Battle of Ideas 2015
Festival overview: Saturday
Saturday sessions are listed below ordered by time slot and room. See Sunday sessions or see the whole Festival weekend of more than 90 debates.

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

Energy futures: how can we keep the lights on?

"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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