Battle of Ideas 2016
22 & 23 October |
London

Tickets for the 2016 festival weekend at the Barbican are now available at early-bird rates. See our tickets page for more information.

The Battle of Ideas 2015 festival weekend was a great success, with more debates, speakers and attendees than ever before. You can keep up to date with our latest audio and video from the 2015 festival, and be the first to know the latest news about the 2016 festival, by signing up to our newsletter.

We are currently programming the 2016 festival. If you have ideas for possible debate topics, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). If your organisation would like to become a Battle of Ideas partner, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

If you would like to help us with the Battle of Ideas as a volunteer, check out our volunteering page.

Images from Battle of Ideas 2015.
Thanks to James Berry, Paul Brocklehurst, Lameya Chaudhury and Tom Fenn for the pictures.
Latest from Twitter

2016 speakers include
Hannah Dawson, historian of ideas, King's College London

Peter York, broadcaster, management consultant, journalist and author

Ivan Krastev, chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia; permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna

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

Thomas Hylland Eriksen, professor of social anthropology, University of Oslo; novelist; author, Ethnicity and Nationalism and Globalization: the key concepts

Kenan Malik, writer and broadcaster; author, The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics and From Fatwa to Jihad

David Lammy MP, Labour MP for Tottenham; author, Out of the Ashes: Britain after the riots

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

Nicholas Kenyon, managing director, Barbican Centre; presenter, BBC Radio 4’s Cities From The Ashes; former director BBC Proms

+ Full list of speakers
Readings

Playing video games for up to an hour a day 'is good for children', Emily Gosden

Paris and beyond: Europe is at war with itself, Frank Furedi

How can you be sure someone wants to have sex with you?, Nosheen Iqbal

The Daemon Knows that Harold Bloom Is a Genius, Robert David Jaffee

The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence, Adam Grant

Today's Media Influences on Young Children, Mary Renck Jalongo

One in seven treatments not necessary, warns NHS chief, Robert Mendick, and Laura Donnelly

Chinese sharemarket: No need for China's leaders to lose financial reform nerve , Peter Drysdale

Living longer is a cause for celebration, Ella Whelan

Fattigdom snart ett minne blott, Fredrik Segerfeldt

Reclaim Brixton: gentrifiers against gentrification, James Heartfield

The Political Game-show , WORLDbytes

+ All Battle Readings
The Battle of Ideas 2015 was produced by the
Academy of Ideas
IN ASSOCIATION WITH



2015 BATTLE CHAMPIONS












“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

follow the Academy of Ideas

Newsletter

Keep up to date with Academy of Ideas news and events by joining our mailing list.