Intelligence Squared

The Jeffrey Epstein story has created shockwaves on both sides of the Atlantic. As new documents continue to emerge, and as journalists continue to report around those documents, we’re increasingly seeing how the powerful and well-connected can evade scrutiny. At its core, this is a story about a system of privilege that shielded Epstein – and failed the women and girls around him.

Amy Wallace and Emily Maitlis have each played a pivotal role in bringing this story to light.

Wallace, an American journalist and writer, spent years working with Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre, helping her to tell her story in her posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl. Maitlis’s explosive Newsnight interview with the then Prince Andrew addressed his relationship with Epstein. This was the broadcast that sparked public outrage, and triggered a crisis from which the royal family has struggled to recover.

In July 2026 Maitlis and Wallace came together on the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss what this story reveals about the wealthy, powerful elites who protected Epstein for so long; and the brave and determined women who are seeking justice and are holding the powerful to account.

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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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What we like has never been entirely our own. Taste has always been shaped by class, culture and the people around us. But in the age of algorithms and AI, our preferences are increasingly being predicted, curated and sold back to us.

In this episode, Mia Sorenti speaks with Ione Gamble, founding editor of Polyester zine, about how taste is formed, why it matters, and what happens when algorithms replace curiosity with convenience.

From Spotify recommendations and TikTok trends to influencer culture and AI-generated content, Gamble argues that digital platforms are flattening culture by rewarding familiarity over surprise. Why do our feeds increasingly feel the same? Are we choosing what we like, or simply consuming what algorithms decide to show us? And what happens to creativity when artists begin making work for recommendation engines rather than people?

Drawing on The Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste, a collection of essays by writers including Nicola Dinan and Yomi Adegoke, Gamble makes the case for reclaiming our own tastes. She argues that resisting algorithmic culture means embracing friction, seeking recommendations from real people, and allowing ourselves the freedom to discover things we never expected to love.

Ione Gamble is the founding editor-in-chief of Polyester zine. She is a writer, editor and author of Poor Little Sick Girls, and editor of the new essay collection The Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste.

Mia Sorenti is Senior Producer at Intelligence Squared.

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For many of us, our relationships with our siblings are the longest of our lives. They shape our earliest experiences of love, rivalry, identity and belonging. Yet despite their lasting influence, they are often overlooked in favour of relationships with parents, partners or children.

In this episode, journalist and critic Mythili Rao speaks with broadcaster Catherine Carr about the overlooked significance of sibling relationships. Together they explore how these lifelong bonds shape who we become, from birth order and family dynamics to estrangement, grief and the challenges of caring for ageing parents.

Why do we place so much weight in birth-order stereotypes? Are only children really different? And what happens when sibling relationships break down? Drawing on personal stories, psychological research and expert interviews, Carr challenges familiar assumptions and examines how changing family structures, falling birth rates and longer lives are reshaping what it means to be a sibling today.

Catherine Carr is a broadcaster and journalist. She is the author of Who's the Favourite?: The Loving, Messy Realities of Sibling Relationships.

Mythili Rao is a journalist, critic and podcaster whose work explores literature, culture and society.

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Ben Rhodes served as one of Barack Obama’s closest foreign-policy aides, holding the role of Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting from 2009 to 2017. He acted as the lead negotiator in secret talks that normalised U.S.–Cuba relations and was central in building political support for the Iran nuclear deal. Since leaving government, Rhodes has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and his efforts to dismantle Obama’s foreign policy legacy, moves Rhodes argues have destabilised the world and left America vulnerable.;

In June 2026 Rhodes came to Intelligence Squared to make sense of America in 2026 and chart a path back to its democratic ideals. Drawing on his new book All We Say: A History of the United States in Fifteen Speeches, Rhodes traced the long battle over what it means to be American — from Benjamin Franklin’s case for compromise to the culture war speeches that foreshadowed Donald Trump. He revealed the extraordinary power that words and oratory have had in redirecting the nation, and asked what they might still achieve at a time when American identity, and truth itself, is fiercely contested.

---

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Ben Rhodes served as one of Barack Obama’s closest foreign-policy aides, holding the role of Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting from 2009 to 2017. He acted as the lead negotiator in secret talks that normalised U.S.–Cuba relations and was central in building political support for the Iran nuclear deal. Since leaving government, Rhodes has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and his efforts to dismantle Obama’s foreign policy legacy, moves Rhodes argues have destabilised the world and left America vulnerable.;

In June 2026 Rhodes came to Intelligence Squared to make sense of America in 2026 and chart a path back to its democratic ideals. Drawing on his new book All We Say: A History of the United States in Fifteen Speeches, Rhodes traced the long battle over what it means to be American — from Benjamin Franklin’s case for compromise to the culture war speeches that foreshadowed Donald Trump. He revealed the extraordinary power that words and oratory have had in redirecting the nation, and asked what they might still achieve at a time when American identity, and truth itself, is fiercely contested.

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:

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