Intelligence Squared

In this episode, historian and philosopher Sophie Scott Brown speaks with writer Andrea Wulf about her new book The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and his Search for Humanity. A naturalist, explorer and political radical, Forster travelled around the world with Captain Cook as a teenager before becoming one of the most original and progressive thinkers of his age.

Drawing on unpublished correspondence and Forster’s journeys across Europe and the Pacific, Wulf traces how his encounters with different cultures challenged the assumptions of eighteenth-century Europe. The conversation explores his opposition to slavery, racism and empire, his belief in universal human rights, and the influence of the French Revolution on his political thought.

Andrea Wulf is a historian and biographer. She is the bestselling author of The Invention of Nature and Magnificent Rebels. Her latest book is The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and his Search for Humanity.

Sophie Scott Brown is a historian and philosopher specialising in modern intellectual history and political thought.

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Rebecca Solnit is an award-winning American writer and activist whose incisive work explores feminism, democracy, climate change and social justice.

In this episode, she joins Mythili Rao to argue that, despite today's anxieties about democratic backsliding, technological disruption and environmental crisis, the past four decades have seen extraordinary social progress. From civil rights and environmental protection to LGBTQI+ equality and women's rights, many of the freedoms and values we now take for granted were won through collective action and sustained activism.

Solnit reflects on how hard-fought gains can feel fragile when they come under attack, but reminds us that those attacks are often driven by a minority in power rather than a shift in public values. Drawing on history, she explores why progress is often slow, uneven and contested—and why participating in movements for change remains both meaningful and necessary.

Rebecca Solnit is the author of more than 25 books, including Orwell’s Roses, Hope in the Dark and Men Explain Things to Me, Her latest book, The Beginning Comes After the End, is available in bookstores and online now.

Mythili Rao is a journalist, book critic and podcaster.

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Emmanuel Macron. Demis Hassabis. Volodymyr Zelenskiy. George Soros. Mark Carney. Christine Lagarde. Ray Dalio. Leena Nair. 

Few journalists have spent more time questioning the people who shape the global economy than Francine Lacqua.

As Editor-at-large at Bloomberg and host of Leaders with Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg TV, Lacqua has interviewed many of the most influential political and business leaders of our time. Across hundreds of conversations with presidents, CEOs, central bankers and founders she has built a rare understanding of how leadership operates at the highest levels of power. 

In June 2026, Lacqua joined us live on stage for a special instalment of The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook, our flagship series examining the forces shaping global markets, politics and business. In conversation with BBC broadcaster Jonny Dymond, she reflected on the leaders she has encountered throughout her career – and the defining decisions they faced during moments of economic uncertainty, geopolitical tension and technological change.

What distinguishes leaders who succeed in turbulent times? How do the best decision-makers balance political pressure, economic risk and long-term strategy? And what kinds of leaders does today’s increasingly volatile world demand?

This recording is part of The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook series of events made in partnership with Guinness Global Investors, an independent British fund manager that helps both individuals and institutions harness the future drivers of growth to achieve their investment goals.

To find out more visit: https://www.guinnessgi.com/

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This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

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Emmanuel Macron. Demis Hassabis. Volodymyr Zelenskiy. George Soros. Mark Carney. Christine Lagarde. Ray Dalio. Leena Nair. 

Few journalists have spent more time questioning the people who shape the global economy than Francine Lacqua.

As Editor-at-large at Bloomberg and host of Leaders with Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg TV, Lacqua has interviewed many of the most influential political and business leaders of our time. Across hundreds of conversations with presidents, CEOs, central bankers and founders she has built a rare understanding of how leadership operates at the highest levels of power. 

In June 2026, Lacqua joined us live on stage for a special instalment of The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook, our flagship series examining the forces shaping global markets, politics and business. In conversation with BBC broadcaster Jonny Dymond, she reflected on the leaders she has encountered throughout her career – and the defining decisions they faced during moments of economic uncertainty, geopolitical tension and technological change.

What distinguishes leaders who succeed in turbulent times? How do the best decision-makers balance political pressure, economic risk and long-term strategy? And what kinds of leaders does today’s increasingly volatile world demand?

This recording is part of The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook series of events made in partnership with Guinness Global Investors, an independent British fund manager that helps both individuals and institutions harness the future drivers of growth to achieve their investment goals.

To find out more visit: https://www.guinnessgi.com/

---------

This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

For £4.99 per month you'll also receive:

- Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts

- Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series

- 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events 

... 

Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99:

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…

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The English Renaissance is often remembered as an age of Shakespeare, exploration and cultural flourishing. But it was also shaped by encounters with the Americas. From tobacco in London playhouses to silver from South America and stories of lost cities of gold, the New World became an increasingly powerful presence in English life and imagination.

In this episode, historian Caroline Dodds Pennock speaks with historian Lauren Working about her new book How the Americas Transformed Renaissance England.

What did Elizabethans actually know about Mexico, the Amazon rainforest, or the Chesapeake? How did Indigenous people and knowledge enter the art, fashion, and literature of Shakespeare’s time – and at what cost?

Drawing on a wealth of overlooked sources, Working explores how the Americas became woven into the fabric of Tudor and Stuart society. In doing so, she offers a fresh perspective on England's so-called golden age, revealing the global exchanges, ambitions and inequalities that helped shape the English Renaissance.

Lauren Working is a historian specialising in the cultural and intellectual history of the early modern Atlantic world. She is a lecturer in Early modern literature at the University of York. Her new book is A Golden World: How the Americas Transformed Renaissance England.

Caroline Dodds Pennock is a historian and author whose work focuses on Indigenous American history and the histories of encounter between Europe and the Americas. She is a Professor in International History at the University of Sheffield. Her books include On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe.

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If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.

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