Intelligence Squared

Sign up for Intelligence Squared Premium here: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/ for ad-free listening, bonus content, early access and much more. See below for details. How can history and literature help us make sense of the current turmoil we encounter in the world? We're joined by two US writers whose work is helping readers rethink their understanding of the American Civil War period and drawing new links with the polarised politics of the present day. Sarah Churchwell is author of The Wrath to Come, an analysis of the history and legacy of Margaret Mitchell’s epic novel Gone With the Wind. She is also Professor of American Literature and Chair of Public Understanding of the Humanities at the School of Advanced Study at University of London. Karen Joy Fowler is the New York Times bestselling author, whose latest novel is Booth, focusing on the story of John Wilkes Booth, the man who would eventually assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. Host of today's discussion is Intelligence Squared's Conor Boyle. 

Sign up for Intelligence Squared Premium here: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/ for ad-free listening, bonus content, early access and much more. See below for details. As an acclaimed interviewer and broadcaster for BBC Radio 5 Live, Nihal Arthanayake has spent years trying to understand what makes for a great conversation. He joins journalist and host of the Guardian's Today in Focus podcast, Nosheen Iqbal, to discuss his new book, Let’s Talk, which explores the evolution of dialogue and the science behind stimulating conversation. With the rise of smartphones, polarised politics and the isolation of the pandemic having made our interactions less engaging, Arthanayake's book reveals insights from leading authorities in neuroscience as well as from popular figures including Lorraine Kelly, former president of Ireland Mary McAleese, Professor Tanya Byron, Matthew Syed and many more, to find out why good conversation has eroded and how we can fix it. … We are incredibly grateful for your support. To become an

Sign up for Intelligence Squared Premium here: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/ for ad-free listening, bonus content, early access and much more. See below for details. For many in the West, defending Taiwan means standing up for democracy and freedom, and not bending to China’s power. Others, however, fear that going to war against China would be a futile mission that would disrupt the world order. Amid all these discussions of Western liberal ideals and strategic military concerns, shouldn't we take into consideration the hopes that Taiwanese citizens have for the future of their nation? To explore these issues our host Rana Mitter, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at the University of Oxford, is joined by three guests: Benedict Rogers, human-rights activist, journalist, and co-founder of Hong Kong Watch; Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L Davies, Senior Fellow for Defense Priorities and a former lieutenant colonel in the US army; and Brian Hioe, Editor of New Bloom Magazine and blogger for T

Sign up for Intelligence Squared Premium here: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/ for ad-free listening, bonus content, early access and much more. See below for details. Nicklas Brendborg is the young science writer making us rethink our understanding of the ageing process. He joins Helen Czerski, science communicator and broadcaster, to discuss his recent bestselling book: Jellyfish Age Backwards: Nature’s Secrets to Longevity. … We are incredibly grateful for your support. To become an Intelligence Squared Premium subscriber, follow the link: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/  Here’s a reminder of the benefits you’ll receive as a subscriber: Ad-free listening, because we know some of you would prefer to listen without interruption  One early episode per week Two bonus episodes per month A 25% discount on IQ2+, our exciting streaming service, where you can watch and take part in events live at home and enjoy watching past events on demand and without ads  A 15% discount and priority access to live, i

Sign up for Intelligence Squared Premium here: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/ for ad-free listening, bonus content, early access and much more. See below for details. In this archive conversation from 2020, journalist, novelist, non-fiction writer and war reporter Scott Anderson joins us to talk about his book, The Quiet Americans, which focuses on CIA spycraft, the Cold War and the West’s relationship with Russia. It's a discussion that resonates strongly today, hosted by Hugo Lindgren, writer, producer and former Editor of New York Times Magazine. … We are incredibly grateful for your support. To become an Intelligence Squared Premium subscriber, follow the link: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/  Here’s a reminder of the benefits you’ll receive as a subscriber: Ad-free listening, because we know some of you would prefer to listen without interruption  One early episode per week Two bonus episodes per month A 25% discount on IQ2+, our exciting streaming service, where you can watch and take part i

