Academy of Ideas

Recording of a debate at the Battle of Ideas Festival 2018. After the fall of the Soviet Union, a broad political consensus emerged that ‘there is no alternative’ to capitalism, which even the 2008 financial crash did little to disturb. But now things appear to be changing, with support for politicians like Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders who call for a new way of organising the economy. A slew of recent books, epitomised by Paul Mason’s Post-Capitalism, argue that technological innovations have opened up ways to transcend capitalism from within. Are we now seeing the arrival of capitalism’s ‘undertaker’ in the shape of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation? Could it be true - is capitalism’s time nearly up? AARON BASTANI co-founder, Novara Media; author, Fully Automated Luxury Communism: a manifesto ROBERT HARRIES membership coordinator, education trade association WENDY LIU software developer; editor, economics section, New Socialist NIKOS SOTIRAKOPOULOS lecturer in sociology, York St John University; author, The Rise of Lifestyle Activism: from new left to Occupy PROFESSOR GUY STANDING professorial research associate, SOAS, University of London; author, Basic Income: and how we can make it happen CHAIR: ROB LYONS convenor, Academy of Ideas Economy Forum

Recording of a debate at the Battle of Ideas Festival 2018. ‘There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.’ Oscar Wilde’s view of art as essentially an aesthetic pursuit, one concerned with transcendent beauty and the human condition, has arguably now been superseded. But artists are routinely being ‘called out’ if their work represents minority groups in a light that is perceived as negative. The Globe’s new director, Michelle Terry, has been applauded for using blind casting to combat alleged inequality in the arts. Should art be judged on whether or not it is sending the right message? What are the implications for artists themselves? JON BRITTAIN staff writer, Netflix’s The Crown; playwright, Rotterdam; comedy writer; director, Sight Gags for Perverts, Shtick and Don’t Bother, They’re Here JAMES DREYFUS award winning television, film and theatre actor MO LOVATT writer and researcher specialising in arts and culture policy; co-chair, The Great Debate KIMBERLY MCINTOSH policy offcer, The Runnymede Trust and Race on the Agenda; writer, Guardian, gal-dem CHAIR: ANDREW DOYLE writer and comedian; co-author, Jonathan Pie: Off The Record

Recording of a debate at the Battle of Ideas Festival 2018. According to the 2017 Ipsos MORI Veracity Index, nurses and doctors are the most-trusted people in the UK. But in certain contexts, this trust seems to evaporate. Take the ever-present anti-vaccination (or ‘anti-vax’) movement, the popular reaction when medical professionals decide it is no longer right to try to keep very sick children alive or instances of apparent malpractice have also raised serious public concerns. In these cases, doctors are regarded with suspicion rather than trust. What role does something like ‘fake news’ play in polarising these debates? Given the overwhelming scientific consensus about the merits of vaccines, is the ‘anti-vax’ movement simply anti-science, or even anti-intellectual? Or is it healthy to have more sceptical intellectual currents to hold the scientific establishment to account? And when it comes to controversial end-of-life decisions, are they simply about emotion versus reason, or are there important points of principle that need to be considered and debated between doctor, patient, and family? RICHARD CLARKE PhD candidate, health psychology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine DR MICHAEL FITZPATRICK General practitioner; writer on medicine and politics; author, MMR and Autism: what parents need to know and The Tyranny of Health DR CLARE GERADA Medical director, NHS Practitioner Health Programme; former chair, Royal College of General Practitioners DR KEVIN YUILL Senior lecturer in American history, University of Sunderland; author, Assisted Suicide: the liberal, humanist case against legalization and The Second Amendment and Gun Control: freedom, fear, and the American constitution CHAIR: MAX SANDERSON Audio producer, Guardian

Recording of a debate from the Battle of Ideas Festival 2018. From racist attacks to ominous  propaganda, anti-Semitism appears to be  making a comeback in Europe. In the UK,  the Labour Party has been very publicly  split over how it deals with the issue.  In one respect, it looks like the simple  return of what has been called ‘the longest  hatred’. But while anti-Semitism has long  been seen as a right-wing phenomenon,  particularly since the Nazis, today’s anti-Semites are more likely to rail against Jews  in the name of the Palestinians, a favourite  cause of the left. Is hatred of Jews really on  the rise? Is it re-emerging in new forms?  RICHARD ANGELL  director, Progress; elected member,  TUC’s LGBT committee; formerly worked  for All Party Parliamentary Group on  Combatting Antisemitism  DR STEPHEN LAW philosopher; author, The War For Children’s  Minds  BRENDAN O’NEILL  editor, spiked; columnist, Penthouse; writer  the Sun and the Spectator; author, A Duty  to Offend  JULIAN PETLEY  professor of journalism, Brunel University;  editorial board member, British Journalism  Review; principal editor, Journal of British  Cinema and Television  MELANIE PHILLIPS  columnist, The Times; regular panellist,  BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze; author, The  Legacy and best-selling book, Londonistan  CHAIR: JACOB FUREDI  junior commissioning editor, Daily Mail 

