Academy of Ideas

About Academy of Ideas

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

Publisher

academyofideas

Category

arts · news · science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Aug 2014

Latest episode

4 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 431 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   4 Sept 2026

   Out with the old, in with the new world order

   Battle of Ideas festival 2026 takes place on Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 October at Church House, Westminster. View the full programme here. Early-bird tickets are available until 17 September here. This debate was recorded at Battle of Ideas festival 2025 on Sunday 19 October. ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION The process of globalisation was supposed to make the world a more uniform place. But that prospect seems to have evaporated. In the wake of wars, economic conflict and diverging national interests, long-ignored trends seem to be pushing the world apart, not together. For a long time, Western political leaders have sought to downplay, if not outright deny, this swing to a multipolar global structure. However, hit by one shock after another, this mask of complacency has been falling away: the 2008 financial crash, the Eurozone debt crisis, the Brexit vote, the first election of Trump, the pandemic shutdowns, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and now the return of a second, and more geopolitically disruptive, Trump presidency. In particular, the European Union countries have now been forced to face up to the anachronism of a united ‘Western alliance’. Their political leaders can no longer hide from their countries’ own vulnerability in a fractious world, unable to rely upon the protection of a US military umbrella. Trump’s demands for increased defence spending by other NATO countries and Europe’s inability to support Ukraine independently of America have exposed Europe’s weakness. Meanwhile, Trump’s tariffs against China have heightened tensions and exposed American weaknesses for crucial materials like rare earths, which China has a virtual monopoly over and are essential in many modern applications, from smartphones to advance weapons. How far might America go in pursuing its new-found national interest, and what are the possible implications? How are Britain and other European countries responding? Can we still talk about a united Europe in any meaningful way? And, perhaps most important of all, is there a way to avoid US-China tensions escalating into armed conflict? SPEAKERSThomas Fazijournalist and writer; author, Reclaiming the State: A progressive vision of sovereignty for a post-neoliberal world; columnist, UnHerd; contributing editor, Compact William C. Hicksco-chair, Life Sciences Practice Group, Mintz Anne-Elisabeth Moutetcolumnist and commentator for Telegraph, UnHerd, GB News, BFMTV (Paris) Phil Mullanwriter, lecturer and business manager; author, Beyond Confrontation: globalists, nationalists and their discontents CHAIRJacob Reynoldshead of policy, MCC Brussels; associate fellow, Academy of Ideas

2. 

   31 Aug 2026

   Can the state solve the housing crisis?

   Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2025 on Sunday 19 October at Church House, Westminster. ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner made housing a central pillar of their domestic agenda when they were elected. Yet from two disgraced housing ministers to younger generations’ desperation about astronomical rents and unaffordable property prices, housing controversies are rarely far from the headlines. The government’s rhetoric remains impressive. Rayner, the former housing secretary, put forward the Social and Affordable Homes plan, to deliver 300,000 new homes, with ‘180,000 earmarked for social rent’ and claims Labour will ‘build, build, build’ – even on the sacred green belt. But despite the promise to deliver 1.5million new homes in England over the five-year parliamentary term, evidence suggests a disappointing failure to get even close to meeting their own housing targets – just like previous governments. So, we seem, yet again, to be stuck in a rut of not enough homes for those who need them. UK housing has been in crisis for a long time. For years, demand has overwhelmed supply, and both rents and mortgages continue to climb. The Office for National Statistics’ private rents index shows that renting in England is now 50 per cent more expensive than 14 years ago. London’s 2.7million private tenants saw their rents rise by 11.5 per cent in 2024 alone. Some still blame Margaret Thatcher’s 1980s housing reforms: the right to buy was sold as a pathway to homeownership and social mobility, but instead led to a decline in social housing and made private landlords rich. One think tank has claimed the policy cost taxpayers £200 billion. However, in Bricking it: The UK Housing Crisis and the Failure of Policy, Charlie Winstanley argues that while the significant economic and social changes under Thatcher shaped the housing landscape today, there are much wider demographic, social policy, financial and industrial shifts that have accumulated to create such an unstable housing situation. A huge increase in migration has also become part of the debate. Is the problem more about too many people rather than too few houses? Meanwhile, shadowy plans to turn residential properties into homes of multiple occupancy (HMOs) to replace asylum hotels add to a sense of grievance, shifting the problem to residential areas without consulting locals. Other factors have created an escalating sense of crisis: eye-watering service charges and ground rent for leaseholders; landlords complaining that Renters’ Rights legislation will mean taking properties off the market; politicians pandering to NIMBY voters; labyrinthine planning laws. Is the government going about its housing strategy in the wrong way? How can we solve the housing crisis? SPEAKERSJames Heartfieldlecturer and writer; author, Britain’s Empires 1600-2020 and Let's Build! Helen MacNeilconsultant architect, shedkm; founder, Honest Architecture (HA!) free-speech dinners Matthew Torbittpolitical commentator and writer; senior fellow, The Centre for Social Justice Charlie Winstanleyauthor, Bricking it: The UK Housing Crisis and the Failure of Policy; public affairs & social policy development professional CHAIRSheila Lewisretired consultant; former housing association chair

