Intelligence Squared: Arts & Culture

Intelligence Squared is the home of lively debate and deep-dive discussion. Follow Intelligence Squared wherever you get your podcasts and enjoy four regular episodes per week taking you to the heart of the issues that matter in the company of the world’s great minds. We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to podcasts@intelligencesquared.com or Tweet us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

How I Found My Voice is the podcast that explores how some of the world’s greatest artists and thinkers became such compelling – and unique – communicators. This Intelligence Squared podcast goes behind the celebrity persona to understand their journeys and inspirations – from writing a childhood diary to first performing on stage or finding the courage to speak up. Hosted by the BBC journalist Samira Ahmed, guests include Graham Norton, Margaret Atwood, Katherine Ryan, Michael Palin, Gloria Estefan, David Lammy and Bernardine Evaristo. The series producer is Farah Jassat.

The oil industry has historically operated in relative invisibility. Mysterious offshore rigs hundreds of miles out to sea can appear like images of a foreign land; refinery chimneys rising beyond the edges of some of our biggest cities are easy to mistake for just another factory; and bustling offices, the site of monumental decisions affecting generations to come, are just as faceless as the next. Out of sight – and often out of mind.  But such invisibility belies the overwhelming, ever-presence of oil. It’s in the fuel that powers our cars and aircrafts. It’s in our children’s plastic toys and trinkets. It’s in unseen flows of power, wealth and social capital. It’s in our art galleries, and our sports teams. It’s embedded in our economic policy, our communities, the very structure of our country.  So, what exactly do we mean when we talk about oil? How is our relationship with it changing? And what would stopping oil really look like?  These are just some of the questions that we will explore in this series from Intelligence Squared, drawing on recent research from the Fraying Ties? project, supported by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council. Through discussion with industry insiders, policy-makers, activists, politicians, trade unionists, ex-oil rig workers and academics we look at the industry in its complexity and ask: given the climate emergency, how must the industry change to facilitate a just, renewable energy transition, and what might a new world – one in which we’ve ceased burning fossil fuels altogether – look like?

A Members Exclusive Limited Series from Intelligence Squared. Head to www.intelligencesquared.com/membership to become a member today and listen whenever you get your podcasts. In recent months it can feel like Saudi Arabia is intent on buying the world. Its Public Investment Fund (PIF) has bought up much of golf, sports teams, many of the globe’s best soccer players to its domestic league, and it owns huge chunks of many of the most famous companies on the planet. But Saudi Arabia is not just on a shopping spree. The once insular, oil rich kingdom is transforming into a major diplomatic player, a pivotal actor in the energy transition, an ever-stronger military power, and a host to high-end cultural events, like the FIFA World Cup in 2034. It feels like the era of the Saudi Project. And the country will become a bigger part of all of our lives. But what exactly is the kingdom trying to achieve? And will it succeed? This series speaks to world leading experts to go past the headlines and help listeners understand Saudi Arabia and it's ambitions more clearly. Providing unique analysis and insight into the complex moral questions all Western nations will have to answer as they work with a rising Saudi Arabia in the years ahead.

Introducing Energised from Intelligence Squared, made in partnership with Iberdrola, where we explore the most pressing issue of our time: the climate crisis. Temperatures are set to rise more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in the next two decades. Scientists say that such an increase would cause irreversible damage to our planet. But is there still hope? If humans are to blame for climate change, then we must also provide the solutions.  Join us as we bring together experts and policymakers to delve deep into the key issues at the heart of the global drive towards net zero and the innovations that promise to accelerate the energy transition and transform the way we live. For more information head over to Intelligencesquared.com

Introducing 'Black History and Culture,' an Intelligence Squared collection. In this carefully curated selection we revisit some of our favourite live events and podcasts from the past 20 years, journeying through the rich and diverse tapestry of Black history and culture. We showcase great creators and thinkers, including the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, Alicia Garza; poet and activist, Benjamin Zephaniah; and playwright, novelist, critic and broadcaster, Bonnie Greer. We also delve into debates such as ‘Should the West Pay Reparations For Slavery?’ and ‘Hip-Hop vs Shakespeare.’ Join us as we examine the past, engage with the present, and ignite conversations that shape our future.