Podcasts about New Humanism

For the first time, a collection of Irving Babbitt's and Paul Elmer More's correspondence has been published. Eric Adler, the editor of the collection (titled "Humanistic Letters") joins the show to discuss the collection, New Humanism, and the question that caused more controversy between Babbitt and More than anything else: Do humanists need to believe in God? Eric Adler's Humanistic Letters: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780826222909Eric Adler's The Battle of the Classics: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780197680810Irving Babbitt's Literature and the American College: https://amzn.to/3YIP0MlNew Humanists episode Can Humanism Replace Christianity? https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/12494774-can-humanism-replace-christianity-episode-xlivJustin Garrison and Ryan Holston's The Historical Mind: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781438478432Ryan Holston's Irving Babbitt and Christianity: A Response to T.S. Eliot: https://www.academia.edu/43227260/Irving_Babbitt_and_Christianity_A_Response_to_T_S_EliotC.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780060652944Norman Foerster's Humanism and America: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.88302/page/n5/mode/2upLuke Sheahan's The Intellectual Kinship of Irving Babbitt and C.S.Lewis: https://www.pdcnet.org/humanitas/content/humanitas_2016_0029_0001_0005_0042C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780060652920Paul Elmer More's The Greek Tradition: https://amzn.to/4dxbXGQNew Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

EPISODE 1929: In this DLD special recorded in Munich, Andrew talks to Kenneth Cukier, co-author of BIG DATA, about AI, spirituality and the new humanism in our digital ageKenneth Cukier is the Deputy Executive Editor at The Economist in London and cohost of its weekly tech podcast Babbage. He is coauthor of the award-winning book “Big Data" with Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, a NYT Bestseller translated into over 20 languages. He is a regular commentator on BBC, CNN, and NPR, and a popular keynote speaker, from TED to Davos. In 2002-04, Cukier was a research fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He is a board director of Chatham House, a fellow at Oxford's Saïd Business School and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His latest book is "Framers" on the power of mental models and the limits of AI.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

This week, the guys are joined for a record sixth time by Dr. Eric Adler, Professor and Chair of Classics at the University of Maryland to talk about his latest work, Humanistic Letters: The Irving Babbitt – Paul Elmer More Correspondence. Adler provides crucial background information about Irving Babbit and Paul Elmer More, the minds behind the New Humamism movement, before turning to sharing thought-provoking commentary on the subject, explaining its value for even a casual reader, and unpacking how it is impacting things like Higher Education today.

This episode I'm joined by Eric Adler who is a Professor of Classics at the University of Maryland. We discuss the book he recently edited: Humanistic Letters: The Irving Babbitt-Paul Elmer More Correspondence Book link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humanistic-Letters-Irving-Babbitt-Paul-Correspondence/dp/0826222900--- Become part of the Hermitix community: Hermitix Twitter - https://twitter.com/Hermitixpodcast Support Hermitix: Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/hermitix Donations: - https://www.paypal.me/hermitixpod Hermitix Merchandise - http://teespring.com/stores/hermitix-2 Bitcoin Donation Address: 3LAGEKBXEuE2pgc4oubExGTWtrKPuXDDLK Ethereum Donation Address: 0x31e2a4a31B8563B8d238eC086daE9B75a00D9E74

