Intelligence Squared

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, furniture, ceramics and literature. This podcast was originally recorded at Sotheby’s in London to celebrate Radical Modernity: From Bloomsbury to Charleston, a private selling and loan exhibition in collaboration with Charleston. And, to step further into the world of Sotheby’s, you can visit any of our galleries around the world; they’re open to the public. For more information, visit sothebys.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, How To Survive The Internet. If you'd like to become a Member and listen ad free, be an early access subscriber, and enjoy our extra extended versions of the conversations available to Members-only, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-perso

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 since Russian ports are frozen for half the year, Putin wants to control the warm water port of Odessa. In October 2024 Marshall came to the Intelligence Squared stage just weeks out from the pivotal election in the United States to discuss how politics and geography intersect on the world stage. He helped us to understand what’s at stake for the world in 2024 and how geography will underpin the geopolitical conflicts of the future. Joining him onstage to discuss it was science communicator, oceanographer and physicist,

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 control the warm water port of Odessa. In October 2024 Marshall came to the Intelligence Squared stage just weeks out from the pivotal election in the United States to discuss how politics and geography intersect on the world stage. He helped us to understand what’s at stake for the world in 2024 and how geography will underpin the geopolitical conflicts of the future. Joining him onstage to discuss it was science communicator, oceanographer and physicist, Helen Czerski. This is the first instalment of our full-length in-d

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. But he fought his way to the top and joined Manchester City in 2016 where he would go on to experience exhilarating career highs, with four league titles in six years, before moving to Arsenal where he has played an integral part in their recent successes. Zinchenko has shown his intense commitment in a very different way through his campaigning in support of his homeland during the ongoing war. Following advice from loved ones, he aimed to make a difference by using his platform to spread awareness and raise money t

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 where he would go on to experience exhilarating career highs, with four league titles in six years, before moving to Arsenal where he has played an integral part in their recent successes. Zinchenko has shown his intense commitment in a very different way through his campaigning in support of his homeland during the ongoing war. Following advice from loved ones, he aimed to make a difference by using his platform to spread awareness and raise money to support his country. In October 2024 Zinchenko came to Intelligence

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 and ask whether its future is assured, discussed his latest book, The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism. Joining Gray in conversation to discuss the book and the pivotal events of November 2024 was Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and author of Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century. This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to the full conversation immediately as an early access subscriber, plus all of our Me

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 latest book, The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism. Joining Gray in conversation to discuss the book and the pivotal events of November 2024 was Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and author of Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century. This is the first instalment of a three-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to the full conversation immediately as an early access subscriber, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/m

This is the second instalment of a two-part episode. The October 7 Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Israel and the subsequent siege of Gaza by the Israeli military upended the Middle East. Can the conflict be contained or will the tensions between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran escalate and engulf the Middle East in a regional war? On October 27, 2024, Jeremy Bowen, the International Editor of the BBC, joined Intelligence Squared CEO Matt McAllester in conversation to reflect and make sense of what is happening in the region. Bowen has reported on all the most significant events that have shaped the region’s recent history – the long and ultimately failed Middle East peace process, the tragic events of 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, plus most recently the Israel-Hamas war. Many of these events are covered in Bowen's recent book, The Making of the Modern Middle East. As a journalist and author, his deep understanding of the political, cultural and religious differences of its peoples makes him uniquely p

The October 7 Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Israel and the subsequent siege of Gaza by the Israeli military upended the Middle East. Can the conflict be contained or will the tensions between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran escalate and engulf the Middle East in a regional war? On October 27, 2024, Jeremy Bowen, the International Editor of the BBC, joined Intelligence Squared CEO Matt McAllester in conversation to reflect and make sense of what is happening in the region. Bowen has reported on all the most significant events that have shaped the region’s recent history – the long and ultimately failed Middle East peace process, the tragic events of 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, plus most recently the Israel-Hamas war. Many of these events are covered in Bowen's recent book, The Making of the Modern Middle East. As a journalist and author, his deep understanding of the political, cultural and religious differences of its peoples makes him uniquely placed to explain its complex past and troubled presen

This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. Japan’s Masayoshi Son has purportedly invested or controlled assets worth $1trn in the past two decades through his media-tech giant, SoftBank. He bankrolled Alibaba, China’s internet colossus, before the world had heard about it. He plotted with Steve Jobs to turn the iPhone into a miracle product and he invested in hundreds of tech start-ups, helping to fuel the biggest boom Silicon Valley has ever seen. The business magnate is the focus of former FT Editor Lionel Barber's new book, Gambling Man: The Wild Ride of Japan's Masayoshi Son. In this episode, Barber joins Editor-in-Chief of The Economist Zanny Minton Beddoes live onstage to discuss what we can learn from Son’s remarkable story. This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to the full conversation immediately as an early access subscriber, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out m

Japan’s Masayoshi Son has purportedly invested or controlled assets worth $1trn in the past two decades through his media-tech giant, SoftBank. He bankrolled Alibaba, China’s internet colossus, before the world had heard about it. He plotted with Steve Jobs to turn the iPhone into a miracle product and he invested in hundreds of tech start-ups, helping to fuel the biggest boom Silicon Valley has ever seen. The business magnate is the focus of former FT Editor Lionel Barber's new book, Gambling Man: The Wild Ride of Japan's Masayoshi Son. In this episode, Barber joins Editor-in-Chief of The Economist Zanny Minton Beddoes live onstage to discuss what we can learn from Son’s remarkable story. This is the first instalment of a three-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to the full conversation immediately as an early access subscriber, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-

