Intelligence Squared

Gloria Estefan is one of the most successful female singers ever. With more than 120 million records sold worldwide, three Grammy Awards, and a career spanning four decades, she has helped make Latin-flavoured pop music an international success. Estefan is also the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Honor and has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. From fleeing Cuba as a young child when it fell under Castro’s control, narrowly escaping death in a bus accident aged 32, to marrying her first boyfriend, who was also the founder of her first band Miami Sound Machine, she has lived a remarkable life. In this exclusive live podcast recording of the award-winning How I Found My Voice, presented by Samira Ahmed, Estefan reflected on her path to musical success and fame. 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 us

Niall Ferguson is the preeminent historian of the ideas that define our time. He has challenged how we think about money, power, civilisation and empires. Now he wants to reimagine history itself. Networks, he explains, are the key to history. The greatest innovators have been ‘superhubs’ of connections. The most powerful states, empires and companies have been those with the most densely networked structures. And the most transformative ideas – from the printing presses that launched the Reformation to the Freemasonry that inspired the American Revolution – have gone viral precisely because of the networks within which they spread. Our host for this conversation is historian, author and broadcaster, Rana Mitter. The audio of this live Intelligence Squared event was recorded in London in 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not many of us can claim to have hunted with the Bushmen of the Kalahari; been detained for spying by the KGB; or smuggled ourselves over a border into an active war zone under the floorboards of an ambulance. Yet, for our latest guests on the Futureverse, this is all in a day’s work.  The Sunday Times’ Chief Foreign Correspondent Christina Lamb, who has been covering conflict around the globe for over three decades, does not regard herself as a risk taker, though. It was not an attraction to danger that led her to war reporting, but a surprise wedding invitation that landed on her desk in 1987. Similarly, as a teenager, the adventurer and broadcaster Simon Reeve, enjoyed the thrill of cycling down Acton High Street on his BMX, but did not imagine that he would spend his early professional life on the tail of neo-Nazi terrorists in Boston Spa. In this special episode of the Futureverse, Christina and Simon join Kamal Ahmed for a conversation about their attitudes to risk: what motivates them to take the ris

In the Middle Ages, agricultural advancements enriched the nobility and the Church, which used the wealth generated to build themselves magnificent houses and cathedrals, while the peasants went hungry. The early years of England’s industrial revolution brought stagnant incomes for the working class. In recent decades technological advances have put untold amounts of wealth into the hands of the 0.1 per cent, while today, the sudden leap forward in artificial intelligence is threatening jobs and democracy through automation, data collection, and surveillance. But does it have to be this way? MIT economist Daron Acemoglu has an alternative vision. His big idea: wrest control of AI from the hands of a few arrogant tech leaders and empower society instead. Is technology too important to leave to the billionaires? Can AI really be democratised? Listen now to this conversation hosted by Carl Miller, recorded in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second part of our conversation from 2012 with The Elders, a coalition of world leaders and figureheads freed from the constraints of office whose wealth of experience can open doors at the highest level. In this episode, our panel made up of former US president Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson – the first female president of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – and South African religious leader and activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, reflect on issues such as the ethics of drone warfare, global human rights, the future of NATO and more. Hosting the discussion, which still feels timely today, is the broadcaster Jon Snow. 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 us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early a

In 2012, Intelligence Squared partnered with The Elders, a coalition of world leaders and figureheads freed from the constraints of office whose wealth of experience can open doors at the highest level. Brought together by Nelson Mandela in 2007, The Elders use their collective experience and influence to promote peace, justice and human rights worldwide, using private advocacy and public diplomacy. To celebrate the group’s fifth anniversary, Intelligence Squared hosted three of the Elders on stage in London at the Barbican Centre including former US president Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson – the first female president of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – and South African religious leader and activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Hosted by the broadcaster Jon Snow, the audience were also joined for a brief introductory discussion about the formation of The Elders organisaton with Virgin Group entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and musician Peter Gabriel. This is the first half of the the disc

