Academy of Ideas

#SportscastOfIdeas: Missing the beautiful game

SPORTSCAST OF IDEAS: Sport, like everything else, is on lockdown. But that doesn't mean talk about sport has died down - from controversies over furloughing to accusations of virus spreading at games. But how do we move forward, are football matches and other big public sporting events on the horizon? And is our absence from sport making the heart grow fonder, or will online matches replace the beautiful game?
Alastair Donald, Geoff Kidder and Rob Lyons from the Academy of Ideas are joined by athlete, footballer and Battle of Ideas speaker Georgina Newcombe in this special SPORTScast of Ideas.

#PodcastOfIdeas: Facing the lockdown from Singapore to Johannesburg

PODCAST OF IDEAS: Europe might be the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic at the moment, but this is a global problem. Alastair Donald, co-ordinator of our international Battle satellites, talks to friends and speakers from our annual festival: the Battle of Ideas. From Singapore: Stuart Derbyshire is the associate professor in psychology at the National University of Singapore and the Clinical Imaging Research Centre. From upstate New York: Nancy McDermott is an independent researcher with a special interest in the family, parenting, science and the public-private spheres. From Sweden: Johan Wirfält is the artistic director of talks, debates and film at the Kulturhuset Stadsteatern. And from Johannesburg: Matthew Kruger is a law consultant specialising in corporate, constitutional and human-rights litigation.

#PodcastOfIdeas: The European response to Covid-19

PODCAST OF IDEAS: We're closing in on week two of lockdown in the UK, with life on pause for many of us cooped up at home. But thinking outside of our own four walls, it has often been hard to get a sense of what's happening across Europe, where cases of the virus seem to be skyrocketing. Some countries, like Italy, have forced their citizens into weeks of house arrest. Others have taken a more liberal approach - and have often been criticised for it.
This week, in the latest of a new series of the Podcast of Ideas, Alastair Donald talks to friends and speakers from our annual festival: the Battle of Ideas. You'll hear Fraser Myers, spiked's staff writer in London; Anne-Élisabeth Moutet, Telegraph journalist in Paris; Sean O'Halloran, freelance journalist in Fabriano in Eastern Italy and Lamprini Thoma, writer and podcaster in Thessaloniki.

#PodcastOfIdeas: Life in times of Corona

PODCAST OF IDEAS: The coronavirus might have changed life for many of us, but at the Academy of Ideas we’e adamant that it won’t stop our ability to challenge and interrogate the cultural, political and scientific big questions of our time.
With this in mind, Claire Fox, Geoff Kidder, Jacob Reynolds, Rob Lyons, Mo Lovatt, Alastair Donald and Ella Whelan discuss everything from the government's new social-distancing measures to what this all means for the economy and social interaction.

#BattleFest2019: Resisting wokeness with Andrew Doyle and Douglas Murray

Recording of a discussion at the Battle of Ideas festival 2019 (https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/resisting-wokeness-andrew-doyle-and-douglas-murray-in-conversation/)
As the old saying goes, ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’. While social-justice activists are generally decent people, many commentators argue they exhibit all the tendencies of a cult: unshakeable certainty, a desire to convert the fallen while rejecting the idea of redemption, and capable of horrendous acts even though they see themselves as ‘the good guys’. The authors of two recent books on the ‘woke’ phenomenon, Douglas Murray and Andrew Doyle, consider their different approaches to critiquing woke activism. Given that the social justice movement is seemingly impervious to reason, will either of these strategies have any impact?
HOSTED BY:ANDREW DOYLEwriter and comedian; author, Titania McGrath’s Woke: a guide to social justice
GUEST:DOUGLAS MURRAYauthor, The Madness of Crowds: gender, race and identity; journalist; columnist; associate editor, Spectator

#BattleFest2019: Health and genomics - what’s the score with polygenic scores?

Recording of a debate at the Battle of Ideas festival on Sunday 3 November 2019.
Debate is growing about the use of a genetic/genomic approach called ‘polygenic scores’ to understand health and assess health risks. These scores are different from traditional genetic tests and can be used in relation to a vastly greater number of diseases and conditions. Advocates claim this new approach could revolutionise healthcare and – in the UK context – help redefine the NHS. Critics retort that polygenic scores are of limited use, and are perilously easy to misconstrue. Do polygenic scores offer vital information for patients and clinicians or could they lead to unnecessary anxiety and pointless medical intervention?
DR TOBY ANDREWlecturer in human genetics, principal investigator in genetics, and programme organiser MSc in Human Molecular Genetics, Imperial College London
SIR PETER DONNELLYCEO and founder, Genomics plc; professor of statistical science, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford
NICKY DRURYprincipal genetic counsellor, Nottingham Regional Clinical Genetics Service; former member, United Kingdom Human Genetics Commission
CHAIR: SANDY STARRdeputy director, Progress Educational Trust

#BattleFest2019: How can we create a new industrial revolution?

Recording of the debate at the Battle of Ideas festival on Sunday 3 November 2019, in partnership with City of London Corporation.
Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, is one of the thinkers associated with the concept of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, ‘blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres’. Do we need a new industrial revolution – and what are the barriers to creating one? Many commentators have noted a longstanding lack of investment and sluggish growth in productivity. Will new technologies really transform our society or is the hype around them a distraction from more fundamental issues? Given the moribund state of developed economies in recent decades, are we still capable of becoming a risk-taking, innovative society? Is talk of a new industrial revolution an unnecessary throwback to an older age of manufacturing?
LORD ANDREW ADONISLabour peer; founding chairman, National Infrastructure Commission;author, Saving Britain: how we must change to prosper in Europe
GERARD GRECHchief executive, Tech Nation; board member, Barbican
KEVIN MCCULLAGHfounder, Plan; innovation strategist and writer
HILARY SALTactuary; founder, First Actuarial
CHAIR: ROB KILLICKCEO, Clerkswell; author, The UK After The Recession

#BattleFest2019: Do we need a Green New Deal?

Recording of a debate at the Battle of Ideas festival on Sunday 3 November 2019, in partnership with City of London Corporation.
On both sides of the Atlantic, the idea of a Green New Deal has become a major policy focus. In the US, the idea has been put forward by left-leaning elements of the Democratic Party, while a cross-party group of MPs has called for a UK version. Proponents suggest that if the kind of money spent on wars, or on bailing out the financial system, were diverted to greening the economy, it would mitigate climate change while raising living standards and providing jobs. For critics, a Green New Deal would be a waste of resources.With the private sector reluctant to invest in such a long-term and high-risk enterprise, is it up to governments to step in and do what is necessary?
DANIEL BEN-AMIjournalist; author, Ferraris for All: in defence of economic progress
ANGELA FRANCISchief adviser of economics and economic development, WWF; former chief economist, Green Alliance
SIR ROGER GIFFORDsenior banker, SEB; vice-chairman, Association of Foreign Banks; chairman, Green Finance Institute; former Lord Mayor of London
PROFESSOR VICKY PRYCEchief economic adviser and board member, Centre for Economics and Business Research; author, Women vs Capitalism
CHAIR: PHIL MULLANeconomist and business manager; author, Creative Destruction: how to start an economic renaissance