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Intelligence Squared

Intelligence Squared

300 episodes

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 podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

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Episodes page 5 of 6

  1. Trump, Markets and The Greatest Crash in U.S. History, with Andrew Ross Sorkin (Part One)

    · 36 min · S1 E3335

    In 1929, the world watched in shock as the unstoppable Wall Street bull market went into a freefall, wiping out fortunes and igniting a depression that would reshape a generation. In November 2025, Andrew Ross Sorkin,…

  2. The Specialist | Virgil Abloh’s Reimagining of the Iconic Nike Air Force 1 for Louis Vuitton, with Brahm Wachter

    · 12 min · S1 E3333

    This is an episode of The Specialist, your weekly dose of wonder. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best. On today’s episode, an…

  3. Why Do Authoritarians Want To Control The News? With Martin Moore

    · 34 min · S1 E3332

    In this episode academic and author Martin Moore speaks to host Carl Miller about the global battle to control the news. Drawing from his new book 'Dictating Reality' co-authored with Thomas Colley, they discuss how…

  4. What Does Test Cricket Reveal About the Legacy of Empire? With Tim Wigmore

    · 41 min · S1 E3331

    What does the history of Test cricket show us about identity? In this episode, Joey D’Urso speaks to award-winning author Tim Wigmore about how the players and the stories that have shaped Test cricket’s evolution…

  5. Does modern medicine need to drop the distinction between mental and physical health? With Professor Edward Bullmore

    · 45 min · S1 E3330

    For centuries, mental and physical health have been divided - disorders of the mind and body have been treated as if they were poles apart. This deep-rooted division has shaped medicine, psychiatry, and society. But…

  6. Is Vivaldi Still the Soundtrack of the Seasons? With Dr Hannah French

    · 59 min · S1 E3329

    Can music help us notice nature more deeply? In this episode, Dr Leah Broad speaks to broadcaster and author Dr Hannah French about the enduring influence and legacy of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. This year is the 300th…

  7. What Stories Are Written in The Rock Beneath Us? With Dr Anjana Khatwa

    · 30 min · S1 E3328

    How does the Earth remember its own history? In this episode, Professor Caroline Dodds Pennock speaks to award-winning Earth Scientist Dr Anjana Khatwa about the deep stories hidden within our landscapes. Dr Khatwa…

  8. Debate: Sanctions Don’t Work as a Tool of Foreign Policy

    · 1 h 21 min · S1 E3327

    In partnership with GlobalSanctions.com, the world’s leading online resource for up to the minute information on sanctions and export controls worldwide. Sanctions have become one of the most widely used tools in…

  9. How does a nation’s language shape its identity? Hannah Kent on her year in Iceland

    · 43 min · S1 E3326

    When Australian writer Hannah Kent first travelled to Iceland at the age of 17, she had never seen snow before, and didn’t speak a word of Icelandic. Living in a remote part of Iceland during the dark winter, she fell…

  10. How To Lose Your Country, with Ece Temelkuran (Part Two)

    · 30 min · S1 E3325

    Temelkuran is a brilliant writer, finding humour, hope and humanity in the darkest corners of our current malaise.’ – BRIAN ENO Ece Temelkuran is the award winning Turkish writer and author who was forced into exile…

  11. How To Lose Your Country, with Ece Temelkuran (Part One)

    · 34 min · S1 E3324

    Temelkuran is a brilliant writer, finding humour, hope and humanity in the darkest corners of our current malaise.’ – BRIAN ENO Ece Temelkuran is the award winning Turkish writer and author who was forced into exile…

  12. Why Are We So Addicted to Everything? With Nicklas Brendborg

    · 44 min · S1 E3323

    Are we living in a world designed to hijack our brains? In this episode, Dr Emma Yhnell speaks to international best-selling author Nicklas Brendborg about how supernormal stimuli have become the norm in modern…

  13. Sotheby’s Talks | The Leonard A. Lauder Collection: Klimt and the Art of Connoisseurship

    · 42 min · S1 E3322

    On today’s episode, an episode from our friends at Sotheby's exploring the remarkable collection of Leonard A. Lauder, one of the greatest collectors and benefactors of the arts in America. At its centre is Gustav…

  14. Is This the Twilight of American Supremacy? Simon Jenkins on Why the World Needs the USA

    · 31 min · S1 E3321

    The United States of America is younger than the British Museum and Guinness - in 2026 it celebrates its 250th birthday. How did this vast melting pot of people and ideas come to dominate global politics and culture?…

  15. Olivia Laing on Passion and Heartbreak in the Golden Age of New Italian Cinema

    · 27 min · S1 E3320

    Olivia Laing is an internationally acclaimed writer and critic. They are the author of eight books, including The Lonely City, Everybody and the Sunday Times bestseller The Garden Against Time. Laing’s first novel,…

  16. Salman Rushdie on Mortality, Memory and The Eleventh Hour

    · 40 min · S1 E3319

    Salman Rushdie is one of the world’s most acclaimed, award-winning contemporary authors. Translated into over forty languages, his sixteen works of fiction include Midnight’s Children – for which he won the Booker…

