Intelligence Squared

How did one family become associated with an epidemic of drug addiction that has caused the death of almost half a million people? In this episode, award-winning writer and author of Empire of Pain, Patrick Radden Keefe speaks to Hannah Kuchler, the FT’s global pharmaceutical correspondent about how he uncovered fresh material on the Sacklers and discovered a modern parable of greed, corruption and cynical philanthropy. To buy the book click here: https://www.primrosehillbooks.com/product/empire-of-pain-the-secret-history-of-the-sackler-dynasty-patrick-keefe-subscribers/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Hirst, Global CEO of advertising group Havas Creative, cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of modern leadership in this straight-talking podcast brought to you by Intelligence Squared. In this episode Chris Hirst speaks to the internet pioneer and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales who is perhaps the most famous silicon-valley entrepreneur to not become a billionaire. Wikipedia has changed how knowledge is accessed across the world, with 1.5 billion devices accessing the site every month. Jimmy Wales is also founder of the Wikimedia Foundation and co-founder of Wikia, a privately owned free web hosting service he set up in 2004. In 2019 he founded WT.Social, a microblogging site pitched as a 'non-toxic social network...where advertisers don't call the shots'. The service contains no advertisements and runs off donations. To subscribe click here: https://pod.link/1533418365 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out inform

Is China an enemy that needs to be reined in, or a potential partner with whom the West should engage? Hear the arguments and decide for yourself.  Speakers: Martin Wolf, Keyu Jin, Sir Malcolm Rifkind. Chair: Carrie Gracie Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With data on the Covid-19 pandemic changing shape with every new outbreak and new mutation, it's a complex task to make sense of where the story of the virus will head next. David Spiegelhalter is chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at Cambridge University and an expert on crunching figures in order to understand successes and failures. His new book Covid by Numbers, co-written with Anthony Masters, seeks to shine a spotlight on the UK's handling of the pandemic. In this episode he speaks with the virologist and host of The Naked Scientist podcast Dr Chris Smith. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should capitalism be reformed or replaced? Former Greek Finance Minister and economist Yanis Varoufakis and Gillian Tett US editor at large at the Financial Times discuss and debate their visions for a post-COVID economy live in London. The moderator is Anne McElvoy senior editor at The Economist.  For the Intelligence Squared discount on Gillian Tett's book click here: https://www.primrosehillbooks.com/product/anthro-vision-how-anthropology-can-explain-business-and-life-gillian-tett/ For the Intelligence Squared discount on Yanis Varoufakis's book click here: https://www.primrosehillbooks.com/product/another-now-dispatches-from-an-alternative-present-yanis-varoufakis/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Hirst, Global CEO of advertising group Havas Creative, cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of modern leadership in this straight-talking podcast brought to you by Intelligence Squared. In this episode Chris speaks to Kwame Kwei-Armah, the Artistic Director of the Young Vic theatre in London. He is also an actor, playwright, singer and broadcaster. From 2011 to 2018 he was the Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage, and he was Artistic Director for the Festival of Black arts and Culture, Senegal, in 2010. His series of eight short films, Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle, was shown on BBC4 in 2019. He is a patron of Ballet Black and a visiting fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University. If you enjoyed this podcast please let us know what you think by rating and reviewing No Bullsh*t Leadership on Apple Podcasts. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca

For this week's episode of The Sunday Debate, we revisit our event from 2018. Many would argue that these are the fundamental goals of a good education. So why has Cambridge University taken to warning its students that the sexual violence in Titus Andronicus might be traumatic for them? Why are other universities in America and increasingly in Britain introducing measures to protect students from speech and texts they might find harmful? Safe spaces, trigger warnings and no-platforming are now campus buzzwords – and they’re all designed to limit free speech and the exchange of ideas. As celebrated social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues in his book The Coddling of the American Mind, university students are increasingly retreating from ideas they fear may damage their mental health, and presenting themselves as fragile and in need of protection from any viewpoint that might make them feel unsafe.The culture of safety, as Haidt calls it, may be well intentioned, but it is hampering the development of young

