Intelligence Squared

AI models now advise on everything from war, crop output, and marriages. Algorithms determine whether we can get a loan, a job, an apartment, or an organ transplant. Carissa Véliz, Associate Professor at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford, argues that today’s computer scientists play the same role as the oracles of the ancient world and the astrologers of the Middle Ages. And when we cede ground to these predictions, we lose control of our own lives. In this episode, Véliz speaks to technology philosopher Tom Chatfield about how systems of prediction have long shaped human decisions - and how their influence is expanding in the age of data and AI. Together they examine why more data does not always lead to better outcomes, and how predictive systems can become self-fulfilling, and argue for shifting focus from prediction to preparation — and for reclaiming human agency in a world increasingly guided by forecasts. Carissa Véliz is Associate Professor at the Institute for Ethics in A

The town of Weimar looms large in German history. This ancient town nestled in the heart of the country was home to some of Europe's greatest thinkers, Goethe and Schiller, Liszt and Nietzsche among them. It gave its name to the ambitious Weimar Republic crafted in the aftermath of the First World War. But it was also where fascism took hold. Where Bauhaus architects first experimented with new ways of living, Buchenwald was dug out of a beech forest. German-British historian Katya Hoyer has drawn on a wealth of new archival research to tell the story of Weimar through the lives of some of its citizens from the years 1919-1939.  In this episode, she talks to historian Sophie Scott-Brown about some of these vividly drawn characters who, as the events of history swept them up, became witnesses, perpetrators, victims and bystanders. How did Germany, within a few years, turn from one of the most liberal democracies in the world to a genocidal dictatorship? What choices did individual Germans make that enabled t

Kae Tempest is widely regarded as one of Britain’s greatest wordsmiths. In a career of ferocious creativity, he has received multiple prizes and critical recognition across the many forms he works in. Beginning as a lyricist and songwriter in his teens, Tempest threw himself fully into whichever discipline he could find work in; gigging as a poet, writing for the theatre or busking with his band. A decade later, this obsessive compulsion to push his writing as far and as hard as he could, secured him a record deal with UK independent label Big Dada and a poetry publishing contract with Picador. Tempest’s work has always sought to pull the focus between the global or national concerns of a character, and the private, very intimate experiences of their lives; the minuscule and the mundane peering out from behind the incomprehensibly large and overpowering. Whether it’s austerity, addiction, communal disassociation, the planet in crises, or the death of our prevailing myths, the bigger picture is always made

Kae Tempest is widely regarded as one of Britain’s greatest wordsmiths. In a career of ferocious creativity, he has received multiple prizes and critical recognition across the many forms he works in. Beginning as a lyricist and songwriter in his teens, Tempest threw himself fully into whichever discipline he could find work in; gigging as a poet, writing for the theatre or busking with his band. A decade later, this obsessive compulsion to push his writing as far and as hard as he could, secured him a record deal with UK independent label Big Dada and a poetry publishing contract with Picador. Tempest’s work has always sought to pull the focus between the global or national concerns of a character, and the private, very intimate experiences of their lives; the minuscule and the mundane peering out from behind the incomprehensibly large and overpowering. Whether it’s austerity, addiction, communal disassociation, the planet in crises, or the death of our prevailing myths, the bigger picture is always made

How close are we to a new global conflict? In this episode, journalist Hannah Lucinda Smith speaks with global defence commentator Peter Apps about his new book The Next World War: The New Age of Global Conflict and the Fight to Stop It. From Ukraine to Taiwan, and from cyber warfare to space, Apps argues that the foundations of a new kind of global conflict are already in place. Drawing on reporting from the corridors of power in Washington, London, Moscow and Beijing, as well as frontline perspectives, Apps maps the fault lines shaping today’s geopolitical landscape. He explores the return of great power rivalry, the rise of ‘hybrid’ warfare, and the growing role of technology in reshaping how conflicts are fought. At its centre is a stark question: are these tensions containable, or are they leading towards a wider and more dangerous confrontation? Apps sets out how governments, militaries and societies are preparing for the possibility of large-scale conflict — and what might still be done to prevent e

According to award-winning actor, writer, director and producer Lena Dunham, we’re now too invested in having a good relationship with our ex.  Best known for creating the hit HBO show Girls, which earned her eight Emmy nominations and two Golden Globes, Lena Dunham has recently published her Sunday Times and New York Times Number One Bestseller, Famesick, which explores the decade after the show’s end and how she navigated fame, illness and relationships. In April 2026 Lena joined Intelligence Squared live at the Hackney Empire with journalist, author and screenwriter Dolly Alderton for an intimate slumber-party-style event, where they discussed everything from their favourite meal-deal to Lena’s legacy as a voice of a generation.  --- 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

