What is it to imagine exactly? How do we go about it, and why is it so important that we imagine for ourselves? In July 2023 author and Condé Nast Britain managing director Albert Read came to Intelligence Squared to explain that the imagination is not just the preserve of artists and creatives but rather a muscle – an essential faculty of the mind which we can all train and develop throughout our lives. Drawing on his new book The Imagination Muscle, Read explains how the imagination is central to human achievement. In conversation with Times columnist and author of What I Wish I'd Known When I Was Young: The Art and Science of Growing Up, Alice Thomson, the discussion touches on art, music, film, literature, science and entrepreneurship. As technology advances and threatens to take over the creative aspects of our lives, Read's book suggests it is more pressing than ever to harness the power of our imaginations.
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 get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency .
Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Fixing France: Nabila Ramdani on How to Repair a Broken Republic
Blazing Ambition: the Life of Margaret Cavendish
Debate: Free Will is an Illusion
Best of 2023: James Comey, Armando Iannucci and Bach vs Beethoven
Robert Peston on How to Save Democracy
Best of 2023: David Baddiel and Succession VS The White Lotus
Best of 2023: Bernie Sanders and Russell Kane
Best of 2023: Jude Law, Christina Lamb and Simon Reeve
Holiday Reads: Michael Lewis, Victoria Smith and Ravinder Bhogal
What was the Biggest Story of 2023? With James Harding, Robert Peston and The News Meeting
Nick Cave on Faith, Hope and Carnage
Holiday Reads: Mary Beard, Rory Stewart, Tomiwa Owolade and Tania Branigan
Stuffed: Pen Vogler on Britain's Food History
Holiday Reads: Naomi Klein, Mehdi Hasan and Mustafa Suleyman
Unlock Your Potential, with Adam Grant And Andrew McAfee
Is Capitalism Racist?
The Power of Poetry: Words to Heal and Inspire
A Very Open Conversation with Louis Theroux
Remembering Benjamin Zephaniah
Michael Pollan and Xand Van Tulleken on the Science of Psychedelics
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free