Intelligence Squared

Liberal democracy was once a radical force. It challenged monarchies, expanded political rights and, at its most successful, helped deliver rising wages and shared prosperity. So how did it become associated with an establishment that growing numbers of voters have turned against?

In this episode, researcher and author Carl Miller speaks with Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu about his new book What Happened to Liberal Democracy? Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity.

Acemoglu traces the decline of liberalism through the collapse of its traditional working-class coalition, rising inequality and the transition from an industrial to a digital economy. He argues that automation has broken the old link between business growth and rising wages – and warns that AI could accelerate this divide by eliminating jobs without creating shared prosperity.

So can liberal democracy reinvent itself before it is too late? Acemoglu makes the case for what he calls ‘working-class liberalism’: a new politics focused on economic opportunity, community and rebuilding trust with voters who have abandoned the centre left.

Daron Acemoglu is Institute Professor of Economics at MIT and was awarded the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. His latest book is What Happened to Liberal Democracy? Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity.

Carl Miller is a Senior Fellow at Demos and founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM). He is the co-writer and host of the investigative podcast Kill List and is the author of The Death of the Gods: the New Global Power Grab.

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Trade has shaped human civilisation for thousands of years. From the copper used in Mesopotamian ploughs to the silicon inside our smartphones, vast networks have evolved to move the materials and products on which modern life depends. Yet much of this system remains invisible, only becoming clear when disruption exposes how fragile and interconnected it really is.

In this episode, host Carl Miller speaks with journalist and bestselling author Ed Conway about the hidden world behind the things we buy. Through the stories of bread, cloth and cars, Ed traces the extraordinary journeys taken by everyday products and reveals the people and supply chains that make them possible. From the Corn Laws to the National Loaf and the fish finger, he shows how trade has shaped what ends up on our shelves and plates.

Why has trade become one of the defining geopolitical issues of our time? What happens when governments intervene in supply chains? And how does the global economy respond when those networks are ruptured? Drawing on economic history and first-hand reporting, Ed explores how trade adapts and reshapes the world around us.

Ed Conway is a writer and broadcaster. He is the Economics and Data Editor of Sky News and a regular columnist for The Times and Sunday Times. He has won numerous awards for his journalism and his book Material World was a Sunday Times bestseller and nominated for multiple prizes and books-of-the-year lists.

Carl Miller is a Senior Fellow at Demos and founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM). He is the co-writer and host of the investigative podcast Kill List and is the author of The Death of the Gods: the New Global Power Grab.

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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In 1988, eight men in Kingston, Jamaica, begin rehearsals for a play. Though strangers to one another, they share an inescapable truth: All of them are gay. And they live in a world that refuses to accept them. One night they are beaten and one of them is killed.

In this episode, Booker Prize-winning author Marlon James speaks with Mythili Rao on his newest novel The Disappearers. Described as a reckoning, the novel explores a violent incident that was rumoured to have happened but was never proven, its aftermath and retribution.

James and Rao discuss the hitherto unexplored impact of the AIDS crisis in eighties Jamaica and why fiction is ideally placed to explore the consequences of such a violent encounter.

Marlon James is the Booker Prize–winning and New York Times bestselling author of A Brief History of Seven Killings; the bestselling and National Book Award finalist Black Leopard, Red Wolf; as well as the bestselling Moon Witch, Spider King; The Book of Night Women; and John Crow’s Devil.

Mythili Rao is a podcast editor and book critic living in London.

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Adam Rutherford is a science broadcaster, and author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, which transformed the way we think about human history. By using genetics to uncover the story of our species, it offered a thrilling new perspective on who we are and where we came from.

David Olusoga is an award winning author and historian, whose work includes the TV series and book Black & British: A Forgotten History and the landmark BBC arts series Civilizations.

In July 2026 they came to the Intelligence Squared stage to mark the tenth anniversary of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived. Together, they explored how advances in DNA research have transformed our understanding of human history, and discussed what a decade of new discoveries has revealed about our past.

From Neanderthals to the plague, from redheads to race, from evolution to epigenetics, they discussed what our genes can tell us about human history and our ancestors. Together, they dispelled some common myths, challenging misconceptions about race and ancestry, and considered the profound consequences of the Human Genome Project.

---

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.

For £4.99 per month you'll also receive:

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- 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:

- Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts

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

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Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access.

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Adam Rutherford is a science broadcaster, and author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, which transformed the way we think about human history. By using genetics to uncover the story of our species, it offered a thrilling new perspective on who we are and where we came from.

David Olusoga is an award winning author and historian, whose work includes the TV series and book Black & British: A Forgotten History and the landmark BBC arts series Civilizations.

In July 2026 they came to the Intelligence Squared stage to mark the tenth anniversary of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived. Together, they explored how advances in DNA research have transformed our understanding of human history, and discussed what a decade of new discoveries has revealed about our past.

From Neanderthals to the plague, from redheads to race, from evolution to epigenetics, they discussed what our genes can tell us about human history and our ancestors. Together, they dispelled some common myths, challenging misconceptions about race and ancestry, and considered the profound consequences of the Human Genome Project.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices