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Ideas Matter Podcast is home to talks from leading contemporary thinkers on the most important political and cultural issues and intellectual trends of our times. Many were recorded at or reflect the topics discussed at Ideas Matter events, including Living Freedom summer school, The Academy residential weekend and Debating Matters schools debating competition.
Episodes
Friday Jul 17, 2020
Friday Jul 17, 2020
Sixth lecture in series Psychology and Democracy from The Academy 2020 organised by Battle of Ideas (boi) charity.
Our focus in this podcast is Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence. The novel was published in 1928, the period just after the First World War when anticipation of future possibilities coexisted with feelings of dread over the world to come. Against a backdrop of fears over mass society, and intense interest in conflicting dynamics of modernisation and tradition, industrialisation and nature, we look at what Lawrence tells us about inner turmoil in a shifting world.
Lecturer: Ella Whelan, co-convenor, Battle of Ideas festival; journalist, broadcaster and commentator; writer and presenter, ‘Girl Power RIP’, Radio 4
THE ACADEMY 2020: PSYCHOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY
The Academy Online was a mixture of lectures and seminars offering an opportunity to place contemporary events in a historical and philosophical context. The full programme and some background reading can be found at theboi.co.uk/the-academy-online…logy-and-democracy
THE ACADEMY
In the context of today’s instrumental approaches to knowledge, The Academy summer school is a modest attempt to demonstrate the value of scholarship, and of the worth of the university as a place of free enquiry dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
DONATING TO THE BOI CHARITY
The BOI charity is committed to continuing to host discussion and debates throughout this period when society is restricted by measures to tackle coronavirus. In order to realise events such as the Academy Online, none of our staff are furloughed and instead remain working. If you can, then please consider a donation, small or large.
Visit: theboi.co.uk/donate
IDEAS MATTER PODCAST
Ideas Matter is a podcast that takes the most important issues of our times and explores the ideas and intellectual trends that have shaped where we are today.
You can subscribe and listen to Ideas Matter on Apple Podcasts, Podbean, Spotify or SoundCloud. For full details of all episodes, visit the podcast page on our website
Keep up-to-date with Ideas Matter and all the initiatives organised by the Battle of Ideas charity by following us on Twitter (@theboi_uk) and on Facebook (battleofideas).
Saturday Jul 11, 2020
Saturday Jul 11, 2020
On 20 June 2020, Battle of Ideas Charity hosted The Academy Online, a series of talks and book discussions exploring the theme Psychology and Democracy.
This podcast features the introductory talk to a discussion on the 1948 novel ‘Walden Two’ by BF Skinner, an American psychologist, author, inventor and social philosopher. Skinner liked to describe his own philosophy as 'radical behaviorism' and the novel has gained renewed attention alongside interest in social psychology and behavioural science at a time of a pandemic, when many are keen to understand the factors that shape our decisions and the extent to which we can say we are we conscious agents who determine our own actions.
The lecturer is Dr Helene Guldberg, a lecturer in psychology at the Open University and author of two books; ‘Reclaiming Childhood: freedom and play in an age of fear’ and ‘Just Another Ape?’.
THE ACADEMY 2020: PSYCHOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY
The Academy Online was a mixture of lectures and seminars offering an opportunity to place contemporary events in a historical and philosophical context. The full programme and some background reading can be found at theboi.co.uk/the-academy-online…logy-and-democracy
THE ACADEMY
In the context of today’s instrumental approaches to knowledge, The Academy summer school is a modest attempt to demonstrate the value of scholarship, and of the worth of the university as a place of free enquiry dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
DONATING TO THE BOI CHARITY
The BOI charity is committed to continuing to host discussion and debates throughout this period when society is restricted by measures to tackle coronavirus. In order to realise events such as the Academy Online, none of our staff are furloughed and instead remain working. If you can, then please consider a donation, small or large.