In this episode we're bringing you part two of a live recording from our Intelligent Times event series which took place in collaboration with The New York Times. Recorded in 2019, award winning actor Willem Dafoe speaks to the New York Times European culture editor, Matthew Anderson. Together they discuss Dafoe's long and varied career, his approach to acting, and his understanding of the changing film industry.  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 us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency .  Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. Learn more about

In this episode we're bringing you a live recording from our Intelligent Times event series which took place in collaboration with The New York Times. Recorded in 2019, award winning actor Willem Dafoe speaks to the New York Times European culture editor, Matthew Anderson. Together they discuss Dafoe's long and varied career, his approach to acting, and his understanding of the changing film industry. Part two of this event is available ad free, for subscribers now. And for our listeners who don’t subscribe part two will be available in our next episode. 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 us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today

Friends do it, strangers do it and so do chimpanzees - and it's not just deeply embedded in our history and culture, it may even be written in our DNA. The humble handshake, it turns out, has a rich and surprising history. In this week's episode palaeoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to science broadcaster Helen Czerski about a funny and fascinating voyage of discovery - from the handshake's origins (at least seven million years ago) all the way to its sudden disappearance in March 2020. 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 us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membershi

On the 17th March 2023, just over a year into Russia’s war in Ukraine, the International Criminal Court issued two arrest warrants. One for Vladimir Putin and one for Maria Lvova-Belova, whose title is Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. Some viewed these arrest warrants as a fundamental point of progress and justice in the war. Others raised concerns about the feasibility and potential consequences of prosecuting a sitting head of state. Throughout history, leaders accused of war crimes have faced varying degrees of accountability and Putin’s case raises important questions about legal frameworks, the role of international institutions like the International Criminal Court, and the challenges involved in holding high-ranking officials responsible for their actions. On this episode of the podcast, we analyse the implications of prosecuting Putin for war crimes - with Philippe Sands, lawyer and author of East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and

For the second part of our conversation between cognitive psychologist and bestselling author Steven Pinker and academic and podcaster David Runciman, who teaches politics and history at Cambridge University, we rejoin the discussion with the two looking at the roots of skepticism. This interview first appeared on Intelligence Squared in early 2019 at the time of the publication of Pinker's book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. 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 us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.  Lear

For this edition, Intelligence Squared revisits a compelling discussion from 2019 with one of the world's foremost cognitive psychologists, Steven Pinker, whose work often focuses on language, the mind, and human nature. He was joined in conversation by David Runciman, the academic and podcaster who teaches politics and history at Cambridge University, to discuss the themes of Pinker’s book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. This is the first half of a two-part conversation. Join us for part two in the following episode. 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 us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Inte

Yale Law professor Scott Shapiro takes us on an exhilarating journey through the world of cybercrime and hacking, unraveling the captivating stories behind five extraordinary hacks that have left an indelible mark on our information society. From the audacious exploits of Fancy Bear, the elite hacking unit within Russian military intelligence, to lesser-known yet equally astonishing incidents, Scott Shapiro sheds light on the origins, motivations, and consequences of these remarkable cyber intrusions. Our host for this episode is Carl Miller - Research Director at Demos and author of The Death of The Gods: The New Global Power Grab. 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 us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access

Join Simon Callow as he shares his infectious enthusiasm and profound knowledge of Charles Dickens in this conversation produced in partnership with Sotheby’s. As an acclaimed actor who has portrayed the author and written a biography about him, Callow is an authority on Dickens' eccentricities and literary genius. In conversation with novelist Kate Mosse and Sotheby's books specialist David Goldthorpe, he shares personal anecdotes and explores Dickens' transformative storytelling through key texts – including a fascinating handwritten reading text of David Copperfield featured in Sotheby’s upcoming auction – revealing how the great author has shaped his life and career. This event was recorded on 11 July 2023 as part of Sotheby’s Book Week, held to mark a series of sales taking place in London, Paris and New York from 4-20 July featuring literature, illustrations and musical manuscripts that span continents and centuries. The London auction will take place on Thursday 20 July. Please visit sothebys.com to f