Irving Babbitt was the architect of New Humanism. He was also T.S. Eliot's mentor at Harvard. But in 1928, the newly Anglican Eliot's essay criticizing his old mentor's humanistic project was published, which provoked a terse, and sharp, rebuke from Babbitt. What is the relationship between traditional religion and humanistic learning? Can humanism provide society with the standards needed for democratic life? In this episode, we take a look at Babbitt's and Eliot's writings on the subject.T.S. Eliot's The Humanism of Irving Babbitt: https://muse.jhu.edu/document/374T.S. Eliot's Second Thoughts About Humanism: https://muse.jhu.edu/document/408Irving Babbitt's Democracy and Leadership: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780913966556Jay Parini's Irving Babbitt Revisited: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3856831The Davenant Institute's Reforming Classical Education: https://davenantinstitute.org/reforming-classical-educationT.S. Eliot's Little Gidding: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/history/winter/w3206/edit/tseliotlittlegidding.htmlNew Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Who is at the helm of the ship of state? Is the United States doomed to go the way of the Titanic? In the essay “Academic Leadership,” Paul Elmer More expounds on the crucial role that humanistic study plays in cultivating a natural aristocracy that guides and protects the body politic. More, along with Irving Babbitt, was a luminary of the New Humanism movement and an essayist, prolific letter-writer, editor, and Christian Platonist.Paul Elmer More's Academic Leadership (free): https://jkalb.freeshell.org/more/leaders.htmlRichard M. Gamble's The Great Tradition: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781935191568Sir Thomas Elyot's The Book Named the Governor: https://amzn.to/3977IWORené Girard's A Theater of Envy: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781587318603New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Long before the New Humanists podcast was born, Irving Babbitt helped found the movement now known as New Humanism. University of Maryland Professor of Classics Dr. Eric Adler, along with his former student (and current ALI Fellow) Katherine Bradshaw, join the podcast to discuss the original New Humanist and what we might stand to gain from him in our debates about education, the humanities, and the canon.Irving Babbitt's “What Is Humanism?”: http://www.nhinet.org/lac1.htmIrving Babbitt's “What I Believe: Rousseau and Religion” from Spanish Character and Other Essays: https://amzn.to/34ZP9RHDr. Eric Adler's The Battle of the Classics: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780197518786Dr. Eric Adler's Classics, the Culture Wars, and Beyond: https://amzn.to/36a7V9HDr. Eric Adler's Valorizing the Barbarians: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780292744035C.S. Lewis' Abolition of Man: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780060652944Alan Jacobs' The Year of Our Lord 1943: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780190864651Jean-Jacques Rousseau's First Discourse: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780312694401George MacDonald's The Princess and Curdie: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781952410475Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780060935467Robert E. Proctor's Defining the Humanities: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780253212191New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

In this episode, Andrew Zolli, Chief Impact Officer at Planet, the imagery company, speaks about the initiative he leads, “Art as Planet.” We discuss what the role of art in communicating scientific vision is? How artists have been helping in shaping an innovative culture in a satellite company, and why should small startups launch their own artist in residence?Zolli is a technologist, strategic foresight expert, and author. In the past he was the primary creative and curatorial force behind PopTech, a well-known innovation, and social change network; he served as a Fellow of the National Geographic Society and served on the Boards of the Brooklyn Academy of Music.See the show notes here. 

We interviewed Karl on his various publications and works as an architect, satirist, blogger, and commentator on the Middle East. Karl co-authored "Manifesto: Towards a New Humanism in Architecture" and authored "And Then God Created the Middle East and Said ‘Let There Be Breaking News'" and "Style: In defence of Islamic Architecture." You can catch his tweets at @karlremarks.Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikraEdited by: Ramzi RammanTheme music by: Tarek YamaniAbout the afikra conversation series:Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp  Follow afikra:‎Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikraInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/‎Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/‎Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikraWebsite: afikra.comAbout afikra:‎afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and ‎culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and ‎to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on ‎topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our ‎programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open ‎community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global ‎community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal ‎knowledge of the Arab region.‎

In this episode, I sat down with Dr. El-Tinay. He is an author, thinker, diplomat, and politician, and advocate for peace and justice. Dr. El-Tinay lived and worked for 20 years in Paris, France where he founded in 1985 the International Peace Quest Institute.Dr. Hashim El-Tinay has dedicated 45 years of his life advocating and promoting peace in Sudan, Africa, the Middle East, and the world. In this episode, we talk about his book “Liberation: Anew Quest for New Humanism.”

