Battle of Ideas 2013
19 & 20 October |
London
Two days of high-level, thought-provoking, public debate organised by the Academy of Ideas at the Barbican.
80 sessions, 350 speakers, 2000+ attendees
News

Claire Fox: we must rail against Leveson’s modern Puritans

Battle of Ideas at Foyles Charing Cross

Student and pupil ticket deals

Read why the Battle of Ideas 2013 essay

Battle of Ideas 2013 at The Barbican

+ All news
Speakers include
Simon Baron-Cohen, director, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge; author, Zero Degrees of Empathy

George Szirtes, reader in creative writing, UEA; poet; editor; translator; author, The Burning of the Books and Other Poems

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

Stella Duffy, writer and theatre-maker; award-winning author of short stories, plays and novels

Tom Watt, writer, actor and broadcaster

David Aaronovitch, columnist, The Times; author, Voodoo Histories; chair, Index on Censorship

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

Jonathan Fenby, China director and managing partner, Trusted Sources; author, Tiger Head, Snake Tails: China Today

Danny Dorling, The Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford

+ Full list of speakers
Readings

Sun, sea and working-class hedonism, Neil Davenport

Democracy Has Bad Taste, Grayson Perry

For the Public Benefit: Why Everyone Should Back the Royal Charter on Press Self-Regulation, Brian Cathcart

Chinese Whispers: Why Everything You've Heard About China is Wrong, Ben Chu

As Obama's Asia 'pivot' falters, China steps into the gap, Stuart Grudgings

Dazed and Confucius: Nine common myths about China, Ben Chu

Naturalising Newham - radical plan to boost integration, Catrin Nye

Neuro-backlash? What backlash?, Sally Satel and Scott O. Lilienfeld

Post World's End Architecture: Portugal, Gonzalo Herrero Delicado and Vera Sacchetti

War on Terror or a Search for Meaning?, Dr. Bill Durodié

Architects who improvise and innovate, Edwin Heathcote

Rebels without a cause, Economist Intelligence Unit

Domestic violence is falling. Why aren't people celebrating?, James Heartfield

Why China will not buy the world, Martin Wolf

Threats to peace are lurking in the East China Sea, Kurt Campbell

+ All Battle Readings
The Battle of Ideas is produced by the
Academy of Ideas
with








+ Full list of partners
“The 2012 Battle of Ideas at the Barbican was the best ever. It was bustling with interesting people, punchy debates and new ideas. I can't wait for 2013's.”
Philippe Legrain, adviser to José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

follow the Academy of Ideas