Intelligence Squared

Art historian, printmaker and writer Dr Amy Jeffs is joined in conversation by author and journalist Charlotte Higgins to discuss how ancient myths and legends are constantly retold and reimagined by new storytellers. Amy Jeffs' book, Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain, is a retelling of 30 medieval myths and legends...

Foreign policy and national security expert Fiona Hill is a go-to voice in Washington for understanding the longstanding tensions between the US and Russia. Her latest book, There Is Nothing For You Here, is part memoir, part reflection on how factors ranging from deindustrialisation to disenfranchisement over the course of decades have left a swathe of voters in nations such as the US, UK and Russia, open to populist policies and strongman leaders.  Learn more about your ad choices...

Dr Christian Busch has spent his career studying chance, serendipity, and how to maximise opportunity. He is director of the Center for Global Affairs' Global Economy Program at New York University and his new book, Connect the Dots, analyses the art and science of creating good luck. He joins journalist Rosamund Urwin to talk about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the new film, Munich – The Edge of War, hits Netflix screens starring Jeremy Irons as British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain negotiating on the brink of World War Two in 1938, we revisit an archive debate discussing that pivotal moment in history...

Roopa Farooki is a doctor, author and creative-writing lecturer, whose new book, Everything Is True, tells the story of her first 40 days treating patients during the pandemic in the UK. She speaks with paediatrician and broadcaster Dr Guddi Singh about the reality of working in medicine during a global health crisis and the challenges of capturing the full scope of that experience in words on the page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Natalie Livingstone’s recently published book, The Women of Rothschild, tells the lesser known stories of the women who have played pivotal roles in one of the world’s most storied family dynasties throughout history...

Zillah Byng-Thorne is CEO of Future, the UK’s biggest magazine publishing group. With a stable of over 160 titles across print and online including recent acquisitions such as Wallpaper and The Week, Future is a truly multifaceted business and its CEO has also returned the group to record profits in recent years...

Whether we call it Facebook or the recently coined Meta, the Silicon Valley tech giant founded by Mark Zuckerberg has rarely been out of the headlines since its inception over a decade ago and rarely have those headlines been good news. From Cambridge Analytica to the United States Capitol attack, the company's utopian ideals of connecting up society seem to often have the opposite effect...

Lea Ypi grew up in Albania during the 1980s and 1990s, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe. Almost impossible to visit and nearly impossible to leave, during that era it was a place of queuing and scarcity, political executions and secret police. But to Ypi, it was home. People were equal, neighbours helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world...

In today's highly polarised political landscape, Liberalism, somewhere in the middle, often comes under attack from both right and left. Joshua L Cherniss is Associate Professor of Government at Georgetown University and his new book, Liberalism in Dark Times, looks at why moderate, centre-ground voices are having to think smarter and talk louder to be heard. He joins journalist and broadcaster Georgina Godwin to discuss both the history and the potential future of Liberalism...