Academy of Ideas Newsletter
November 2019
The Battle of Ideas 2019 festival at the Barbican was a triumph. If that sounds a little immodest, it's not simply because of our efforts at the Academy of Ideas. It was due to the willingness of hundreds of speakers to tackle a huge array of topics with intellectual depth and honesty. It was also due to audiences that were engaged and questioning from the first debate to the last. With a general election campaign up and running in the UK, I only hope we have a similar honest and fearless debate before we choose our next government. Audio and video of the debates will be published over the next few weeks and you can already enjoy all the debate in the Battle for Democracy strand via our YouTube channel. We should thank UK in a Changing Europe who filmed five of these debates and partnered on the strand, and the Lord Burghley 500 Foundation, who partnered with us on the debate Schemers or dreamers? The role of political advisors. Thanks to our video partners WORLDwrite, you can also watch Professor Frank Furedi discuss,
with Joan Hoey from the Economist Intelligence Unit, why Hungary is being labelled the 'bad boy of Europe'. But the Battle of Ideas is not over, by any means. The debates will continue through our satellites programme, featuring debates on a wide variety of subjects, from climate change to genes and sport, from neuroscience to the generation wars. Find out more about our UK satellites and Battle of Ideas Europe events, or just check out the list of events below. Claire Fox
Director, Academy of Ideas
Appearances and articles All Out Politics
Claire Fox and Steve Richards were the guests on the Sky News politics podcast hosted by Adam Boulton on Thursday 31 October, focused on the question of whether a Christmas election will solve Brexit. Listen here. The fake news about US food standards
Rob Lyons argues that claims about American food are more about blocking Brexit than a realistic assessment of food safety. The Moral Maze
Ella Whelan will be a panelist on the Radio 4 discussion programme on Wednesday 13 and Wednesday 20 November. Sky News Press Preview
Ella Whelan will be previewing the newspapers on Monday 18 November.
Battle of Ideas satellite events The Battle of Ideas continues throughout November and early December with our satellite events in the UK and Europe.
Comedy Unleashed TUESDAY 12 NOVEMBER, 7:30PM-10:30PM, BACKYARD COMEDY CLUB, 231 CAMBRIDGE HEATH ROAD, LONDON, E2 0EL November's edition of London's free-thinking comedy club is now sold out. The line-up features
headliner Scott Capurro as well as Titania McGrath, Will Franken and Alasdair Beckett-King. with compere Ria Lina.
Can we deplore the artist, but love the art? TUESDAY 12 NOVEMBER, 9.30PM-11.00PM
MAUS HÁBITOS, RUA PASSOS MANUEL 178, 4º PISO, 4000-382 PORTO, PORTUGAL The documentary Leaving Neverland reignited debate over how we should treat cultural figures that offend against moral standards. Is the line between art and the artist becoming too blurred? Is it wrong to enjoy the artistic works of moral transgressors? More...
Future of the EU: the death of Euroscepticism? THURSDAY 14 NOVEMBER, 6.00PM-8.00PM, MILAN FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION, VIA DELLA PALLA, 1, 20123 MILANO Many Eurosceptic parties seem reluctant to push for a break from the
EU, while some pro-EU liberal and social-democratic parties did better than expected in the 2019 European Parliament elections. Is the EU here to stay, reformed or not? More...
Is 'toxic masculinity' dangerous in the academy? THURSDAY 14 NOVEMBER,7.00PM-8.30PM, BRUNSWICK INN, DERBY, DE1 2RU Why is there a hostility to ‘masculine’ values like ambition, risk-taking and stoicism? Does
the war on toxic masculinity reinforce old-fashioned ideas
about what it takes to be a man? More...
The Education Culture Wars: what should be the role of a school today? MONDAY 18 NOVEMBER, 7.00PM-8.30PM, ACCENT STUDY CENTRE, 12 BEDFORD SQUARE, LONDON WC1B 3JA Schools’ most obvious role is education, yet they also
shape behaviour and values. Today, schools are more explicitly political, leading to tensions between schools and parents over issues from teaching sex and relationships to eating habits. Who should decide which values and behaviours to inculcate in children? More...