Visit: theboi.co.uk/donate
IDEAS MATTER PODCAST
Ideas Matter is a podcast that takes the most important issues of our times and explores the ideas and intellectual trends that have shaped where we are today.
You can subscribe and listen to Ideas Matter on Apple Podcasts, Podbean, Spotify or SoundCloud. For full details of all episodes, visit the podcast page on our website
Keep up-to-date with Ideas Matter and all the initiatives organised by the Battle of Ideas charity by following us on Twitter (@theboi_uk) and on Facebook (battleofideas).
Friday Jul 03, 2020
Friday Jul 03, 2020
On 20 June 2020, Battle of Ideas charity hosted The Academy Online, a series of talks and book discussions exploring the theme Psychology and Democracy.
In this podcast we feature the opening lecture The frightful crowd: the psychology of ‘the masses’.
Today, discussion of crowds, the demos and by implication democracy itself, is pervasive, for example in the debates on how to influence collective actions of the public in the context of coronavirus, or in the Black Lives Matter protests and counter protests and the mobs said to inhabit and fuel the Culture Wars. But the crowd and mass society were objects of study in psychological terms well before the arrival of today’s behavioural scientists and social psychologists. This lecture explores the intellectual history and evolving ideas that have shaped concerns over the frightful crowd.
The lecturer is Jacob Reynolds, external affairs manager at the Battle of ideas charity, a convenor of The Academy 2020 and a writer and commentator who specialises in political philosophy.
THE ACADEMY 2020: PSYCHOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY
The Academy Online was a mixture of lectures and seminars offering an opportunity to place contemporary events in a historical and philosophical context. The full programme and some background reading can be found at theboi.co.uk/the-academy-online…logy-and-democracy
THE ACADEMY
In the context of today’s instrumental approaches to knowledge, The Academy summer school is a modest attempt to demonstrate the value of scholarship, and of the worth of the university as a place of free enquiry dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
DONATING TO THE BOI CHARITY
The BOI charity is committed to continuing to host discussion and debates throughout this period when society is restricted by measures to tackle coronavirus. In order to realise events such as the Academy Online, none of our staff are furloughed and instead remain working. If you can, then please consider a donation, small or large.
Visit: theboi.co.uk/donate
IDEAS MATTER PODCAST
Ideas Matter is a podcast that takes the most important issues of our times and explores the ideas and intellectual trends that have shaped where we are today.
You can subscribe and listen to Ideas Matter on Apple Podcasts, Podbean, Spotify or SoundCloud. For full details of all episodes, visit the podcast page on our website
Keep up-to-date with Ideas Matter and all the initiatives organised by the Battle of Ideas charity by following us on Twitter (@theboi_uk) and on Facebook (battleofideas).
Tuesday Jun 16, 2020
Tuesday Jun 16, 2020
On 20 June 2020, Battle of Ideas Charity hosts The Academy Online, a series of talks and book discussions exploring the theme Psychology and Democracy.
An important text on the reading list is Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. In this podcast we feature a short talk that reflects on how Huxley’s renowned work encapsulated emerging ideas in the inter war period and proved prescient to future trends.
The talk opened a discussion that was organised by the Living Freedom book club in June 2020. The lecturer is Luke Gittos, a criminal lawyer, legal editor at the magazine spiked and author of the recent book Human Rights - Illusory freedom.
THE ACADEMY 2020: PSYCHOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY
Due to the coronavirus pandemic measures, this year The Academy will take place as half day online event via zoom. The programme for The Academy Online: Psychology and Democracy - a mixture of lectures and seminars –offers an opportunity to all those who attend to place contemporary events in a historical and philosophical context.
