Intelligence Squared

Robin Dunbar has been hailed as one of the most insightful and creative evolutionary thinkers of our time, famed for his work on human networks and communities (he came up with the Dunbar number, the idea that humans can have no more than 150 meaningful relationships). Now he turns his attention to religion, the subject of his recent book, How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures. Joining Robin in conversation on the podcast is Stuart Ritchie, Psychologist at King's College London, and author of Science Fictions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

25 Jul 202259min

In this archive listen from 2013, we explore the global political impact of a leader whose legacy and influence is still being questioned today: Angela Merkel. As with any leader, a legacy isn't set in stone and as the dust settles on Merkel’s chancellorship, which spanned from 2005 to 2021, questions are being asked about decisions she made during her time in power. Most pertinent today, with the arrival of war in Ukraine, is Germany's accommodating trade relationship with Russia. But there were dissenting voices on Merkel’s leadership back in 2013. Amid the fallout of the financial crisis, Germany found itself as the key central player holding the fates of less buoyant European economies such as Greece and Portugal in its hands. Many in those countries felt that Merkel's hardline approach to fiscal measures, essentially holding the purse strings for much of Europe, was crippling their own nations. So we debated the motion: Angela Merkel is Destroying Europe. Hosting the the debate was former BBC World News broadcaster Nik Gowing, joined by journalists Mehdi Hasan and Christine Ockrent. Plus, historian Antony Beevor and Greek politician Euclid Tsakalotos. — 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

24 Jul 202254min

During the Second World War, Rudolph Vrba was one of the very few people to escape the horrors of the Auschwitz concentration camp. He did so along with fellow escapee, Alfred Wetzler, in April 1944. Vrba is the subject of columnist and author Jonathan Freedland's new book, The Escape Artist. He joins journalist and broadcaster Manveen Rana to discuss Vrba's incredible story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

22 Jul 20221h

Trolling, conspiracy theories, racist algorithms, cyberwarfare – every day our headlines are ablaze with negative stories about the internet. The problem? The unaccountable power of the big tech companies. That’s the view of bestselling author and barrister Jamie Susskind. His new book is The Digital Republic, which sets out his vision for a different type of society in which humans can take power back and reshape the digital world into a space where we can all flourish. Joining Jamie in conversation is another writer and strategic advisor working where culture and technology meet, Nina Schick, author of Deep Fakes and the Infocalypse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 Jul 20221h 5min

Activist, academic and author Ibram X. Kendi joins us for a discussion on his new book, How to Raise an Antiracist. It follows his Intelligence Squared talk that took place in 2019 outlining how to implement strategies for tackling racism throughout society as detailed in his National Book Award winning publication from that year, How to Be an Antiracist. The new book takes the conversation further, exploring the lessons that can be taught to younger generations as we try to build a future society that is free from prejudice. Joining Ibram in conversation once more is BBC News journalist and visiting journalism professor at Princeton, Razia Iqbal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

18 Jul 20221h 10min

This event was recorded on the 10th of July 2018 in London SPEAKERS FOR THE MOTION: Mark Cocker - Author and naturalist and George Monbiot - Guardian columnist, environmental campaigner and author of Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet. AGAINST THE MOTION: Minette Batters - President of the National Farmers' Union and Rory Stewart Former Conservative government minister, whose new book is Politics On the Edge: A Memoir from Within CHAIR: Jonathan Dimbleby - Broadcaster, documentary maker and author Imagine if swathes of the British countryside were allowed to be wild once again, if trees and rare plants could flourish and beavers, boars and white-tailed eagles could retake their place in the ecosystem. That’s the goal of the growing numbers of nature-lovers who support the idea of rewilding Britain’s uplands. We tend to think of these uplands as ‘wild’ and ‘natural’. But in fact, as the rewilders point out, they are entirely man-made, the result of clearances by man to make way for millions of sheep whose grazing over the last 200 years has rendered the land bare. Sheep farming, once a major source of Britain’s wealth, is now largely uneconomic and depends on billions of pounds of subsidies. But where rewilding is taking place, in Britain and in Europe, a boom in tourism is providing a more sustainable local economy. We must make space for wild nature in places where farming does not make sense. That’s romantic tosh, say the opponents of rewilding. People matter too, and the idea that we should do away with traditional ways of life for the sake of wild bilberries and wolves is getting things out of proportion. Get rid of the farms in the uplands and you will destroy not just the livelihoods of farmers, shepherds and vets, but also the village schools, shops and pubs that are at the heart of rural communities. Yes, upland sheep farms are subsidised but so is almost every other kind of agriculture. And do we really want rampant scrub to replace peaceful scenes of grazing sheep and gambolling lambs, and introduce dangerous animals who will all too soon encroach upon the outskirts of our towns and villages? Intelligence Squared brought together four speakers who care passionately about the countryside but disagree profoundly on how we should manage it.  — 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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

17 Jul 20221h 4min

What do bees sense in flowers? What do songbirds hear in each others’ tunes? And what’s that smell sending your dog running up the street? These questions and many more are the basis of science communicator Ed Yong's book, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us. He is a staff writer at The Atlantic magazine and his coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. He's also the recipient of the George Polk Award for Science Reporting and the author of I Contain Multitudes, his previous book, which became a bestseller. Speaking with Ed on the podcast is Chrissie Giles, Global Health Editor at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

15 Jul 202257min

How do we define value? How has this changed over time? And who decides what is deemed valuable? For centuries, society has seen value mainly through an economic lens: one takes a job because of its monetary benefits; marriage is a financially beneficial relationship that enables stability; and the true test of a business is its profit at the end of the year. But is this changing? In recent years, factors such as climate change, social justice and the pandemic have forced us to reconsider how we define value. We are in the era of the Value Revolution. In this episode, recorded on July 5 at Y TREE's second live event in the Futureverse series, three experts discuss and debate some of the most pressing issues that have arisen as a result of this critical turning point: Will private equity transform the financial industry? Can capitalism really adapt so that things other than monetary value are considered important in business, including fairness and environmental impact? And are we finally seeing a growing awareness that value is not always quantified by a price tag? Some things, such as time, health, job satisfaction and the survival of our planet are surely worth more than a number in a bank account.   Simon Brewer, host of the award-winning Money Maze Podcast, gives us his thoughts on the dramatic shifts in the economy over the last few decades. Political economist and author Adrienne Buller argues that businesses that engage in sustainability initiatives and ‘green capitalism’ are harming rather than helping the planet. And Lucy Kellaway, former FT columnist, now charity founder, author and maths and economics teacher, offers a fresh way to decide what to prioritise in our personal and professional lives. Expertly hosted by broadcaster Jon Sopel, this is a conversation that is guaranteed to change the way you think about value and worth. To find out more visit https://www.y-tree.com/futureverse Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

13 Jul 202249min