Intelligence Squared

Latest Episodes:

Comedy in Dark Times, with Armando Iannucci and Helen Lewis, Part One Mar 31, 2024

Show notes

Armando Iannucci is one of Britain’s best-loved comedy writers. The creator of hit shows such as The Thick Of It, Veep and Alan Partridge, Iannucci is renowned for his sharp political satire and parodies of the rich and powerful. His latest project, a West End stage production of Stanley Kubrick’s Oscar-nominated black comedy Dr. Strangelove, focuses on a rogue US general who triggers a nuclear crisis. In March 2024 Iannucci came to the Intelligence Squared stage where, in conversation with author and journalist Helen Lewis, he discussed the role of satire and comedy in dark times. Can comedy help us cope emotionally with world events such as war and conflict? Does satire still have the power to hold politicians to account? Should we really be laughing at our increasingly unstable and risky world?

This is the first part of a three-part discussion. Intelligence Squared Members can listen to all three instalments, including the Members-only Part Three, immediately.

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Love and Brotherhood in Black Gay Britain, with Jason Okundaye Mar 29, 2024

Show notes

Jason Okundaye is a writer whose essays and work have been published in titles such as The London Review of Books, the Guardian, British GQ and more. His debut book, Revolutionary Acts: Love & Brotherhood in Black Gay Britain, explores the stories of seven black, gay men in Brixton, South London. Through conversations with these men, he traces their journeys and arrivals to South London throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, upto the present day, seeking to reconcile the Black and gay narratives of Britain. Joining Okundaye to talk about it is Tom Crewe. He's an editor at the London Review of Books and a novelist. His recent book, The New Life, won the 2023 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.

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How Technology Has Made Us What We Are, with Tom Chatfield Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

Tom Chatfield is a tech philosopher whose new book looks at how humans have lived side by side with technology for millennia and offers ideas for how humanity will fare in the imminent AI-powered future. Chatfield's work often focuses on the cross-section of society and tech. He is a creator of textbooks and courses training in critical thinking and his previous non-fiction books include How To Thrive in the Digital Age. Not only that but he's also a novelist, having published a thriller – This is Gomorrah – in 2019. Joining Chatfield in conversation is Stephanie Hare. She is a researcher, broadcaster and author focusing on issues such as technology, politics and history and is the author of Technology Is Not Neutral: A Short Guide to Technology Ethics.

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Misogyny and the Middle-Aged Woman, with Victoria Smith, Hadley Freeman and Sonia Sodha, Part Two Mar 25, 2024

Show notes

This is Part Two of a three-part discussion. Why are middle-aged women these days subject to so much rage and hatred – frequently from people who see themselves as kind and ‘on the right side of history’? What explains the popularity of the Karen meme, which references a stereotypically privileged white woman whom everyone feels entitled to loathe? Why does this age-old misogyny feel so very now? As writer Victoria Smith approached middle age she made her peace with her sagging neckline and having to cope with ageing parents. But the disdain and vitriol she experienced as a woman in mid-life came as a shock. In her acclaimed book Hags: The Demonisation of Middle-Aged Women she traces the prejudice that has been directed towards older women down the ages and explores the prevalence of witch hunts in recent years. Smith joined us on stage at The Tabernacle in London in March 2024, where she was joined by fellow writers Hadley Freeman and Sonia Sodha. Together they explored why women who have the temerity to exist beyond the age at which they are conventionally deemed desirable to men are seen as superfluous to society; and they looked for solutions which can benefit all women – whether they are hags or hags-in-waiting.

This is the second of a three-part discussion. Intelligence Squared Members can listen to all three instalments, including the Members-only Part Three, immediately.

If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all of our longer form interviews and Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

For £4.99 per month you'll also receive:

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Misogyny and the Middle-Aged Woman, with Victoria Smith, Hadley Freeman and Sonia Sodha, Part One Mar 24, 2024

Show notes

This is Part One of a three-part discussion. Why are middle-aged women these days subject to so much rage and hatred – frequently from people who see themselves as kind and ‘on the right side of history’? What explains the popularity of the Karen meme, which references a stereotypically privileged white woman whom everyone feels entitled to loathe? Why does this age-old misogyny feel so very now? As writer Victoria Smith approached middle age she made her peace with her sagging neckline and having to cope with ageing parents. But the disdain and vitriol she experienced as a woman in mid-life came as a shock. In her acclaimed book Hags: The Demonisation of Middle-Aged Women she traces the prejudice that has been directed towards older women down the ages and explores the prevalence of witch hunts in recent years. Smith joined us on stage at The Tabernacle in London in March 2024, where she was joined by fellow writers Hadley Freeman and Sonia Sodha. Together they explored why women who have the temerity to exist beyond the age at which they are conventionally deemed desirable to men are seen as superfluous to society; and they looked for solutions which can benefit all women – whether they are hags or hags-in-waiting.

