Intelligence Squared

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Marina Hyde and Jesse Armstrong, Live in Brighton Oct 28, 2026

Show notes

Described by Phoebe Waller-Bridge as “the most lethal, vital, screamingly funny truth-teller of our time”, Marina Hyde has become one of Britain’s most popular columnists and podcasters. A Sunday Times bestselling author and co-host of the smash hit podcast The Rest is Entertainment, she has an unrivalled talent for making sense of our stranger-than-fiction times.

In September 2026 Hyde came to the Intelligence Squared stage in Brighton, marking the launch of her new book 'What A Time To Be Alive!'. From lambasting the Trump presidency, to the increasing popularity of Nigel Farage's Reform, from the spectacle of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s Venice wedding to the Beckham family feud, she is chief chronicler of our gloriously chaotic age.

Hyde was joined live on stage award-winning screenwriter and producer Jesse Armstrong.

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Were Castles the Original Military-Industrial Complex? With Dan Jones Oct 26, 2026

Show notes

For more than 3,000 years, castles and fortifications have shaped the landscapes around them. They defended cities, controlled trade and provided refuge in times of war. But they were also monuments to the ambition of those who built them: vast projects that brought together military power, engineering, labour and wealth.

Were castles the original military-industrial complex? Why did even the strongest fortresses fall? And why do these obsolete weapons of war retain such a powerful hold over our imaginations?

In this episode, Mia Sorenti speaks with historian and broadcaster Dan Jones about what castles reveal about the societies that built them.

Drawing on examples from Troy and medieval Wales to Japan and the United States, Jones explains how rulers used fortifications to make their authority visible, reshape economies and claim control over a people’s history and mythology.

Dan Jones is a historian, author and broadcaster. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a trustee of Historic Royal Palaces and the host of the This Is History podcast. His latest book is Castles: A Fortified History of the World.

Mia Sorenti is Senior Producer at Intelligence Squared.

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Archive: Is Mark Zuckerberg Damaging Society? Oct 24, 2026

Show notes

With the release of Aaron Sorkin's new film The Social Reckoning, Mark Zuckerberg and the dark side of Facebook are back in the spotlight.
In 2019, Intelligence Squared put Zuckerberg on trial, asking whether Facebook was doing more harm than good. Was the platform connecting billions of people and transforming the world for the better? Or was it undermining democracy, spreading misinformation and fuelling political division?
Seven years later, Facebook is part of Meta, artificial intelligence is transforming social media, and questions about the power and accountability of Silicon Valley's technology giants have become more urgent than ever.
In this debate from the Intelligence Squared archive, Damian Collins and Nina Schick argue that Facebook is damaging society, while former Facebook executive Dex Torricke-Barton and former UK government minister Ed Vaizey defend the company.
As Zuckerberg faces renewed scrutiny, we revisit a debate that asks who should be held responsible for the consequences of social media.

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Has America Abandoned Ukraine? With Michael McFaul Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Donald Trump’s growing accommodation of Vladimir Putin has raised a stark question: has the US abandoned Ukraine? Conor Boyle speaks to Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia and author of Autocrats vs. Democrats, about what Trump’s approach means for Ukraine, America’s democratic identity and the future of the international order. They explore whether this rupture was years in the making, the roles of China and Elon Musk and whether a future administration could restore American leadership, or whether the country has changed for good.

McFaul's new book is Autocrats vs Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder and is available now at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autocrats-vs-Democrats-America-Disorder/dp/0358677874

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What Must Burnham Sacrifice To Make Britain Grow? With Michael Gove Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Few figures in modern British politics have operated as close to the centre of power as Michael Gove. Over more than a decade in government, he has held some of the most senior offices of state – including Education Secretary, Justice Secretary and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, shaping policy across domestic reform, economic strategy and the future of the Union.

Now, at a moment of continued economic uncertainty at home and instability abroad, Gove joined us for the Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook. In October 2026, live st Smith Square Hall in Westminster, he reflected on the forces reshaping Britain’s economic landscape. How resilient is the UK economy after a prolonged period of inflation, fiscal pressure and sluggish growth? What should a credible long-term strategy for productivity and investment look like? And how should Britain position itself in a more fragmented global economy, defined by geopolitical tension in the Middle East, energy insecurity and shifting trade alliances?

This event was presented in partnership with Guinness Global Investors: https://https://www.guinnessgi.com/

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Why Are People Having Fewer Children Than They Want? With Camilla Cavendish Oct 18, 2026

Show notes

In England and Wales, the total fertility rate fell to 1.39 children per woman in 2025. More than half of the world’s countries and areas are now below the level at which a population replaces itself without migration. Yet those numbers cannot tell us whether people are freely choosing smaller families, struggling to find a partner, leaving parenthood too late or being priced out of the future they wanted.