Sign up for Intelligence Squared Premium here: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/ for ad-free listening, bonus content, early access and much more. See below for details. To anyone who has been following the debates surrounding race in America, John McWhorter needs little introduction. A professor of linguistics at Columbia University and a New York Times columnist, McWhorter believes that America is being harmed by a new form of antiracism, mostly espoused by white elites, that is illiberal, illogical and at heart neo-racist. To McWhorter, such thinking is not just a political stance but a religion with all the hallmarks of Christian dogma: white privilege as original sin that cannot be expunged; the hounding out of dissenters as heretics; the evangelical fervour of the true believers. In early 2022 he came to Intelligence Squared to discuss these ideas and the themes of his recent book, Woke Racism. McWhorter acknowledges the heartfelt desire of white people to be allies but, he argues that there is a better

On January 6 2021 a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S Capitol seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. Rioters overran police and broke through windows chanting ‘stop the steal’ while threatening Vice President Mike Pence with violence. The moment sent shockwaves through America as people tried to understand how this could be happening in the world’s most powerful democracy. There is now growing pressure on the Department of Justice to prosecute Trump for his role in the incident after a set of public hearings revealed damning evidence of his actions. But others argue that while Trump’s conduct after the November 2020 election was reprehensible, not every wrongdoing, even a highly consequential one, is a crime. Who’s right and who’s wrong? To find out, we invited David Blight, Sterling Professor of American History at Yale University, and Rich Lowry, Editor-in-chief of National Review, to debate the issue. Our host for this discussion is journalist, academic and former White House correspondent

