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PODCAST

Intelligence Squared

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

society & culture news commentary

All Episodes

32:27

Mary Beard and Charlotte Higgins on how antiquity...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/24

How does the classical world shape our politics, culture, language and lives today?On today’s episode, we’re joined by two of the greatest names making classics accessible for the modern day. Dame Mary Beard is a classicist who taught at Cambridge for almost 40 years. She has close to 20 books to her name, including Pompeii, which won the Wolfson History Prize, SPQR and Emperor of Rome, both of which were bestsellers in the UK and US. Charlotte Higgins is the chief culture writer of the

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27:01

Can Trump Deliver Peace in Ukraine? With Mark Galeotti

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/23

On today's episode we're joined by Mark Galeotti, security expert and author, to discuss Trump's recent efforts to reach a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Galeotti speaks to Conor Boyle, Head of Programming at Intelligence Squared, about how Trump's strategy is different to previous U.S. administrations and whether security guarantees from Europe and the United States can really quell Putin';s imperial ambitions. Galeotti's new book is called Homo Criminalis: How Crime Organises The World and

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13:20

Fabergé’s Rediscovered Imperial Flower, with Helen...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/22

This is an episode of The Specialist, produced by Intelligence Squared in partnership with Sotheby's. 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, the beauty of nature suspended for eternity. Helen Culver-Smith, Head of Decorative Arts Worldwide and Head of Fabergé and Russian works of Art, reveals how the digital discovery of an apple blossom study, rendered in gold, enamel and rock crystal by

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44:07

Who are the Hidden Women who Shaped our Economic...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/21

How many female entrepreneurs, merchants and industrialists can you name? We all know the names Rockefeller, Medici and Ford, but what about Priscilla Wakefield, who founded the first bank for women and children? Or the businesswoman Julia Felix, who built a property empire in Ancient Rome? In her new book, Economica: A Global History of Women, Wealth and Power, Dr Victoria Bateman charts the vital contributions made by women to humanity’s path from poverty to prosperity. In this episode, she sat

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35:27

What Does China's Seismic Economic Progress Mean for...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/20

America used to pride itself on ambition. Today, it looks stuck. Meanwhile, China has been busy building the future. In a new book, Breakneck, technology analyst Dan Wang provides a new framework for understanding China. It operates as an engineering state - which brings a sledgehammer to problems both physical and social, in contrast with America’s lawyerly society, rooted in its constitution, which protects individual rights but blocks almost everything, good and bad, and leads to greater

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42:12

How can we win the battle against antibiotic...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/17

One of the greatest medical breakthroughs of the twentieth century is set to become one of the biggest threats of the twenty-first - but what can be done to stem the rising tide of antibiotic resistance?In this episode, host Caroline Dodds Pennock speaks with Liam Shaw, biologist and author of Dangerous Miracle: A Natural History of Antibiotics – and How We Burned Through Them. From the miraculous discovery of penicillin to the industrial-scale production that changed healthcare and agriculture

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62:17

Classic Debate: The Allied bombing of German cities...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/16

No one doubts the bravery of the thousands of men who flew and died in Bomber Command. The death rate was an appalling 44%. And yet until the opening of a monument in Green Park in 2012 they had received no official recognition, with many historians claiming that the offensive was immoral and unjustified. How can it be right, they argue, for the Allies to have deliberately targeted German cities causing the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians? Even on a strategic level the offensive failed

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37:17

How have rivers shaped human existence? With Vanessa...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/14

From ancient empires to modern metropolises, what do rivers tell us about the way humans build, worship, and fight for their worlds? In this episode, historian Vanessa Taylor joins host Caroline Dodds Pennock to explore the powerful role rivers have played in shaping human history, culture, and identity. Drawing from her new book, Seven Rivers, Vanessa takes us on a journey down the Nile, Danube, Niger, Mississippi, Ganges, Yangtze, and Thames to explore the empires built along their banks, the

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50:56

How Well do we Understand the Female Body? With Polly...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/12

Did you know that women’s brains change during puberty, pregnancy and the menopause? That women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s? Or that female athletes are more prone to certain injuries than their male counterparts? In her book How The Female Body Works, journalist Polly Vernon sets out on a quest to understand the female body. She speaks with neuroscientists, academics, and medical experts to uncover how women’s bodies work and how they change — from puberty and childbirth

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42:57

Are the Rich Preparing for Civilisational Collapse?...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/11

In this episode, award-winning journalist Evan Osnos joins Carl Miller to discuss the lives of the Ultrarich and themes from his new book The Haves and the Have Yachts. Together, they explore the secretive world of the ultra-wealthy, the symbolism of superyachts, and what extreme luxury reveals about inequality, power, and the future of capitalism. --- If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit

