Battle of Ideas 2015
Festival weekend overview

Fuller details of sessions are available where the title is in bold.

Saturday 17 October: 9.30-9.50
Festival Attractions Free Stage
Battle of Ideas 2015 Welcome Address: Je suis...what? Free speech after Charlie Hebdo
Saturday 17 October: 10.00-11.30
Keynote Controversies Cinema 1
Is there a future for liberalism?
Eye on the World Pit Theatre
After Ferguson: policing and race in America
Battle over Life and Death Frobisher Auditorium 1
What is a good life: can science and medicine tell us?
The New Industrial Revolution? Frobisher 4-6
From HS2 to virtual reality: the new industrial revolution?
Everyday Liberties Frobisher Auditorium 2
Blurred lines: what is consent?
Growing Pains Frobisher 1-3
Generation wars: Is it time to stop the 'Boomer Blaming'?
Arts & Society Garden Room
Is poetry for everyone?
Contemporary Controversies Conservatory
Trust me, I'm a professional: surviving scandals and regulation
Therapeutic Times Cinema 3
Mindfulness: empty minds for an empty society?
Saturday 17 October: 12.00-13.15
Keynote Controversies Cinema 1
Can we manufacture a new economy?
Saturday 17 October: 12.00-13.00
Eye on the World Pit Theatre
Travelling for a change: the new ethical tourism
Battle over Life and Death Frobisher Auditorium 1
Can Big Data save the world?
Everyday Liberties Frobisher Auditorium 2
Planet of the Vapes: why is there a war on e-cigarettes?
The New Industrial Revolution? Frobisher 4-6
Start-up Nation: are entrepreneurs the future?
Growing Pains Frobisher 1-3
Time to tame advertising?
Arts & Society Garden Room
Attention please! Art in a hyperactive age
Contemporary Controversies Conservatory
Anthropocene: are humans wrecking the planet?
Therapeutic Times Cinema 3
Is today the Age of Emotion?
Contemporary Controversies Free Stage
Why does Shakespeare matter?
Saturday 17 October: 13.10-13.50
Festival Attractions Garden Room
How to read a poem
Artistic Freedom Cinema 2
Having a Laugh: comedy and offence today
Hot Off the Press Free Stage
Book launch - 'Style: In defence of...'
Saturday 17 October: 13.45-15.00
Keynote Controversies Cinema 1
Reassessing paternalism: is autonomy a myth?
Saturday 17 October: 14.00-15.30
Battle over Life and Death Frobisher Auditorium 1
Eugenics: myth and reality
Everyday Liberties Frobisher Auditorium 2
Statute overload: are there too many laws?
Growing Pains Frobisher 1-3
'Fostered alike by beauty and fear': should children’s literature comfort or unsettle?
The New Industrial Revolution? Frobisher 4-6
The Sharing Economy: radical capitalism or high-tech pocket money?
Artistic Freedom Cinema 2
The Birth of a Nation: more than racism on film?
Therapeutic Times Cinema 3
A trivial pursuit: is happiness good for you?
Eye on the World Pit Theatre
Plantation politics: is industrial farming bad for the developing world?
Contemporary Controversies Conservatory
What is the point of the BBC in an era of Netflix and Amazon Prime?
Arts & Society Garden Room
A dying art? The future of opera
Contemporary Controversies Barbican Library
Joining the party: Gen Y and politics today
Saturday 17 October: 16.00-17.15
Eye on the World Pit Theatre
Young Arab Voices: resisting radicalisation
Battle over Life and Death Frobisher Auditorium 1
The NHS: still worth defending?
Therapeutic Times Cinema 3
Stigmatising mental illness: are you mad?
The New Industrial Revolution? Frobisher 4-6
Uber and out: is there a future for driving?
Contemporary Controversies Conservatory
Plumbing the depths: the battle for the oceans
Artistic Freedom Cinema 2
Artistic expression: where should we draw the line?
Arts & Society Garden Room
From blockbusters to selfie sticks: are crowds ruining culture?
Growing Pains Frobisher 1-3
Free-range parenting: reckless or responsible?
Everyday Liberties Frobisher Auditorium 2
We the People, you the Mob?
Saturday 17 October: 16.00-17.00
Hot Off the Press Free Stage
Do we need the Sustainable Development Goals?
Saturday 17 October: 17.30-18.45
Eye on the World Pit Theatre
End of the East Asian economic miracle?
Battle over Life and Death Frobisher Auditorium 1
What is a good death: can science and medicine tell us?
Growing Pains Frobisher 1-3
The battle over geek culture
Arts & Society Garden Room
From Islamic State to Oxford: a monumental war on the past?
Everyday Liberties Frobisher Auditorium 2
The end of Boozy Britain?
Contemporary Controversies Conservatory
Is the pope a Catholic?
The New Industrial Revolution? Frobisher 4-6
Balloon debate: what's the best invention ever?
Contemporary Controversies Free Stage
Bookshop Barnie: Nick Ross on Crime: How to solve it
Festival Attractions Tour departs from Level G, Advanced Box Office
Special Barbican Architecture Tour 2015
Saturday 17 October: 18.45-21.00
Festival Attractions Milton Court
Battle of Ideas 2015 festival drinks reception
Sunday 18 October: 10.00-11.30
Keynote Controversies Cinema 1
