A monthly round-up of Academy of Ideas events, comment and media.

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Academy of Ideas Newsletter
August 2019

 
Battle of Ideas festival 2019
 

The fanfare surrounding Boris Johnson becoming prime minister may soon be drowned out by the chatter around an impending general election. The Conservatives' defeat in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election leaves Johnson with a working majority of just one. Moreover, the appointment of Dominic Cummings, who ran the Vote Leave campaign, as Johnson's special adviser - in effect, the power behind the throne - and the cancel-all-leave status of Whitehall suggests we may all have to gear up for a vote sooner rather than later. The debates around such a campaign will certainly be heated and fascinating.

The UK is currently due to leave the EU on Thursday 31 October. It could not be more timely then that within days, over the weekend of 2 & 3 November, we'll be staging this year's Battle of Ideas festival – a chance to assess exactly where the UK is heading and the political fallout from whatever happens. We’ve got over 100 different sessions discussing a huge range of issues, with the programme and speaker line-up rolling out now online.

There is so much to discuss beyond Brexit. For example, can we stop a Third World War, given the tensions between the US and China, and with plenty of potential for conflict in the shipping lanes of the Gulf? How should we understand the rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ('AOC') and other young, left-leaning Democrats in America? We'll be discussing the role of walls and borders today, from Brexit and Trump's 'wall' with Mexico to the way identity politics throws up barriers between us. And we'll be asking, in the light of everything from climate crisis to international tensions, does the world needs a government? 

The festival is not just about understanding the world as it is, but also trying to understand the world as it could be, too. For example, we'll be discussing how to create a new industrial revolution, part of a whole strand on solving 21st century problems. We'll be exploring the rise of genomics and what we can learn from polygenic scores to improve health and education, and we'll be getting our teeth into the future of food, from the latest in biotech to meat-free burgers.

Hopefully, I've whetted your appetite, so come and join us in November for a fantastic weekend of thought-provoking discussion. You can view the current programme here, with plenty more sessions to be announced soon. To note as well, there are special bargain tickets for school pupils and students, as well as HEAVILY discounted Early Bird tickets, still available. Find out more on our tickets page. 

Claire Fox
Director, Academy of Ideas

 
Battle of Ideas festival

Battle of Ideas festival 2019

This year’s Battle of Ideas festival, on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 November at the Barbican in London, is our 15th annual festival. We’re living in interesting times, and more than ever it feels like we need a space for interrogating ideas, open discussion and civilised debate. The programme is now almost complete, with new sessions and confirmed speakers appearing on our website almost every day. Early bird tickets with substantial discounts are available. To view the programme and buy tickets, visit the Battle of Ideas festival website.

 

Special Battle of Ideas festival debate in Poland

CITIZENSHIP IN AN AGE OF BREXIT
AND FREE MOVEMENT

Battle of Ideas festival will be in Poland on 16 August to host a special debate at the Sopot Literary Festival. The debate features Madeline Grant (Telegraph), Dr James Panton (Magdalen College School), Max Wind-Cowie (author, Civic Streets: the Big Society in action) and Piotr Witwicki (journalist, Polsat News).The debate will be chaired by the AoI's Alastair Donald. More details here (in Polish).

 

Media appearances and articles

Leave those kids alone
In her column for MJ, Claire Fox argues that councils are limiting children's play activities in the name of bureaucracy.

Michael Buerk, obesity and the NHS
Rob Lyons took part in a Sky News discussion on the BBC presenter's controversial article about fat people.

Brexit Party MEP: electoral pacts are 'complicated'
Claire Fox talked to Sophy Ridge on Sunday about the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election result and why the jury is still out on Boris Johnson.

What’s wrong with warm weather?
The heatwave was uncomfortable, but a few days of nice weather does not indicate a ‘climate emergency’, says Rob Lyons.

 
Ideas Matter podcast

Podcasts from The Academy 2019

The boi hosted another successful Academy in July on the theme 'Culture wars: then and now'. Recordings of the lectures are now being released as a podcast series. The first two lectures are 'On culture' by Angus Kennedy and 'The emergence of the culture wars' by Professor Frank Furedi. You can find both on the Soundcloud playlist for the series.

 

Forthcoming appearances

CIS Consilium 2019
Claire Fox will be one of the speakers at this event organised by the Centre for Independent Studies in New South Wales, Australia. The event runs 29-31 August and Claire will be speaking on the topics 'Has something gone wrong with the humanities?' and 'Weeding in the Garden of Brexit'.

Edinburgh International Book Festival
Claire Fox will be discussing 'Children's mental health: is the UK facing a crisis?' on Wednesday 21 August with Professor Sir Simon Wessely, Professor Helen Minnis, head teacher John Tomsett, and Times columnist Suzi Godson.

Leavers of Manchester
Claire Fox will be appearing at a meeting of Leave supporters on Monday 12 August. Find out more here.

 
Punk and politics

Punk, Politics & the People's Vote to Leave the EU

Friday 30 August, 7pm-9pm, central London

Brexit Creatives is hosting a conversation between the author, journalist and punk vocalist Garry Bushell and the RMT’s Brian Denny. They will talk about the conformity of punk bands and protest singers towards the EU referendum result and the left's failure to represent working-class people. Find out more here.

 
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