes on ... Indeed, maybe the whole of human history is the story of group-making and group-b...
60 min
1452
Yuval Noah Harari on the Rise of Homo Deus
“Studying history aims to loosen the grip of the past… It will not tell us what to choose, but at least it gives us more options.” – Yuval Noah HarariYuval Noah Harari is the star historian who shot to fame with his international bestseller 'Sap...
60 min
1453
Museums are Bad at Telling us Why Art Matters
Museums are our new churches, as is commonly agreed. Millions of people flock to them to be uplifted, inspired, or distracted from everyday cares for an hour or two by encountering magnificent art. But while churches know exactly how to present art in...
58 min
1454
P J O'Rourke: The Funniest Man in America
P.J. O'Rourke is America's premier political satirist and has more citations in 'The Penguin Dictionary of Humorous Quotations' than any other living writer. In this live appearance for Intelligence Squared in 2010, he discussed his...
59 min
1455
Brexit Britain – Our Divided Nation
This panel session was part of Brexit Britain, an afternoon of debate and discussion produced by BBC Newsnight in partnership with Intelligence Squared at the Royal Geographical Society in London.In this, the first session of the day, folk...
50 min
1456
Brexit Britain - Political Fallout
This panel session was part of Brexit Britain, an afternoon of debate and discussion produced by BBC Newsnight in partnership with Intelligence Squared at the Royal Geographical Society in London.In this, the second session of the day, Guardian...
44 min
1457
Carlo Rovelli and Christophe Galfard on the Arc...
Does time exist?Was our universe born from a Big Bang, or from a Big Bounce triggered by a former universe imploding?Is this the only universe, or are there infinite ones, all expanding in parallel and out of sight of each other?These are just so...
60 min
1458
Richard Dawkins: The Rational Revolutionary
In the 1960s and 70s, a revolution took place in the way we understand human nature. Out went Marx and Freud, and in came a rational, scientific approach to the way we see ourselves. At the vanguard of that revolution was Richard Dawkins, the evolution...
60 min
1459
Ancient Worlds: A Meeting of East and West
There’s a new school of history that’s revolutionising the way we look at the past. For centuries, our history has been taught in separate chunks, with the classical, European world divided from China and the East. This traditional, somewhat lazy...
57 min
1460
Brexit: What Next?
The UK has made the momentous decision to leave the EU. Intelligence Squared staged an emergency event to discuss the ramifications. A panel including Douglas Carswell, Jonathan Freedland, Josef Janning, Liz Kendall, Anand Menon and Adair Turner will...
86 min
1461
Yes, he Can! No, he couldn't. Obama Is A Failed...
Eight years ago the banners said ‘Behold the new Kennedy!’ Tears flowed and expectations were sky-high as Obama spoke on election night surrounded by his young family. Here was America’s saviour, the man who could overcome the legacy of slavery, heal a...
60 min
1462
One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Democracy is Not Alwa...
Democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried. So said Winston Churchill and who would disagree? One man, one vote, the rule of law, equality and a free press. These are the principles which tens of thousands have...
46 min
1463
The Return of History and the Death of Democrac...
25 years ago, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the future looked rosy. Liberal democracy, freedom and individual rights were on the march, triumphing over tyranny and repression. The end of the Cold War had brought an end to history, declared Francis...
60 min
1464
The Benefits System Perpetuates Misery
Beveridge would be turning in his grave. The benefits system that his 1942 report introduced has become a travesty. Right now there are some 4.5m people in the UK living in households where nobody has a job. Behind that figure lies a subsection of...
59 min
1465
Let the bad guys be: foreign intervention does ...
In February 2012 Intelligence Squared Asia presented leading voices and influential figures in a debate about foreign intervention. This discussion raised questions such as: Does foreign intervention lend itself to long-term partnerships characterized...
59 min
1466
The Great Intelligence Squared Brexit Debate
How do we decide? The in-out referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union on June 23 is a once-in-a-generation vote. For some of us it’s a matter of gut political instinct: we are natural inners or outers. But for many, coming to an informed...
84 min
1467
Is the Party Over for Economic Growth? When eco...
It was a blast. Since the Industrial Revolution, we enjoyed unprecedented economic growth, propelled by a seemingly unstoppable wave of technological innovation. For 100 years from around 1870, life in the West was transformed by inventions such as...
59 min
1468
Assisted suicide should be legalised
The law allows me to kill myself, but what if I have a progressive illness and reach a stage when I long to end my life but cannot do so unaided. Isn't it needlessly cruel and illogical that as the law stands, no friend or family member or doctor ...
60 min
1469
Michael Sandel on the Moral Limits of Markets
Michael Sandel is one of the world's most acclaimed and popular political philosophers. He has given the Reith lectures, been called "the most influential foreign figure of the year" by China Newsweek, and his online video lectures for H...
60 min
1470
Tony Blair on Trial
When Tony Blair became prime minister in May 1997, he had a landslide majority, an approval rating of 93 per cent, and he went on to become Labour’s longest-serving premier. At his last PMQs he got a standing ovation in the chamber of the House of...
61 min
1471
The Future of Health: When Death Becomes Optional
What if doctors no longer played God and you became CEO of your own health?What if medicine were tailor-made for your own DNA?What will the world be like when people start living to 150 – or even forever? If only the wealthy can afford super-longe...
60 min
1472
Art Today Has Sold Out To The Market
Today’s global art market is reminiscent of a roller coaster - even as it rotates and retrenches - the ride continues to propel, excite and surprise. With a tenfold increase in buyers over the last decade, unprecedented numbers of influencers are...
60 min
1473
Democracy is India's Achilles' heel
We assume that democracy is what every country should have. But what has democracy done for India? Easy. It has stimulated corruption on a massive scale, and if you want to get rich in India the most direct way is to run for parliament and reap the...
59 min
1474
George Steiner on the Poetry of Thought
Renowned polyglot and polymath, George Steiner has long been recognised as one of the most original minds and brilliant lecturers of our generation. In this talk from April 2009, he argued that at the deepest level there is no essential difference...
60 min
1475
The United Nations is terminally paralysed: the...
In January 2009, a panel of experts came to the Intelligence Squared stage to debate the motion "The United Nations is terminally paralysed: the democratic world needs a forum of its own".Speaking for the motion were Radek Sikorski, Foreign...
46 min