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Alastair Campbell, Will Hutton and Sonia Sodha were gathered for a panel discussion about remaking Britain, organised by Intelligence Squared at Union Chapel in London this evening. The speakers were joined by the leader of the Labour Party. In the lively discussion that followed, Starmer, Campbe...

Why are middle-aged women these days subject to so much rage and hatred – frequently from people who see themselves as kind and ‘on the right side of history’? What explains the popularity of the Karen meme, which references a stereotypically privileged white woman whom everyone feels entitled to...

Armando Iannucci is one of Britain’s best-loved comedy writers. The creator of hit shows such as The Thick Of It, Veep and Alan Partridge, Iannucci is renowned for his sharp political satire and parodies of the rich and powerful. His latest project, a West End stage production of Stanley Kubrick’...

‘We are all, at some point in our lives, obliterated by loss. If you haven’t been by now, you will be in time – that’s for sure. And, of course, if you have been fortunate enough to have been truly loved, in this world, you will also cause extraordinary pain to others when you leave it. That’s th...

Who gets to win power and how do they keep it – and lose it? Who is excluded from power? Does power always corrupt or are there examples of leaders who have maintained their integrity while in authority? How does the nature of power vary across different times and cultures? These are the question...

Nobody in the history of humanity has ever achieved ‘work-life balance,’ whatever that might be, and you certainly won’t get there by copying the ‘six things successful people do before 7 a.m.' – Oliver Burkeman

Oliver Burkeman is the anti-self-help author that everyone interested in self-help s...

Imagine a world where people who suffer from epilepsy receive alerts moments before a seizure, where the average person can peer into their own mind to eliminate painful memories and we can easily cure addictions. This is also a world where your brain could be interrogated to learn your political...

In the Middle Ages, Jews were hated for their religion. In the twentieth century, they were hated because of their race. Today Jews are hated for something else: the nation state of Israel. That's the argument being made by journalist and editor of the Jewish Chronicle Jake Wallis Simons, who com...

For almost 40 years, the Parthenon Marbles, or Elgin Marbles as they are also known, have been at the centre of the great restitution debate. Taken from Greece in contested circumstances by Lord Elgin in the 19th century, the marble sculptures that were part of the Parthenon and other structures ...

Bestselling author and activist Naomi Klein goes down the rabbit hole in pursuit of her doppelganger – another well known writer with a name similar to hers but whose views couldn’t be more different from her own. She finds herself returning again and again to a place she calls Mirror World, wher...

The tech platforms promised us a future of connection, but they were lying. They said their walled gardens would keep us safe, but they were building prison walls.

That’s the claim made by Cory Doctorow, one of the world’s leading critics of the impact of new technologies on society and culture....

In September 2023 John Gray came to Intelligence Squared to talk to David Runciman, a political scientist known for his clear analysis of modern political complexities. Together they explored the themes of Gray’s new book 'The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism', which looks at the world o...

The Co-Founder of DeepMind and Inflection AI explains why he believes we are approaching a critical threshold in the history of humankind

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 pre-recorded discussion with broadcaster Justin Webb.

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...

Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven are without doubt two of the most sublime musical geniuses who ever lived. But which of the two was the greater? To battle it out, Intelligence Squared brought to the stage two celebrated figures from the world of music: world-renowned cellist Steven...

David Baddiel would love there to be a God. The comedian and bestselling author has spent a lot of time fantasising about how much better life would be if there actually were a supreme being – which for him would be some kind of Superhero Dad who chased off Death. Unfortunately for him, there isn...

‘I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job.’ – President Trump, to Russian officials visiting him in the Oval Office in 2017

James Comey is the former director of the FBI who is disliked by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in equal measure. His decision to investigate Clint...