  17. What was the Iranian Revolution really about? With Scott Anderson

    · 31 min · S1 E3318

    Scott Anderson is a veteran foreign reporter and war correspondent, and a contributing writer for The New York Times. Over his career he has reported from Bosnia, Libya, Palestine and across the Middle East. In this…

  18. The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook with Jeremy Hunt (Part Two)

    · 34 min · S1 E3317

    We’ve heard enough from the pessimists. Yes, these are hard times, but what investors, business owners and all of us need right now is not more despair about the economy, but a clear roadmap towards growth and…

  19. The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook with Jeremy Hunt (Part One)

    · 33 min · S1 E3316

    We’ve heard enough from the pessimists. Yes, these are hard times, but what investors, business owners and all of us need right now is not more despair about the economy, but a clear roadmap towards growth and…

  20. What Are The Essentials for Reimagining Work with AI Agents?

    · 49 min · S1 E3315

    We’re only at the very beginning of the AI transformation. The next big leap isn’t just smarter chatbots, it’s AI agents: tools that don’t just answer questions but loop, reason, and complete whole tasks within your…

  21. The Age of the Strongman: Understanding Trump, with Anne Applebaum (Part Two)

    · 30 min · S1 E3314

    The morning after Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential election, The New York Times front page declared: ‘America Hires a Strongman’. But is Trump really a ‘strongman’ and is it fair to…

  22. The Age of the Strongman: Understanding Trump, with Anne Applebaum (Part One)

    · 35 min · S1 E3313

    This event is part of our Age of the Strongman series. Click here to see the other events in the series. The morning after Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential election, The New York…

  23. Lyse Doucet on Reporting from the Frontlines (Part Two)

    · 36 min · S1 E3310

    As the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet has witnessed and reported on some of the most consequential events of our time. She has reported from Afghanistan since 1988, during the Soviet troop…

  24. Lyse Doucet on Reporting from the Frontlines (Part One)

    · 33 min · S1 E3311

    As the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet has witnessed and reported on some of the most consequential events of our time. She has reported from Afghanistan since 1988, during the Soviet troop…

  25. An Evening with Dan Jones on War, Plague and Lion Hearts (Part Two)

    · 43 min · S1 E3310

    ‘Unforgettable characters, written with irrepressible verve and historical accuracy [...] thrums with swordswinging energy.’ ― Simon Sebag Montefiore The Hundred Years’ War was an age-defining conflict. The violent…

  26. An Evening with Dan Jones on War, Plague and Lion Hearts (Part One)

    · 35 min · S1 E3309

    ‘Unforgettable characters, written with irrepressible verve and historical accuracy [...] thrums with swordswinging energy.’ ― Simon Sebag Montefiore The Hundred Years’ War was an age-defining conflict. The violent…

  27. Why Does It Feel Like Everything is Getting Worse? With Cory Doctorow

    · 39 min · S1 E3308

    How can we reverse the enshittification of digital platforms? With Cory Doctorow Why does every online platform seem to start out great - then slowly turn to garbage? Why do our digital public squares now feel more…

  28. Can the West Hold Together? Lessons from WWII with Tim Bouverie and Michael Gove (Part Two)

    · 35 min · S1 E3307

    ‘There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them.’ – Winston Churchill In a world where geopolitical alliances are fraying and tensions are rising, what can the fragile…

  29. Can the West Hold Together? Lessons from WWII with Tim Bouverie and Michael Gove (Part One)

    · 29 min · S1 E3306

    ‘There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them.’ – Winston Churchill In a world where geopolitical alliances are fraying and tensions are rising, what can the fragile…

  30. How Will the US Fight China? With Franz-Stefan Gady

    · 1 h 05 min · S1 E3305

    The threat of war between the US and China seems to be a constant background hum in the news cycle. Commentators often tackle when and why this conflict might emerge and escalate. But how would a war between the two…

  31. The Specialist | The Most Valuable Car in the World, with Gord Duff And Marcus Breitschwerdt

    · 17 min · Episode 3304

    This is an episode of The Specialist, your weekly dose of wonder. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best. On this episode, the…

  32. What Can Criminal Psychology Teach Us About Climate Change? With Julia Shaw

    · 41 min · S1 E3303

    Can criminal psychology offer us a new way to think about and combat climate change? In this episode, criminal psychologist Julia Shaw sits down with physicist and broadcaster Helen Czerski to offer a compelling new…

  33. Anthony Scaramucci on Trump and the Threat to American Democracy (Part Two)

    · 29 min · S1 E3302

    Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Communications Director turned outspoken Trump critic, comes to Intelligence Squared in September for a straight-talking conversation on the fallout from Trump’s second…

  34. Anthony Scaramucci on Trump and the Threat to American Democracy (Part One)

    · 33 min · S1 E3301

    Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Communications Director turned outspoken Trump critic, comes to Intelligence Squared in September for a straight-talking conversation on the fallout from Trump’s second…

  35. The Thick of It: 20 Years On, with Armando Iannucci, Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison and Rebecca Front (Part Two)

