Why Are We So Addicted to Everything? With Nicklas Brendborg

Anyone who follows the news cycle knows that between conflict and pandemics, the looming threat of the climate crisis, powerful AI and not to mention political scaremongering and moral panics, we’re never short of things to feel fearful of. Cultural historian Robert Peckham's recent book is: Fear: An Alternative History of the World. In it, he argues that fear is one of the main driving forces of human history, while also tracing the politics of fear from the outbreak of bubonic plague in the 14th century to the covid-19 pandemic today. Peckham was previously Professor of History and MB Lee Endowed Professor in the Humanities and Medicine at the University of Hong Kong. He’s also the founder of Open Cube, an organisation that promotes the integration of the arts, science, and technology for health. Joining him in conversation is Sophie McBain, associate editor of the New Statesman, and an award-winning writer whose work often focuses on the intersection where fields such as psychology, science and society’s less explored narratives meet.  We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next. Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to podcasts@intelligencesquared.com or Tweet us @intelligence2.  And while you’re listening, why not visit Intelligencesquared.com and sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear about some of our great upcoming events and deals. 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. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

16 Loka 202339min

The Labour MP Wes Streeting reveals his childhood struggle with poverty and the inspirational figures who set him on the path to university and politics in this discussion with BBC Radio 4 broadcaster Justin Webb. Streeting grew up in London’s East End and is now the UK’s shadow health secretary. He explains how the influence of his mother and two grandfathers had a lasting impact on his outlook and how an innate sense of optimism has allowed him to get to where he is today, as told in his recent book: One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up. We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next. Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to podcasts@intelligencesquared.com or Tweet us @intelligence2.  And while you’re listening, why not visit Intelligencesquared.com and sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear about some of our great upcoming events and deals. 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. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

14 Loka 202333min

This is an episode of Tides of Transformation: An Oil Story, a brand new podcast from Intelligence Squared. In this episode, Gavin Bridge from Durham University and James Marriott of Platform London and the co-author of Crude Britannia: How Big Oil Shaped a Nation are joined by former CEO of the Net Zero Technology Centre Colette Cohen OBE and former trade union organiser Jake Molloy for a conversation about the evolution of the oil sector in Britain and the different components that comprise it, including the offshore, refineries, trading and finance. Our panelists also explore the differing pace of change across the oil sector, the complexity this creates for the expansion of clean energy projects, and what must be done to ensure a rapid, and just, energy transition. Other contributors include the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion Gail Bradbrook, Morgan Stanley’s Global Oil Strategist Martijn Rats, and Fuels Industry UK’s Director of Downstream Policy Dr Andy Roberts. The host is Dr Helen Czerski. For more information about Tides of Transformation: An Oil Story, please visit: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/tides-of-transformation/ – Colette Cohen OBE was CEO of the Net Zero Technology Centre, not the Net Zero Technology Company as stated in the audio. The UKPIA (United Kingdom Petroleum Industry Association) changed its name in August 2023 to Fuels Industry UK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

13 Loka 202342min

When did you first hear of GPT, Claude, DALL-E or Bard? Feels like a while ago, right? In barely over a year AI has permeated our conversations, our places of work and it feels omnipresent in the culture. It also threatens to make some of the pillars of our society redundant. Join researcher and author Carl Miller for POWER TRIP, a brand new podcast from Intelligence Squared, to see where that journey is leading us.  Want the future right now? Become a supporter of Intelligence Squared to get all five episodes of POWER TRIP to binge in one go. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.  Technology is going to impact the future of humanity in ways that we may never have predicted and in the coming years perhaps in ways we can no longer control. In this first episode, Carl Miller guides us through the journey of how we got to this point in the story of AI and asks whether historians in the future will look at the era as one of pre-GPT and post-GPT. Featuring Michael Wooldridge, Director of Foundational AI Research at the Turing Institute and professor of computer science at the University of Oxford; Judy Wajcman, Principal Investigator of the Women in Data Science and AI project at The Alan Turing Institute; Henry Ajder, Generative AI & Deepfakes Expert Advisor and AI researcher Connor Leahy, CEO of Conjuncture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