Karl Sharro (aka Karl reMarks) is an architect, satirist and commentator on the Middle East. He is a Partner at PLP Architecture in London and co-author of Manifesto: Towards a New Humanism in Architecture which was included in 100 Artists' Manifestos: from the Futurists to the Stuckists, a survey of 100 influential art manifestos from the last 100 years. He has practised architecture in London and Beirut, and taught for five years at the American University of Beirut. Relevant links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarlreMarks Book: https://www.amazon.com/Then-Created-Middle-There-Breaking/dp/0863569021 Support the channel: Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/decafquest Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/decafquest Twitter: https://twitter.com/Decafquest

John Ralston Saul is an award-winning essayist and novelist. His works of ideas, history and philosophy are constantly being reissued and translated for a broad readership, as well as taught around the world. A long-time champion of freedom of expression, he was the elected President of PEN International from 2009 to 2015. He is a leading voice in the international movement supporting immigrants and refugees. Saul is perhaps best known for his philosophical trilogy – Voltaire’s Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West, The Doubter’s Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense and The Unconscious Civilization. This was followed by a meditation on the trilogy – On Equilibrium: Six Qualities of the New Humanism. Born in Ottawa, Saul studied at McGill University and King’s College, University of London, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1972. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sources: https://www.returntotradition.org Contact Me: Email: return2catholictradition@gmail.com Support My Work: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AnthonyStine SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.net/return-to-tradition Physical Mail: Anthony Stine PO Box 3048 Shawnee, OK 74802 Follow me on the following social media: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbgdypwXSo0GzWSVTaiMPJg https://www.facebook.com/ReturnToCatholicTradition/ https://twitter.com/pontificatormax https://www.minds.com/PiusXIII https://gloria.tv/Return%20To%20Tradition Back Up https://www.bitchute.com/channel/9wK5iFcen7Wt/ anchonr.fm/anthony-stine +JMJ+ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/anthony-stine/support

On this day in History December 19, 1835 The HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin aboard arrives in New Zealand. Darwin’s original claim quoted: “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. But I can find no such case.”Based on that, if Darwin were alive today, he wouldn't be an evolutionistSunday is a symbol of humanism and the Pope has been active in promoting both Sunday sacredness and a "New Humanism".Continued prayers for North KoreaThoughts on prayer from Hebrews 11:1–6

Randy reviews an article by Jackie Alnor on the Vatican's elevation of Mother Earth and other news

Sources: https://www.returntotradition.org Contact Me: Email: return2catholictradition@gmail.com Support My Work: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AnthonyStine SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.net/return-to-tradition Physical Mail: Anthony Stine PO Box 3048 Shawnee, OK 74802 Follow me on the following social media: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbgdypwXSo0GzWSVTaiMPJg https://www.facebook.com/ReturnToCatholicTradition/ https://twitter.com/pontificatormax https://www.minds.com/PiusXIII https://gloria.tv/Return%20To%20Tradition Back Up https://www.bitchute.com/profile/DReJghpX0Yvt/edit/ anchonr.fm/anthony-stine +JMJ+ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/anthony-stine/support

Mother Miriam Live *Pope Francis on the Global Pact on Education *What is "New Humanism"? *How can secular colleges have an effect on Catholics? *A listener's response to Mother talking about public schools *How can we navigate the Novus Ordo Mass? *Finding a Statue of Our Lady *A response to Mother talking about evolution *How can we help someone who is in dire need of deliverance?

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/postmodernism-really-blame. Postmodernism is often characterized by its rejection of concepts championed by the Enlightenment, like meaning, truth, reason, and knowledge. Some philosophers blame postmodernism for making cynicism about truth and facts now respectable in political debate. So is postmodernism responsible for “fake news” and “alternative facts”? Or does it simply provide the tools to describe popular distrust of traditional authorities, like science and the media? Must we reject postmodernism in order to rescue truth? Josh and Ken find truth in Thomas de Zengotita, author of "Postmodern Theory and Progressive Politics: Toward a New Humanism."

