Battles in Print are specially-commissioned essays that explore topics being discussed at the Battle of Ideas, serving as introductions to the debate and encouraging further reflection. Battles in Print take a variety of forms, from short provocation essays to longer think pieces and interviews, and are available both online and in print at the festival itself. They are complemented by themed book reviews on Culture Wars, the Institute of Ideas' online review.
Editor: David Bowden
Select a theme on the left to see related Battles in Print from the archive. You can also narrow your selection by selecting a year below and clicking Go! Or return to the overall index
The (Real) Power of Making, Paul Reeves
Real innovation should not be forced, Dr Paul Reeves
The staycation: making a virtue out of necessity, Jim Butcher
Building ourselves happy, Karl Sharro
Rethinking privacy and trust , Norman Lewis
Rethinking privacy, Sean Bell
The ‘Regeneration Games’, London, 2012, James Woudhuysen
The problem with design, Colin Davies
Moving into the future?, Peter Smith
The New Jerusalem - built on a house of cards?, David Clements
Surveillance society - protection from ourselves?, Karl Sharro
Putting design and technology to good use, Martyn Perks
IT: Threat or Opportunity?, Robert Killick and Nathalie Rothschild
Human enhancement: creating superhumans or dicing with our destinies?, Stuart Derbyshire
The Age of the Uber-Athlete, Jon Entine
What is innovation for?, Dr Norman Lewis
Tomorrow's innovators - will today's science education create the Brunels and Einsteins of tomorrow?, David Perks
Reaching for the stars - realising the ambitions of the space age, Henry J McCracken
Trafficking: new slave trade or moral panic?
"If you'd rather not have your prejudices challenged, stay away from the Battle of Ideas."
Nigel Warburton, senior lecturer, philosophy, Open University; author, Free Speech: A Very Short Introduction
follow the Institute of Ideas