Battles in Print & Culture Wars
Battles in Print are specially-commissioned essays that explore topics being discussed at the Battle of Ideas, serving as introductions to the debate and encouraging further reflection. Battles in Print take a variety of forms, from short provocation essays to longer think pieces and interviews, and are available both online and in print at the festival itself. They are complemented by themed book reviews on Culture Wars, the Academy of Ideas' online review.
Editor: Sarah Boyes
Select a theme on the left to see related Battles in Print from the archive. You can also narrow your selection by selecting a year below and clicking Go! Or return to the overall index
Not classless, but class stasis, Neil Davenport
Trust in an age of cynicism, Dave Clements
Fashion and me: nothing wrong with looking good, Abigail Ross Jackson
The problem of early intervention, Martin Earnshaw
The staycation: making a virtue out of necessity, Jim Butcher
Liberating the NHS?, Brid Hehir
How teenage pregnancy became redefined as a social problem, Jan Macvarish
Where do fathers fit?, Jane Sandeman
What does happiness mean today?, Ashley Frawley
Questioning the carnivalesque , Ashley Frawley
Refocusing remembrance , Ted Harrison
Some myths of the ‘Work-Life Balance’ discussion , Para Mullan
Debating therapy culture: a brief response to Kathryn Ecclestone, Simon Anderson and Julie Brownlie
Rethinking welfare, Dave Clements
Take flight!, Timandra Harkness
Solving the energy crisis: is it all about light bulbs and lifestyles? , Professor Jacquie Burgess
Rethinking privacy and trust , Norman Lewis
Rethinking privacy, Sean Bell
The Empty Staffroom, Richard Swan
Pitch Report: Cricket and Identity in India , Debanjan Chakrabarti
The Truth? - you must be making it up!, Sarah Boyes
Whose culture is it anyway?, Sarah Boyes
The Culture of Adoption, David Clements
Boozy Britain?, Bill Durodie
Expression management: Infant feeding and maternal anxiety, Charlotte Faircloth
Out to play, Sue Palmer
Comments on Sue Palmer 'Out to play', Helene Guldberg
Ethical shopping, Kate Soper
Eat, drink and be merry - banned, Jamie Douglass
Therapeutic competition for losers, Dan Travis
Is Britain a nation of sporting losers?, Richard Beard
Will ethical shopping save the world?, George Hoare
Nature knows best? - the organic food debate, Rob Lyons
Save the planet; don't see the world?, David Soskin
Should footballers be role models?, Paul Bickerton
The menace of cheap travel, Mark Khazar
'Nuff respect? Questioning the respect agenda, Patrick Turner
Is TV Good For Children?, Wendy Earle
What's up with student politics?, Rob Walsh
Reclaiming the Olympic spirit in an era of non-competitive sport, Andrew Calcutt
Every child matters – so don’t touch!, Heather Piper
Why does Sport have to have a Purpose?, Dan Travis
Morbid Fascinations - our obsession with death, Tony Walter
Scared of the Kids - Mark Easton - Fragmenting Society
"There was an astonishing range of opinions expressed while I was there, some of them pure nonsense, others profound, all of them provocative."
Daniel Moylan, Deputy chairman, Transport for London