Intelligence Squared

What does it mean to translate some of the most recognisable and revered works in the English language? When the wordplay, poetry, and syntax of Shakespeare are all changed, is it still truly Shakespeare? 

In this episode, host Mythili Rao speaks with translator Daniel Hahn about his new book If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation. From Hamlet in Italian to Romeo and Juliet in Thai, Hahn explores how Shakespeare’s plays are continually reshaped as they move across languages, cultures and traditions.

Drawing on close readings and examples from around the world, Hahn examines the practical and creative challenges of translation: how to carry across rhythm, wordplay and humour, and what is lost and gained in the process. The conversation explores questions of fidelity and invention, from the difficulty of reproducing Shakespeare’s jokes to the complexities of voice, character and grammar.

At its centre is a reflection on what makes Shakespeare endure, not as a fixed body of text, but as a living work constantly remade through language, performance and interpretation.

Daniel Hahn is an award-winning translator, author and editor of numerous fiction and non-fiction works. He was previously chair for the Society of Authors and currently serves on the board of trustees for English PEN. He is the author of If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation, which is available in bookstores now.

Mythili Rao is a book critic, journalist and podcast producer.

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Hundreds of millions of people now talk to AI, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini every day. They organise their finances and holidays, ask advice, seek therapy and find love – via machines. Almost overnight, chatbots are transforming society, politics and business. This is one of the biggest and fastest technological changes in history.

In this episode journalist and author, Jamie Bartlett, speaks to Intelligence Squared’s Head of Programming, Conor Boyle, about the consequences both good and ill of a world where people are talking to machines. Jamie’s new book on the topic is titled How To Talk To AI (And How Not To) and is available now from your local bookshop.

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Could one of Renoir’s most iconic paintings conceal one of the most astonishing true stories of scandal and tragedy in Golden Age Paris?

In 1881, Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted two young sisters from a Jewish banking dynasty at their home in Paris’s grand 8th arrondissement. Pink and Blue, a portrait of Elisabeth and Alice Cahen d’Anvers, is one of Renoir’s most celebrated works. But behind the evoked glamour of the Belle Époque, a darker story was unfurling.

In this episode, journalist and author James McAuley speaks with writer Catherine Ostler about how Renoir’s Impressionist masterpiece hides both a family secret and the tensions of an era poised for rupture.

Drawing from her new book The Renoir Girls, Ostler’s new archival research unveils an intimate story of family betrayal which came to embody both the glamour and the vulnerability of Jewish life in Europe, as rising antisemitism and political upheaval reshaped the continent.

Catherine Ostler is a writer and historian. She is the author of The Renoir Girls: A Hidden History of Art, War & Betrayal.

James McAuley is a journalist and author of The House of Fragile Things, and a Global Opinions contributing columnist for The Washington Post.

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On August 20, 1940, in a quiet study in Mexico, one of the 20th century’s most consequential political exiles was assassinated with an ice pick. The killing of Leon Trotsky marked the culmination of a relentless campaign orchestrated by Joseph Stalin, stretching across continents and years of pursuit.

But how did the plot unfold — and who was the man who carried it out?

In this episode, historian and author Tim Bouverie speaks with writer Josh Ireland about his new book The Death of Trotsky. Drawing on archival research and narrative history, Ireland reconstructs the parallel lives of Trotsky, Stalin and Ramón Mercader, the Soviet agent who infiltrated Trotsky’s inner circle under a false identity.

The conversation explores the machinery of Stalinist power, the psychological and political forces that drove the pursuit of Trotsky into exile, and of how political violence at the highest levels of power continues to echo today, from targeted killings in Putin’s Russia to attempted assassinations in Western democracies.

Josh Ireland is a historian and writer specialising in modern European history. He is the author of The Death of Trotsky: The True Story of the Plot to Kill Stalin’s Greatest Enemy, which is available now in bookstores.

Tim Bouverie is a historian and author of Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War and Allis at War. He is known for his work on 20th-century European history and international relations.

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Dr Radha Modgil is joined by endurance athlete, investor and author Ken Rideout for an inspiring Intelligence Squared conversation on what it really takes to transform your life. Drawing on the ideas in his book Everything You Want Is On The Other Side of Hard, Rideout argues that growth, confidence and fulfilment are only found by deliberately choosing discomfort over ease.

Together, they explore why so many of us avoid difficult challenges, how modern life conditions us to seek convenience, and what is lost when we do. Rideout shares lessons from his own journey—from addiction and adversity to elite-level endurance sport—and explains how discipline, accountability and doing “hard things” can reshape not just your mindset, but your entire future.

Blending personal storytelling with practical insight, this episode offers a clear, uncompromising perspective on resilience, mental toughness and the pursuit of a more meaningful life.

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