Intelligence Squared

For decades, Silicon Valley liked to tell a story about itself: brilliant outsiders, working beyond government, moving faster than institutions ever could. But that story leaves something rather important out. The American military and intelligence agencies helped to finance the technologies, companies and ambitions that made the Valley powerful.

With governments increasingly relying on privately owned satellites, software, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, we’re going to explore why the people who control those systems are not simply contractors. They have fortunes, political commitments and power of their own. So who is serving whom?
In this episode, Margherita Volpato speaks to Sharon Weinberger. In her new book is Valley of Death: How Big Tech Is Fueling the Future of War, she outlines why governments are increasingly reliant on privately owned satellites, software, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and what it means for this level of control to be in the hands of private contractors.

Together, they will explore: who is serving whom?

Sharon Weinbeger has reported on national security, science and technology for more than 25 years. She is editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and was previously national security editor at The Wall Street Journal. Her new book is Valley of Death: How Big Tech Is Fueling the Future of War.
Margherita Volpato is Senior Producer at Intelligence Squared.
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Has satire lost its power in this new world of fake news and ‘alternative facts’ - when our leaders lie so blatantly and frequently, and still manage to get away with it? Or is humour a more important tool than ever to hold those in power to account? We were joined by celebrated comedy writer and producer Armando Iannucci, Labour MP Jess Phillips, and satirist and impressionist Jan Ravens to unpack these questions live on stage at the Union chapel in London. The event was chaired by journalist, writer and broadcaster Samira Ahmed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2005, journalist Anjan Sundaram travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to work as a stringer for the Associated Press. What followed was an extraordinary eighteen months, taking him from the chaotic streets of Kinshasa to the country's vast rainforests and into the heart of one of the deadliest conflicts since the Second World War.

In this episode, Sundaram joins journalist and author Carl Miller to discuss his acclaimed memoir Stringer, a gripping account of life as a foreign correspondent in one of the world's most troubled countries. Together, they explore the realities of reporting from a war zone, the people and stories that rarely make international headlines, and what his experiences reveal about the Congo, journalism and the search for truth
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Described by Phoebe Waller-Bridge as “the most lethal, vital, screamingly funny truth-teller of our time”, Marina Hyde has become one of Britain’s most popular columnists and podcasters. A Sunday Times bestselling author and co-host of the smash hit podcast The Rest is Entertainment, she has an unrivalled talent for making sense of our stranger-than-fiction times.

In September 2026 Hyde came to the Intelligence Squared stage in Brighton, marking the launch of her new book 'What A Time To Be Alive!'. From lambasting the Trump presidency, to the increasing popularity of Nigel Farage's Reform, from the spectacle of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s Venice wedding to the Beckham family feud, she is chief chronicler of our gloriously chaotic age.

Hyde was joined live on stage award-winning screenwriter and producer Jesse Armstrong.

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For more than 3,000 years, castles and fortifications have shaped the landscapes around them. They defended cities, controlled trade and provided refuge in times of war. But they were also monuments to the ambition of those who built them: vast projects that brought together military power, engineering, labour and wealth.
Were castles the original military-industrial complex? Why did even the strongest fortresses fall? And why do these obsolete weapons of war retain such a powerful hold over our imaginations?
In this episode, Mia Sorenti speaks with historian and broadcaster Dan Jones about what castles reveal about the societies that built them.
Drawing on examples from Troy and medieval Wales to Japan and the United States, Jones explains how rulers used fortifications to make their authority visible, reshape economies and claim control over a people’s history and mythology.
Dan Jones is a historian, author and broadcaster. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a trustee of Historic Royal Palaces and the host of the This Is History podcast. His latest book is Castles: A Fortified History of the World.
Mia Sorenti is Senior Producer at Intelligence Squared.

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