Intelligence Squared

Intelligence Squared
Intelligence Squared

Ideas shape the world. Intelligence Squared brings you the conversations that explain them. In every episode, we bring together leading thinkers, writers, scientists, policymakers and entrepreneurs, to challenge assumptions, test ideas and debate the questions shaping our future. If you want to think more clearly about the world and where it's heading, you're in the right place. 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. 

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  1. 21 hr ago

    Is the Algorithm Destroying Taste? With Polyester Editor-In-Chief Ione Gamble

    What we like has never been entirely our own. Taste has always been shaped by class, culture and the people around us. But in the age of algorithms and AI, our preferences are increasingly being predicted, curated and sold back to us. In this episode, Mia Sorenti speaks with Ione Gamble, founding editor of Polyester zine, about how taste is formed, why it matters, and what happens when algorithms replace curiosity with convenience. From Spotify recommendations and TikTok trends to influencer culture and AI-generated content, Gamble argues that digital platforms are flattening culture by rewarding familiarity over surprise. Why do our feeds increasingly feel the same? Are we choosing what we like, or simply consuming what algorithms decide to show us? And what happens to creativity when artists begin making work for recommendation engines rather than people? Drawing on The Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste, a collection of essays by writers including Nicola Dinan and Yomi Adegoke, Gamble makes the case for reclaiming our own tastes. She argues that resisting algorithmic culture means embracing friction, seeking recommendations from real people, and allowing ourselves the freedom to discover things we never expected to love. Ione Gamble is the founding editor-in-chief of Polyester zine. She is a writer, editor and author of Poor Little Sick Girls, and editor of the new essay collection The Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste. Mia Sorenti is Senior Producer at Intelligence Squared. This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. 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 Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Is the Algorithm Destroying Taste? With Polyester Editor-In-Chief Ione Gamble

  2. 2 days ago

    How Do Our Sibling Relationships Shape Us? With Catherine Carr

    For many of us, our relationships with our siblings are the longest of our lives. They shape our earliest experiences of love, rivalry, identity and belonging. Yet despite their lasting influence, they are often overlooked in favour of relationships with parents, partners or children. In this episode, journalist and critic Mythili Rao speaks with broadcaster Catherine Carr about the overlooked significance of sibling relationships. Together they explore how these lifelong bonds shape who we become, from birth order and family dynamics to estrangement, grief and the challenges of caring for ageing parents. Why do we place so much weight in birth-order stereotypes? Are only children really different? And what happens when sibling relationships break down? Drawing on personal stories, psychological research and expert interviews, Carr challenges familiar assumptions and examines how changing family structures, falling birth rates and longer lives are reshaping what it means to be a sibling today. Catherine Carr is a broadcaster and journalist. She is the author of Who's the Favourite?: The Loving, Messy Realities of Sibling Relationships. Mythili Rao is a journalist, critic and podcaster whose work explores literature, culture and society. 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 podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    How Do Our Sibling Relationships Shape Us? With Catherine Carr

  3. 4 days ago

    Can the US Survive Donald Trump? With Pod Save the US’ Ben Rhodes (Part Two)

    Ben Rhodes served as one of Barack Obama’s closest foreign-policy aides, holding the role of Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting from 2009 to 2017. He acted as the lead negotiator in secret talks that normalised U.S.–Cuba relations and was central in building political support for the Iran nuclear deal. Since leaving government, Rhodes has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and his efforts to dismantle Obama’s foreign policy legacy, moves Rhodes argues have destabilised the world and left America vulnerable.; In June 2026 Rhodes came to Intelligence Squared to make sense of America in 2026 and chart a path back to its democratic ideals. Drawing on his new book All We Say: A History of the United States in Fifteen Speeches, Rhodes traced the long battle over what it means to be American — from Benjamin Franklin’s case for compromise to the culture war speeches that foreshadowed Donald Trump. He revealed the extraordinary power that words and oratory have had in redirecting the nation, and asked what they might still achieve at a time when American identity, and truth itself, is fiercely contested. --- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. 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 Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Can the US Survive Donald Trump? With Pod Save the US’ Ben Rhodes (Part Two)

  4. 6 days ago

    Can the US Survive Donald Trump? With Pod Save the US’ Ben Rhodes (Part One)

