Intelligence Squared

Ideas shape the world. Intelligence Squared brings you the conversations that explain them. In every episode, we bring together leading thinkers, writers, scientists, policymakers and entrepreneurs, to challenge assumptions, test ideas and debate the questions shaping our future. If you want to think more clearly about the world and where it's heading, you're in the right place. If you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

Intelligence Squared is a society podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 1,000 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Intelligence Squared, a society show with 1,000 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #3492

  How George Michael Changed Music Forever, with Sathnam Sanghera (Part One)

  Aug 18, 202637 minS1

  George Michael wrote Careless Whisper, one of the biggest pop songs of our age, in an hour in his childhood bedroom. Alongside his childhood best friend Andrew Ridgeley he founded Wham!, a revolutionary pop group which became one of the defining bands of the 1980s, selling over 30 million records. Yet behind the genius of George Michael was the complex personal story of Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou who grew up in a conservative Greek-Cypriot immigrant family and had a life shaped by shame, addiction, homophobia, tabloid scrutiny and extraordinary creative flair. Ten years on since his tragic death on Christmas Day in 2016, George Michael’s cultural legacy is as strong as ever, with his unforgettable hit song Last Christmas still playing on playlists and radio stations every December. In June 2026, Sathnam Sanghera, an award-winning journalist who has long written about immigrant communities in Britain and the legacy of empire, joined us live at Union Chapel to discuss his new book, Tonight the Music Seems So Loud, and to explore the life, music and contradictions of the man behind the legend. --- 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  Episode #3491

  Spielberg, Coppola and Lucas: The Remaking of Modern Cinema, With Paul Fischer

  Aug 16, 202652 minS1

  By the early 1980s Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were the richest, best-known filmmakers in the world, with an empire of their own. Coppola had directed The Godfather, then the highest-grossing film of all-time, until Spielberg surpassed it with Jaws — whose record Lucas broke with Star Wars, which Spielberg surpassed again with E.T. In a new book, The Last Kings of Hollywood, Paul Fischer charts their rise from young, ambitious filmmakers in the 1960s to the dominant creative forces of 1970s and 80s American cinema. In this episode, he joins Anna Bogutskaya to examine how these three era-defining filmmakers rivalled and supported each other, fell out and reconciled, and struggled to reinvent popular American cinema. Paul Fischer is an author, screenwriter and filmmaker. The Last Kings of Hollywood: The Battle for the Soul of American Cinema is available online and in bookstores now. Anna Bogutskaya is a film critic, programmer and author of Feeding The Monster. 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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  Episode #3490

  Colm Tóibín on Stories of Exile (Part Two)

  Aug 15, 202637 minS1

  Colm Tóibín is widely acclaimed for the emotional restraint and quiet power of his prose. His writing explores exile, abandonment, loss and denial, the things that go unspoken and the feelings not acted upon. His novels include Nora Webster; Brooklyn, which was turned into a film starring Saoirse Ronan; and its sequel, Long Island, both telling the story of a young Irishwoman who emigrates to the United States in the years after the Second World War.  In June 2026 he comes to Intelligence Squared to discuss the themes of his new collection of short stories, The News From Dublin. In these poignant tales, a woman in Galway learns of her son’s death in the First World War; an Irishman seeks anonymity in Barcelona; and an undocumented worker prepares to leave San Francisco after decades in America.  We were joined by Tóibín at Union Chapel in June 2026 where he discussed the themes of this new collection – exploring the ordinary lives of individuals navigating extraordinary moments in history – and refleted on the influences and experiences that have shaped his writing. ---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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  Episode #3489

  Colm Tóibín on Stories of Exile (Part One)

  Aug 13, 202639 minS1

  Colm Tóibín is widely acclaimed for the emotional restraint and quiet power of his prose. His writing explores exile, abandonment, loss and denial, the things that go unspoken and the feelings not acted upon. His novels include Nora Webster; Brooklyn, which was turned into a film starring Saoirse Ronan; and its sequel, Long Island, both telling the story of a young Irishwoman who emigrates to the United States in the years after the Second World War.  In June 2026 he comes to Intelligence Squared to discuss the themes of his new collection of short stories, The News From Dublin. In these poignant tales, a woman in Galway learns of her son’s death in the First World War; an Irishman seeks anonymity in Barcelona; and an undocumented worker prepares to leave San Francisco after decades in America.  We were joined by Tóibín at Union Chapel in June 2026 as he discussed the themes of this new collection – exploring the ordinary lives of individuals navigating extraordinary moments in history – and reflected on the influences and experiences that have shaped his writing. --- 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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  Episode #3488

  Uncovering the Epstein Story, with Emily Maitlis and Amy Wallace (Part Two)

  Aug 11, 202635 minS1

  The Jeffrey Epstein story has created shockwaves on both sides of the Atlantic. As new documents continue to emerge, and as journalists continue to report around those documents, we’re increasingly seeing how the powerful and well-connected can evade scrutiny. At its core, this is a story about a system of privilege that shielded Epstein – and failed the women and girls around him. Amy Wallace and Emily Maitlis have each played a pivotal role in bringing this story to light. Wallace, an American journalist and writer, spent years working with Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre, helping her to tell her story in her posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl. Maitlis’s explosive Newsnight interview with the then Prince Andrew addressed his relationship with Epstein. This was the broadcast that sparked public outrage, and triggered a crisis from which the royal family has struggled to recover. In July 2026 Maitlis and Wallace came together on the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss what this story reveals about the wealthy, powerful elites who protected Epstein for so long; and the brave and determined women who are seeking justice and are holding the powerful to account. --- 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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