This is the first of a three-part discussion. Intelligence Squared Members can listen to all three instalments, including the Members-only Part Three, immediately.

If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all of our longer form interviews and Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

For £4.99 per month you'll also receive:

- Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts

- Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series

- 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events

- Our member-only newsletter The Monthly Read, sent straight to your inbox

...

Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99:

- Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts

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The Long Shadow of AI, with Madhumita Murgia Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

As a writer who focuses on technology and as AI Editor for The Financial Times, Madhumita Murgia has been unable to ignore the increasing reach of AI into the infrastructure that helps run our societies. It's the subject of her new book, Code Dependent, a study of how technology and AI often designed with idealistic intent is beginning to have a significant effect on real people's lives and not always for the better. Joining Murgia in conversation for this episode is Carl Miller, co-founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the think tank Demos and author of The Death of the Gods: The New Global Power Grab.

Want to attend Intelligence Squared live events? Explore our upcoming line up of talks below:

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How to Fix the Inequality of Wealth, with Liam Byrne Mar 20, 2024

Show notes

The Labour MP Liam Byrne is Chair of the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee. He also served on the front bench for both prime ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. So he is well-positioned to be thinking about some of society's more pressing economic questions and these are the focus of his recent book, The Inequality of Wealth: Why it Matters and How to Fix it. Joining Byrne in conversation for this episode by the economist and writer Tej Parikh, Economics Leader Writer for The Financial Times.

Want to attend Intelligence Squared live events? Explore our upcoming line up of talks below:

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If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all of our longer form interviews and Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

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Page-Turner: A History of the Notebook Mar 18, 2024

Show notes

Roland Allen is a publisher and author whose new book is a history of that everyday essential, the humble notebook. His book – The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper – explores how the notebook's invention ushered in a communications revolution, transforming the ways that ideas were transmitted across the globe and even helping facilitate artistic movements within its pocket-sized pages. Joining Allen in conversation for this episode is fellow writer and former Managing Director of Condé Nast, Albert Read, author of his own book on the power of ideas, The Imagination Muscle.

Want to attend Intelligence Squared live events? Explore our upcoming line up of talks below:

https://www.intelligencesquared.com/attend/

If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all of our longer form interviews and Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

For £4.99 per month you'll also receive:

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Reimagining the Life of Mary, Queen of Scots, with Flora Carr Mar 17, 2024

Show notes

Debut novelist Flora Carr's new book, The Tower, looks at the life Scotland's 16th-century monarch Mary, Queen of Scots. In this tale of desire and friendship, Carr weaves in figures that have been long forgotten by the historical record and reimagines the Queen during the period she was imprisoned at Lochleven Castle in Scotland in order to create a new work of literary feminist fiction. Joining Carr to discuss the book for this episode is historian Francesca Peacock, whose own recent book – Pure Wit – reimagined the life of another often misunderstood historical figure, Margaret Cavendish.

Want to attend Intelligence Squared live events? Explore our upcoming line up of talks below:

https://www.intelligencesquared.com/attend/

If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all of our longer form interviews and Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

For £4.99 per month you'll also receive:

- Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts

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- 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events

- Our member-only newsletter The Monthly Read, sent straight to your inbox

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Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99:

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The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook with Martin Wolf Mar 15, 2024

Show notes

2024 is set to be a seismic year. A win by Donald Trump in the US presidential election could upend the world economy, ongoing military conflicts could continue to escalate and the race to develop AI will accelerate as China and the US battle it out for technological supremacy. Who better to make sense of these unsettling and fast-changing times than Martin Wolf? He is Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times and widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential writers on the global economy.

A multi-award-winning financial journalist, Wolf has been chronicling and analysing geopolitical and economic upheaval for nearly 40 years. He has written five bestselling books. His latest, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, maps out the implications of globalisation, technological development and the impact of democratic decline on the global economy. The host for this event is BBC News Presenter Jonny Dymond.

This recording is part of The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook series of events made in partnership with Guinness Global Investors, an independent British fund manager that helps both individuals and institutions harness the future drivers of growth to achieve their investment goals.

To find out more visit: https://www.guinnessgi.com/

If you would like to attend The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook's next event focusing on China with economist Keyu Jin, visit www.IntelligenceSquared.com/attend

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