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54:14

Does Plato Still Matter Today? with Angie Hobbs

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/09

Use code SQUARED at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/squared --- Can ancient philosophy make sense of a modern life? In this episode, Sophie Scott-Brown speaks to academic philosopher and author Angie Hobbs about the enduring relevance of Plato and how his ideas continue to resonate in today’s world. Plato’s Republic remains a foundational text to Western thought. Hobbs brings us back to this key text and reminds us that throughout all of

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38:59

Did the Road to Trump Start in the 90’s? with John Ganz

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/07

Use code SQUARED at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/squared --- How has the past thirty years of American politics impacted our present? In this episode, Atossa Araxia Abrahamian speaks to journalist and author John Ganz about how the 1990s were the perfect storm that created a new America that birthed the Donald Trump Era. Many today look back on the 1990s with a sense of nostalgia. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the election of Bill

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62:19

Was the Nuclear Bomb Inevitable? With Frank Close

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/05

Use code SQUARED at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/squared --- How did the most powerful force in history begin with a faint smudge on a photographic plate? In this episode, Adam McCauley speaks to physicist and award-winning science writer Frank Close about his new history of the development of nuclear power and the extraordinary minds behind it. Beginning with Henri Becquerel’s accidental discovery in 1896 Paris, Close explores the

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35:24

An African History of Africa, with Zeinab Badawi...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/03

Use code SQUARED at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan:https://incogni.com/squared ----- ‘Everyone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone.’ – Zeinab Badawi Too often historians have told the history of Africa through the prism of colonialism. But what picture of the continent emerges when we do away with making the story of Africa so anchored in European colonialism? In July 2025 award-winning broadcaster Zeinab Badawi returned to the

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38:27

An African History of Africa, with Zeinab Badawi...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/02

‘Everyone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone.’ – Zeinab Badawi Too often historians have told the history of Africa through the prism of colonialism. But what picture of the continent emerges when we do away with making the story of Africa so anchored in European colonialism? In July 2025 award-winning broadcaster Zeinab Badawi returned to the Intelligence Squared stage to tell a new history of Africa – in all its shades and complexities – without the stifling

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13:34

The Specialist | The Greatest Persian Manuscript: A...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/01

This is an episode of The Specialist, produced by Intelligence Squared in partnership with Sotheby's. 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, the legendary Shahnameh – the Persian Book of Kings – an epic poem composed of around 50,000 rhyming couplets that recounts the mythical and historical past of the Persian Empire. Head of Islamic and Indian Art, Benedict Carter tells the tale of how one

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69:08

Classic Debate: To Stop Climate Collapse, We Must End...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/08/01

Capitalism is driving us to disaster. Our planet is heading for a terrifying environmental cataclysm – and our economic system is responsible. The defining characteristic of capitalism is perpetual economic growth. And while it has brought us wonderful benefits, including improved health, wealth and opportunities to travel and experience the world, ever-increasing production and consumption – inherent in capitalism – are an existential threat to life on our planet. The more we produce and consume,

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48:16

Did Apple’s Rise Fuel China’s Fight for Tech...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/07/29

How did Apple, the world’s most valuable company and creator of the defining product of the 21st century, end up so deeply entangled with China’s authoritarian state? In 1996, Apple was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Fast forward to 2003, and the company made a pivotal move - outsourcing production to China in search of affordable, scalable labor. That decision helped catapult Apple to unprecedented success with the iPod and iPhone. But behind the sleek devices lies a complex and

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41:18

How did the fourteenth century shape England? With...

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/07/28

The death of Edward I in 1307 marked the beginning of a period of intense turmoil and change in England. The fourteenth century ushered in the beginning of the bloody Hundred Years’ War with France, an epic conflict with Scotland that would last into the sixteenth century, famine in Northern Europe and the largest human catastrophe in known history, the Black Death. In this episode, medieval historian and writer Helen Carr speaks to Mythili Rao about this period of social, political and cultural

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62:50

How will Taiwan shape Asia’s future? With Chris Horton

Intelligence Squared ·

2025/07/26

The issue of Taiwan is a constant background hum in today’s news cycle. Perched precariously on the fault-lines of global power, the fate of this vibrant democracy and tech colossus will shape Asia’s future – either containing or facilitating China’s expansionist goals.In today’s episode we’re joined by top foreign correspondent Chris Horton. Horton has spent over a decade of living and reporting in Taiwan, and has interviewed everyday citizens, presidents and other key figures for his new book

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334 results

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