Recording of a debate at the Battle of Ideas festival 2019.
Today’s political culture seems obsessed with dark, apocalyptic visions. From young people staging ‘die-ins’ to protest about the environment to talk of an ‘insect apocalypse’, fears and threats loom large. Extinction Rebellion argues that the threat of catastrophe means we must reject growth and material progress in favour of a new eco-austerity. Even proponents of new technology often see it as a means of avoiding environmental catastrophe rather than transforming the world for the better. What can we learn about the present from our attitude to the future? Do we need to recover our faith in the future – and by extension, ourselves?
DR SHAHRAR ALI
home affairs spokesperson and former deputy leader, Green Party; author, Why Vote Green 2015
GREGORY CLAEYS
professor of history, Royal Holloway, University of London; author, Searching for Utopia: the history of an idea; fellow, RSA
DR ASHLEY FRAWLEY
senior lecturer in sociology and social policy, Swansea University; author, Semiotics of Happiness and Significant Emotions (forthcoming)
BRENDAN O’NEILL
editor, spiked; host, The Brendan O’Neill Show; writer, the Sun and the Spectator; author, A Duty to Offend
CHAIR: JACOB REYNOLDS
partnerships manager, Academy of Ideas; co-convenor, Living Freedom and The Academy, boi charity
Net Zero: can the economy and democracy survive?
Understanding Modi's India
Religion in schools: protecting or neglecting the faithful?
Square-eyed screenagers: are phones corrupting our kids?
Disunited Kingdom: the rebirth of nations?
Is AI the end of art?
The politics of hate: is everyone a bigot but me?
Should we leave the European Convention on Human Rights?
Power play: who really rules today?
Why do comedians keep siding with the Establishment?
Podcast of Ideas: 24 February 2024
Reviving economies: Is the state a help or a hindrance?
Deifying diversity: a value for our times?
What would a Labour government look like?
Football fans, farmers and failed pledges - Podcast of Ideas
WhatsAppened to privacy?
Let's talk about race
Still in the race: understanding Trumpism
Extreme weather: can we adapt to a changing climate?
Podcast of Ideas: Rwanda, Rochdale and the Middle East
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free