Intelligence Squared Live

Intelligence Squared

Every year, Intelligence Squared stages hundreds of talks platforming the world's biggest thinkers, boldest voices and most exciting and urgent ideas. Intelligence Squared Live brings these conversations direct to your ears. Recorded at our live events, each episode puts you at the heart of the conversation as leading writers, scientists, policymakers, entrepreneurs and cultural figures challenge assumptions, test ideas and debate the questions shaping our future. Hear the atmosphere. Follow the arguments. Join the conversation.

  1. 1 day ago

    Marina Hyde and Jesse Armstrong, Live in Brighton

    Described by Phoebe Waller-Bridge as “the most lethal, vital, screamingly funny truth-teller of our time”, Marina Hyde has become one of Britain’s most popular columnists and podcasters. A Sunday Times bestselling author and co-host of the smash hit podcast The Rest is Entertainment, she has an unrivalled talent for making sense of our stranger-than-fiction times. In September 2026 Hyde came to the Intelligence Squared stage in Brighton, marking the launch of her new book 'What A Time To Be Alive!'. From lambasting the Trump presidency, to the increasing popularity of Nigel Farage's Reform, from the spectacle of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s Venice wedding to the Beckham family feud, she is chief chronicler of our gloriously chaotic age. Hyde was joined live on stage award-winning screenwriter and producer Jesse Armstrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Marina Hyde and Jesse Armstrong, Live in Brighton

  2. 5 days ago

    Archive: Is Mark Zuckerberg Damaging Society?

    With the release of Aaron Sorkin's new film The Social Reckoning, Mark Zuckerberg and the dark side of Facebook are back in the spotlight. In 2019, Intelligence Squared put Zuckerberg on trial, asking whether Facebook was doing more harm than good. Was the platform connecting billions of people and transforming the world for the better? Or was it undermining democracy, spreading misinformation and fuelling political division? Seven years later, Facebook is part of Meta, artificial intelligence is transforming social media, and questions about the power and accountability of Silicon Valley's technology giants have become more urgent than ever. In this debate from the Intelligence Squared archive, Damian Collins and Nina Schick argue that Facebook is damaging society, while former Facebook executive Dex Torricke-Barton and former UK government minister Ed Vaizey defend the company. As Zuckerberg faces renewed scrutiny, we revisit a debate that asks who should be held responsible for the consequences of social media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Archive: Is Mark Zuckerberg Damaging Society?

  3. 20 Oct

    What Must Burnham Sacrifice To Make Britain Grow? With Michael Gove

    Few figures in modern British politics have operated as close to the centre of power as Michael Gove. Over more than a decade in government, he has held some of the most senior offices of state – including Education Secretary, Justice Secretary and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, shaping policy across domestic reform, economic strategy and the future of the Union. Now, at a moment of continued economic uncertainty at home and instability abroad, Gove joined us for the Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook. In October 2026, live st Smith Square Hall in Westminster, he reflected on the forces reshaping Britain’s economic landscape. How resilient is the UK economy after a prolonged period of inflation, fiscal pressure and sluggish growth? What should a credible long-term strategy for productivity and investment look like? And how should Britain position itself in a more fragmented global economy, defined by geopolitical tension in the Middle East, energy insecurity and shifting trade alliances? This event was presented in partnership with Guinness Global Investors: https://https://www.guinnessgi.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    What Must Burnham Sacrifice To Make Britain Grow? With Michael Gove

  4. 19 Oct

    Archive: Can the Arts Drive Social Change? With Idris Elba, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Yassmin Abdel-Magied

    In the summer of 2020, as Black Lives Matter protests swept the world, the arts and creative industries faced urgent questions about racism, representation and their role in driving meaningful change. In this episode from the Intelligence Squared archive, actor Idris Elba and playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah join writer and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied to examine systemic racism in the cultural sector, the limits of diversity initiatives and what it really takes to turn promises of equality into lasting change. Six years on, as debates about race, power and representation continue, we revisit a conversation that remains as relevant today as it was in 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Archive: Can the Arts Drive Social Change? With Idris Elba, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Yassmin Abdel-Magied

