Reviews
via Podcasts
“Hotels with History”: the wet lettuce leaf of podcasts … Is it really even a podcast?
What the heck? How can such a potentially interesting topic with a great narrator, Mr Grant, be such a wet limp thing. Aggrandising trivialities and never really getting into the heart of anything. Just run an ad … honestly. Not just a waste of effort, this is worse; giving “ick” on these hotels I used to enjoy. And now Raffles is also dead to me … uggh. Why are these Hotels With History podcast episodes so bad? Well done, chaps
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Charlotte Burgman
UFO Misinformation
The latest UFO episode was garbage! 👎🏻
PawdKast
Consistently Exceptional
I listen to many and varied podcasts. Intelligence2 is consistently exceptional, nuanced, well researched, thought through and….witty!
Palafoxiana
Prostate cancer - Intelligence Halved
I listened to this 30 minute episode and know absolutely nothing more about prostate cancer than I did going in (which was very little). 30 minutes of vague generalities that could have applied to just about any disease or condition. You have three experts on, plus a moderator that presumably did some research - provide some actual details about the unique experiences of prostate cancer, symptoms, treatment, prognosis, typical course of the disease, etc.
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DigDug2222222
Mostly painfully dumb
So far came across ONE discussion that represented promise in the pod description.
ETL.sybaritic
sound quality…awful
Please balance; audio engineers are available.
JCASEA
The Specialist
Unfortunately the interesting subjects and the stories are sacrificed to create a long, boring infomercial for Sotheby’s. This is not at the level of Intelligence Squared .
Nora Gregor
Thomas Friedman
You're not serious. That wasn't a question.
Norwich42
Misogyny and MA women ep. 1
I’m surprised and initially disappointed by the discussion on “Karens” and the assumption that a hag can obviously be herself because it seems so out of touch and dismissive of intersectional feminism.
damn__tam
This episode will make you feel dumber
Mind-numbingly dumb.
Joshua Xi
Not cutting edge
I listened to Food for Thought. It was steeped in scientism. Old data. Nothing new. There is so much going on in nutrition and none of it was here.
the redtail-hawk
Product scattering
The feed is not as tight as it used to be. There were debates. Now they are paywalled and very infrequent. There were book discussions with authors (I know some of the past reviewers were tepid about them but they provided interesting perspectives, even if unbalanced). Now they are none.
What replaced them are teasers of other shows that the team tries to spin out, branded content that is just insidious commercials, and repeats of old episodes, some of which could have value only for chroniclers of public opinion.
Doing one thing well would convert me into a subscriber. Doing many things inadequately will force me to stop listening all together.
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almennur
Vs
Bach vs Beethoven was very good
Andante'
Alas
This used to be more rigorous. Now you’ve got patently uninformed, unqualified and uneducated debaters making ridiculous arguments. Anything that gives credence to the Ibrahim Kandis of this world loses all credibility. This is the guy who seriously laid out his belief white people were from another planet among other stupid thoughts.
kristi history
Use to be Good
Listened yrs ago, recently went back, definitely biased & no real debate of ideas/thoughts
Ugh111
Pre-Brexit debate
We now know, through hindsight, that the Brexit decision was a bad one and the British people were sold a bill of goods.
The UK has or will soon have the slowest growing economy of all industrialized nations….including Russia!!!
As the British economy shrinks, so does its power and influence.
Johnson, Farage, and the other con artists that were more concerned about gaining power through demagoguery than in improving life for their citizens should be called to account!
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Geoplanter
Such a treasure!
I don’t recall how I found intelligence squared debates but probably because I was listening to political podcasts quite a bit during 2020. I would much rather spend 45 min listening to these debate teams go back and forth with argument and counter than watch a sports game for 45 min, and that’s saying something! This is quality and it helps me understand different viewpoints.
Bbl78
Now we have to subscribe?