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I keep thinking about those who will grieve the devastation that unveils as their sense of shock recedes with historic floodwaters this week. I'm not so taken with the colossal damage to the infrastructure of a major city, although that too is of significant concern, but with the everyday people who will have to face the irredeemable remains of their once meaningful work. A flower garden planted with delightful botanic wisdom and fanciful aesthetic hope, now undone by an unthinking, unfeeling force of nature. A backyard fort ingeniously, painstakingly assembled over the summer now disheveled, its pieces carried and strewn about the neighborhood by a meteorological bully. A decent home that once represented years in equity earned in an otherwise entirely unsatisfying job now robbed of its value, utterly uninsured.I keep wondering what that old Biblical character Lamech was thinking when he named his son Noah, (which means “rest”), saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” What Noah thought about his name when he looked out over a world entirely unmade, knowing that he was another kind of Adam and this carnage was his inheritance over which to exercise dominion by the very sweat of his brow. If that's what drove him to despairing drunkenness so soon after God renewed his covenant with him. If he could have known that God's promise to him meant that even the promise of his name would be God's work to do and not his own?This weekend, millions of Americans will celebrate the patriotic endeavor of labor by getting as far away from their workplaces as humanly possible. As they do, few will stop and reflect upon the fraught yet indissoluble relationship between the work they do and the rest they long for and what that tension means for humans in light of our creatureliness. Honestly, I'm not sure if I would either if it weren't part of my job! Thanks be to God that I have been given this thoughtful work to do and for the opportunity to share the fruit of those labors with you this weekend. We are taking a break from Colossians, but will continue in the theme of our series (The New Humanism). I want us to hear God speak through Paul to the Ephesians for us Sunday on how the unending cyclone that is our miserable attempt at a work-rest balance points us to the New Creation reality we've inherited in Christ, the Supreme King over all creation.