This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. The foods we turn to behind closed doors are deeply personal, saturated in memories and topped with a healthy dollop of guilty pleasure. In Comfort Eating, the podcast and accompanying book of the same name, Grace Dent – one of the UK's best-loved food writers – throws open her kitchen cupboards to reveal why we hold these secret snacks, naughty nibbles and hand-me-down recipes so dear to our hearts. She was joined live onstage at London's Union Chapel recently by comedian and host of the The Guilty Feminist podcast, Deborah Frances-White, to discuss the deep connections between food, memory, love and life. This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to the full conversation immediately as an early access subscriber, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligen

The foods we turn to behind closed doors are deeply personal, saturated in memories and topped with a healthy dollop of guilty pleasure. In Comfort Eating, the podcast and accompanying book of the same name, Grace Dent – one of the UK's best-loved food writers – throws open her kitchen cupboards to reveal why we hold these secret snacks, naughty nibbles and hand-me-down recipes so dear to our hearts. She was joined live onstage at London's Union Chapel recently by comedian and host of the The Guilty Feminist podcast, Deborah Frances-White, to discuss the deep connections between food, memory, love and life. This is the first instalment of a three-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to the full conversation immediately as an early access subscriber, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - B

This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. Gary Younge has had a ringside seat during the biggest events in modern Black history: accompanying Nelson Mandela on his first election campaign, joining revellers on the southside of Chicago during Barack Obama’s presidential election victory, entering New Orleans days after Hurricane Katrina, covering the rise of Black Lives Matter and interviewing prominent figures including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Maya Angelou and Stormzy. Now as the UK faces new waves of racial tension and division, Younge came to the Intelligence Squared stage to draw from his book Dispatches From The Diaspora and to discuss what can we learn from the past to make sense of the present. Recently awarded the Orwell Prize for Journalism, one of the nation’s most powerful political voices joined us to discuss reporting on the diaspora from its frontlines. Joining Younge in conversation for this three-part episode is the writer and journalist Aniefiok Ekpoudom. This is the second inst

Gary Younge has had a ringside seat during the biggest events in modern Black history: accompanying Nelson Mandela on his first election campaign, joining revellers on the southside of Chicago during Barack Obama’s presidential election victory, entering New Orleans days after Hurricane Katrina, covering the rise of Black Lives Matter and interviewing prominent figures including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Maya Angelou and Stormzy. Now as the UK faces new waves of racial tension and division, Younge came to the Intelligence Squared stage to draw from his book Dispatches From The Diaspora and to discuss what can we learn from the past to make sense of the present. Recently awarded the Orwell Prize for Journalism, one of the nation’s most powerful political voices joined us to discuss reporting on the diaspora from its frontlines. Joining Younge in conversation for this three-part episode is the writer and journalist Aniefiok Ekpoudom. This is the first instalment of a three-part episode. If you'd like to become

How should we remember Napoleon, the man of obscure Corsican birth who rose to become emperor of the French and briefly master of Europe? In this archive debate from 2014, as the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo approached, Intelligence Squared brought together two of Britain’s finest historians to debate how we should assess Napoleon’s life and legacy. Was he a military genius and father of the French state, or a blundering nonentity who created his own enduring myth? Was his goal of uniting the European continent under a common political system the forerunner of the modern ‘European dream’? Or was he an incompetent despot, a warning from history of the dangers of overarching grand plans? If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts

Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock is an award-winning space scientist, broadcaster, author and familiar face from the BBC's The Sky at Night programme. She's also Chancellor of the University of Leicester and for this episode she joins us to discuss her new book, The Story of the Solar System: A Visual Journey. In conversation with Aderin-Pocock for the podcast is scientist, communicator and Fellow at Edinburgh University's Centre for Reproductive Health, Güneş Taylor. Let us know your thoughts! Take a moment to fill in our Intelligence Squared Audience Survey and be in with the chance of winning a £50 Amazon gift card. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15%

This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. Henry V reigned over England for nine years and four months before he died at the early age of 35. He was known as a hardened, sometimes brutal, warrior, yet one who was also intelligent and artistic. He was a leader who made many mistakes, who misjudged his friends and family members, yet always seemed to triumph when it mattered. As king, he saved a shattered country from economic ruin, put down rebellions and secured England’s borders; in foreign diplomacy he made England a serious player on the world stage once more. Yet through his conquests in northern France, he sowed the seeds for three generations of calamity at home, in the form of the Wars of the Roses. In September 2024 historian Dan Jones came to Intelligence Squared to tell the epic story  of this controversial historical figure. Drawing from his new book Henry V: The Astonishing Rise of England’s Greatest Warrior King, Jones explained why Henry is such an important figure in English history

Henry V reigned over England for nine years and four months before he died at the early age of 35. He was known as a hardened, sometimes brutal, warrior, yet one who was also intelligent and artistic. He was a leader who made many mistakes, who misjudged his friends and family members, yet always seemed to triumph when it mattered. As king, he saved a shattered country from economic ruin, put down rebellions and secured England’s borders; in foreign diplomacy he made England a serious player on the world stage once more. Yet through his conquests in northern France, he sowed the seeds for three generations of calamity at home, in the form of the Wars of the Roses. In September 2024 historian Dan Jones came to Intelligence Squared to tell the epic story  of this controversial historical figure. Drawing from his new book Henry V: The Astonishing Rise of England’s Greatest Warrior King, Jones explained why Henry is such an important figure in English history and why his legacy still inspires cultural and politic