Episodes

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Episodes

Hotel with History | Copacabana Palace, Rio De Janeiro 2026-07-08
This is an episode of Hotels with History, produced by Intelligence Squared on behalf of Perowne International⁠. Picture being on a sweep of white…
Andrew Ross Sorkin and Zanny Minton Beddoes on Markets, Crashes and The Future of The Global Economy (Part Two) 2026-07-07
Andrew Ross Sorkin began his career at the forefront of Wall Street news, reporting extensively for The New York Times on the financial crash of…
Andrew Ross Sorkin and Zanny Minton Beddoes on Markets, Crashes and The Future of The Global Economy (Part One) 2026-07-05
Andrew Ross Sorkin began his career at the forefront of Wall Street news, reporting extensively for The New York Times on the financial crash of…
Is Our Justice System Failing Women? With Barrister Charlotte Proudman 2026-07-04
Recent high-profile legal disputes with Johnny Depp and Amber Heard and Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have renewed public debate about gender,…
How Should We Prepare for the Unknown? With Statistician David Spiegelhalter 2026-07-02
In a world of economic shocks, geopolitical crises and constant predictions about the future, how should we make decisions when certainty is…
Was George Forster the Enlightenment’s Lost Visionary? With Andrea Wulf 2026-06-30
In this episode, historian and philosopher Sophie Scott Brown speaks with writer Andrea Wulf about her new book The Traveller: The Revolutionary…
Reasons for Hope in Turbulent Times, with Rebecca Solnit 2026-06-28
Rebecca Solnit is an award-winning American writer and activist whose incisive work explores feminism, democracy, climate change and social justice.…
How Did the Americas Transform Renaissance England? With Lauren Working 2026-06-23
The English Renaissance is often remembered as an age of Shakespeare, exploration and cultural flourishing. But it was also shaped by encounters…
Who Really Blew Up the Nord Stream Pipeline? With Bojan Pancevski 2026-06-21
In September 2022, a series of underwater explosions tore through the Nord Stream pipelines beneath the Baltic Sea. The destruction of this $20…
What Can Europe's Borderlands Tell Us About Its Future? With Hannah Lucinda Smith 2026-06-20
Long before Putin's invasion of Ukraine, conflict was simmering on Europe's borders. In overlooked territories in eastern Europe, the eastern…
Hotels with History | Waldorf Astoria, New York 2026-06-18
This is an episode of Hotels with History, produced by Intelligence Squared on behalf of Perowne International⁠. We’re in midtown Manhattan to kick…
Life and Death in the KGB, with The Rest is Classified’s Gordon Corera (Part Two) 2026-06-16
As the main intelligence and security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991, the KGB instilled fear across Russia and sought to sow discord…
Life and Death in the KGB, with The Rest is Classified’s Gordon Corera (Part One) 2026-06-14
As the main intelligence and security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991, the KGB instilled fear across Russia and sought to sow discord…
How Will a New Era of Drugs Shape Our World? With Kojo Koram 2026-06-13
From cannabis legalisation in the United States to the rise of psychedelics as wellness and productivity tools, the global politics of drugs is…
The Age of Intelligence: Live in Partnership with IBM 2026-06-11
In this episode, journalist Kamal Ahmed was joined by Jon Sopel, Dimple Ahluwalia and Matt Rowe to explore how cybersecurity has moved from a…
How Do Hormones Shape the Way We Feel, Think and Age? With Dr Saira Hameed 2026-06-09
In this episode, science broadcaster Dr Güneş Taylor speaks with endocrinologist Dr Saira Hameed about her new book Signals: The Inside Story of Our…
Why Does It Sometimes Pay to Be a Chicken? With Professor Michael Wooldridge 2026-06-07
From Brexit negotiations and the Cuban Missile Crisis to elections, auctions and everyday decision-making, game theory can offer powerful insights…
How does DNA Shape Our World? With Professor Turi King 2026-06-06
Professor Turi King , Director of the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, is known for leading the genetic investigation…
Do We Have The Right To Die? With Lady Hale and Rowan Williams (Part Two) 2026-06-04
This debate was part of the ‘Think Again’ series in which two leading thinkers present alternative answers to a difficult societal question. The…
Do We Have The Right To Die? With Lady Hale and Rowan Williams (Part One) 2026-06-03
This debate was part of the ‘Think Again’ series in which two leading thinkers present alternative answers to a difficult societal question. The…
