Press
Media access and opportunities
Press tickets are available for the Battle of Ideas festival 2026 in London. Press passes give access to the entire festival, with opportunities for interviews, filming, audio recordings and vox pops with speakers and attendees. Email jakeweston@academyofideas.org.uk to enquire about passes.
You can see an overview of the Battle of Ideas festival and our full list of speakers or scroll down for more information.
The Battle of Ideas festival has 400 speakers on 120+ debates over 48 hours, with 3,500+ attendees. Join us to get to grips with the major public debates of the year.
2026 SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Lord David Frost • Poppy Coburn • Maeve Halligan • Danny Kruger MP • Jacob Mchangama • Rosie Duffield MP • Emma Trimble • Lord Maurice Glasman • Remi Adekoya • Ben Jones • Liam Halligan • Timandra Harkness • Tiffany Jenkins • Richard Johnson • Helen Joyce • Julie Bindel • Rosie Kay • Baroness Kate Hoey • Eric Kaufmann • Laila Cunningham • Catherine McBride • Tom Slater • Mark Seddon • Josh Howie • Alan Miller • Steve Baker • Kathleen Stock • Ameer Kotecha • Stella Tsantekidou
Our debates include:
Suicidal empathy: is the West killing itself with kindness? • Women betrayed: should we smash the unions and start again? • NHS to the police: the politicisation of public services • WTF is Manchesterism… and can it save the economy? • Anti-social Britain: why do we feel unsafe? • Puberty-blockers scandal: the ethics of clinical trials • Should we scrap the Equality Act? • Is it Islamism or is there a problem with Islam? • What’s the BBC ever done for us? • Will Reform be allowed to rule? Taking on The Blob with Danny Kruger • Finally Trumped: who’s the heir to MAGA? • Visas for all? Britain’s immigration scandal • The rise of the femosphere • Grooming gangs to the Nottingham Inquiry: untangling accountability • Does AI change everything?
Explore our range of debates on the following issues:
Culture Club / Free Society / International Affairs / Battle Book Club / Democracy / How We Live / Energy & Economy / AI & Technology/ Literature / Politics / Ethical Dilemmas / and many more…
We have live podcast and programme recordings at the festival:
The Life Sci Fantastic / The spiked podcast / The Booking Club with Jack Aldane / The Brink / The State of It / Planet Normal / This Isn’t Working / Free Speech Union Podcast / Last Orders / Take Me Home / Arts First