For this preview of Intelligence Squared's new podcast, VS, two cities with hundreds of years of history, much of it shared, and also decades of cultural rivalry go head to head. Joining VS this week to debate London VS New York are our guests who have called each location home for most of their lives. Simon Jenkins is a regular newspaper columnist and formerly editor of the London Evening Standard and The Times newspapers. He was once chairman of The National Trust, the UK's foremost heritage organisation, and he also wrote a book on his home city, A Short History of London. Anthony Scaramucci is a financier and founder of SkyBridge Capital. Also known as The Mooch, you may remember him as former White House Director of Communications for a record 11 days. He’s been described by one newspaper as being "as New York as skyscrapers, subways and Sinatra". Coco Khan is our host making sure it's a fair contest but there can only be one winner – you the listeners decide – follow the link below to cast your vote. ht

What do the words of America’s Founding Fathers mean today? In this conversation produced in partnership with Sotheby’s, New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik, scholar Dr Anika Prather and Sotheby’s books specialist Selby Kiffer explore the historical significance of the writings of America’s Founding Fathers for the twenty-first century. Running alongside Sotheby's Book Week in July 2023 and the auction of key documents from Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and George Washington, this talk will examine the pivotal role these papers played in history, such as the establishment of the English Empire, negotiations for peace during the Revolution, as well as personal reflections of Thomas Jefferson. Join us and discover the intellect, passion, and conviction of the Founding Fathers as they established the ideals that became the foundation of the United States, which have inspired countless others to rise and reclaim their own liberty and human dignity.  This event was recorded on 11 July 2023

This episode is part two of our live event with Psychologist Daniel Kahneman and Olivier Sibony, Professor of Strategy and Business Policy at HEC Paris. In conversation with host Ritula Shah they present their argument of how we can all make more intelligent decisions in an increasingly chaotic world. Part three of this event is available ad free, for subscribers now.  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 us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency .  Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice

Daniel Kahneman shot to fame in 2002 when he won the Nobel prize in economics for his work on the psychology of human judgment and decision-making. In 2022 he joined us on the Intelligence Squared, alongside with his co-author Olivier Sibony, to discuss how businesses and governments can make smarter, swifter and more accurate decisions in our increasingly frenetic world. Our host for this event was journalist and presenter Ritula Shah. 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 us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency .  Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out

For this preview of Intelligence Squared's new podcast, VS, two critically lauded TV shows are under the microscope. Succession and The White Lotus have both depicted privilege and the lifestyles of the ultra rich through cuttingly satirical comedy-drama over the past couple of years. But which binge fest do we love to hate the most? Ania Magliano is a comedian whose recent show, Absolutely No Worries If Not, was a sell-out hit at the Edinburgh Fringe. She’s also one of the writers behind Amelia Dimoldenberg’s much-loved Chicken Shop Date and is the co-host of If It Is to Be Said – a podcast all about Succession. Poppy Damon is a journalist, crime podcaster and screenwriter, whose creations include Pseudocide – a podcast about people who fake their own deaths – and the upcoming Agatha Christie and the Dandelion Poisoner. Both are storytellers who value wit, timing and maybe the odd plot twist too but for Ania, Succession is the ultimate satire. For Poppy, it's The White Lotus that takes the top spot. Coco Kha

Philosopher Julian Baggini shares the insights of his new book How to Think Like a Philosopher: Essential Principles for Clearer Thinking. In conversation with government minister Jesse Norman, who was himself once an academic philosopher, Baggini set out the techniques, methods and principles that guide philosophy, and show how they can be applied to our own lives – and our politics. Using precepts such as: pay attention, question everything, follow the facts, and think for yourself but not by yourself, Baggini shows how clearer thinking can help us meet the challenges of our troubled times.  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 us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and mu