An Evening with Douglas Stuart (Part Two) 2026-05-31
Douglas Stuart is one of the most successful writers in Britain today. He is celebrated globally for his honest portrayals of human relationships…
An Evening with Douglas Stuart (Part One) 2026-05-31
Douglas Stuart is one of the most successful writers in Britain today. He is celebrated globally for his honest portrayals of human relationships…
How To Win a Trade War, with Soumaya Keynes and Chad Bown 2026-05-28
In this episode, journalist Hannah Lucinda Smith speaks with economists Soumaya Keynes and Chad Bown about our new era of global trade wars. Drawing…
How To Kill A Language, with Sophia Smith Galer (Part Two) 2026-05-26
What do we lose when a language dies? Roughly 7,000 languages are spoken around the world today. Over half of them are expected to vanish in the…
How To Kill A Language, with Sophia Smith Galer (Part One) 2026-05-24
What do we lose when a language dies? Roughly 7,000 languages are spoken around the world today. Over half of them are expected to vanish in the…
The Secret Life of Our Organs and How They Keep us Healthy, with Dr Giulia Enders 2026-05-23
How can changing the way we breathe lower stress and blood pressure? Why is touch so important for premature babies and ICU patients? And what can…
Chasing Aliens, with Jon Ronson and Daniel Lavelle (Part Two) 2026-05-21
Are we really alone in the universe? The question of whether there is extraterrestrial life is one of our oldest questions. And few nations on Earth…
Chasing Aliens, with Jon Ronson and Daniel Lavelle (Part One) 2026-05-19
Are we really alone in the universe? The question of whether there is extraterrestrial life is one of our oldest questions. And few nations on Earth…
Has Far-Right Politics Entered The Mainstream in the UK? With Daniel Trilling 2026-05-17
Has far-right thinking entered mainstream politics in the UK? In 2025, Britain saw its largest-ever far-right rally, following a summer of…
Love, Loss and Mourning Paul Auster, with Siri Hustvedt 2026-05-16
What does it mean to mourn a shared life? In this episode, essayist and novelist Siri Hustvedt speaks to book critic Mythili Rao about Ghost…
What Would Happen If We Met Aliens? With Neil deGrasse Tyson 2026-05-15
World famous astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson joins Dr Radha Modgil to discuss his new book Take Me to Your Leader , exploring the science of alien…
London Falling: Patrick Radden Keefe on How Money, Power and Corruption Shape Our City, with Emily Maitlis (Part Two) 2026-05-12
Patrick Radden Keefe is an award winning writer known for his ability to tell complex stories in ways that are compelling and revealing. Author of…
London Falling: Patrick Radden Keefe on How Money, Power and Corruption Shape Our City, with Emily Maitlis (Part One) 2026-05-10
Patrick Radden Keefe is an award winning writer known for his ability to tell complex stories in ways that are compelling and revealing. Author of…
What Do We Ask Google, and What Does It Tell Us About Human Nature? With Simon Rogers 2026-05-09
What do our Google searches reveal about who we really are? For a new book, What We Ask Google , data analyst Simon Rogers explores the world’s…
How Is Predictive AI Shaping Our World? With AI Philosopher Carissa Véliz 2026-05-07
AI models now advise on everything from war, crop output, and marriages. Algorithms determine whether we can get a loan, a job, an apartment, or an…
Weimar and Hitler: How did fascism take hold in Germany’s historic town? With Katja Hoyer 2026-05-06
The town of Weimar looms large in German history. This ancient town nestled in the heart of the country was home to some of Europe's greatest…
An Evening with Kae Tempest (Part Two) 2026-05-03
Kae Tempest is widely regarded as one of Britain’s greatest wordsmiths. In a career of ferocious creativity, he has received multiple prizes and…
An Evening with Kae Tempest (Part One) 2026-05-02
Kae Tempest is widely regarded as one of Britain’s greatest wordsmiths. In a career of ferocious creativity, he has received multiple prizes and…
What Will Trigger the Next World War? With Peter Apps 2026-05-01
How close are we to a new global conflict? In this episode, journalist Hannah Lucinda Smith speaks with global defence commentator Peter Apps about…
Lena Dunham: Famesick, with Dolly Alderton (Part Two) 2026-04-28
According to award-winning actor, writer, director and producer Lena Dunham, we’re now too invested in having a good relationship with our ex. Best…
Lena Dunham: Famesick, with Dolly Alderton (Part One) 2026-04-26
According to award-winning actor, writer, director and producer Lena Dunham, we’re now too invested in having a good relationship with our ex. Best…
