For the second part of our conversation between cognitive psychologist and bestselling author Steven Pinker and academic and podcaster David Runciman, who teaches politics and history at Cambridge University, we rejoin the discussion with the two looking at the roots of skepticism. This interview first appeared on Intelligence Squared in early 2019 at the time of the publication of Pinker's book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.
We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be.
Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to podcasts@intelligencesquared.com or Tweet us @intelligence2.
And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today.
Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Istanbul: Crossroads of the World, with Alexander Christie-Miller
Keir Starmer, Will Hutton, Alastair Campbell and Sonia Sodha on How to Remake Britain, Part Two
Keir Starmer, Will Hutton, Alastair Campbell and Sonia Sodha on How to Remake Britain, Part One
The Great London Novel, with Andrew O'Hagan
The F Word: Re-evaluating Society's Approach to Body Image, with Kate Manne
Unlocking the Power of Memory, with Charan Ranganath
Going Nuclear: Could a Catastrophic Conflict Take Place? with Annie Jacobsen
Finding the Story within Ordinary Human Failings, with Megan Nolan
Why We Need to Slow Down to Save the Planet, with Kohei Saito
A Journey Into Our Geopolitical Future, with Elliot Ackerman
Are You Free? How Work Relentlessly Eats Up Our Time
Comedy in Dark Times, with Armando Iannucci and Helen Lewis, Part Two
Comedy in Dark Times, with Armando Iannucci and Helen Lewis, Part One
Love and Brotherhood in Black Gay Britain, with Jason Okundaye
How Technology Has Made Us What We Are, with Tom Chatfield
Misogyny and the Middle-Aged Woman, with Victoria Smith, Hadley Freeman and Sonia Sodha, Part Two
Misogyny and the Middle-Aged Woman, with Victoria Smith, Hadley Freeman and Sonia Sodha, Part One
The Long Shadow of AI, with Madhumita Murgia
How to Fix the Inequality of Wealth, with Liam Byrne
Page-Turner: A History of the Notebook
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West