TRADCAST 018 (28 JUN 2017) Contents Segment 1: Pentecost and the charismatic movement; brief response to John Salza's "Note to Sedevacantists"; Canon212.com and the false church of Francis; "Fr." Linus Clovis on John Paul II and the Antichurch; response to Steve Kellmeyer's post "All Roads Lead to Rome"; Christopher Ferrara on Benedict XVI; response to "Fr." John Hunwicke's post exonerating Francis from the charge of heresy. Segment 2: From the Jorge's mouth: why God permits children to suffer, Francis and the death penalty, Francis prays for conversion of terrorists, Francis' new beatitudes; "Cardinal" Blase Cupich on Amoris Laetitia; a look at George Neumayr's book The Political Pope; comments on the upcoming "Catholic Identity [Crisis] Conference" in West Virginia; the Great Apostasy began at the top; spiritual Stockholm Syndrome; Faith and the Papacy. Total run time: 1 hr 24 mins   Links to Items mentioned in the Show & Related Information Homily: "Pope" Francis, Sermon at the Golden Jubilee of Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Vatican.va (June 3, 2017) Blog Post: John Salza, "Note to Sedevacantists: Heresy Does Not Automatically Sever One from the Church", The Remnant (June 9, 2017) Blog Post: Steve Speray, "A Note to John Salza: Heresy ‘Does’ Automatically Sever One from the Church", Catholicism in a Nutshell (June 20, 2017) Church Document: Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Mystici Corporis (1943) Scanned Image Files: Various post-Mystici Corporis theology manuals on heretics and Church membership: Fr. Ludwig Ott, p. 311; Mgr. Gerard van Noort, p. 239, p. 241, p. 242; Fr. Joachim Salaverri, p. 422, p. 423, p. 424, p. 426, p. 427. Web Site: Canon212.com Article: Fr. Paul Robinson, SSPX, "Unity of Faith with Pope Francis & Canonical Recognition of the SSPX", SSPX Asia (June 8, 2017) Novus Ordo Watch, "The SSPX and 'Pope' Francis: Theological Absurdistan on Full Display" (June 12, 2017) Speech: "Fr." Linus Clovis, "The anti-Church has come. Why faithful Catholics should not be afraid", Life Site (May 18, 2017) Novus Ordo Watch, "John Paul II: What you need to know about the man who claimed to be the Pope from 1978-2005" Blog Post: Steve Kellmeyer, "All Roads Lead to Rome", The Fifth Column (Feb. 9, 2017) Novus Ordo Watch, "Buddha, Shekinah, Jesus, Allah: Francis boldly promotes One-World Religion in new €'Pope Video'" (Jan. 7, 2016) Homily: Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, Sermon for Good Friday (Mar. 29, 2002); English quoted in John Vennari, "From Pentecostalism to Apostasy", Tradition in Action (June 10, 2004) Church Document: Pope Pius XI, Encyclical Mortalium Animos (1928) Book: Fr. Felix Sarda y Salvany, Liberalism is a Sin (English reprint edition, 1993); full text available online here. Blog Post: Christopher Ferrara, "Was Pope Benedict Driven from Office by the 'Wolves' He Mentioned?", Fatima Network Perspectives (Mar. 10, 2017) Article: Christopher Ferrara, "Ratzinger Personally Consecrates Neo-Modernist Bishop", The Remnant (Feb. 15, 2005) Blog Post: Christopher Ferrara, "Can a Pope Resign the Papacy While Still Remaining the Pope?", Fatima Network Perspectives (Apr. 21, 2017) Blog Post: "Fr." John Hunwicke, "Is the Pope a Heretic? (4)", Fr Hunwicke's Mutual Enrichment Blog (May 23, 2017) Article: Arnaldo Vidigal Xavier da Silveira, "Essay on Heresy", Bellarmine Forum Novus Ordo Watch, "Francis: What you need to know about the man who claims to be the Pope" Blog Post: "#PopeFrancis "'Why do children suffer?', and I don't find any explantion,..I only look at the crucifix and stand still there." at Hospital - FULL Video", Catholic News World (May 27, 2017) Novus Ordo Watch, "Francis Stumped — Can’t Answer Child’s Question about Suffering, says 'There is no Answer'" (Feb. 2, 2015) Article: "Pope Francis blasts life sentences as ‘hidden death penalty’", The Guardian (Oct. 23, 2014) News Article: "Pope at Regina Coeli: Calls for the conversion of terrorists after recent attacks", Rome Reports (May 29, 2017) News Article: "Pope Francis’ Blistering Attack: Overcome Corruption with a New Humanism", Zenit (June 15, 2017) News Article: "Empty words do not help the poor, Pope Francis says in World Day of the Poor message", America (June 13, 2017) Novus Ordo Watch, "MONSTER-ANCE: Francis and the 'Blessed Sacrament' at Fatima" (May 13, 2017) Novus Ordo Document: "Pope" Francis, "Apostolic" Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (2016 Blog Post: "Cupich: In AL Francis exercises the 'divinely granted Petrine power of loosening and binding'", Rorate Caeli (June 2, 2017) News Article: "Cardinal Cupich: Amoris Laetitia is a call for an ‘adult spirituality’ where we ‘discern’ what is true", Life Site (June 9, 2017) DONATE to Novus Ordo Watch / TRADCAST here! Book: George Neumayr, The Political Pope: How Pope Francis Is Delighting the Liberal Left and Abandoning Conservatives (New York, NY: Center Street, 2017) Blog Post: "Catholic Identity Conference 2017", The Remnant (Mar. 31, 2017) YouTube Video: "PAPALOTRY, RIP: Pope Ignites Counterrevolution", The Remnant Underground (uploaded Mar. 9, 2017) Novus Ordo Watch, "A Prefect for the Destruction of the Faith: 'Archbishop' Gerhard Ludwig Müller Denies the Dogma of Transubstantiation in 2002 Book on the Mass" (Feb. 24, 2013) Novus Ordo Watch, "'Archbishop' Gerhard Ludwig Müller Denies Dogma of Perpetual Virginity of Our Lady" (Mar. 3, 2013) Novus Ordo Watch, "Deniers of the Resurrection: Walter Kasper, Gerhard Müller, Joseph Ratzinger" (Mar. 29, 2016) Novus Ordo Watch, "'Bishop' Schneider rocks Rome, accuses Francis of promoting 'The Joy of Adultery' by pretending to Dispense from the Sixth Commandment" (Dec. 7, 2016) Wikipedia Entry: "Stockholm Syndrome" TRADCAST & TRADCAST EXPRESS: Complete Episode List Support TRADCAST/NovusOrdoWatch by making a tax-deductible donation HERE Follow Novus Ordo Watch on Twitter Follow TRADCAST on Twitter   Four Automatic Subscription Options for TRADCAST TRADCAST by Email (receive automatic notifications of each new episode by email) The TRADCAST RSS Feed (for use with any podcast service) TRADCAST on iTunes TRADCAST on Stitcher TRADCAST on Google Play TRADCAST EXPRESS on Soundcloud   More Information at TRADCAST.org