The Age of Growth: Live in Partnership with IBM 2026-04-25
In this episode, journalist Kamal Ahmed explores how innovation is the driving force behind meaningful growth, not simply through capital…
Demis Hassabis and Sebastian Mallaby on The Quest for Artificial General Intelligence (Part Two) 2026-04-21
Demis Hassabis – CEO and co-founder of Google DeepMind – is one of the world’s most visionary technologists. A child chess prodigy from North…
Demis Hassabis and Sebastian Mallaby on The Quest for Artificial General Intelligence (Part One) 2026-04-19
Demis Hassabis – CEO and co-founder of Google DeepMind – is one of the world’s most visionary technologists. A child chess prodigy from North…
How Does Chemistry Shape our World? With Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu 2026-04-18
Chemistry is everywhere. From cosmetics and the clothes we wear to life-saving medicines and kitchen experiments, chemical processes are all around…
Why Did Elite Cambridge Graduates Become Soviet Spies? Revisiting the Cambridge Five, with Antonia Senior 2026-04-16
The Cambridge Five - Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Kim Philby, John Cairncross and Keeper of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt - made up one of the…
How Will the Climate Crisis Reshape Global Politics? With Former Diplomat and Author, Arthur Snell 2026-04-14
Our changing climate is accelerating conflict and migration, with the potential to drive political instability from the Sahel to Saudi Arabia to…
Is There a Crisis of Overdiagnosis in Modern Medicine? With Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan 2026-04-12
More people are being labelled with medical conditions than ever before. Diagnoses of autism, ADHD, allergies, and long COVID have skyrocketed - but…
How Has Translation Transformed Shakespeare? With Daniel Hahn 2026-04-11
What does it mean to translate some of the most recognisable and revered works in the English language? When the wordplay, poetry, and syntax of…
Should You Be Talking To AI? with Jamie Bartlett 2026-04-09
Hundreds of millions of people now talk to AI, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini every day. They organise their finances and holidays, ask advice,…
Who Are Renoir’s Mystery Girls? With Catherine Ostler 2026-04-07
Could one of Renoir’s most iconic paintings conceal one of the most astonishing true stories of scandal and tragedy in Golden Age Paris? In 1881,…
Stalin vs Trotsky: The Assassination That Changed History, with Josh Ireland 2026-04-05
On August 20, 1940, in a quiet study in Mexico, one of the 20th century’s most consequential political exiles was assassinated with an ice pick. The…
Can Discomfort Be the Key to a Better Life? With Ken Rideout 2026-04-04
Dr Radha Modgil is joined by endurance athlete, investor and author Ken Rideout for an inspiring Intelligence Squared conversation on what it really…
How and Why did Sexual Reproduction Evolve on our Planet? With Dr Lixing Sun 2026-04-02
Before sex evolved on our planet, two billion years ago, all reproduction happened asexually. So why and how did sexual reproduction evolve? Dr…
Hungry for Life! An Evening with Prue Leith (Part Two) 2026-03-31
According to Great British Bake Off judge and national treasure Prue Leith the secret to a happy life lies in embracing everyday with joy while…
Hungry for Life! An Evening with Prue Leith (Part One) 2026-03-30
According to Great British Bake Off judge and national treasure Prue Leith the secret to a happy life lies in embracing everyday with joy while…
How deeply was the British Crown involved in the transatlantic slave trade? With author of The Crown’s Silence, Brooke Newman 2026-03-29
How deeply was the British Crown involved in the transatlantic slave trade? New research by historian Brooke Newman argues that, from the reign of…
Why Are Populists Winning? With Liam Byrne and Will Hutton 2026-03-27
Populism has been winning big in recent years. It is the wave that has buoyed Donald Trump’s second term in office, Marine Le Pen’s popularity in…
How To Overcome Trauma, With Psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead (Part Two) 2026-03-25
Dr Gwen Adshead is one of Britain’s leading forensic psychiatrists. She is the author of The Sunday Times bestseller, The Devil You Know , which…
How To Overcome Trauma, With Psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead (Part One) 2026-03-23
Dr Gwen Adshead is one of Britain’s leading forensic psychiatrists. She is the author of The Sunday Times bestseller, The Devil You Know , which…
How Has Living With Animals Shaped Our Brains? With Michael Bond 2026-03-22
