Academy of Ideas

Jan 20 2025 375 ep. 67 mins 1.4k
Academy of Ideas Podcast artwork

The Academy of Ideas has been organising public debates to challenge contemporary knee-jerk orthodoxies since 2000. Subscribe to our channel for recordings of our live conferences, discussions and salons, and find out more at www.academyofideas.org.uk

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The Great British Energy crisis

Jan 20 2025 94 mins  
Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2024 on Sunday 20 October at Church House, Westminster. ORIGINAL INTRODUCTIONWith concerns growing about potential blackouts on cold winter evenings with little wind, listen to this debate on what is happening to UK energy, particularly with the arrival of the new Labour government. The Labour government has set out an ambitious goal to deca

Assisted dying bill: for or against?

Nov 29 2024 110 mins  
Recording of an Academy of Ideas debate on Tuesday 26 November 2024 via Zoom. ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION With Parliament about to vote on the issue for the first time since 2015, join us for a discussion on the rights and wrongs of legalisation. The House of Commons will vote on Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 29 November. The Bill claims to ‘a

Allison Pearson's lawyer on free speech, hate crime and the law

Nov 22 2024 28 mins  
Criminal solicitor Luke Gittos offers an insider's view on the Telegraph columnist's case and the worrying rise of censorship. The case of Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson has drawn attention to the scale of policing (quite literally) of speech in the UK today. Pearson’s lawyer in the case is Luke Gittos - a partner at Murray Hughman solicitors in London and director of Freedo

Is it time to kick VAR out of football?

Nov 14 2024 71 mins  
Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2024 on Sunday 20 October at Church House, London. ORIGINAL INTRODUCTIONIn 2018, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was introduced at the World Cup in Russia – and the arguments about it haven’t stopped since, with complaints that decisions are still often wrong while lengthy reviews cause confusion and frustration. Using technology to he

Kamalamania, Trump and the vibes election

Nov 04 2024 71 mins  
On the eve of the US presidential election, listen to our discussion from the Battle of Ideas festival 2024: Within days of being announced as the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris went from the most unpopular vice president in 50 years – a figure whose unpopularity reportedly led to the former president, Barack Obama, scrambling to find an alternative – to a viable presidentia

Online safety vs free speech

Aug 08 2024 92 mins  
Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2022 on Saturday 15 October at Church House, London. ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION The Online Safety Bill is causing huge concern for those who believe in free speech. But how can we protect free expression and still deal with the many problems that arise online? The Bill has passed through the House of Commons and will now be debated in the House o

Podcast Of Ideas: It ain't over 'till the fat lady votes

Jul 03 2024 37 mins  
Media scrutiny, political scandals and electoral upsets - the Academy of Ideas team get together on the eve of the General Election for one last pre-vote discussion.

Podcast of Ideas: manifestos, media snobbery and Macron

Jun 18 2024 51 mins  
The manifestos are in! And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the two main parties have caused the least stir. Reform UK’s ‘contract’ has been denounced by commentators and think tanks alike as ‘uncosted’, while the SDP’s manifesto was praised for standing out as an unusually comprehensive list of ideas in a sea of general obfuscation. Meanwhile, both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer

Podcast of Ideas General Election special: D Day, selection madness and the return of Farage

Jun 08 2024 50 mins  
The Academy of Ideas team discuss the latest in the General Election campaign - plus a view from Europe. Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse for the Conservative Party, its leader - Rishi Sunak - managed to mess up on an international scale. The prime minister’s decision to leave D-Day commemorations early - allegedly returning home for a TV interview - has upset

Podcast of Ideas: General Election specials, episode 1

May 29 2024 43 mins  
Listen to the first of our regular discussions with the Academy of Ideas team on the highs and lows of election campaigning. Subscribe to our Substack to keep up to date with our latest podcasts, events and comment. Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took the nation - and many of his own MPs - by surprise by calling the next General Election. On Thursday 4 July, UK citizens will