Intelligence Squared

49:24

NYT’s Novel of the Century? Marlon James on The...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/09/01

In 1988, eight men in Kingston, Jamaica, begin rehearsals for a play. Though strangers to one another, they share an inescapable truth: All of them are gay. And they live in a world that refuses to accept them. One night they are beaten and one of them is killed.In this episode, Booker Prize-winning author Marlon James speaks with Mythili Rao on his newest novel The Disappearers. Described as a reckoning, the novel explores a violent incident that was rumoured to have happened but was never

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38:29

The Secret History in Our DNA: Adam Rutherford Meets...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/30

Adam Rutherford is a science broadcaster, and author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, which transformed the way we think about human history. By using genetics to uncover the story of our species, it offered a thrilling new perspective on who we are and where we came from. David Olusoga is an award winning author and historian, whose work includes the TV series and book Black & British: A Forgotten History and the landmark BBC arts series Civilizations. In July 2026 they came to the

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42:46

The Secret History in Our DNA: Adam Rutherford Meets...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/29

Adam Rutherford is a science broadcaster, and author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, which transformed the way we think about human history. By using genetics to uncover the story of our species, it offered a thrilling new perspective on who we are and where we came from. David Olusoga is an award winning author and historian, whose work includes the TV series and book Black & British: A Forgotten History and the landmark BBC arts series Civilizations. In July 2026 they came to the

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41:35

Can Democracy Survive the Age of AI? With Jill Lepore

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/28

We live in the age of data. Over the past century, rapidly evolving technologies have transformed almost every aspect of our society, in ways that can seem both troubling and unstoppable. Political campaigns have been reduced to attention-mining algorithms, multinational corporations control public discourse, and the era of the liberal nation-state seems to be coming to an end, replaced by the rule of artificial intelligence. In her new book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, historian

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42:13

What John Berger Saw That We Still Don’t, with Tom...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/25

John Berger transformed the way generations thought about art, politics and the act of looking. Best known for Ways of Seeing, his work ranged across migration, capitalism, war and mortality, always asking how culture can help us understand the world around us.In this episode, writer and academic Shahidha Bari speaks with Tom Overton about his new book, John Berger: From Life. Overton first got to know Berger while cataloguing his archive at the British Library, where forgotten photographs,

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33:14

Is Tech Making Our Kids Less Capable? With Dr Jared...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/23

Schools were promised that laptops, educational apps and artificial intelligence would make learning more personalised, engaging and effective. Cognitive neuroscientist and former teacher Dr Jared Cooney Horvath argues that the opposite may be true. In his new book, The Digital Delusion, Horvath contends that classroom technology can fracture attention, weaken deep reading and encourage children to outsource the mental effort through which learning happens. But does the evidence prove that

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37:37

Is Ukraine’s Culture Worth Fighting For? With...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/22

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has placed not only lives and cities under attack, but also the country’s language, history and culture. Museums have been looted, cultural sites destroyed and a generation of writers, artists and performers drawn into the war. Yet amid this devastation, art has become a powerful form of documentation, resistance and survival.In this episode, journalist and author Hannah Lucinda Smith speaks with Guardian chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins about her book

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42:18

How George Michael Changed Music Forever, with...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/20

George Michael wrote Careless Whisper, one of the biggest pop songs of our age, in an hour in his childhood bedroom. Alongside his childhood best friend Andrew Ridgeley he founded Wham!, a revolutionary pop group which became one of the defining bands of the 1980s, selling over 30 million records. Yet behind the genius of George Michael was the complex personal story of Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou who grew up in a conservative Greek-Cypriot immigrant family and had a life shaped by shame,

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37:17

How George Michael Changed Music Forever, with...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/18

George Michael wrote Careless Whisper, one of the biggest pop songs of our age, in an hour in his childhood bedroom. Alongside his childhood best friend Andrew Ridgeley he founded Wham!, a revolutionary pop group which became one of the defining bands of the 1980s, selling over 30 million records. Yet behind the genius of George Michael was the complex personal story of Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou who grew up in a conservative Greek-Cypriot immigrant family and had a life shaped by shame,

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51:38

Spielberg, Coppola and Lucas: The Remaking of Modern...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/16

By the early 1980s Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were the richest, best-known filmmakers in the world, with an empire of their own. Coppola had directed The Godfather, then the highest-grossing film of all-time, until Spielberg surpassed it with Jaws — whose record Lucas broke with Star Wars, which Spielberg surpassed again with E.T.In a new book, The Last Kings of Hollywood, Paul Fischer charts their rise from young, ambitious filmmakers in the 1960s to the dominant

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36:46

Colm Tóibín on Stories of Exile (Part Two)