A recording of a discussion at the Battle of Ideas Festival 2018. Published in 1997, Frank Furedi’s book Culture of Fear was widely acclaimed as perceptive and prophetic. In his new book, How Fear Works, Furedi seeks to explore two interrelated themes: why fear has acquired such a morally commanding status in society today and how the way we fear has changed from the way it was experienced in the past. How has fear become detached from its material and physical source, so that it is now experienced as a secular version of a transcendental force? What is the role of the media in promoting fear and does anyone benefit from this culture of fear? TIMANDRA HARKNESS journalist, writer and broadcaster; presenter, FutureProofing; author, Big Data: does size matter? IN CONVERSATION WITH: PROFESSOR FRANK FUREDI sociologist and social commentator; author, How Fear Works: culture of fear in the 21st century and Populism and the European Culture Wars

A recording of the debate at the Battle of Ideas Festival 2018. Science fiction has long explored the use of robots for sex, but the application of new technologies has been pushing the boundaries of sexuality towards the mechanical in real life. Interaction with fully functioning robotic sexual partners could soon be a practical alternative to actual sex. Advocates claim many people could benefit, from men who struggle with intimacy to women trafficked into sex work. Critics claim sex robots are a ‘pornified’ ideal of female sexuality and they are concerned about how these robotic partners will represent women. So are sex robots an innovation to be embraced or a step towards sexual dystopia? Please note that, given the subject matter, this podcast contains adult themes and language. DR PIERS BENN adjunct professor at Fordham University London Centre DR KATE DEVLIN senior lecturer in social and cultural AI, King’s College London; author, Turned On: the science of the sex robot SIMON EVANS comedian; regular panellist, BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz TIMANDRA HARKNESS journalist, writer and broadcaster; presenter, FutureProofing; author, Big Data: does size matter?

A recording of a debate at the Battle of Ideas Festival 2018 at The Barbican, London on Sunday 14 October.  In Blueprint: how DNA makes us who we are, the world’s leading behavioural geneticist, Robert Plomin, argues that our inherited DNA differences make us who we are as individuals. This conclusion is at odds with the importance ascribed to our education and the environment in which we grow up in shaping the person we become. But are there scientific or other good reasons to doubt Plomin’s conclusions? If we start making predictions about people’s lives and potential on the basis of their DNA, does this risk reducing their autonomy? How much can our DNA tell us about who we are? DR PHILIP BALL science writer; broadcaster; author; presenter, BBC Radio 4, Science Stories ROBERT PLOMIN professor of behavioural genetics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience; author, Blueprint: how DNA makes us who we are

A recording of a debate at the Battle of Ideas festival at the Barbican in London on 14 October 2018. Over the past year, debates about democracy and its woes have been ubiquitous. There are fears tech giants and algorithms are undermining elections. Liberal democratic values such as free speech and universalism are questioned, even by liberals. Populism is variously claimed to be a threat to democracy or its very embodiment. Some claim undereducated voters were conned into voting for Brexit or Donald Trump and argue citizens should have to earn the right to vote by passing a test. Elected governments in Poland and Hungary have been censured by the EU. But managerial style of rule suggests anti-democratic tendencies have been developing for decades, excluding and ultimately angering voters. Many government powers are now exercised by unelected experts and quangos. Is it time to give more power to The People? What is democracy and what threatens it today? Can liberalism renew itself sufficiently to save democracy? ZANNY MINTON BEDDOES editor-in-chief, The Economist DANIEL MOYLAN former deputy chairman, Transport for London; co-chairman, Urban Design London STEVE RICHARDS broadcaster; political commentator; presenter, BBC Radio 4’s Week in Westminster; author, The Rise of the Outsiders BRUNO WATERFIELD Brussels correspondent, The Times; co-author, No Means No

A recording of a debate at the Battle of Ideas festival 2018 in London on Saturday 13 October. What does it mean to be a woman? For some it’s about motherhood, others femininity, and some reject the whole idea of ‘womanhood’ outright. The Conservative Party’s proposed changes to the law around gender recognition have caused a fair amount of controversy around the question of what gender means and what it takes to be a woman. Is it about experience? Is it simply an identity which can be picked up by anyone? And, beyond the trans debate, is there anything worth defending in the idea of ‘womanhood’? Do women share a collective identity? What is a woman anyway? SPEAKERS HEATHER BRUNSKELL-EVANS academic and writer; co-editor, Transgender Children and Young People CHRISSIE DAZ schoolteacher; cabaret performer; writer on transgender and gender variant identity KATHY GYNGELL co-editor, The Conservative Woman JOANNA WILLIAMS head of education and culture, Policy Exchange; author, Women vs Feminism; associate editor, spiked

In the third of our end-of-year round-ups for 2018, the Academy of Ideas team - Claire Fox, Alastair Donald, Geoff Kidder, Rob Lyons, Jacob Reynolds and Ella Whelan - discuss everything non-Brexit in 2018. Is there a populist revolt spreading across Europe? What has happened in the gender wars of 2018? And is free speech still under threat?