Intelligence Squared
Intelligence Squared
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
18 snips
Feb 20, 2026 • 56min
Could Silicon Valley Billionaires Cure Aging? With Aleks Krotoski
Aleks Krotoski, award-winning broadcaster and academic who wrote The Immortalists, explores Silicon Valley’s quest to defeat aging. She examines tech moguls’ biohacking regimens, blood-plasma and drug experiments, and the rise of transhumanist and longtermist movements. Conversations probe the cultural, social and ethical stakes of treating death as a solvable technical problem.
34 snips
Feb 18, 2026 • 45min
Will AI Design New Organisms From Scratch? With Adrian Woolfson
Adrian Woolfson, co-founder of Genero and author with a medical and research background, explores how AI meets synthetic biology. He discusses decoding the genome’s grammar, designing new organisms, resurrecting species, ecosystem risks, genetic firewalls, and who should decide when life can be rewritten.
59 snips
Feb 16, 2026 • 39min
Is it Game Over for Keir Starmer? Martin Wolf for The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook 2026 (Part Two)
Martin Wolf, FT chief economics commentator and bestselling author, offers a big-picture take on 2026’s economic pressures. He discusses populism’s lasting growth costs, deindustrialisation and trust, AI’s boom-or-bust potential, fiscal strain from ageing and debt, and geopolitical shocks from US-China rivalry and Middle East conflict.
57 snips
Feb 15, 2026 • 37min
Is it Game Over for Keir Starmer? Martin Wolf for The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook 2026 (Part One)
Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times and bestselling author on democratic capitalism. He discusses the political fate of the UK leader and risks from fiscal vulnerability. He explores Trump-era unpredictability, tariffs, and a potential AI-driven investment boom. He warns on slower trade, dollar dominance, digital stablecoins, and the economic roots of rising populism.
18 snips
Feb 13, 2026 • 44min
Fascism, Exile, and Redefining Home in the 21st Century, with Ece Temelkuran
Ece Temelkuran, award-winning Turkish writer and political thinker forced into exile, reflects on exile, migration and rebuilding belonging. She discusses why we should name contemporary authoritarianism fascism. The conversation explores the moral damage of political violence, language as a way to rebuild home, and how literature and poetry help reimagine belonging.
55 snips
Feb 11, 2026 • 39min
Why Changing How You Breathe Can Transform Your Health, with James Nestor
James Nestor, science journalist and bestselling author of Breath, explores how ancient and modern breathing practices reshape health. He discusses breathing’s role in chronic illness, anxiety, sleep and athletic performance. He shares cultural traditions, simple daily habits like nasal breathing, and remarkable personal stories of recovery and performance gains.
35 snips
Feb 9, 2026 • 49min
The Trillion Dollar Battle For Your Attention, with Peter Schmidt and D. Graham Burnett
Peter Schmidt, co-founder of the Strother School of Radical Attention and attention activist, and D. Graham Burnett, Princeton historian of science, discuss the trillion-dollar fight over human focus. They explore attention as a common good, trace its philosophical history, warn against 'human fracking' of attention, and outline collective politics, sanctuaries, and low-barrier activism to reclaim shared mental space.
16 snips
Feb 8, 2026 • 36min
Sir Sajid Javid – Lessons From the Front Bench (Part Two)
Sir Sajid Javid, former British cabinet minister and author of The Colour of Home, shares stories from a working-class upbringing and a long political career. He recounts schooldays, early conservatism, political clashes, ministerial firsts and leadership regrets. The conversation touches on family, race, immigration, party identity and tackling poverty through jobs and growth.
14 snips
Feb 6, 2026 • 41min
Sir Sajid Javid – Lessons From the Front Bench (Part One)
Sir Sajid Javid, former senior British minister and author of The Colour of Home, reflects on his working-class upbringing and political rise. He recounts childhood poverty, encounters with racism, family struggles with language and unions, and pivotal moments that shaped his view of public life. The conversation focuses on his memoir, formative experiences and how they influenced his career choices.
30 snips
Feb 4, 2026 • 30min
Can Water Shape Our Future?
Vera Klotchin, Climate and Environment Lead at WaterAid, brings on-the-ground experience building resilient water systems. Helen Rumford, Lead Policy Analyst at WaterAid, focuses on inclusive climate policy and water justice. They discuss how water underpins health, economies and ecosystems. They explore climate impacts on the water cycle, local leadership and financing, policy gaps, and nature-based adaptation.