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/15

Colm Tóibínis widely acclaimed for the emotional restraint and quiet power of his prose. His writing explores exile, abandonment, loss and denial, the things that go unspoken and the feelings not acted upon. His novels includeNora Webster;Brooklyn,which was turned into a film starring Saoirse Ronan; and its sequel,Long Island, both telling the story of a young Irishwoman who emigrates to the United States in the years after the Second World War.In June 2026 he comes to Intelligence Squared to

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39:04

Colm Tóibín on Stories of Exile (Part One)

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/13

Colm Tóibínis widely acclaimed for the emotional restraint and quiet power of his prose. His writing explores exile, abandonment, loss and denial, the things that go unspoken and the feelings not acted upon. His novels includeNora Webster;Brooklyn,which was turned into a film starring Saoirse Ronan; and its sequel,Long Island, both telling the story of a young Irishwoman who emigrates to the United States in the years after the Second World War.In June 2026 he comes to Intelligence Squared to

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34:47

Uncovering the Epstein Story, with Emily Maitlis and...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/11

The Jeffrey Epstein story has created shockwaves on both sides of the Atlantic. As new documents continue to emerge, and as journalists continue to report around those documents, we’re increasingly seeing how the powerful and well-connected can evade scrutiny. At its core, this is a story about a system of privilege that shielded Epstein – and failed the women and girls around him.Amy Wallace and Emily Maitlis have each played a pivotal role in bringing this story to light. Wallace, an

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40:18

Uncovering the Epstein Story, with Emily Maitlis and...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/09

The Jeffrey Epstein story has created shockwaves on both sides of the Atlantic. As new documents continue to emerge, and as journalists continue to report around those documents, we’re increasingly seeing how the powerful and well-connected can evade scrutiny. At its core, this is a story about a system of privilege that shielded Epstein – and failed the women and girls around him. Amy WallaceandEmily Maitlishave each played a pivotal role in bringing this story to light. Wallace, an American

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29:59

Is the Algorithm Destroying Taste? With Polyester...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/08

What we like has never been entirely our own. Taste has always been shaped by class, culture and the people around us. But in the age of algorithms and AI, our preferences are increasingly being predicted, curated and sold back to us.In this episode, Mia Sorenti speaks with Ione Gamble, founding editor of Polyester zine, about how taste is formed, why it matters, and what happens when algorithms replace curiosity with convenience. From Spotify recommendations and TikTok trends to influencer

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49:01

How Do Our Sibling Relationships Shape Us? With...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/06

For many of us, our relationships with our siblings are the longest of our lives. They shape our earliest experiences of love, rivalry, identity and belonging. Yet despite their lasting influence, they are often overlooked in favour of relationships with parents, partners or children.In this episode, journalist and critic Mythili Rao speaks with broadcaster Catherine Carr about the overlooked significance of sibling relationships. Together they explore how these lifelong bonds shape who we become,

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32:45

Can the US Survive Donald Trump? With Pod Save the...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/04

Ben Rhodes served as one of Barack Obama’s closest foreign-policy aides, holding the role of Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting from 2009 to 2017. He acted as the lead negotiator in secret talks that normalised U.S.–Cuba relations and was central in building political support for the Iran nuclear deal. Since leaving government, Rhodes has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and his efforts to dismantle Obama’s foreign policy legacy, moves Rhodes

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39:13

Can the US Survive Donald Trump? With Pod Save the...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/02

Ben Rhodesserved as one of Barack Obama’s closest foreign-policy aides, holding the role of Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting from 2009 to 2017. He acted as the lead negotiator in secret talks that normalised U.S.–Cuba relations and was central in building political support for the Iran nuclear deal. Since leaving government, Rhodes has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and his efforts to dismantle Obama’s foreign policy legacy, moves Rhodes

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41:24

What Everyone Gets Wrong About Iran, with Clarissa...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/08/01

Since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran in late February, the world has changed dramatically. More than fourteen countries have now become embroiled in the conflict and there is widespread fear the war could impact the world for years to come.Clarissa Ward, CNN’s multi-award-winning Chief International Correspondent, has been reporting on the ground in the Middle East since the outbreak of the war. Ward is no stranger to war and has reported from the front lines of

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34:00

What Everyone Gets Wrong About Iran, with Clarissa...

Intelligence Squared ·

2026/07/30

Since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran in late February, the world has changed dramatically. More than fourteen countries have now become embroiled in the conflict and there is widespread fear the war could impact the world for years to come. Clarissa Ward, CNN’s multi-award-winning Chief International Correspondent, has been reporting on the ground in the Middle East since the outbreak of the war. Ward is no stranger to war and has reported from the front lines of

en

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