Intelligence Squared

• Does Plato Still Matter Today? with Angie Hobbs

  Can ancient philosophy make sense of a modern life? In this episode, Sophie Scott-Brown speaks to academic philosopher and author Angie Hobbs about the enduring relevance of Plato and how his ideas continue to resonate in today’s world.  Plato’s Republic remains a foundational text to Western thought. Hobbs brings us back to this key text and reminds us that throughout all of Plato’s writing the narrator is always present. Plato’s true legacy, therefore, lines in the questions he forces us to ask – about justice, leadership, love and truth. His methodology of inquiry still underpins much of modern philosophy, shaping both its ideals and its blindspots. For Hobbs, Plato is more relevant than ever, and we should view his works not as relics but tools necessary in our modern world. Regardless of whether we’re reading ancient texts or scrolling through social media, one thing remains true: no opinion is free from context.  Angie Hobbs is the Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield. She is a specialist in Ancient Greek philosophy, focusing on ethics, political theory, and moral psychology. Her new book, Why Plato Matters Now, a definitive guide to Plato and his place in the modern world.  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

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• Did the Road to Trump Start in the 90’s? with John Ganz

  How has the past thirty years of American politics impacted our present? In this episode, Atossa Araxia Abrahamian speaks to journalist and author John Ganz about how the 1990s were the perfect storm that created a new America that birthed the Donald Trump Era. Many today look back on the 1990s with a sense of nostalgia. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the election of Bill Clinton, Americans of the 90s were ready for a “kinder, gentler America.” But as Ganz argues, the decade was far more turbulent than it seemed. Beneath the surface ran the aftershocks of Reagan-era economics, the rise of anti-establishment rhetoric and a hunger for strongman-style leadership. In retrospect, the decade was a precursor to today’s fractured political landscape. Looking to the present, Ganz reminds us that while history may be shaped by deep structures, it’s just as often steered by chaos and chance. Whether that’s a warning – or a window of opportunity – is up to us.  John Ganz is the author of the widely acclaimed Unpopular Front newsletter for Substack and writes a monthly column for the Nation. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, New Republic, New Statesman and other publications. Today we’re discussing his new book, When The Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracies, and the Origins of Trumpism, an analysis of the tumult of the early 1990s and the rise of a new America that birthed the Donald Trump Era. --- 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

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• Was the Nuclear Bomb Inevitable? With Frank Close

  Use code SQUARED at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/squared --- How did the most powerful force in history begin with a faint smudge on a photographic plate? In this episode, Adam McCauley speaks to physicist and award-winning science writer Frank Close about his new history of the development of nuclear power and the extraordinary minds behind it. Beginning with Henri Becquerel’s accidental discovery in 1896 Paris, Close explores the unlikely origins of the nuclear age through the chain reaction of scientific breakthroughs and personal obsessions that set the stage for the splitting of the atom. It is the ultimate story of how pursuit of this hidden source of nuclear power, which began innocently and collaboratively, was overwhelmed by the politics of the 1930s, and following devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki opened the way to a still more terrible possibility: a thermonuclear bomb, the so-called “backyard weapon”, that could destroy all life on earth – from anywhere. Frank Close is a Fellow of the Royal Society, Professor Emeritus of Theoretical Physics at Oxford University and Fellow Emeritus in Physics at Exeter College, Oxford. His new book is Destroyer of Worlds: The Deep History of the Nuclear Age: 1895-1965. 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

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• An African History of Africa, with Zeinab Badawi (Part Two)

  Use code SQUARED at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan:https://incogni.com/squared ----- ‘Everyone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone.’ – Zeinab Badawi Too often historians have told the history of Africa through the prism of colonialism. But what picture of the continent emerges when we do away with making the story of Africa so anchored in European colonialism? In July 2025 award-winning broadcaster Zeinab Badawi returned to the Intelligence Squared stage to tell a new history of Africa – in all its shades and complexities – without the stifling gaze of Europe. Drawing on the themes of her latest book, An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence, she discussed the origins of humankind, the emergence of ancient civilisations and empires, and the joys and thrills of Independence. Having visited more than thirty African countries to interview countless historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and local storytellers, Badawi explored a gripping new history of the oldest inhabited continent on the planet, told through the voices of Africans themselves. --- 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

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• An African History of Africa, with Zeinab Badawi (Part One)

  ‘Everyone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone.’ – Zeinab Badawi Too often historians have told the history of Africa through the prism of colonialism. But what picture of the continent emerges when we do away with making the story of Africa so anchored in European colonialism? In July 2025 award-winning broadcaster Zeinab Badawi returned to the Intelligence Squared stage to tell a new history of Africa – in all its shades and complexities – without the stifling gaze of Europe. Drawing on the themes of her latest book, An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence, she discussed the origins of humankind, the emergence of ancient civilisations and empires, and the joys and thrills of Independence. Having visited more than thirty African countries to interview countless historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and local storytellers, Badawi explored a gripping new history of the oldest inhabited continent on the planet, told through the voices of Africans themselves. --- 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

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