Battle Readings is a regularly updated compilation of articles, essays, and opinion pieces relevant to the themes of the Battle of Ideas.
Choose a theme from the listing on the left to narrow your search, or view all readings.
A manifesto for better nursing.
Christina Patterson, Independent, 14 April 2012
The regular calls for a fat tax – whether on the ‘wrong’ foods or on fat people themselves – are symptomatic of two regressive trends in society.
Rob Lyons, Independent, 3 November 2011
Chris Snowdon, Little Dice, 3 October 2011
In the last eighty years the proportion of household income spent on food has dropped from a third to less than a tenth. Fruit and vegetables from around the world are on the shelves all year round.
Chris Snowdon, Free Society, 3 October 2011
We know that drinking too much alcohol is bad for us. It gives us hangovers, makes us feel tired and does little for our appearance - and that is just the morning afterwards.
Philippa Roxby, BBC News, 2 October 2011
Rob Lyons, Imprint Academic, 1 October 2011
Maciej Dakowicz's pictures of Cardiff revellers are lapped up by a country that pictures itself as broken, boozing, morally sick
Jonathan Jones, Guardian, 23 September 2011
Under the Influence investigates how far parenting style affects those children’s drinking behaviour in later life. It analyses data of several thousand children from two separate data sets and compares how their parents raised them against the child’s drinking habits in adolescence and adulthood.
Jamie Bartlett and Matt Grist, Demos, 16 September 2011
Articles about "size zero" illustrated with pictures of glamorous, rail-thin celebrities and models whose ribs are countable through their couture dresses may have the shock factor, but they do nothing to help anorexics and their families.
Laurie Penny, Guardian, 2 August 2011
Children as young as five are being treated in hospital for severe anorexia in a shocking illustration of how early they can become obsessed with body image.
Sophie Borland, Daily Mail, 1 August 2011
Optimism versus Pessimism
"The Battle of Ideas is a global treasure. Bringing together some of the world's leading thinkers for civil dialogue on an array of topics, the festival is a must-see for those deeply committed to the free exchange of ideas."
Fredrick C. Harris, professor of political science, Columbia University