As a new year begins, thoughts turn to the future. But how do we see the year - or the decade - ahead? Do we think that things will get better, that our lives will improve, or will we be stuck in a gloomy mind-set that suggests that the world is going to hell in a handcart? Can we imagine a truly prosperous world where everyone lives in peace - a true utopia? Does the concept of utopia represent an unattainable ideal – or the kind of idealistic ambition that can promote change in the real world? Debates about technological progress seem to vacillate wildly between utopianism and dystopianism. At a time when innovation is universally celebrated and culturally validated, it also appears to be in a constant state of crisis. Utopian optimism seems destined to remain divorced from practical applications, useful only in terms of blue-sky thinking. But are the constraints on innovation a matter largely of investment and official focus, or are there cultural and intellectual issues too? This Battle of Ideas debate offered a chance to explore our attitudes to the future. SPEAKERS Dr Yaron Brookexecutive director, Ayn Rand Institute; co-author, Equal is Unfair: America’s misguided fight against income inequality Dr Eliane Glaserwriter, lecturer and radio producer Dr Norman Lewisdirector (innovation), PwC; co-author, Big Potatoes: the London manifesto for innovation Karl Sharroarchitect; writer; Middle East commentator; co-author, Manifesto: Towards a New Humanism in Architecture Kirsty Stylestalent and skills programme lead, Tech North

That’s all it is: usurping God’s authority over a civilization.  And did I forget to mention that […]

Psychiatrist, philosopher, writer, activist and insurgent, Frantz Fanon influenced such revolutionary leaders as Malcolm X and Che Guevara. Fanon was a political radical and a Marxist humanist concerned with the psychopathology of colonization, and the human, social, and cultural consequences of decolonization. He died of leukemia at just 36 years of age in December of …

Listen to this session from the International Battles strand of the recent Battle of Ideas festival In the past few years, the Middle East has undergone serious convulsions, from the collapse of Iraq to the Arab Spring, the Syrian war and the Saudi-led bombardment of Yemen. The spread of Islamic State has wiped out one hundred-year-old borders in a matter of months, with large areas of Iraq and Syria now part of those countries only in name. America’s interest and power in the region seems to waning while regional powers such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran are becoming more assertive. A bewildering number of alliances and counter-alliances seem to be in play in which religious affiliations, local political grievances and powerful external players meet in a maelstrom. The Gulf states intervene against and for Sunni jihadists depending upon which state one looks at; America supports Iranian-backed militias in Iraq while backing Saudi-led airstrikes against Shia groups in Yemen; in Syria, America and its Arab allies are supporting Islamist groups against Assad, who is still supported by Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. The US and Iran appear to have reached a historic agreement on Iran’s nuclear energy programme, just as US-Israel relations turn increasingly fractious; indeed, Israel is closer to Saudi Arabia when it comes to the nuclear deal, albeit for very different reasons. The Arab Spring was supposed to mean the end of tyranny and the rise of democracies across the region. Instead, states are imploding. Was this inevitable, or is there still hope for peace and democracy within the existing borders of countries like Syria and Iraq? Would their break-up mean anarchy or a new order based on more meaningful religious and ethnic identities? And while the Western powers were long considered the puppet masters of the Middle East, are the strings now in the hands of regional powers? Does the West even have a sense of its strategic interests in the region, or is it stuck in the past, supporting the wrong allies and condemning the region to years of chaos? What do the confusing alliances and counter-alliances tell us? And what future is there for the people of the Middle East? Speakers Gilbert Achcar professor of development studies and international relations; chair of Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS, University of London Rosemary Hollis professor of international politics and director of the Olive Tree Programme, City University London Dr Tara McCormack lecturer in international politics, University of Leicester; author, Critique, Security and Power: the political limits to emancipatory approaches Karl Sharro architect; writer; Middle East commentator; co-author, Manifesto: Towards a New Humanism in Architecture Chair Joel Cohen judges co-ordinator, Debating Matters; freelance writer