In the greatest monarch episode, the result of the debate was edited out of the free episode. So one now must subscribe to hear the result of the debate?
happy_sad123
Antitacism
Please stop giving attention to Ibram Kendi and his bigoted and childishly simplistic ideas about solving racial disparities.
James Tripoli
A favorite in my feed! 🙌
No matter the subject, you’re guaranteed to gain something from every episode - can’t recommend Intelligence Squared enough!
LisaIsHereForIt
Pandora Papers Mislabeled
Not much information on the contents of the leaked documents but a heavy, far left diatribe on the ills of the world. More a ideologue’s rage against the rich and especially the Republican Party in the US.
It’s a real turn off.
Disappointed in the show for an ever increasing diet of social commentary. Fair and balanced, not to mention titles that reflect the content, is dead.
1No nickname is available8
On mass migration episode
Global climate change is the challenge of the century. On top of all the seemingly countless societal and ethical struggles us humans find ourselves in today, we must remember the ticking time bomb that is slowly advancing.
Global climate change is the subtext of our century. It frames and intersects with each and every societal problem we now face
HareYoh
Episode: is meritocracy a myth
I listened to this episode with a lot of interest. And what it revealed more than anything, is what was mentioned in another episode on race. The miseducation of the typical British person. Specifically, white male. The ignorance was astounding. In discussing meritocracy, this guy did not once, not once, mention the role that race and gender have played in making meritocracy a joke. His entire view is white male privileged and he cannot conceive of a world beyond that. So it’s all erased by him. Shallow and very disappointing.
I expected better of Intelligence2.
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KagsAM
Compelling, deep, thorough, intelligent
Always an informative and insightful listen
55WillBG
No longer a debate forum, which is a loss...
Formerly (not too long ago in fact) this was a very high-quality debate forum. Sadly, it is now the equivalent of every other sound-stage for broadcasting unilateral viewpoints, loaded with jargon and newspeak.
AeroVox
No discussion
First thing I saw was the show claiming to allow different points of view, then the first episode I saw was them saying “trump was right to be censored” I mean, it was just a statement. Not “here is why some think it was justified and others don’t” it was just an opinion that was stated and not argued.
Misleading, slanted, and just another “I don’t like my political opponents opinions” podcast.
Just pathetic...
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Hunter The Heretic
Miss RN
Very biased debate. More of an op ed rather than discussion of varying points of view. Don’t recommend if you’re looking for a breakdown of current issues.
wifemomnurse77
Wonderful
This show does well to represent both sides. Many reviews that say otherwise, are crazed trump cultists that either are incapable or refuse to acknowledge FACTS. They act out, and point fingers. Always projecting, throwing shamefully embarrassing tantrums of entitlement if you refuse to feed into their insane conspiracies and “alternative facts”.
Keep up the great work on the show and just ignore the trumpists. You are doing a fantastic job!
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RosieShea
Political Slant
In the past few months this podcast has gone from fair and informative to very slanted
politically. Sad.
Dirtaustin
Gross negligence on sound quality
The first episode I tried was unlistenable as the host mic level was ten times louder than that of the guest and included clipping and distortion. Beyond annoying. Sound recording and mixing 101 is... levels!
Shadwell von Bernstein
Angrynomics
An intellectual conversation about outrage devolved quickly into a highly ignorant conversation on basic economics.
Reed Cal
A Guardianista Podcast
This used to be a great podcast with diverse views. Now it is essentially a platform for left wing social science and politics. The BBC-Schooled interviewer never challenges anything she is told...
REPay1
Less debate and more one sided discussion
Recently Intelligence2 has moved from a debate format with two sides respectfully debating, to a discussion format where the participants share the same point of view. It’s too bad.
GlennWatson
Dumb
Extremely biased lefty SJW attitude to support their arguments.
Bzxy123
CNN globalist liberal parrot
If you crave more liberal, mainstream new world order drivel, just watch CNN. At least then you have sound and vision.
Edwood D. Wood III
On a downhill slope...
