Intelligence Squared

The Cambridge Five - Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Kim Philby, John Cairncross and Keeper of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt - made up one of the most notorious spy rings of the 20th century. Besotted with communist ideology and radicalised while at Cambridge University in the 1930s, their clandestine supply of British and US intelligence material gave Stalin an inside track on US and British decision-making until May 1951.

So how did this collective come into being, what brought about its downfall, and why did four of the five never answer for their crimes?

In this episode, Antonia Senior draws on recently declassified files to reexamine the story of the Cambridge Five. Discussing her new book Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire with historian and philosopher Sophie Scott Brown, Senior explores how a generation shaped by the crises of the 1930s was drawn to communism, and how elite networks within Cambridge and the British establishment enabled one of the most damaging intelligence breaches in modern history.

Antonia Senior is a journalist and writer. She is the author of Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire.

Sophie Scott Brown is a historian and philosopher specialising in modern intellectual history and political thought.

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Our changing climate is accelerating conflict and migration, with the potential to drive political instability from the Sahel to Saudi Arabia to Siberia. From the water-stressed mountains of the Arabian Peninsula to the wildfires raging through America’s most populated regions, the climate crisis is already affecting the lives of millions. 

In a new book, Elemental, former diplomat Arthur Snell explores how global powers must adapt to new vulnerabilities, the risk of future conflicts over natural resources, and the links between the climate crisis and the rise of populism in Europe and the United States.

In this episode, he speaks to journalist Adam McCauley about our rapidly changing geopolitics, the technologies available to help us adapt to a heating planet, the potential for new forms of political cooperation and the choices we need to make to avert disaster.

Arthur Snell is a former British diplomat who has worked in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen. His new book is Elemental: The New Geography of Climate Change and How We Survive It. 

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More people are being labelled with medical conditions than ever before. Diagnoses of autism, ADHD, allergies, and long COVID have skyrocketed - but are we actually getting less healthy? 

In this episode, neurologist Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan speaks to Dr Güneş Taylor about an impending crisis of overdiagnosis. Drawing on histories of real people, as well as decades of clinical practice and the latest medical research, O’Sullivan argues her research indicates that ordinary life experiences, bodily imperfections, sadness and social anxiety are being subsumed into the category of medical disorder. In other words: we are not getting sicker – we are attributing more to sickness.

Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan is a neurologist and writer. She is the author of The Age of Diagnosis, as well as previous books including It’s All in Your Head and The Sleeping Beauties.

Dr Güneş Taylor is a science broadcaster and Fellow at the Centre for Reproductive Health.

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What does it mean to translate some of the most recognisable and revered works in the English language? When the wordplay, poetry, and syntax of Shakespeare are all changed, is it still truly Shakespeare? 

In this episode, host Mythili Rao speaks with translator Daniel Hahn about his new book If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation. From Hamlet in Italian to Romeo and Juliet in Thai, Hahn explores how Shakespeare’s plays are continually reshaped as they move across languages, cultures and traditions.

Drawing on close readings and examples from around the world, Hahn examines the practical and creative challenges of translation: how to carry across rhythm, wordplay and humour, and what is lost and gained in the process. The conversation explores questions of fidelity and invention, from the difficulty of reproducing Shakespeare’s jokes to the complexities of voice, character and grammar.

At its centre is a reflection on what makes Shakespeare endure, not as a fixed body of text, but as a living work constantly remade through language, performance and interpretation.

Daniel Hahn is an award-winning translator, author and editor of numerous fiction and non-fiction works. He was previously chair for the Society of Authors and currently serves on the board of trustees for English PEN. He is the author of If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation, which is available in bookstores now.

Mythili Rao is a book critic, journalist and podcast producer.

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Hundreds of millions of people now talk to AI, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini every day. They organise their finances and holidays, ask advice, seek therapy and find love – via machines. Almost overnight, chatbots are transforming society, politics and business. This is one of the biggest and fastest technological changes in history.

In this episode journalist and author, Jamie Bartlett, speaks to Intelligence Squared’s Head of Programming, Conor Boyle, about the consequences both good and ill of a world where people are talking to machines. Jamie’s new book on the topic is titled How To Talk To AI (And How Not To) and is available now from your local bookshop.

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