Battle of Ideas 2012 20 & 21 October, London. Two days of high-level, thought-provoking, public debate organised by the Academy of Ideas at the Barbican.
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Battle of Ideas 2012 at the Barbican

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Battle Blog

The Law’s cyber drug war. Is it time to hold peace talks with internet suppliers of ‘legal highs’?, Jonathan Hurlow

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Speakers include
Philippe Legrain, visiting senior fellow, LSE’s European Institute; author, Immigrants: your country needs them and European Spring: Why Our Economies and Politics are in a Mess – and How to Put Them Right

Raymond Tallis, fellow, Academy of Medical Sciences; author, philosopher, critic and poet; recent books include NHS SOS and Aping Mankind; chair, Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying

Ruth Padel, poet and writer; author, The Mara Crossing and Darwin: a life in poems

Munira Mirza, advisor on arts and philanthropy; former deputy mayor of London for education and culture; author, The Politics of Culture: the case for universalism

Ferdinand Mount, author, The New Few: or a very British oligarchy; former editor, Times Literary Supplement

KAS Quinn, children's writer; lecturer and educationalist; author, The Queen Must Die, first part of a time-travel trilogy

Brendan O'Neill, editor, spiked; columnist, Big Issue; contributor, Spectator; author, A Duty to Offend: Selected Essays

Mark Walport, director, Wellcome Trust; Government Chief Scientific Adviser (from April 2013)

Wendy Kaminer, US-based writer on law, liberty, feminism, religion, and popular culture; author, Worst Instincts: cowardice, conformity and the ACLU

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Readings

Veep creator Armando Iannucci tells BBC to stop interfering with programme makers, Christopher Williams

Page Three Girls and porn-again feminists, Jennie Bristow

The Law’s cyber drug war. Is it time to hold peace talks with internet suppliers of ‘legal highs’?, Jonathan Hurlow

FreeSpeechDebate, University of Oxford

What happened to the caring professions?, Alka Sehgal Cuthbert

The Leveson Inquiry: There’s a bargain to be struck over media freedom and regulation, George Brock

Should the law try and correct society's prejudices?, Luke Gittos

The ‘Dark Ages’ were a lot brighter than we give them credit for, Richard Swan

Forget the Booker, the prize every author really wants is academic validation, Miguel Ceia

There's a new species of prohibitionism on the rise, Jason Smith

Scotland: the world’s most childish nation, Rob Lyons

Being Pro-Life Doesn't Make Me Any Less Of A Lefty, Mehdi Hasan

Vice Presidential Debate, ABC

And the Firewalls Came Tumbling Down, Evgeny Morozov

Am I the only fan of modern classical music?, Paul Kilbey

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"The Battle of Ideas is a weekend like no other. I found the 2011 festival immensely stimulating. It gave me a great deal to think about, and a whole new list of books to read - from Virgil to Vygotsky. On to greater battles in 2012!"
Ken Macleod, award-winning science fiction writer; author, The Restoration Game and Intrusion

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