To register and view the full programme and some suggested background reading, please visit theboi.co.uk/the-academy-online…logy-and-democracy
THE ACADEMY
In the context of today’s instrumental approaches to knowledge, The Academy summer school is a modest attempt to demonstrate the value of scholarship, and of the worth of the university as a place of free enquiry dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
DONATING TO THE BOI CHARITY
The BOI charity is committed to continuing to host discussion and debates throughout this period when society is restricted by measures to tackle coronavirus. In order to realise events such as the Academy Online, none of our staff are furloughed and instead remain working. If you can, then please consider a donation, small or large.
Visit: theboi.co.uk/donate
IDEAS MATTER PODCAST
Ideas Matter is a podcast that takes the most important issues of our times and explores the ideas and intellectual trends that have shaped where we are today.
You can subscribe and listen to Ideas Matter on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or SoundCloud. For full details of all episodes, visit the podcast page on our website
Keep up-to-date with Ideas Matter and all the initiatives organised by the Battle of Ideas charity by following us on Twitter (@theboi_uk) and on Facebook (battleofideas).
Friday Jun 12, 2020
Friday Jun 12, 2020
From the archives of The Academy, this lecture ‘Freud: The unconscious and the repressive society’ is a taster and some useful context for this year’s Academy Online event ‘Psychology and Democracy’ on 20 June 2020 (details below).
Lecturer, Dr Michael Fitzpatrick reflects on the work of Sigmund Freud, including ‘Civilisation and its Discontents’ which was published in 1929 and signals a shift in Freuds work from a focus on the individual psyche to how some of those ideas could be applied at the wider level of society and culture.
THE ACADEMY 2020: PSYCHOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY
Due to the coronavirus pandemic measures, this year The Academy will take place as half day online event via zoom. The programme for The Academy Online: Psychology and Democracy - a mixture of lectures and seminars –offers an opportunity to all those who attend to place contemporary events in a historical and philosophical context.
To register and view the full programme and some suggested background reading, please visit theboi.co.uk/the-academy-online…logy-and-democracy
THE ACADEMY
In the context of today’s instrumental approaches to knowledge, The Academy summer school is a modest attempt to demonstrate the value of scholarship, and of the worth of the university as a place of free enquiry dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
DONATING TO THE BOI CHARITY
The BOI charity is committed to continuing to host discussion and debates throughout this period when society is restricted by measures to tackle coronavirus. In order to realise events such as the Academy Online, none of our staff are furloughed and instead remain working. If you can, then please consider a donation, small or large.
Visit: theboi.co.uk/donate
IDEAS MATTER PODCAST
Ideas Matter is a podcast that takes the most important issues of our times and explores the ideas and intellectual trends that have shaped where we are today.
You can subscribe and listen to Ideas Matter on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or SoundCloud. For full details of all episodes, visit the podcast page on our website
Keep up-to-date with Ideas Matter and all the initiatives organised by the Battle of Ideas charity by following us on Twitter (@theboi_uk) and on Facebook (battleofideas).
Friday Jun 05, 2020
Friday Jun 05, 2020
From the archives of The Academy, this lecture ‘Man’s inner nature: self reflection and being psychological’ is a taster and some useful context for this year’s Academy Online event ‘Psychology and Democracy’ on 20 June 2020 (details below).
Lecturer, Dr Tim Black, spotlights shifting artistic sensibilities in the early 20th century and explores the journey away from society and material reality towards introspection. As remarked by Virginia Wolf, one of the writers featured here, this was the period when a sense emerged in some parts of society that future concerns lay ‘very likely in the dark places of psychology”.
THE ACADEMY 2020: PSYCHOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY
Due to the coronavirus pandemic measures, this year The Academy will take place as half day online event via zoom. The programme for The Academy Online: Psychology and Democracy - a mixture of lectures and seminars –offers an opportunity to all those who attend to place contemporary events in a historical and philosophical context.