    Ben Rhodes served as one of Barack Obama’s closest foreign-policy aides, holding the role of Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting from 2009 to 2017. He acted as the lead negotiator in secret talks that normalised U.S.–Cuba relations and was central in building political support for the Iran nuclear deal. Since leaving government, Rhodes has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and his efforts to dismantle Obama’s foreign policy legacy, moves Rhodes argues have destabilised the world and left America vulnerable.;  In June 2026 Rhodes came to Intelligence Squared to make sense of America in 2026 and chart a path back to its democratic ideals. Drawing on his new book All We Say: A History of the United States in Fifteen Speeches, Rhodes traced the long battle over what it means to be American — from Benjamin Franklin’s case for compromise to the culture war speeches that foreshadowed Donald Trump. He revealed the extraordinary power that words and oratory have had in redirecting the nation, and asked what they might still achieve at a time when American identity, and truth itself, is fiercely contested. This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. 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 Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Can the US Survive Donald Trump? With Pod Save the US’ Ben Rhodes (Part One)

  5. 1 Aug

    What Everyone Gets Wrong About Iran, with Clarissa Ward and Lyse Doucet (Part Two)

    Since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran in late February, the world has changed dramatically. More than fourteen countries have now become embroiled in the conflict and there is widespread fear the war could impact the world for years to come. Clarissa Ward, CNN’s multi-award-winning Chief International Correspondent, has been reporting on the ground in the Middle East since the outbreak of the war. Ward is no stranger to war and has reported from the front lines of the world’s most dangerous conflicts – including in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza and Ukraine. And since the war with Iran began, she has been stationed in Erbil, Iraq, witnessing Iranian drones flying overhead and speaking to sources across a region gripped by fear about where the conflict could lead. In June 2026 Ward came to Intelligence Squared to discuss the remaking of the world order she has witnessed firsthand throughout her career – and what it costs, in human terms, when order breaks down. --- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. 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 Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    What Everyone Gets Wrong About Iran, with Clarissa Ward and Lyse Doucet (Part Two)

  6. 30 Jul

    What Everyone Gets Wrong About Iran, with Clarissa Ward and Lyse Doucet (Part One)(Part One)

    Since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran in late February, the world has changed dramatically. More than fourteen countries have now become embroiled in the conflict and there is widespread fear the war could impact the world for years to come. Clarissa Ward, CNN’s multi-award-winning Chief International Correspondent, has been reporting on the ground in the Middle East since the outbreak of the war. Ward is no stranger to war and has reported from the front lines of the world’s most dangerous conflicts – including in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza and Ukraine. And since the war with Iran began, she has been stationed in Erbil, Iraq, witnessing Iranian drones flying overhead and speaking to sources across a region gripped by fear about where the conflict could lead. In June 2026 Ward came to Intelligence Squared to discuss the remaking of the world order she has witnessed firsthand throughout her career – and what it costs, in human terms, when order breaks down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    What Everyone Gets Wrong About Iran, with Clarissa Ward and Lyse Doucet (Part One)(Part One)

  7. 28 Jul

    Hotels with History | The Adlon, Berlin

    This is an episode of Hotels with History, produced by Intelligence Squared on behalf of Perowne International⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Hotels with History | The Adlon, Berlin

  8. 26 Jul

    How Has Forensic Science Transformed Criminal Justice? With Sue Black

    Forensic science has transformed the way crimes are investigated and justice is delivered. From fingerprints and DNA to new forms of anatomical identification, its breakthroughs have helped solve cases once thought impossible. Yet when evidence is misunderstood or experts overreach, the consequences can be devastating. In this episode, doctor and broadcaster Dr Radha Modgil speaks with Professor Lady Sue Black about her forty-year career as one of the world’s leading forensic anthropologists. From a childhood spent helping her father prepare animals to work in anatomy laboratories, mortuaries and courtrooms, Sue reflects on the experiences that led her into forensic science and the responsibilities that come with presenting evidence in court. How certain can forensic science ever be? What happens when scientific evidence changes after a conviction? And how can juries be expected to understand complex findings? Drawing on landmark cases and her own pioneering research, Sue examines the role of the expert witness and the human cost of getting justice wrong. Professor Lady Sue Black is an anatomist and forensic anthropologist. She is the author of An Expert Witness, the final book in a trilogy that also includes All That Remains and Written in Bone. Dr Radha Modgil is a doctor, broadcaster and  author whose work explores health, wellbeing and the experiences that shape our lives. 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 podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    How Has Forensic Science Transformed Criminal Justice? With Sue Black
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Ideas shape the world. Intelligence Squared brings you the conversations that explain them. In every episode, we bring together leading thinkers, writers, scientists, policymakers and entrepreneurs, to challenge assumptions, test ideas and debate the questions shaping our future. If you want to think more clearly about the world and where it's heading, you're in the right place. 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. 

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