Why are young people joining ISIS?
Battle for the Classroom Pit Theatre
Goodbye Mr Chips: can research tell teachers how to teach?
Battle for our Cities Frobisher Auditorium 2
From devolution to Northern Powerhouse: is this the Age of Regions?
Feminism and Its Discontents Frobisher Auditorium 1
Rape culture: menace or myth?
Academy in One Day Hammerson Room
Plato, The Republic
War and peace Conservatory
New wars, new technology
International Battles Garden Room
Modi's India: good days for all?
Battle over Technology Cinema 2
Can technology solve the ageing timebomb?
Contemporary Controversies Cinema 3
From Magna Carta to human rights: can the law set us free?
Economic solutions? Frobisher 5-6
Is it time to build on the green belt?
Sunday 18 October: 12.00-13.15
Keynote Controversies Cinema 1
From literature to Twitter: the death of the reader?
Feminism and Its Discontents Frobisher Auditorium 1
The Personal is Political: is identity politics eating itself?
Battle over Technology Cinema 2
Man vs machine: who controls the robots?
Sunday 18 October: 12.00-13.00
Battle for our Cities Frobisher Auditorium 2
From tsunamis to terror attacks: do we need resilient cities?
Academy in One Day Hammerson Room
Machiavelli, The Prince
War and peace Conservatory
The 1916 Easter Rising: Ireland's history wars
Battle for the Classroom Pit Theatre
Do anti-bullying policies build character?
International Battles Garden Room
France: liberté, égalité, fraternité today
Contemporary Controversies Cinema 3
The culture war on tradition
Economic solutions? Frobisher 5-6
What's wrong with cheap food?
Contemporary Controversies Free Stage
Is money ruining sport?
Sunday 18 October: 13.10-13.50
Festival Attractions Garden Room
How to listen to a symphony
Hot Off the Press Free Stage
Gender Equality in the workplace: is it just a numbers game?
Hot Off the Press Hammerson Room
Hot off the Press: outdoor smoking bans
Sunday 18 October: 14.00-15.30
Keynote Controversies Cinema 1
Is technology limiting our humanity?
Battle for the Classroom Pit Theatre
Can children do philosophy?
Battle for our Cities Frobisher Auditorium 2
Gentrify this: the pros and cons of urban development
Feminism and Its Discontents Frobisher Auditorium 1
The battle over breasts
Academy in One Day Hammerson Room
Georg Lukács, History and Class Consciousness
Battle over Technology Cinema 2
Moneyball or Mourinho: Is sport seeing a big data revolution?
Contemporary Controversies Cinema 3
Libertarians of the world unite?
War and peace Conservatory
The blog of war: conflict reporting in a digital age
Economic solutions? Frobisher 5-6
Can the UK economy survive Brexit?
Contemporary Controversies Free Stage
Bookshop Barnie with Jeanne-Marie Gescher on All Under Heaven: China's Dreams of Order
International Battles Garden Room
China and India: putting the space race before the human race?
Sunday 18 October: 16.00-17.15
Keynote Controversies Cinema 1
Religious tolerance: can we keep the faith?
Battle for the Classroom Pit Theatre
Can we teach creativity?
Feminism and Its Discontents Frobisher Auditorium 1
Does pink really stink? The gender-neutral parenting debate
Academy in One Day Hammerson Room
JS Mill, On Liberty
International Battles Garden Room
What next for Greece?
Battle for our Cities Frobisher Auditorium 2
Do high streets still need shops?
War and peace Conservatory
Asymmetric warfare and the new terrorism
Economic solutions? Frobisher 5-6
Should we wage war on poverty pay?
Battle over Technology Cinema 2
Is gaming corrupting youth?
Hot Off the Press Cinema 3
The Great Migration Crisis: a pan-European debate
Sunday 18 October: 17.30-18.45
Keynote Controversies Frobisher 1-3
The Corbyn Effect: are the old parties dead?
Battle for our Cities Frobisher Auditorium 2
From plazamania to Garden Bridge: why the fuss about public space?
Feminism and Its Discontents Frobisher Auditorium 1
Campus Wars: safe or sanitised?
Academy in One Day Hammerson Room
Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition
International Battles Garden Room
Shifting sands: understanding the Middle East today
Battle for the Classroom Pit Theatre
Should schools teach 'British values'?
Economic solutions? Frobisher 5-6
The divestment controversy: should fossil fuels go the way of the dinosaurs?
Contemporary Controversies Free Stage
Up all night: can we handle a 24-hour city?
Sunday 18 October: 18.45-20.30
Festival Attractions Conservatory
Battle of Ideas 2015 end of festival party: free speech, free drinks

Hunger in the UK: the food banks phenomenon

"Five debates a day sounds a bit daunting beforehand, but I really loved it. The speakers are so knowledgeable and passionate about their chosen topic, and the amount of time dedicated to questions from the audience was great as it really brought in alternative views."
Exeter University student

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