From youth councils to 'school strike': are kids taking over politics? MONDAY 18 NOVEMBER, 7.00PM-8.30PM, FREE THINKING ZONE, SKOUFA 64 STR & GRIVAION, 10680 ATHENS Greta Thunberg has inspired young people around the
world to get involved in climate change activism. Dos the idealism of a younger generation reveal the shortcomings of their elders? Are children being used by politicians, or is that a patronising view? More...
The rise of toxic politics: can we be civil? TUESDAY 19 NOVEMBER, 7.30PM-9.00PM, HELLENIC AMERICAN UNION, MASSALIAS 22, 10680, ATHENS In a world seemingly filled with angry social media
comments, inflammatory remarks about migrants and fears about populism, many believe we now live in an age of ‘toxic politics’. Where’s the line between passionate disagreement and toxic bile?
How can we disagree more constructively? More...
Nature, nuture, neither or both? What neuroscience can and cannot tell us WEDNESDAY 20 NOVEMBER, 7.00PM-8.30PM, CCT COLLEGE DUBLIN, 30-34 WESTMORELAND STREET, DUBLIN 2, IRELAND Understanding the human mind has long been one
of humanity’s great unachieved ambitions, but many neuroscientists believe they are now demystifying it. Can we talk of free will against the backdrop of extraordinary developments in brain
imaging? Or is there a danger of overstating the explanatory potential of neuroscience? More...
Children's well-being: the state versus parents? THURSDAY 21 NOVEMBER, 6.30PM-8.00PM, ROOM WEST, FULTON HOUSE, SINGLETON PARK CAMPUS, SWANSEA UNIVERSITY, SWANSEA, SA2 8PP The Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament have voted
to outlaw any form of ‘smacking’. Yet polls suggest most parents oppose a ban. Has state
intervention in family life gone too far? More...
BATTLE OF IDEAS BERLIN Saturday 23 November, 2.00pm – 6.45pm
University of Applied Sciences Europe, Dessauer Str. 3-5, 10963, Berlin
The rise of toxic politics: can we be civil? THURSDAY 28 NOVEMBER, 6.00PM-7.30PM, ANDREW WILES BUILDING, RADCLIFFE OBSERVATORY BUILDING, WOODSTOCK ROAD, OXFORD OX2 6GG Are we witnessing a new, more toxic kind of politics
around the world? If so, what is the alternative? Should we lament a supposedly lost civility, or is the emergence of more forthright and angry disagreements in fact a good thing? What is the line between passionate disagreement and toxic bile? Who gets to decide what are acceptable and unacceptable forms of discourse? Ultimately, how do we live together when we disagree profoundly on major issues? More...
By erasing the past, are universities racialising the campus? THURSDAY 28 NOVEMBER, 7.00PM-8.30PM, BRUNSWICK INN, DERBY, DE1 2RU Attempts to ‘decolonise’ the curriculum have gathered momentum. Does the
decolonising movement imply that your identity defines you? Though it may be well-intentioned, does it end up
being divisive? More...
Northern heartlands: myth or reality? THURSDAY 28 NOVEMBER, 7.30PM-9.00PM
THE PILGRIM, 34 PILGRIM ST, LIVERPOOL L1 9HB Since the deindustrialisation of the 70s and 80s, there has been discussion of a north-south divide in England, both economically and politically. But is that true anymore? Has the Brexit vote undermined past certainties? Or will the north always belong to Labour? More...
Battle of Ideas Stockholm Saturday 30 November, 12.00pm – 6.00pm
Under Fontänen/Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, Sergelpassagen, Sergels Torg, Stockholm
A manifesto for optimism MONDAY 2 DECEMBER, 7.00PM-9.00PM
BDP, 16 BREWHOUSE YARD, CLERKENWELL, LONDON, EC1V 4LJ Aaron Bastani’s new book, Fully Automated Luxury Communism, has an optimistic take on the productive possibilities of automation, AI and
robotics. Are we entering a global era of liberty and the end of exploitation? Or is this business as usual, but with a bionic hand replacing the invisible one? More...
William Blake: poet of liberty and the human potential MONDAY 2 DECEMBER, 7.00PM-9.00PM
THE SPREAD EAGLE, 141 ALBERT STREET, CAMDEN TOWN, LONDON, NW1 7NB Many people think of the poet and painter William Blake as bucolic and otherworldly, others say his vision and political commitment have never been
more pertinent. This lecture will argue that Blake remains the finest poet of liberty, and that his works can help awaken the dissenting imagination. More...
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