3. 

   27 Aug 2026

   Battle Book Club: Running the Risk – From Shark Attacks to Nuclear Disaster

   Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2025 on Saturday 18 October at Church House and the Abbey Centre, Westminster. ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION Risk is everywhere. Taking the bus, crossing the street, swimming in the ocean, going somewhere alone. Everything is risky – and we are, in many ways, more concerned about life’s riskiness than ever before. In Running the Risk: From Shark Attacks to Nuclear Disaster – understanding life’s biggest risks and how we build a safer future, David Reid aims to help us navigate a world full of risks. Some risks we accept, like sitting next to a person on the Tube and hoping they don’t have a virus. Some risks we find harder to welcome as a fact of life, like shark attacks and plane crashes. The unknown risk affects people differently. Some still swim in the ocean and fly on planes, while some stick to swimming in lakes and traveling by train. Some risks are merely par for the course of life, but some are preventable, and have only arisen in the contemporary world due to contemporary problems. Delving into issues like climate change, nuclear instability and AI advancements surpassing human capabilities, Reid illustrates what risk is, and how we can learn to live with and mitigate it. Running the Risk is more than a grim explanation of modern issues; it is a guide to ‘building resilience’ and navigating the interconnected world. Drawing on historical examples like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Reid masters the art of risk and elucidates how our world can be made safer, healthier and happier. Are sentiments like ‘no risk, no reward’ courageous or dangerous? Is mitigating risk crucial to happiness or a barrier to it? Is security necessary for well-being? Will the world ever truly be risk-free? Should it be? SPEAKERSJon Bryangambling writer and poker player Timandra Harknessjournalist, writer and broadcaster; author, Technology is Not the Problem and Big Data: does size matter?; presenter, Radio 4's FutureProofing and How to Disagree David Reidvisiting fellow, Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk, the National University of Singapore; director, Global Advocacy; author, Running The Risk Sandy Starrdeputy director, Progress Educational Trust; author, AI: Separating Man from Machine CHAIRDr Dominic Standishwriter and commentator on risk and sport; professor, University of Iowa; author, Venice in Environmental Peril? Myth and reality

Inside a recent episode

#BattleFest2012: Banning the Brave New World? The ethics of science

Published 10 Sept 2014 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Okay, so we do this. We create a viable in vitro derived human sperm or eggs. Robyn says it's really been done, they're not making up this time. A committee like the one he did with the HFEA says it's safe, it's efficient. Should we do it? How do we decide? Should we do what's being done with the mitochondria, get the HFEA to run a public consultation? Do we put it to a referendum or a vote? What do you think should happen? I am of the opinion that a public consultation would actually be a good thing. I think a leak like that would fundamentally change what we as humans and humankind and mankind are doing on the face of this planet, how long we're going to last and how we will have essentially taken evolution into our hands, because that is it, that is the ultimate thing that we can do. […]

Who has been a guest on Academy of Ideas

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Julie Bindel
• Dr Az Hakeem
• Nina Power
• Dr Stuart Waiton
• Dr Joanna Williams

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

126,926,566

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

3.9 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

62

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

31

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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