Battle of Ideas 2014
18 & 19 October |
London

The Battle of Ideas 2015 is a weekend of high-level, thought-provoking public debate taking place on 17 & 18 October at the Barbican. You can keep up to date with our latest events and news about the 2015 festival by signing up to our newsletter. We also have satellite events in the UK and across Europe before and after the main festival.

This year's festival featured 80+ sessions, over 400 speakers and nearly 3,000 attendees

Thanks to Tom Fenn, Tamara Hussain and Chris Sharp for the images

Battle of Ideas in the media

The Battle of Ideas 2014 has been widely covered in the press, and speakers and organisers have featured on TV and radio. Read the media coverage of the festival.

Speakers included
Ricardo Fuentes-Nieva, head of research, Oxfam GB; co-author. Working for the Few: political capture and economic inequality

Sonia Livingstone, professor, Department of Media and Communications, LSE; author, Media Regulation: Governance and the interests of citizens and consumers

Robin Aitken, co-founder, Oxford Food Bank

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

Clare Gerada, GP; past chair, Royal College of General Practitioners

Frank Furedi, sociologist and social commentator; author, What's Happened to the University?, Power of Reading: from Socrates to Twitter, On Tolerance and Authority: a sociological history

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, philosopher and novelist; author, Plato at the Googleplex: why philosophy won’t go away; visiting professor of philosophy, New College of the Humanities

Steve Rayner, James Martin Professor of Science and Civilization; director, Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, University of Oxford

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

The Battle of Ideas is produced by the
Academy of Ideas
with










“Although 'battle' suggests destruction, these were some of the most constructive debates I've taken part in. This was civilised conflict in the best sense of both words.”
Julian Baggini, author, Welcome to Everytown: A Journey into the English Mind, and The Ego Trick

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