Listen to the introductory remarks from this week's Battle of Ideas satellite at the House of St. Barnabas in London The announcement that the UK population grew last year by half a million – roughly the population of Edinburgh – has provoked much discussion about whether the country will cope with an increasing demand on resources. With half that rise coming from migration rather than births, there have been inevitable calls to impose tougher limitations on who can move to this country, heightening debate around free movement in the context of Britain’s European Union membership and amid a migrant crisis at Calais. For London, the situation is even more pressing, with the population this year breaking its historical peak of 8.6million and expected to rise to 10 million by 2030. With UK national house-building at record low levels – less than 150,000 new homes per year and with soaring rents in the capital and beyond – many are questioning whether the UK can afford an ever-expanding population. Pro-immigration commentators counter that the UK’s growth is testament to its economic health and that highly skilled migrants are essential to maintaining that strength and support an increasingly ageing population. Yet attempts to introduce Australian-style points system of economic migration have proven to be politically fractious and difficult to enforce. Others suggest that a radical overhaul of Britain’s ailing infrastructure would ensure that a country which has built on less than three per cent of its landscape has ample space. Nonetheless, with a range of major projects ranging from fracking and wind power through to HS2 to Heathrow’s third runway facing considerable local and political opposition, there is plenty of pessimism surrounding future UK capacity. Government plans to build a range of garden cities to ease the burden on the housing sector generate sceptical eye-rolling on all sides. Should the UK’s continued population growth be a cause for celebration, or seen as a worrying burden on stretched resources? Will governmental plans to decentralise authority on planning and policy lead to a range of national powerhouses to ease the strain on the capital, or will it only encourage greater Nimbyism? Would tearing up Britain’s notoriously restrictive planning regulations liberate the private sector or lead to chaotic, unmanaged development? Does the UK face normal pressures for a nation of its size and development, or are we suffering from a lack of ambition? SPEAKERS Tom Chance housing spokesperson, Green Party Jonn Elledge editor, CityMetric; writer, New Statesman David Goodhart director, Demos Integration Hub; author, The British Dream: successes and failures of post-war immigration Phoebe Griffith associate director, migration, integration and communities, IPPR Alp Mehmet retired diplomat; vice-chairman, Migrationwatch UK Karl Sharro architect; writer; Middle East commentator; co-author, Manifesto: Towards a New Humanism in Architecture CHAIR David Bowden associate director, Institute of Ideas To find out more about this year’s festival and buy tickets visit the Battle of Ideas website.

In a recent Pew poll, 16 percent of Americans identified themselves as “unaffiliated” — atheist, agnostic, or most prominently “nothing in particular.” Greg Epstein, a Humanist chaplain at Harvard, described himself that way until he discovered the tradition of humanism. He is passionate about articulating an atheist identity that is not driven by a stance against religion but by positive ethical beliefs and actions.