The recent publication of The Pandora Papers, a trove of 12 million financial documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, has once again shone a spotlight on secret offshore accounts and tax loopholes. The papers contain the financial dealings and global influence of billionaires, world leaders and politicians, plus many more. They also highlight how ineffective governments can be in preventing manipulation of tax rules for the gains of the super rich. In order to understand how this imbalance occurs and how it fits into the global financial picture, journalist Razia Iqbal spoke with Jeffrey Sachs, one of the world's most foremost economists, to pick through the paper trail. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A more interconnected world was supposed to bring us closer together, but Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, says the opposite has occurred. He joins Carl Miller to discuss his new book The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict, which argues that technology and a lack of joined up thinking is affecting communication on every level. From standoffs between nation states to individuals hurling insults on social media, Mark identifies how connectivity is being mismanaged and exploited during an era in which defining narratives are ever more elusive to pin down. To find out more about the book click here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-age-of-unpeace/mark-leonard/9780552178273 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's episode comes from the How To Lead a Sustainable Business podcast, brought to you by Selfridges Group and Intelligence Squared. In the podcast, Alannah Weston, Chairman of Selfridges Group, speaks to inspiring leaders at the forefront of sustainability and business to find out what it takes to lead change and how businesses can put sustainability at their core.  In this episode Alannah is joined by Dame Vivian Hunt, a senior partner at the global management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company. She served as managing partner of McKinsey’s UK and Ireland offices from 2013-2020 and is a thought leader on productivity, leadership and diversity. She was previously named as one of the top ten “most influential black people in Britain” by the Powerlist Foundation, and The Financial Times identified her “one of the 30 most influential people in the City of London”. She speaks to Alannah about the importance of businesses being open to innovation, stakeholder capitalism and the value of a diverse workforce.

This event took place on the 31st of October at the Royal Institution in London. CHAIR: Afua Hirsch - Writer and broadcaster SPEAKERS FOR THE MOTION: AA Gill - The Sunday Times’s star restaurant and TV critic AGAINST THE MOTION: George Monbiot - Guardian columnist, environmental campaigner and author of Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet Fancy a nice juicy steak? Most of us do from time to time, and we don’t trouble our consciences too much with the rights and wrongs of eating meat. Others, while vaguely aware that we ought to go vegan, just can’t face the rest of our lives denying ourselves bacon, beef, butter etc. But once we start looking into the arguments for veganism, it becomes difficult to justify the omnivore diet. Take the environment for starters. Livestock farming has a massive impact on the planet, producing around 14% of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions according to the UN. That’s roughly the same as the total amount of global transport emissions. Animals are extremely

