Academy of Ideas

#EconomyForum: Covid-19, from Germany to the developing world

ECONOMY FORUM: In Germany, as in the UK, the economy is predicted to contract sharply as a result of the lockdown. But has this crisis become a convenient distraction from the deeper, structural problems of the German economy? And as the economic pain becomes clear, who will bear the brunt? Developing economies could suffer the greatest effects from the Covid-19 pandemic even though they have been little discussed in the West. They constitute a diverse range of countries, but it is possible to identify some key themes that, to a greater or lesser extent, threaten them. There are the direct effects on already hugely overstretched healthcare systems, the economic consequences of lockdowns, the impact of the slump in demand from the developed economies, and tougher financial conditions such as capital outflows and higher debt servicing costs. Daniel Ben-Ami and Sabine Beppler-Spahl discuss.

#Arts&SocietyForum: The Burial at Thebes and the tragic imagination in poetry

ARTS & SOCIETY FORUM: 'News poet’ Dr Andrew Calcutt, principal lecturer at the University of East London, introduces Antigone by the Ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles, translated as The Burial at Thebes by Seamus Heaney. Focusing on the messenger’s speech (a recurring feature in Greek tragedy), Andrew explains how this directed him towards a new way of news reporting.

#EconomyForum: How can we escape a coronavirus depression?

ECONOMY FORUM: How can we avoid the worst of a coronavirus depression? Are these lockdowns doing more harm than good? What will be the long-term economic impacts of the pandemic and the reaction to it? Joan Hoey, Phil Mullan and Jake Pugh discuss.

#EducationForum: Pedagogy and the ’Corona Classroom’

EDUCATION FORUM: Since the 1980s, much has been said of the educational potential of digital technologies, both within the classroom and beyond. With the coronavirus crisis, however, much of this discussion has been sidelined, as for the first time in school history nearly all England’s schools and colleges are by necessity scrambling to move their entire pedagogic operation online. What can we learn from the crisis about the role of digital technology in education? The first ever online meeting of the Academy of Ideas Education Forum will explore this and many other questions. Donald Clark and Toby Marshall discuss.

#EconomyForum: How will coronavirus affect Johnsonomics?

ECONOMY FORUM: One of the biggest policy benefits from leaving the EU is the end of the ‘Brussels excuse’. No longer can British ministers blame the European Commission – often illegitimately – for tying its hands in dealing with Britain’s economic challenges. Now the buck clearly stops with a Boris Johnson-led government, which is also has the benefit of a large parliamentary majority. What do its early actions tell us about the new government’s approach to national economic policy? Phil Mullan and Rob Lyons discuss.

#PodcastOfIdeas: Is the lockdown lifting in Europe?

PODCAST OF IDEAS: Alastair Donald, co-ordinator of our international Battle satellites, talks to friends and speakers from our annual festival: the Battle of Ideas. From Italy: Dominic Standish is a lecturer in media and a commentator on Italian affairs as well as the author of Venice in Environmental Peril? Myth and reality. From Germany: Sabine Beppler-Spahl is the chair of Freiblickinstitut e.V, CEO of Sprachkunst36, author of Brexit-Demokratischer Aufbruch in Großbritannien and the Germany correspondent for spiked. And from Brussels: James Holland is a freelance writer on European politics.

#PodcastOfIdeas: Has Coronavirus put an end to the generation wars?

PODCAST OF IDEAS: The current coronavirus pandemic has revealed, or heightened, many underlying political issues - from the lingering effect of the culture wars to the consequences of fearmongering in political discourse. But one issue that seems to have bucked the trend is the generation debate. Going by much of the discussion of the last 10 years, young and old people are supposed to be at odds with each other. And yet, this virus has proven that the tensions between the generations might not be so pronounced - teenagers are volunteering for their elderly relatives and the nation has come together to protect our Grans and Grandads. But is there a generational element to the government lockdown - what does this mean for kids out of school and away from public life? And how might we move on in a positive direction, away from the generation wars? Jennie Bristow and Ella Whelan discuss.

#BookClub: Power, democracy and coronavirus in George Orwell’s Animal Farm

BOOK CLUB: ‘It is the history of a revolution that went wrong - and of the excellent excuses that were forthcoming at every step for the perversion of the original doctrine,’ wrote Orwell for the first edition of Animal Farm in 1945. Orwell wrote the novel at the end of 1943, but it almost remained unpublished; its savage attack on Stalin, at that time Britain’s ally, led to the book being refused by publisher after publisher. Orwell’s simple, tragic fable has since become a world-famous classic. On the 75th anniversary of Orwell's allegorical novella, the Academy of Ideas Book Club met online to discuss Animal Farm on the 16th April 2020, led by Neil Davenport.