    · 35 min · S1 E3300 · Explicit

    Malcolm Tucker. Pet ASBOs. A law requiring everyone in Britain to carry around a plastic bag. It’s been twenty years since Armando Iannucci‘s The Thick of It first brought the chaos and drama of the fictitious…

  36. The Thick of It: 20 Years On, with Armando Iannucci, Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison and Rebecca Front (Part One)

    · 34 min · S1 E3299 · Explicit

    Malcolm Tucker. Pet ASBOs. A law requiring everyone in Britain to carry around a plastic bag. It’s been twenty years since Armando Iannucci‘s The Thick of It first brought the chaos and drama of the fictitious…

  37. Is AI About to Automate War? With Anthony King

    · 1 h 03 min · S1 E3298

    Are supercomputers and killer robots going to take over? In this episode, Adam McCauley speaks to professor and author Anthony King in order to debunk the science- fiction tinged narrative of AI’s military potential…

  38. Sir Tim Berners-Lee on the Internet, AI and the Future of Humanity (Part Two)

    · 33 min · S1 E3297

    Watch the full video of this event for free here: https://mailchi.mp/intelligencesquared/lw6gixq1t9 The transcript of this event is available here:…

  39. Sir Tim Berners-Lee on the Internet, AI and the Future of Humanity (Part One)

    · 36 min · S1 E3296

    Watch the full video of this event for free here: https://mailchi.mp/intelligencesquared/lw6gixq1t9 The transcript of this event is available here:…

  40. Hotels with History | Raffles Hotel, Singapore, with Richard E. Grant and Jules Perowne

    · 26 min · S1 E3295

    This is an episode of Hotels with History, produced by Intelligence Squared on behalf of Perowne International. On todays episode, Richard journeys to Singapore to explore the legendary Raffles Hotel. Discover how…

  41. What Did Twenty Years of Western Intervention in Afghanistan Achieve? With Jon Lee Anderson

    · 34 min · S1 E3294

    For more than 40 years, world-renowned foreign correspondent Jon Lee Anderson has been reporting on wars, crises and revolutions, from Latin America to the Middle East and Africa. Throughout his career he has made…

  42. Who are the Trailblazing Women Hidden From Our History? With Women's Prize Founder Kate Mosse

    · 51 min · S1 E3293

    Did you know that Mary Shelley was a teenager when she started writing Frankenstein in 1814? Or that England’s most prolific goal scorer - man or woman - was superstar striker Lily Parr, who scored a staggering 997…

  43. Is the Data on Climate Change More Optimistic than We Thought? With Hannah Ritchie

    · 39 min · S1 E3292

    What if the real story of climate change is far more hopeful than we’ve been led to believe? With so much doomsday reporting and general misinformation on climate change, it can be hard to know what’s true - and what…

  44. Ian McEwan on Speculative Fiction, Lost Poems and What We Can Know

    · 39 min · S1 E3291

    Ian McEwan is the critically acclaimed author of nineteen novels and two short story collections. His novels include Atonement, Enduring Love, The Children Act and On Chesil Beach, and he is the recipient of many…

  45. Sotheby’s Talks | Custodians of Taste: Pauline Karpidas and the Women who Shape the Art World

    · 53 min · Episode 3290

    On today’s episode, an episode from our friends at Sotheby's exploring the remarkable collecting journey of Pauline Karpidas, one of the most influential art patrons of the past fifty years. Ahead of Sotheby’s landmark…

  46. Arundhati Roy on Storytelling, Memory and The Human Condition (Part Two)

    · 31 min · S1 E3289

    ‘It is vanishingly rare for a writer to both confront the ugliness of humanity and still search for its beauty. Roy is that rare writer.’ – Naomi Klein Arundhati Roy is one of today’s most esteemed public…

  47. Arundhati Roy on Storytelling, Memory and The Human Condition (Part One)

    · 30 min · S1 E3288

    ‘It is vanishingly rare for a writer to both confront the ugliness of humanity and still search for its beauty. Roy is that rare writer.’ – Naomi Klein Arundhati Roy is one of today’s most esteemed public…

  48. Nick Clegg on Meta, AI and the Battle for Big Tech (Part Two)

    · 33 min · S1 E3287

    Nick Clegg has had a seat at the heart of power for nearly two decades. As leader of the Liberal Democrats he served as deputy Prime Minister from 2010 to 2015 in the coalition government with David Cameron. After…

  49. Nick Clegg on Meta, AI and the Battle for Big Tech (Part One)

    · 34 min · S1 E3286

    Nick Clegg has had a seat at the heart of power for nearly two decades. As leader of the Liberal Democrats he served as deputy Prime Minister from 2010 to 2015 in the coalition government with David Cameron. After…

  50. The Age of the Strongman: Understanding Netanyahu, with Anshel Pfeffer (Part Two)

    · 40 min · S1 E3285

    In November 2022, Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in Israel after winning his sixth election. Propped up by a bloc of far-right and ultra-religious parties, Netanyahu’s government is seen by many as the most…

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