To register and view the full programme and some suggested background reading, please visit https://theboi.co.uk/the-academy-online-psychology-and-democracy
THE ACADEMY
In the context of today’s instrumental approaches to knowledge, The Academy summer school is a modest attempt to demonstrate the value of scholarship, and of the worth of the university as a place of free enquiry dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
DONATING TO THE BOI CHARITY
The BOI charity is committed to continuing to host discussion and debates throughout this period when society is restricted by measures to tackle coronavirus. In order to realise events such as the Academy Online, none of our staff are furloughed and instead remain working. If you can, then please consider a donation, small or large.
Visit: www.theboi.co.uk/donate
IDEAS MATTER PODCAST
Ideas Matter is a podcast that takes the most important issues of our times and explores the ideas and intellectual trends that have shaped where we are today.
You can subscribe and listen to Ideas Matter on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or SoundCloud. For full details of all episodes, visit the podcast page on our website
Keep up-to-date with Ideas Matter and all the initiatives organised by the Battle of Ideas charity by following us on Twitter (@theboi_uk) and on Facebook (battleofideas).
Friday Dec 27, 2019
Friday Dec 27, 2019
Professor Frank Furedi discusses the cultural turn that emerged in the 1970s and its subsequent development in the decades that followed. The talk explores the reaction to the 60s counterculture, the rise of post-material values and the contemporary politicisation of culture.
LECTURER
Professor Frank Furedi, sociologist and social commentator; author, How Fear Works: culture of fear in the 21st century and Populism and the European Culture Wars.
TALKING POINTS IN THIS PODCAST
• The role of environmental issues in the intellectual elite’s adoption of post-material values in the 1970s
• The erosion of meaning and dissolving of long established physical and cultural boundaries of Western civilisation
• The demise of the traditional authority of the liberal ideal of autonomy
• The depoliticization of public life and the new marriage of cultural and technocratic politics.
FURTHER READING
• The Hidden History of Identity Politics by Frank Furedi, 1 December 2017 www.frankfuredi.com/article/the_hid…entity_politics
• Icarus Fallen: The Search for Meaning in an Uncertain World by Chantal Delsol, ISI Books, 2010
THE ACADEMY 2019
• In the context of today’s instrumental approaches to knowledge, The Academy summer school is a modest attempt to demonstrate the value of scholarship, and of the worth of the university as a place of free enquiry dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
IDEAS MATTER PODCAST
• Ideas Matter is a podcast that takes the most important issues of our times and explores the ideas and intellectual trends that have shaped where we are today.
• You can subscribe and listen to Ideas Matter on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean or SoundCloud.
• For full details of all episodes, visit the podcast page on our website
• Keep up-to-date with Ideas Matter podcast and all the initiatives organised by the Battle of Ideas charity by following us on Twitter (@theboi_uk)and on Facebook (@battleofideas).
• Email us at info@theboi.co.uk
Tuesday Dec 17, 2019
Tuesday Dec 17, 2019
This talk examines the assumption that today’s ‘progressive left’ is a continuation of the left-wing politics of the 1960s. It's the 11th in our series Culture Wars:then and now, recorded at the Academy 2019 summer school that was organised by the Battle of Ideas (boi) charity.
LECTURER
Dr Greg Scorzo, director and editor, Culture on the Offensive website and host of The Art of Thinking events
TALKING POINTS IN THIS PODCAST
• The Sixties civil-rights movement and Sixties counterculture are broadly at odds with the core political values of today’s progressivism.
• The differences between the Sixties movements and modern progressives summed up in four ways: equality of treatment vs equality of power; universalism vs anti-universalism; risk-taking vs regulating the private sphere; and pluralistic free speech vs anti-pluralistic free speech.
ADDITIONAL READING
The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism by Daniel Bell, Basic Books, 1978
The Culture Industry by Theodor Adorno, Routledge, 2001
THE ACADEMY 2019
In the context of today’s instrumental approaches to knowledge, The Academy summer school is a modest attempt to demonstrate the value of scholarship, and of the worth of the university as a place of free enquiry dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
IDEAS MATTER PODCAST
Ideas Matter is a podcast that takes the most important issues of our times and explores the ideas and intellectual trends that have shaped where we are today.
