Battle of Ideas 2011 29 & 30 October, London. Two days of high-level, thought-provoking, public debate organised by the Academy of Ideas, hosted by the Royal College of Art.
75 sessions, 350 speakers, 2250 attendees
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Battles In Print

Should schools be engines of social mobility?, Sally Millard

Remaking citizens for the ‘Big Society’, Kathryn Ecclestone

In drug policy, pragmatism is the only moral approach, Roger Howard & Leo Barasi

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Speakers include
Anne Atkins, novelist, columnist and broadcaster; prize-winning journalist; regular contributor, BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day

Melvin Burgess, award winning children's author, novels include Nicholas Dane, Junk and Kill All Enemies

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

Decca Aitkenhead, journalist, Guardian and g2

John Cooper, leading criminal and human rights barrister; regular columnist, The Times and Observer; editor, Criminal Bar Quarterly

Paul Mason, broadcaster; author, Financial Meltdown and the End of the Age of Greed; technology editor, BBC's Newsnight

Simon Jenkins, columnist, Guardian; chairman, National Trust; author, A Short History of England

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

John Sutherland, Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of English Literature, University College London; author, The Lives of the Novelists

Simon Baron-Cohen, director, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge; author, Zero Degrees of Empathy

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Readings

Creativity and curiosity: Do we make stuff up or find it out?, Professor Colin Lawson

Islamophobia: Why we have to get over our fears, Rania Hafez

The growing epidemic of stats misuse, Hilary Salt

Dreaming spires for all? Only if we face up to some hard truths, Jacob Reynolds

Fat tax: Does obesity really cost society a fortune?, Rob Lyons

Surely by now we’ve outgrown the body?, Sandy Starr

Charities should accept their game is up, Dave Clements

Facebook’s impact on the brain, Rob Clowes

A world of seven billion people like you, Daniel Ben-Ami

Corporate Social Responsibility – more harm than good, Bill Durodie

Electric selves?, Rob Clowes

From the sublime to the ridiculous: can we measure the value of the arts?, Tom Hutchinson

Angels: a very short introduction, David Albert Jones

What if we aren’t alone after all?, Richard Swan

The rise of the machines? Not any time soon, Katherine Richardson

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"The Battle of Ideas is a global treasure. Bringing together some of the world's leading thinkers for civil dialogue on an array of topics, the festival is a must-see for those deeply committed to the free exchange of ideas."
Fredrick C. Harris, professor of political science, Columbia University

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