In this episode, Margherita Volpato speaks to Camilla Cavendish, Baroness Cavendish of Little Venice. In her new book, Generation Maybe: Why We’re Having Fewer Children, and What It Means for Us All, she investigates why birth rates are falling across very different countries and what those falling rates reveal about the way we live.

By the end, Cavendish explains why the baby bust is not simply a story about babies, but about whether people can imagine and build a different future.

Camilla Cavendish, Baroness Cavendish of Little Venice is an award-winning journalist, Financial Times columnist, and Harvard Kennedy School research fellow.

Margherita Volpato is Senior Producer at Intelligence Squared.

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Archive: Can the Arts Drive Social Change? With Idris Elba, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Yassmin Abdel-Magied Oct 18, 2026

Show notes

In the summer of 2020, as Black Lives Matter protests swept the world, the arts and creative industries faced urgent questions about racism, representation and their role in driving meaningful change.

In this episode from the Intelligence Squared archive, actor Idris Elba and playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah join writer and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied to examine systemic racism in the cultural sector, the limits of diversity initiatives and what it really takes to turn promises of equality into lasting change.

Six years on, as debates about race, power and representation continue, we revisit a conversation that remains as relevant today as it was in 2020.

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How One Family Remade Britain: Thomas and Oliver Cromwell, with Miranda Malins Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

Thomas Cromwell helped Henry VIII break with Rome, reshape government and establish the Church of England. A century later, his distant relative Oliver Cromwell helped defeat a king, establish a republic and became Lord Protector. Both men are usually remembered as exceptional commoners who rose through talent and ruthless pragmatism. But neither rose alone.

What does the familiar ‘great man’ version of history miss? And how did one extended family acquire power, lose it and then rise again?

In this episode, Mia Sorenti speaks with historian and author Miranda Malins about what placing Thomas and Oliver within a continuous family story reveals about the marriages, money, faith, loyalties and inherited political memory that sustained the Cromwell dynasty across two centuries.

The conversation explores whether the English Civil Wars represented a continuation of the Reformation, why the label ‘revolutionary’ fails to capture the Cromwells’ pragmatism, and how family history can contextualise controversial figures without excusing their violence. It also recovers the lives of the lesser-known Cromwells, including the women whose relationships, intellect and influence helped shape the family’s fortunes.

Miranda Malins is a historian and novelist specialising in Oliver Cromwell, his family and the Civil War and Commonwealth period. She is a long-standing trustee of the Cromwell Association and the author of The House of Cromwell: Power, Family and the Making of Modern Britain, available now.

Mia Sorenti is Senior Producer at Intelligence Squared.

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Can Europe Defend Itself? Timothy Garton Ash on Europe's Future Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

Europe’s past is not past. The borders of vanished empires still surface in election results. The European Union and Nato face a world in which Russia is aggressive, America is less dependable and Europe’s own ability to act remains fragmented. Here in Britain, the political argument has begun to move from whether Brexit worked to what a return might demand.

In this episode, Margherita Volpato speaks to historian Timothy Garton Ash. His new book, Europe in 7½ Chapters: The Shortest Introduction to the World’s Oldest and Newest Continent. They question what Europe’s past can teach us about its present and future. Should Britain consider rejoining the European Union? Is it time for Europe to create its own army? What is the future of liberal democracy?

Ash builds on the historical past of Europe to suggest where the continent can and should go next.

Timothy Garton Ash is a historian, political writer, Guardian columnist and Professor of European Studies Emeritus at the University of Oxford.

Margherita Volpato is Senior Producer at Intelligence Squared.

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Can Pigs Really Appreciate Bach? Katherine Rundell Live Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

Katherine Rundell has dazzled millions of readers globally with her writing on fantastical beasts. In her bestselling book The Golden Mole, she profiled some of the world’s most extraordinary endangered animals, including pangolins, wombats, lemurs and seahorses. This critically acclaimed compendium celebrated the earth’s greatest wonders, and offered a rallying call to prevent their extinction.

In October 2026 Rundell joined us live on stage at Conway Hall to discuss a new menagerie of spectacular creatures. Rundell drew on her new book, Napoleon’s Orangutan, to introduce us to twelve vanishing, amazing animals – from Napoleon’s pet orangutan to pigs who can learn the difference between Bach and a brass band.

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