Great ideas often come from a simple spark: A soccer player on the New Zealand national team notices all the unused wool his country produces and figures out a way to turn them into shoes (Allbirds). A former Buddhist monk decides the very best way to spread his mindfulness teachings is by launching an app (Headspace). A sandwich cart vendor finds a way to reuse leftover pita bread and turns it into a multimillion-dollar business (Stacy's Pita Chips). In this week's episode award-winning journalist and NPR host Guy Raz speaks to Carl Miller about uncovering the stories of highly successful entrepreneurs. To find out more about Guy's book click here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Built-This-Unexpected-Entrepreneurs/dp/0358216761 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week's episode Anne Boden CEO of Starling Bank speaks to Linda Yueh about setting up her own bank. In her remarkable story Boden reveals how she broke through bureaucracy and successfully countered widespread suspicion to realise her vision for the future of consumer banking. She fulfilled that dream by founding Starling, the winner of Best British Bank at the British Bank Awards in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and in doing so has triggered a new movement that is revolutionising the entire banking industry. To find out more about the book click here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/BANKING-How-I-Disrupted-Industry/dp/0241453585  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are entering the Exponential Age. Between faster computers, better software and bigger data, ours is the first era in human history in which technology is constantly accelerating. Azeem Azhar - writer, technologist, and creator of the acclaimed Exponential View newsletter - understands this shift better than anyone. Technology, he argues, is developing at an increasing, exponential rate. But human society - from our businesses to our political institutions - can only ever adapt at a slower, incremental pace. The result is an 'exponential gap', between the power of new technology and our ability to keep up. In this week's episode he speaks to Ros Urwin about this new era and what we we should do about it.  To buy the book click here: https://amzn.to/3i8YieM Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is identity politics tearing society apart or is it a call for social justice for everyone? That's the theme of this week's Sunday Debate.  For the motion were journalist and author of 'We Need To Talk About Kevin', Lionel Shriver and Founding chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Trevor Phillips. Against the motion were Labour politician David Lammy and Guardian journalist, the late Dawn Foster. The chair was Kamal Ahmed former editorial director of the BBC. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kai-Fu Lee is one of the world’s leading AI experts and a bestselling author. He founded Microsoft Asia’s research lab that has trained CTOs and AI heads at Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba and Huawei. As President of Google China he helped establish the company in the Chinese market. And now, as CEO of Sinovation Ventures, he is investing in China’s high-tech sector, giving him a unique perspective on how AI is set to change our world over the next 20 years. On September 22 Lee came to Intelligence Squared to explain how AI is at an inflection point and urged us to wake up to its radiant possibilities as well as to the existential threats it poses to life as we know it. In conversation with Kamal Ahmed, former Editorial Director of the BBC, he discussed his new work of ‘scientific fiction’, AI 2041, co-authored with the celebrated novelist Chen Qiufan. The book offers up eye-opening scenarios of our techno-future – from a teenage girl’s rebellion when AI gets in the way of romance to a rogue quantum computer scientis

In this week's episode Charles Blow speaks to journalist Dele Olojede about the arguments in his new book The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto. He argued that if enough African-Americans move south, the demographic balance in the Southern States will be tipped in favour of Black voters and politicians. His new home state of Georgia – he practises what he preaches and left Brooklyn for Atlanta – recently voted for a Democrat presidential candidate and two Democratic Senate candidates, one of whom became the first Black senator in the state’s history. The growing African-American population in Georgia was pivotal in these votes, Blow believes. To find out more and buy the book click here: https://www.primrosehillbooks.com/product/the-devil-you-know-a-black-power-manifesto-charles-m-blow-subscribers/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week's episode we're featuring a podcast produced by Intelligence Squared called 'It’s The Economy' in which host Nicola Walton breaks down the complex economic ideas we have all heard of but may not fully understand in under 15 minutes. In this episode Lord O’Donnell, a former Cabinet Secretary who headed the British Civil Service between 2005-2011 under Prime Ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron looks at economic growth, what counts as GDP and productivity, and whether national happiness and wellbeing are taken into account. Subscribe to It's The Economy at: https://pod.link/1577180549 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With so much data and power centralised in the hands of a few West Coast companies, the tech giants have become a serious threat to our basic freedoms and must be broken up. That’s the argument that was made at this major Intelligence Squared debate by the FT’s global business columnist Rana Foroohar and by businessman and former chairman of Channel 4 Luke Johnson. But others would argue that it’s all too easy to make the tech giants a scapegoat for the inevitable upheavals caused by the digital revolution. The real winners of this revolution are not the tech companies but us, the users. Who could now imagine living without the services of Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft? That’s the case that was made in our debate by former head of Facebook’s European politics and government division Elizabeth Linder and competition law expert Pinar Akman. Who's right and who's wrong?  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informatio

Does owning a big house and supporting ‘correct’ social causes not just make you feel good about yourself but actually make you healthier and live longer? The answer is yes. This is just one of the fascinating findings that bestselling writer Will Storr shared with Intelligence Squared on September 16 discussing the themes of his new book The Status Game. Storr argues that it is our irrepressible craving for status that ultimately defines who we are. As he puts it, ‘If you want to rule the world, save the world, buy the world or fuck the world, the best thing to pursue is status.’ And research shows that without sufficient status, we suffer more illness and live shorter lives. To get the Intelligence Squared discount on the book click here: https://www.primrosehillbooks.com/product/the-status-game-on-social-position-and-how-we-use-it-will-storr-intel/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choic