Has satire lost its power in this new world of fake news and alternative facts? How can you satirise the absurd? Are certain figures and groups exempt from satirisation?

Filmed in February 2020 - both pre-pandemic and when Donald Trump was still President of the United States - Armando Iannucci,...

From the surveillance state to Julian Assange, nuclear power to Obama, Greece's former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and Grammy Award winning musician Brian Eno had a wide ranging discussion on the Intelligence Squared stage.

This conversation took place in London, on November 4th 2019.

‘The future of European security is being decided now, here in Ukraine.’ These were the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before Vladimir Putin's Russia launched an all-out assault on Ukraine, sending tanks and fighter jets deep into the country and forcing thousands of Ukrainians t...

’I’ve called Daniel Kahneman the world’s most influential living psychologist and I believe that is true. He pretty much created the field of behavioural economics and has revolutionised large parts of cognitive psychology and social psychology.’ – Steven Pinker

Daniel Kahneman shot to fame in ...

Intelligent Times is a live event series collaboration between The New York Times and Intelligence Squared, bringing together leading New York Times journalists and thought leaders to discuss the key issues facing the globe today.

In the era of Brexit and Trump, and Facebook and Twitter, the tru...

Since Russia invaded Ukraine last February the West has ramped up sanctions against Russia to an unprecedented level. Both Russia and the West are feeling the pain, but are the measures having the desired effect?

Unquestionably, say sanctions supporters. A report by Yale University shows that t...

Brexit - the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. It's defenders say it made the country more independent it's detractors say it made the country less rich and powerful. Who's right? Join the debate.

Featuring Daniel Hannan, Robert Tombs, Dominic Grieve, Stella Creasy and...

China: a partner or adversary? Nathan Law, Alan Mendoza, Shirley Yu and Vince Cable debate how nations should approach China on questions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Covid-19, economics and national security.

Since early March Niall Ferguson has been meticulously collating and analysing data about Covid 19 pandemic we are facing now – tracking how the coronavirus pandemic began, how we got to where we are today and extrapolating what the future is likely to hold.

In this special Intelligence Squared...

In 2018 journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi regime operatives, shocking the world and drawing widespread condemnation. Mohammad bin Salman, the kingdom’s young crown prince, denied any involvement in the killing but his reputation as a moderniser was tarnished. Bin Salman had tried t...

Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero day has the power to silently spy on your iPhone, dismantle the safety controls at a chemical plant, alter an election, and shut down the e...

Actor, analyst and author Max Brooks sat down with Carl Miller for an episode of the Intelligence Squared Podcast to discuss his new book Devolution, the myth that we can save the planet through technology and how the pandemic highlighted our democratic responsibility.

About Intelligence Square...

Rep. Ilhan Omar, the groundbreaking Somali-American community organizer from Minnesota, speaks to public intellectuals Dr Cornel West and Professor Tricia Rose. She lays out her #PeopleFirst plan to transform our society and how the progressive movement will do if Democrats win back the Senate a...

Recorded in October 2022, in conversation with Robert Peston Thomas Friedman examines the most consequential Presidential elections of our times. Will enough Americans rally round President Trump to give him a second term, despite the innumerable scandals that have beset his administration? Or wi...

Boris Johnson has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party and will step down as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A leader who some believe exceled on Brexit and Ukraine and a disgrace to others who say his actions and lies have made him unfit to govern.

Jonathan Freedland and Simon Je...

Intelligence Squared presents a live podcast recording about the spies fighting communism during the Cold War. At the end of World War II, the United States dominated the world militarily, economically, and in moral standing – seen as the victor over tyranny and a champion of freedom. But it was ...

Following the death of George Floyd, global Black Lives Matter protests and debates raging over statues from Colston to Churchill, Intelligence Squared hosted an online discussion with historian David Olusoga, Labour MP Dawn Butler, philosopher Susan Neiman and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied.

"We're going to hell in a handcart." That's the cry of the deteriorationists who believe everything has got worse: the planet is overheating, population numbers are exploding, communities are being lost; liberal democracy is creaking on its foundations, and for twentysomethings prospects are look...

The United States of America is divided, its democracy is shaken and its Supreme Court politicized. But all is not lost.

In this interview George Packer speaks to the BBC's Justin Webb about how America got here, and how it can move forward. He presents a hopeful vision for a radical reform of A...

The African continent boasts the highest level of genetic diversity in the world, which makes sense: after all, it was from the continent of Africa that the human race first originated. Today, the continent is home to over 2,000 languages – from Igbo to Xhosa, Franglais to Yoruba – and comprises ...

Yesterday Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. But as the storming of the Capitol on January 6 by supporters of Donald Trump showed, those 50 states are far from united.

Biden inherits a battered country that needs putting back together. Its political tribes need to...

Does the world need more or less mass migration? Jenny Kleeman chaired this debate between Felix Marquardt, author of The New Nomads and author David Goodhart.

To some, the very word ‘migration’ generates fear, suspicion and even hatred. But according to Felix Marquardt, author of the acclaimed...

Billionaires have more wealth than 60% of the world's population. So, as billionaires are jetting off to space, is it time to abolish them here on earth? Or is this a simplistic take. Making Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg poorer is not going to make the 99 per cent any richer. It might make the env...

It is time to call the tech companies to account. In the space of just ten years, Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft have become the biggest companies on the planet and have accrued a level of power that threatens us all. They control our data, warp our democratic discourse, and exert ...