According to award-winning actor, writer, director and producer Lena Dunham, we’re now too invested in having a good relationship with our ex.  Best known for creating the hit HBO show Girls, which earned her eight Emmy nominations and two Golden Globes, Lena Dunham has recently published her Sunday Times and New York Times Number One Bestseller, Famesick, which explores the decade after the show’s end and how she navigated fame, illness and relationships. In April 2026 Lena joined Intelligence Squared live at the Hackney Empire with journalist, author and screenwriter Dolly Alderton for an intimate slumber-party-style event, where they discussed everything from their favourite meal-deal to Lena’s legacy as a voice of a generation.  --- 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 Sq

In this episode, journalist Kamal Ahmed explores how innovation is the driving force behind meaningful growth, not simply through capital investment, but by rethinking and reinventing the status quo with transformative technologies. He was joined by guests Laura Gilbert, Lee Ellis & Prashant Jojodia, who together examined what sustainable, resilient growth looks like for the UK, and how empowering both businesses and individuals can push the boundaries of what is possible while securing future prosperity. This episode was recorded live in London as part of Intelligence Squared and IBM's The Age to Come series. Next live event date: 13th May 2026. Find out more: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/ibm/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Demis Hassabis – CEO and co-founder of Google DeepMind – is one of the world’s most visionary technologists. A child chess prodigy from North London, Hassabis was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for using artificial intelligence to predict the complex structures of nearly all known proteins. His company DeepMind, now owned by Google, is at the forefront of the pursuit to build artificial general intelligence, and considered Google’s engine room of AI innovation.  Sebastian Mallaby – former FT contributing editor, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of numerous books – has, for the past 3 years, explored the moral questions at the heart of AI and AGI, through the story of Demis Hassabis. With extensive access to DeepMind and its key players, Mallaby has conducted hundreds of hours of interviews with Hassabis and his inner circle as well as detractors and rivals at other companies. No other journalist has had such a closeup view of the opportunities, hype and threats AI could pose for us all.

Demis Hassabis – CEO and co-founder of Google DeepMind – is one of the world’s most visionary technologists. A child chess prodigy from North London, Hassabis was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for using artificial intelligence to predict the complex structures of nearly all known proteins. His company DeepMind, now owned by Google, is at the forefront of the pursuit to build artificial general intelligence, and considered Google’s engine room of AI innovation.  Sebastian Mallaby – former FT contributing editor, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of numerous books – has, for the past 3 years, explored the moral questions at the heart of AI and AGI, through the story of Demis Hassabis. With extensive access to DeepMind and its key players, Mallaby has conducted hundreds of hours of interviews with Hassabis and his inner circle as well as detractors and rivals at other companies. No other journalist has had such a closeup view of the opportunities, hype and threats AI could pose for us all.

Chemistry is everywhere. From cosmetics and the clothes we wear to life-saving medicines and kitchen experiments, chemical processes are all around us, defining our interactions with the world we live in.  In this episode, Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu joins Professor Helen Czerski to discuss how chemistry shapes our understanding of the world. Their conversation explores our complex relationship with plastics; the fact that synthetic products are not always harmful and natural ones not always safe; and the ways machine learning could transform chemical testing and revolutionise the development of new medicines. Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu is President of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. She is the author of Chain Reaction: The Wondrous Chemistry of Everyday Life. Professor Helen Czerski is a British physicist, oceanographer, and broadcaster. 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/me

The Cambridge Five - Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Kim Philby, John Cairncross and Keeper of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt - made up one of the most notorious spy rings of the 20th century. Besotted with communist ideology and radicalised while at Cambridge University in the 1930s, their clandestine supply of British and US intelligence material gave Stalin an inside track on US and British decision-making until May 1951. So how did this collective come into being, what brought about its downfall, and why did four of the five never answer for their crimes? In this episode, Antonia Senior draws on recently declassified files to reexamine the story of the Cambridge Five. Discussing her new book Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire with historian and philosopher Sophie Scott Brown, Senior explores how a generation shaped by the crises of the 1930s was drawn to communism, and how elite networks within Cambridge and the British establishment enabled one of the most damagi

Our changing climate is accelerating conflict and migration, with the potential to drive political instability from the Sahel to Saudi Arabia to Siberia. From the water-stressed mountains of the Arabian Peninsula to the wildfires raging through America’s most populated regions, the climate crisis is already affecting the lives of millions.  In a new book, Elemental, former diplomat Arthur Snell explores how global powers must adapt to new vulnerabilities, the risk of future conflicts over natural resources, and the links between the climate crisis and the rise of populism in Europe and the United States. In this episode, he speaks to journalist Adam McCauley about our rapidly changing geopolitics, the technologies available to help us adapt to a heating planet, the potential for new forms of political cooperation and the choices we need to make to avert disaster. Arthur Snell is a former British diplomat who has worked in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen. His new book is Elemental: The New Geography of Climate