Used to enjoy the debates with views from all sides but lately, it’s become more and more one sided with extremely leftist views mascaraing as balanced. The latest episode in particular had several speakers, mostly from Europe, criticizing the American response to the Covid pandemic and stating blatantly false information as if they had no idea how our government actually functions at a national vs state vs local level. I’ll give it a few more episodes but if this keeps up, there are plenty of more balanced podcasts out there
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Bryant19197
Very good
I enjoy the podcast thoroughly
Food guy22
Not “Squared” in any way
I came to this podcasts after it was referenced on another show. My understanding was that it provided moderated debates where different sides of issues would be given a fair hearing. I have listened to a couple of podcasts that were just that, but more often than not it is a typical one sided talking head show in which the “moderator” or host has on a guest with which they wholly or substantially agree. Presumably, this is because the opposing view is not “intelligent” enough to bother hearing.
Reading some of the reviews here reveals why this happens. If you have a guest on that challenges an accepted orthodoxy you will be vilified for “empowering evil” or some equally banal crap. If you really just want to preach to you own choir, stop masquerading as a debate forum.
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#puppypundit
Stick to debates
I feel at times the host push there own agenda on the audience. When they do interviews they give the presenter soft ball questions and do not challenge the positions. They should take an example from the US version.
zach mixon
Hello from Los Angeles!
Just wanted to say that I love the show and your new thumbnail! Thank you for all that your team does.
mayor of mar vista
Comprehensive and Engaging
This podcast covers a broad variety of topics, and engages in thoughtful and well-researched debates. I am often pleasantly surprised by the arguments from sides I disagree with. To understand the counter arguments of an opposing opinion can only strengthen your ability to defend your own. This pod is straight up educational. Highly recommend
Freedshmeef
Used to be good
The show used to be very thoughtful and mind-opening, but recently this has changed.
铿兑有
Should you love your enemies episode
Pablum
Drivel
Way to empower those with evil beliefs and actions.
Verovoice
Helen Lewis ruins the show
Helen Lewis struggles with her own preconceptions and is unable to escape her world view when interacting with her guest.
youzer boom
One of the best!
I have a handful of podcasts I listen to religiously, and this is one of them. Sometimes they are in discussion format which I would dock maybe a half star for befcause they are not nearly as compelling as the debates, but even some of those have been gems, like the interview of Mariana Mazzucato. The debates are almost ALWAYS interesting, informative and stimulating of thought and further discussion. Commercials are kept to a minimum.
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Mikalmmd
No podcast I would recommend more
Especially in the day and age. The moderator is sharp and always on point
a non y-mous
The free speech battle podcast
I’ve never been so indignant as I was listening to the truly clueless young lady( she called herself snowflake) talk about the emotional stressors of University and racism sexism, and whatever else she sees. I wish she could to speak to the real hero’s and heroines that broke the barriers in the 50-70s. They withstood extreme injuries both psychological and physical so that now people like her can whine about the minor inequalities of life.
I personally have been exposed to genuine unfairness in school while growing up. The way to succeed is not to whine, but rather become an expert at your craft so that no one can ignore you. Thank you Jackie Robinson, Ghandi, MLK, Rosa parks, and all the others that endured true stressors and overcame.
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peacefulgal
Rational Discussions
Panel of different sides of a topic that discuss their different points of view while maintaining a civil environment. There’s an audience that poses questions to challenge the panel members points.
Very thought provoking, and worth your time.
chasmanj
Worth downloading.
Very insightful. Engaging. And worth listening to.
PhotoDruggie
I listen every week (mostly)
The interviews and debates are almost always insightful and fascinating, but I question giving any ear time to Anthony Scaramucci. He is the square root of intelligence, spouting nothing but empty talking points and gas lighting the interviewer. I enjoy hearing a conservative point of view, but not one devoid of any true thought. I listened to the first five minutes and, when it became clear he was providing nothing new or of substance, deleted it.
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JasonSpeaking