Humans are animals. 40,000 years ago our ancestors considered themselves inseparable from the landscape and the wild animals that lived alongside…
Why Are Ancient Myths Resurfacing in Modern Britain? With Zakia Sewell 2026-03-20
Are Pagan Traditions Shaping a New British Identity? In this episode, Academic, broadcaster and critic Shahidha Bari speaks to journalist, DJ and…
Sex, Gender and Christianity: A 3,000 Year History, with Diarmaid MacCulloch and Mary Beard (Part Two) 2026-03-18
In the twenty-first century, Christianity or historically Christian societies have witnessed one of the most extraordinary revolutions in attitudes…
Sex, Gender and Christianity: A 3,000 Year History, with Diarmaid MacCulloch and Mary Beard (Part One) 2026-03-16
In the twenty-first century, Christianity or historically Christian societies have witnessed one of the most extraordinary revolutions in attitudes…
Is the Russia–Ukraine War a Failure of Strategy? With Lawrence Freedman 2026-03-15
In an age of grinding wars, nuclear brinkmanship, and political volatility, what does strategy really mean - and how do leaders make decisions when…
What Is Really at Stake at the North Pole? With Neil Shea 2026-03-13
What Do Wolves, Caribou, and Global Superpowers Have in Common? In this episode, Professor Helen Czerski speaks to journalist and author Neil Shea…
Sotheby's Talks | How Do Objects Achieve Iconic Status, with Grayson Perry and Xa Sturgis 2026-03-11
On today’s episode, an episode from our friends at Sotheby's exploring the question: How do objects achieve iconic status? Taking inspiration from…
Fiona Hill: The World in 2026 (Part Two) 2026-03-09
Fiona Hill is one of the most authoritative voices on the forces reshaping global politics today. Born in County Durham, from 2017 to 2019 she was a…
Fiona Hill: The World in 2026 (Part One) 2026-03-08
Fiona Hill is one of the most authoritative voices on the forces reshaping global politics today. Born in County Durham, from 2017 to 2019 she was a…
How has American hubris shaped Iran? With Scott Anderson 2026-03-06
Scott Anderson is a veteran foreign reporter and war correspondent, and a contributing writer for The New York Times. Over his career he has…
What Does It Take to Run Goldman Sachs During a Meltdown? With Former CEO Lloyd Blankfein 2026-03-04
What does it take to lead one of the world’s most powerful banks when the global financial system is on the brink of collapse? As CEO for Goldman…
CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Trump, Iran and the World in 2026 (Part Two) 2026-03-02
As one of the world’s most respected journalists, CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour has witnessed some of the most consequential…
CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Trump, Iran and the World in 2026 (Part One) 2026-03-01
As one of the world’s most respected journalists, CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour has witnessed some of the most consequential…
Fatima Bhutto on Grief, Survival, and the Life-Affirming Love of Canine Companions 2026-02-27
Fatima Bhutto was born into the world of high politics in Pakistan. She was just 14 when she witnessed the assasination of her politician father…
Are Lithium and Cobalt the New Oil? The Elements of Power, with Nicolas Niarchos 2026-02-25
Decarbonisation is triggering a new great-power race. As demand for green technologies and sustainable power sources grows, Washington and Beijing…
The New Yorker’s Jon Lee Anderson on Afghanistan: An American Catastrophe (Part Two) 2026-02-23
Jon Lee Anderson is considered one of the great foreign correspondents of our time. Since the late 1980s, his on-the-ground reporting in Afghanistan…
The New Yorker’s Jon Lee Anderson on Afghanistan: An American Catastrophe (Part One) 2026-02-22
Jon Lee Anderson is considered one of the great foreign correspondents of our time. Since the late 1980s, his on-the-ground reporting in Afghanistan…
Could Silicon Valley Billionaires Cure Aging? With Aleks Krotoski 2026-02-20
What it might mean – biologically, socially, and philosophically – if death becomes optional? Humanity has long dreamed about the idea of…
Will AI Design New Organisms From Scratch? With Adrian Woolfson 2026-02-18
What if DNA could be edited as easily as software? What if we could delete disease, redesign organisms, and eventually rewrite ourselves? In this…
Is it Game Over for Keir Starmer? Martin Wolf for The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook 2026 (Part Two) 2026-02-16
2026 opened with a bang on the world stage. With Donald Trump's aggressive approach to foreign policy and the release of the Epstein files…