You can subscribe and listen to Ideas Matter on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean or SoundCloud. For full details of all episodes, visit the podcast page on our website
Keep up-to-date with Ideas Matter and all the initiatives organised by the Battle of Ideas charity by following us on Twitter and on Facebook or visiting www.theboi.co.uk.
Email us at info@theboi.co.uk
Tuesday Dec 17, 2019
Tuesday Dec 17, 2019
If the twentieth was the Mass Century, Timandra Harkness argues that the twenty-first is the Personalised Century – a time when mass production, mass media, and mass politics are giving way to customised manufacture, social media and identity politics. But what are the implications? Is the irony of the turn to a personalised world that the person is disappearing?
LECTURER
Timandra Harkness, journalist, writer and broadcaster; presenter of Radio 4’s FutureProofing; author, Big Data: does size matter?
TALKING POINTS IN THIS PODCAST
• Understanding the Mass Century and the Personalised Century
• Unprecedented choice, both material and social, and the role of technology in making the personalised century possible, by profiling each of us through the data we sweat at every turn.
• The role of identity in driving this turn to a personalised world from which the person is, ironically, disappearing.
ADDITIONAL READING AND LISTENING
Big Data: Does Size Matter? by Timandra Harkness, Bloomsbury Sigma, 2016
Identity by Timandra Harkness and Leo Johnson, Futureproofing episode, Radio 4, 2015, 2001
THE ACADEMY 2019
In the context of today’s instrumental approaches to knowledge, The Academy summer school is a modest attempt to demonstrate the value of scholarship, and of the worth of the university as a place of free enquiry dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
IDEAS MATTER PODCAST
Ideas Matter is a podcast that takes the most important issues of our times and explores the ideas and intellectual trends that have shaped where we are today.
You can subscribe and listen to Ideas Matter on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean or SoundCloud. For full details of all episodes, visit the podcast page on our website
Keep up-to-date with Ideas Matter and all the initiatives organised by the Battle of Ideas charity by following us on Twitter and on Facebook.
Email us at info@theboi.co.uk
Tuesday Dec 17, 2019
Tuesday Dec 17, 2019
Ben Cobley discusses his book, The Tribe, explaining how the progressive liberal-left and its associated ‘system of diversity’ have come to dominate society. In this lecture, he talks about the intellectual inspirations behind The Tribe, exploring how Chantal Mouffe, Karl Popper and Martin Heidegger helped him to illuminate the fraught world of identity politics today.
LECTURER
Ben Cobley, author, The Tribe: the liberal-left and the system of diversity.
TALKING POINTS ON THIS PODCAST
• The emergence of the ‘tribe’ of the progressive liberal left as an identity group that has overseen a domination of institutions and public discourse
• The hypocrisy of the politics of diversity which uses the language of inclusivity and overcoming prejudice but in practice is exclusionary in itself
• By furthering the politicisation and moralisation of identity, the progressive liberal left has been able to avoid discourse and even legitimate the removal of political opponents beyond the frame of public life.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Tribe: the liberal-left and the system of diversity, Ben Cobley, Societas, 2018
On the Political (Thinking in Action) by Chantal Mouffe, Routledge, 2005
THE ACADEMY 2019
In the context of today’s instrumental approaches to knowledge, The Academy summer school is a modest attempt to demonstrate the value of scholarship, and of the worth of the university as a place of free enquiry dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
IDEAS MATTER PODCAST
Ideas Matter is a podcast that takes the most important issues of our times and explores the ideas and intellectual trends that have shaped where we are today.
You can subscribe and listen to Ideas Matter on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean or SoundCloud. For full details of all episodes, visit the podcast page on our website
Keep up-to-date with Ideas Matter and all the initiatives organised by the Battle of Ideas charity by following us on Twitter and on Facebook.
Email us at info@theboi.co.uk