With the climate crisis mounting, cycling is often touted as being part of the solution for how we can make our cities less congested, more green and generally more pleasant places to be. The unmistakable silhouette of a Brompton bike, first created by Andrew Ritchie in the late 1970s, fits many of the credentials crucial to helping solve today's transport and mobility challenges and yet the company’s unique folding design has been a favourite for citydwellers for decades. It’s now the subject of a new book: The Brompton: Engineering for Change, written by Brompton CEO Will Butler-Adams and the book's co-author financial journalist Dan Davies. Will recently joined our host Rosamund Urwin of the Sunday Times to tell her about the Brompton story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One year ago the United States decided to withdraw from Afghanistan after two decades in the country. The Taliban, a militant Islamist group that ran most of Afghanistan in the late 1990s, swept to power without much resistance from the Afghan army and captured Kabul on August 15 2021. The debacle left Western governments humiliated and ordinary Afghans afraid. What responsibility do countries like Britain and the United States have for the current crisis? To discuss these issues our host the journalist and broadcaster Manveen Rana is joined by Shabnam Nasimi, Policy Advisor to the U.K Home Office, BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen, and Paul Mason, the journalist, writer and film-maker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For this archive episode from 2021, journalist and BBC News broadcaster Razia Iqbal is joined by the acclaimed author Salman Rushdie to discuss his cultural touchstones. The conversation focuses on topics such as his love of James Joyce, Bob Dylan and his affection for an amulet his father gave him as a young boy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To unpack the truth behind the often confusing information about the food we eat, in this archive discussion from 2017, Intelligence Squared brought together some of the world’s leading experts on the science of human nutrition and health. Joining our host Dr Xand van Tulleken to pick apart food truths and myths were GP and broadcaster Sarah Jarvis, computational biologist Eran Segal, Professor of genetic epidemiology Tim Spector, and award-winning science and health writer Gary Taubes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This month will mark a year since the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021 and the chaotic withdrawal of western forces from Afghanistan. In this archive discussion from 2020, we discuss the nature of past Western interventions and the guerrilla warfare resistance that has followed with David Kilcullen, former soldier, diplomat, and senior counterinsurgency adviser for the US during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He joined Carl Miller, Research Director at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the think tank Demos, to discuss his book: The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In an era of fake news and 'alternative facts', the issue of truth and how it is presented to the world has never been more timely. But on a personal level, things are less clear cut. We all tell white lies and withhold info in the name of manners and politeness from time to time and some of the hardest truths can feel very difficult to tell. Micheal Leviton is a writer and musician from Brooklyn whose book, To Be Honest: A Memoir, tells his own story of growing up in a family who, according to Michael, never lied. His upbringing meant that by the age of 29 he could only recall having lied three times in his life. The challenges of being brutally honest on a daily basis have been the basis of much soul searching for the author and also serve as the foundation of a few entertaining tales in his book. He joins Intelligence Squared producer Catharine Hughes to talk about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reni Eddo-Lodge, the journalist, podcaster and author of essential book, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, joins columnist, author and academic Gary Younge in conversation. As the murder of George Floyd and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement reverberated around the world in 2020, Eddo-Lodge's book, originally published in 2017, found new readers and topped bestseller lists in a world trying and make sense of a pivotal moment. The book is now available as an updated edition reflecting on some of those more recent events and the conversations that have followed over the past two years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this archive debate, we revisit a discussion from 2018 when an assembled panel of smart thinkers gathered to reflect on the concept of nationhood, nationality and the impact of former UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s infamous 2016 speech that proclaimed, “If you believe you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere.” The discussion featured guests including the commentator and author David Goodhart, award-winning novelist Elif Shafak, former diplomat David Landsman and historian Simon Schama. Hosting the the episode was journalist and broadcaster Kamal Ahmed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Japan's recently assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe was a leader who leaves behind a complex legacy. Internationally, he strengthened Japan's relationship with the US in ways unseen before. Closer to home, crucial good relations with South Korea dissipated. His attitude towards Japan's difficult history was sometimes praised as a readiness for neutrality, while others criticised this as denialist revisionism. In the weeks since Abe's death, Japanese citizens have also begun to grapple with the reality of how involved their political system has become with influential religious groups, too. To help unpack some of these issues and discuss how Japan will move forward, we're joined by two specialists in modern Japanese history, Satona Suzuki from SOAS, University of London, and Jeff Kingston from Temple University, Japan. Our host for this podcast is journalist and broadcaster Philippa Thomas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We welcome back Fiona Hill, the foreign affairs and national security expert, to discuss Putin, foreign policy, and what could lie ahead for the war in Ukraine. Hill has been an advisor to three US Presidents and is former Senior Director for Europe and Russia at the United States National Security Council. She is author of books including Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin, and There is Nothing For You Here, which she joined us to discuss earlier in 2022. She returns to give us the latest on the ongoing war and assess what Vladimir Putin's next move might be, joined in conversation by Edward Lucas, the writer, author and European and transatlantic security specialist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For this episode focusing on how craft, creativity and our relationship with the planet can help us rethink established narratives and contribute to addressing historical injustices of the past, we visit the Radical Acts Biennial, an initiative from Harewood House. Joining our host, journalist and author of Africa is Not a Country, Dipo Faloyin, are independent curator Ligaya Salazar and Creative Director of Tiipoi, Spandana Gopal. Plus, Claire Ratinon, organic food grower and author of Unearthed: On Race and Roots, and How the Soil Taught Me I Belong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For this week's Sunday Debate, we're dipping back into the archive to 2014, when we gathered a panel of expert historians to debate whether Britain was right to fight in the First World War, a tragedy that laid the foundations for decades of destructive upheaval and violence across Europe. To debate the issue, we invited leading historians Margaret MacMillan, Max Hastings, John Charmley and Dominic Sandbrook to an event hosted by journalist, columnist and national security expert, Edward Lucas.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For this edition of Intelligence Squared, we join Alannah Weston, Chairman of Selfridges Group, for her podcast How to Lead a Sustainable Business, in which she speaks to thought leaders who are reinventing their sectors for a sustainable and just future. In this week’s special episode, Alannah and her guest explore the possibility of rethinking race. Emma Dabiri is an academic, broadcaster and author of two highly acclaimed books on the subject: Don’t Touch My Hair and What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition. She discusses why ideas about race are cultural constructs and how understanding that race was invented to create and justify more racism could help us bring about an end to racial discrimination. How to Lead a Sustainable Business is brought to you by Selfridges Group and Intelligence Squared. If you enjoy this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices