Episodes

  • The Specialist | The Rediscovery of Rubens’ The Massacre of the Innocents, with George Gordon

    The Specialist | The Rediscovery of Rubens’ The Massacre of the Innocents, with George Gordon
    Jul 4 2025
    This is an episode of The Specialist, produced by Intelligence Squared in partnership with Sotheby's. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best. Rubens’ early masterpiece The Massacre of the Innocents was hidden away for nearly 250 years. George Gordon, Deputy Chairman, Sotheby’s Europe and Co-Chairman of Old Master Paintings & Drawings Worldwide, spearheaded its discovery, attribution and triumphant sale. More than 20 years on, it retains the record for the highest price paid anywhere for a rediscovered painting. ⁠⁠Further details about the episode subject⁠⁠ The Specialist is brought to you by Sotheby's Financial Services. SFS offers asset-based loans to unlock the value of your fine art, automobiles and other luxury collectibles. Visit ⁠⁠sothebys.com/sfs⁠⁠ to find out more.To step further into the World of Sotheby’s, visit any one of our galleries, which are open to the public. Explore more at ⁠⁠sothebys.com⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    15 mins
  • Ctrl, Alt, Delusion: Resetting Reality in the Manosphere

    Ctrl, Alt, Delusion: Resetting Reality in the Manosphere
    Jul 4 2025
    Today’s episode is the recording of our recent panel Ctrl, Alt, Delusion: Resetting Reality in the Manosphere, live at SXSW London, in partnership with Sage & Jester. Sage & Jester is an impact-led arts production company that exposes manipulation and misinformation. At Sage & Jester, entertainment sparks critical thinking. Their work blends wisdom and wit to entertain, enlighten, and help you harness your internal BS detector. They're not just storytellers, they are catalysts for a more informed, more engaged society. For this panel, host Sophia Smith Galer was joined by journalist Ash Sarkar, Cambridge University social psychologist Sander van der Linden and documentary filmmaker Matt Shea to shed light on how influencer culture weaponises masculinity, transforming isolation and insecurity into a misinformation powerhouse. Exploring how key figures such as the infamous Tate brothers thrive on grievance and viral distortions, the panel discussed the specifics of misinformation in the manosphere, and how to ‘inoculate’ against these falsehoods. Click here to find out more about Sage & Jester and their mission to fight the misinformation crisis. (https://sageandjester.com/) 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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    48 mins
  • The Genius Myth, with Helen Lewis and Armando Iannucci (Part One)

    The Genius Myth, with Helen Lewis and Armando Iannucci (Part One)
    Jun 30 2025
    The tortured poet. The rebellious scientist. The monstrous artist. The tech disruptor. You can tell what a society values by who it labels as a genius. You can also tell who it excludes, who it enables, and what it is prepared to tolerate. Taking us from the Renaissance Florence of Leonardo da Vinci to the Florida rocket launches of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Helen Lewis joined us to unravel a word that we all use — without really questioning what it means. In conversation with acclaimed satirist and screenwriter Armando Iannucci she drew from her new book 'The Genius Myth' to uncover the secret of the Beatles’ success, discuss how biographers should solve the ‘Austen Problem’ and reveal why Stephen Hawking thought IQ tests were for losers. Lewis and Iannucci asked if the modern idea of genius — a class of special people — is distorting our view of the world. --- 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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    40 mins
  • Yardsticks For Failure, with Ivo Graham (Part Two)

    Yardsticks For Failure, with Ivo Graham (Part Two)
    Jun 28 2025
    After coming last by quite such a distance on Taskmaster Series 15, and seeing his emotional frailties laid bare in a series of memes of him with his head in his hands, Ivo Graham is adapting to an increasingly irreversible reputation as a man better known for his chaos than his comedy. His new book Yardsticks For Failure is a map of the brain behind the breakdowns; a deep dive into the various facepalms of Ivo’s recent past, and a live diary of his unravelling present, where his solution to the general bedlam of his life has been to pile his plate higher than ever before. Longer-term resolutions of rest and relaxation can wait; in the meantime he’s trying to host the greatest club night of all time, run a Sub-3 marathon while pushing a wheelchair, and put his heart on the line in a show unlike anything he’s ever done before. Can these dreams become a reality, or will they just become more yardsticks for failure? We were joined by Ivo at the Kiln Theatre in May 2025 for a unique self-examination from one of the funniest writers of his generation. --- 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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    39 mins
  • Yardsticks For Failure, with Ivo Graham (Part One)

    Yardsticks For Failure, with Ivo Graham (Part One)
    Jun 27 2025
    After coming last by quite such a distance on Taskmaster Series 15, and seeing his emotional frailties laid bare in a series of memes of him with his head in his hands, Ivo Graham is adapting to an increasingly irreversible reputation as a man better known for his chaos than his comedy. His new book Yardsticks For Failure is a map of the brain behind the breakdowns; a deep dive into the various facepalms of Ivo’s recent past, and a live diary of his unravelling present, where his solution to the general bedlam of his life has been to pile his plate higher than ever before. Longer-term resolutions of rest and relaxation can wait; in the meantime he’s trying to host the greatest club night of all time, run a Sub-3 marathon while pushing a wheelchair, and put his heart on the line in a show unlike anything he’s ever done before. Can these dreams become a reality, or will they just become more yardsticks for failure? We were joined by Ivo at the Kiln Theatre in May 2025 for a unique self-examination from one of the funniest writers of his generation. --- 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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    37 mins
  • An Evening with Matt Haig: Embracing Hope, Wonder and the Power of the Imagination (Part Two)

    An Evening with Matt Haig: Embracing Hope, Wonder and the Power of the Imagination (Part Two)
    Jun 24 2025
    ‘A beautiful novel full of life-affirming wonder and imagination’ Benedict Cumberbatch Matt Haig is one of Britain’s most celebrated authors, best known for his internationally bestselling novel The Midnight Library and the critically acclaimed memoir Reasons to Stay Alive. Matt’s newest novel, The Life Impossible, which became an instant Sunday Times bestseller, follows retired maths teacher Grace Winters who leaves her mundane bungalow in England for Ibiza, where she embarks on a journey to uncover the mysteries of her friend’s life and death. Full of surprises and adventure, The Life Impossible is a story about hope and the promise of a new beginning. To celebrate the publication of the paperback edition of the novel, Matt will come to the Intelligence Squared stage to talk about the themes of his book and his writing career so far. --- 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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    39 mins
  • An Evening with Matt Haig: Embracing Hope, Wonder and the Power of the Imagination (Part One)

    An Evening with Matt Haig: Embracing Hope, Wonder and the Power of the Imagination (Part One)
    Jun 22 2025
    ‘A beautiful novel full of life-affirming wonder and imagination’ Benedict Cumberbatch Matt Haig is one of Britain’s most celebrated authors, best known for his internationally bestselling novel The Midnight Library and the critically acclaimed memoir Reasons to Stay Alive. Matt’s newest novel, The Life Impossible, which became an instant Sunday Times bestseller, follows retired maths teacher Grace Winters who leaves her mundane bungalow in England for Ibiza, where she embarks on a journey to uncover the mysteries of her friend’s life and death. Full of surprises and adventure, The Life Impossible is a story about hope and the promise of a new beginning. To celebrate the publication of the paperback edition of the novel, Matt will come to the Intelligence Squared stage to talk about the themes of his book and his writing career so far. --- ----- 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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    40 mins