How Geography Explains Our World, with Tim Marshall

This event is part of Conversations at the Kiln, a new event series at Kiln Theatre programmed by Intelligence Squared. For more events with speakers from the worlds of literature, art, poetry and politics, click here. Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, is celebrated globally for his heartbreaking, funny and moving depictions of working-class life, identity and resilience. Born and raised in Glasgow, Stuart’s fiction draws heavily from his own experiences growing up as a gay man in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain. His debut Shuggie Bain received worldwide acclaim for its searing portrayal of poverty, addiction and one young boy’s tumultuous relationship with his mother in 1980s Scotland. It was heralded as a masterpiece by many critics, and received the Booker Prize in 2020; to date, it has sold over a million copies. In his second novel Young Mungo, Stuart returned to the streets of Glasgow to tell an equally compelling story of vulnerability and strength. This coming-of-age tale delves into the forbidden love between two young men, set against the backdrop of sectarian violence and familial expectations. Similarly critically acclaimed, the book cemented Stuart’s place as one of today’s most compelling literary voices. In February 2025 Stuart joined us live on stage to discuss his literary journey, the inspiration behind his award-winning novels, and his insights on writing honest depictions of marginalised worlds rarely seen in the literary mainstream. With the respected production company A24 set to adapt both novels for the BBC, Stuart also discussed the process of bringing his characters to life on screen. ----- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our 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  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

5 Mars 37min

Sam McAlister is the woman who secured the now infamous Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew, when he claimed to Emily Maitlis that he was in a Pizza Express in Woking on the night Virginia Giuffre alleges he slept with her. This was the broadcast which set public opinion alight, and from which many have supposed the royal family will never quite recover. In February 2025, McAlister joined us on stage to discuss the behind the scenes drama of the Prince Andrew interview, the making of the film adaption Scoop, the EMMY-nominated Netflix film starring Billie Piper and Gillian Anderson, and the challenges of navigating truth, power, celebrity and accountability in today’s media landscape.  --------- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our 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  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3 Mars 26min

Sam McAlister is the woman who secured the now infamous Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew, when he claimed to Emily Maitlis that he was in a Pizza Express in Woking on the night Virginia Giuffre alleges he slept with her. This was the broadcast which set public opinion alight, and from which many have supposed the royal family will never quite recover. In February 2025, McAlister joined us on stage to discuss the behind the scenes drama of the Prince Andrew interview, the making of the film adaption Scoop, the EMMY-nominated Netflix film starring Billie Piper and Gillian Anderson, and the challenges of navigating truth, power, celebrity and accountability in today’s media landscape.  --------- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our 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  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2 Mars 24min

On February 24, veteran BBC journalist, former North America editor and presenter Justin Webb came to Intelligence Squared to discuss what we all need to know about the new Trump world order. Webb analysed the first month of Trump's new administration to explain how from trade to conflict, Trump is abandoning international systems and creating a new global order based around personal relationships and dealmaking. He discussed what Trump's return means for Europe, the UK and what his changes in US policy on Ukraine, the Middle East and China mean for us all. The host for the conversation was journalist and broadcaster Ritula Shah. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28 Feb 36min

On February 24, veteran BBC journalist, former North America editor and presenter Justin Webb came to Intelligence Squared to discuss what we all need to know about the new Trump world order. Webb analysed the first month of Trump's new administration to explain how from trade to conflict, Trump is abandoning international systems and creating a new global order based around personal relationships and dealmaking. He discussed what Trump's return means for Europe, the UK and what his changes in US policy on Ukraine, the Middle East and China mean for us all. The host for the conversation was journalist and broadcaster Ritula Shah. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

26 Feb 36min

Rembrandt van Rijn is the best known of all the Dutch masters. His range was vast, from landscapes to portraits to Biblical scenes; he revolutionised every medium he handled, from oil paintings to etchings and drawings. His vision encompassed every element of life – the sleeping lion; the pissing baby; the lacerated soles of the returned prodigal son. Making the case for him in this debate was Simon Schama. For him Rembrandt is humanity unedited: rough, raw, violent, manic, vain, greedy and manipulative. Formal beauty was the least of his concerns, argues Schama, yet he attains beauty through his understanding of the human condition, including to be sure, his own. But for novelist Tracy Chevalier it can all get a little exhausting. Rembrandt’s paintings, she believes – even those that are not his celebrated self-portraits – are all about himself. Championing Vermeer, she claimed that his charm lies in the very fact that he absents himself from his paintings. As a result they are less didactic and more magical than Rembrandt’s, giving the viewer room to breathe. Chevalier has been obsessed with Vermeer since the age of 19, when she first saw his Girl with a Pearl Earring. The girl’s startled eyes and luscious, inviting mouth produce a tantalising sense of mystery and contradiction. An other-worldly mystery also veils Vermeer’s Delft street scenes and interiors. Apparently so everyday, they are lifted to a higher sphere by the indirect gaze and the turned back, all bathed in that fuzzy, filmic Vermeer veneer. And so often they, too, ask a question. Who wrote the letter that the woman in blue reads so attentively? Who does the girl in the gold jacket strum her guitar for? The questions are never answered but we are lured back again and again in search of an answer. Which of these two titans is the greater master – Rembrandt or Vermeer? ------ If you’d like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our 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 ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

24 Feb 1h 2min

In this episode, we’re joined by Edward Fishman, one of the foremost experts on economic statecraft and sanctions. With a career spanning roles at the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon, and the Treasury Department, Fishman has been at the forefront of America’s strategic response to global challenges.  He now works as a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and as a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. His writing on global policy and economic strategy has been featured in outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Foreign Affairs. Today, we’ll be discussing his new book, Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare. We’ll explore how economic tools like sanctions, trade restrictions, and financial levers have become the U.S.’s primary means of addressing international crises and countering rivals in an increasingly interconnected world. Joining Fishman to discuss the book is Chris Miller, author of Chip War and Professor of International History at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. ------ If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our 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  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

23 Feb 42min

‘We live today in a perpetual superbloom – not of flowers but of messages’ –- Nicholas Carr   In this episode we explore the hidden costs of constant connection with American journalist and writer Nicholas Carr.  Best known for his New York Times bestselling book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, Carr discusses his latest book Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart. In conversation with writer and researcher Adam McCauley, Carr shows us how platforms such as Facebook and X which promised to democratise information and foster greater understanding have instead fueled tribalism, misinformation, and social fragmentation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 Feb 43min