12 Loka 202337min

We revisit a debate from 2021 between the former Greek finance minister, economist and author Yanis Varoufakis, and Gillian Tett, the Financial Times columnist, anthropologist, and author. The two gathered to debate: Can We Fix Capitalism? Our chair was Politico's Anne McElvoy, who at time of recording was senior editor at The Economist.  Gillian Tett is also Provost of Kings College at Cambridge University and a sought after voice whose smart insights can help put the often complex worlds of finance and the economy into perspective. Coming up on Wednesday 25 October 2023, Gillian Tett will be live onstage in London to discuss the economic outlook for 2024 ahead. The event in partnership with Y TREE is going to touch on issues such as how businesses can harness AI for the benefit of society and also the potential economic turbulence that could be the result of a second Trump presidency. Joining Tett onstage will be Johnny Dymond of BBC News. Follow the link below to purchase tickets and get ahead on the big economic ideas for the next 12 months.  https://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/the-intelligence-squared-economic-outlook-with-gillian-tett/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11 Loka 20231h 3min

This is the second instalment of our two-part debate, with George Monbiot, Guardian columnist, environmental campaigner and author of Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet, arguing for the motion We Should All Go Vegan. Patrick Holden, Founder and chief executive of the Sustainable Food Trust, argues against it. Our chair is Alice Thomson, Columnist and interviewer at The Times. Livestock farming contributes 14.5% of human-produced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Farm animals belch out massive amounts of methane, one of the most harmful greenhouse gases. They are also extremely wasteful of resources, using up 83% of farmland worldwide while providing only 18% of our calories, guzzling soya and grain that could feed humans more efficiently, and requiring vast amounts of water. As for our health, vegan sports stars such as Venus and Serena Williams and Lewis Hamilton prove that you can be superfit on a plant-based diet, and research has linked vegan diets to lower rates of some diseases. That’s the argument made by the vegan lobby. But there are many experts who disagree on all counts. Take the environment. Few people realise the high carbon cost of growing crops – some 15-20% of the world’s CO2 output comes from ploughing – and that plants grown for food require vast amounts of fertiliser and pesticides that are derived from fossil fuels. Who’s right and who’s wrong?  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. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

8 Loka 202326min

In this two-part debate, George Monbiot, Guardian columnist, environmental campaigner and author of Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet, argues for the motion We Should All Go Vegan. Patrick Holden, Founder and chief executive of the Sustainable Food Trust, argues against it. Our chair is Alice Thomson, Columnist and interviewer at The Times. Livestock farming contributes 14.5% of human-produced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Farm animals belch out massive amounts of methane, one of the most harmful greenhouse gases. They are also extremely wasteful of resources, using up 83% of farmland worldwide while providing only 18% of our calories, guzzling soya and grain that could feed humans more efficiently, and requiring vast amounts of water. As for our health, vegan sports stars such as Venus and Serena Williams and Lewis Hamilton prove that you can be superfit on a plant-based diet, and research has linked vegan diets to lower rates of some diseases. That’s the argument made by the vegan lobby. But there are many experts who disagree on all counts. Take the environment. Few people realise the high carbon cost of growing crops – some 15-20% of the world’s CO2 output comes from ploughing – and that plants grown for food require vast amounts of fertiliser and pesticides that are derived from fossil fuels. Who’s right and who’s wrong?  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. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Loka 202341min

Until recently, the Murdoch's formed the most powerful media and political force in America. Now their empire is cracking up and crashing down. Michael Wolff the acclaimed author of a trilogy of books about the the chaotic Trump presidency and the biographer of Rupert Murdoch comes to Intelligence Squared to discuss this real life Succession with Justin Webb. The episode was produced and edited by Conor Boyle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

6 Loka 202328min