More people are being labelled with medical conditions than ever before. Diagnoses of autism, ADHD, allergies, and long COVID have skyrocketed - but are we actually getting less healthy?  In this episode, neurologist Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan speaks to Dr Güneş Taylor about an impending crisis of overdiagnosis. Drawing on histories of real people, as well as decades of clinical practice and the latest medical research, O’Sullivan argues her research indicates that ordinary life experiences, bodily imperfections, sadness and social anxiety are being subsumed into the category of medical disorder. In other words: we are not getting sicker – we are attributing more to sickness. Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan is a neurologist and writer. She is the author of The Age of Diagnosis, as well as previous books including It’s All in Your Head and The Sleeping Beauties. Dr Güneş Taylor is a science broadcaster and Fellow at the Centre for Reproductive Health. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conver

What does it mean to translate some of the most recognisable and revered works in the English language? When the wordplay, poetry, and syntax of Shakespeare are all changed, is it still truly Shakespeare?  In this episode, host Mythili Rao speaks with translator Daniel Hahn about his new book If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation. From Hamlet in Italian to Romeo and Juliet in Thai, Hahn explores how Shakespeare’s plays are continually reshaped as they move across languages, cultures and traditions. Drawing on close readings and examples from around the world, Hahn examines the practical and creative challenges of translation: how to carry across rhythm, wordplay and humour, and what is lost and gained in the process. The conversation explores questions of fidelity and invention, from the difficulty of reproducing Shakespeare’s jokes to the complexities of voice, character and grammar. At its centre is a reflection on what makes Shakespeare endure, not as a fixed body of text, but

Hundreds of millions of people now talk to AI, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini every day. They organise their finances and holidays, ask advice, seek therapy and find love – via machines. Almost overnight, chatbots are transforming society, politics and business. This is one of the biggest and fastest technological changes in history. In this episode journalist and author, Jamie Bartlett, speaks to Intelligence Squared’s Head of Programming, Conor Boyle, about the consequences both good and ill of a world where people are talking to machines. Jamie’s new book on the topic is titled How To Talk To AI (And How Not To) and is available now from your local bookshop. --- 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 po

Could one of Renoir’s most iconic paintings conceal one of the most astonishing true stories of scandal and tragedy in Golden Age Paris? In 1881, Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted two young sisters from a Jewish banking dynasty at their home in Paris’s grand 8th arrondissement. Pink and Blue, a portrait of Elisabeth and Alice Cahen d’Anvers, is one of Renoir’s most celebrated works. But behind the evoked glamour of the Belle Époque, a darker story was unfurling. In this episode, journalist and author James McAuley speaks with writer Catherine Ostler about how Renoir’s Impressionist masterpiece hides both a family secret and the tensions of an era poised for rupture. Drawing from her new book The Renoir Girls, Ostler’s new archival research unveils an intimate story of family betrayal which came to embody both the glamour and the vulnerability of Jewish life in Europe, as rising antisemitism and political upheaval reshaped the continent. Catherine Ostler is a writer and historian. She is the author of The Reno

On August 20, 1940, in a quiet study in Mexico, one of the 20th century’s most consequential political exiles was assassinated with an ice pick. The killing of Leon Trotsky marked the culmination of a relentless campaign orchestrated by Joseph Stalin, stretching across continents and years of pursuit. But how did the plot unfold — and who was the man who carried it out? In this episode, historian and author Tim Bouverie speaks with writer Josh Ireland about his new book The Death of Trotsky. Drawing on archival research and narrative history, Ireland reconstructs the parallel lives of Trotsky, Stalin and Ramón Mercader, the Soviet agent who infiltrated Trotsky’s inner circle under a false identity. The conversation explores the machinery of Stalinist power, the psychological and political forces that drove the pursuit of Trotsky into exile, and of how political violence at the highest levels of power continues to echo today, from targeted killings in Putin’s Russia to attempted assassinations in Western de

Dr Radha Modgil is joined by endurance athlete, investor and author Ken Rideout for an inspiring Intelligence Squared conversation on what it really takes to transform your life. Drawing on the ideas in his book Everything You Want Is On The Other Side of Hard, Rideout argues that growth, confidence and fulfilment are only found by deliberately choosing discomfort over ease. Together, they explore why so many of us avoid difficult challenges, how modern life conditions us to seek convenience, and what is lost when we do. Rideout shares lessons from his own journey—from addiction and adversity to elite-level endurance sport—and explains how discipline, accountability and doing “hard things” can reshape not just your mindset, but your entire future. Blending personal storytelling with practical insight, this episode offers a clear, uncompromising perspective on resilience, mental toughness and the pursuit of a more meaningful life. ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligenc

Before sex evolved on our planet, two billion years ago, all reproduction happened asexually. So why and how did sexual reproduction evolve? Dr Lixing Sun is Distinguished Research Professor in behavior and evolution at Central Washington University. In a new book, On the Origin of Sex, he explores the fascinating, varied and complex ways reproduction happens across the natural world: from whiptail lizards, capable of immaculate conception, to clownfish and bearded dragons who regularly switch gender roles. In this episode he sat down with Dr Güneş Taylor to explore the biological advantages of sexual reproduction, the differences between sex and gender and the variety of ways in which our planet is populated.  On The Origin of Sex: The Weird and Wonderful Science of Reproduction by Dr Lixing Sun,  is available now online and in stores. 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