  5. 13 Oct

    What James Baldwin Can Teach Us About the World Today

    On the 70th anniversary of the publication of Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin’s seminal novel about sexuality, race and myth in America, Booker Prize-winning writer Ben Okri joined us to reflect on the life, literature and enduring legacy of one of the world’s most loved writers. Baldwin’s work reshaped the literary and political landscape. Many of our greatest writers today credit his influence on their work. As an author and activist, his writing fearlessly tackled race, sexuality, love, masculinity and belonging with radical intimacy. Published in 1956, Giovanni’s Room was groundbreaking for its explicit homoeroticism. Its honesty and courage characterised Baldwin’s work as a whole. His poetry, essays, speeches, novels and plays, were pivotal to both the civil rights movement and the gay liberation movement in mid-twentieth century America, and continue to speak urgently to the present moment. In May 2026 Okri brought his own artistic vision to an exploration of Baldwin’s work live from the Kiln Theatre, the same venue as Anton Philips’ production of Baldwin’s The Amen Corner, the first black-produced and directed play to transfer to the West End of London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    What James Baldwin Can Teach Us About the World Today

  6. 13 Oct

    Archive: What Are the Chances We Exist at All? With Brian Cox and Alice Roberts

    Who are we? Why are we here? Are we alone in the universe? How did we become the creatures that we are? How might we further evolve? These are some of the big questions that Brian Cox and Alice Roberts tackled when they came to the Intelligence Squared stage in December 2014. Brian Cox is the rockstar who became a scientist, and is now a rockstar scientist. He is known to millions as the presenter of the BBC Wonders series in which he unravels the complexities of the universe with calm clarity and an infectious sense of wonder. Alice Roberts is a no less talented science story-teller. A doctor, anatomist, osteoarchaeologist and writer, she has enthralled television audiences with BBC series such as The Incredible Human Journey. In this wide-ranging conversation Cox and Roberts discussed the origins of the universe, life and humanity – and you. You’re the product of what seems to be an extremely unlikely chain of events. Our universe was born with just the right laws for galaxies to form, with at least one planet capable of producing and sustaining life. The origin of muliticellular life on this planet was essentially an accident; the mammals were lucky to outlive the dinosaurs; a handful of two-legged apes survived, against the odds, on the plains of Africa… and then there’s the unlikeliness of your mother meeting your father and that particular sperm fusing with that particular egg. The chance of you being here at all is tiny. How can physics and biology help us to make sense of all that unlikeliness? How did chance and accident combine to create us? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Archive: What Are the Chances We Exist at All? With Brian Cox and Alice Roberts

  7. 4 Oct

    Carlo Rovelli Live: Why Numbers Don’t Exist

    Carlo Rovelli is an award-winning theoretical physicist and writer with a gift for making complex ideas feel real and accessible. Whether exploring black holes, quantum mechanics, philosophy, or history, he inspires audiences with his sense of wonder and curiosity at how the world works. Beloved by millions, Rovelli’s books, including Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and The Order of Time, invite us into the deepest corners of the universe, while challenging what we thought we knew about time and space. In September 2026 he came to the Intelligence Squared stage to explore some of the most awe-inspiring discoveries of modern science, the subject of his new book, On The Equality of All Things. Drawing on both cutting-edge physics and ancient philosophy, he asked what these ideas reveal about the strangeness of reality. How does modern science impact age-old philosophical questions? What does it really mean to say that something exists? What is time, if it flows differently for different observers? And what kind of world do we inhabit if nature’s most fundamental elements are defined only by their connections? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Carlo Rovelli Live: Why Numbers Don’t Exist

  8. 1 Oct

    Harlan Coben and Bill Nighy on the Art of the Plot Twist

    The bestselling author of more than 36 novels, including Fool Me Once, Tell No One and the Myron Bolitar series, Coben is renowned for his ability to build tension, wrong-foot his readers and create intricately plotted narrative worlds. His thrillers have been published in 46 languages and adapted into more than twenty television and film adaptations, including Netflix hits The Stranger, Stay Close and I Will Find You. He is also the first author to win crime fiction’s grand triple crown: the Edgar, Shamus and Anthony awards. In September 2026, Coben came to the Intelligence Squared stage in conversation with BAFTA and Golden Globe Award-Winning Actor, Bill Nighy, to discuss the secrets of a good thriller. Drawing on the themes of his new book Plot Twist, Coben gave audiences an insight into the artistic process that goes into thriller writing and explained his own journey from suburban beginnings to publishing phenomenon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Harlan Coben and Bill Nighy on the Art of the Plot Twist
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Every year, Intelligence Squared stages hundreds of talks platforming the world's biggest thinkers, boldest voices and most exciting and urgent ideas. Intelligence Squared Live brings these conversations direct to your ears. Recorded at our live events, each episode puts you at the heart of the conversation as leading writers, scientists, policymakers, entrepreneurs and cultural figures challenge assumptions, test ideas and debate the questions shaping our future. Hear the atmosphere. Follow the arguments. Join the conversation.

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