{"podcast":{"title":"Academy of Ideas","slug":"academy-of-ideas-740460","podcast_index_feed_id":740460,"rss_url":"https://InstituteofIdeas1.podbean.com/feed.xml","website_url":"https://InstituteofIdeas1.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/688090/Academy_of_Ideas_logo_square_1400.jpg","author":"academyofideas","episode_count":415,"summary":"The Academy of Ideas has been organising public debates to challenge contemporary knee-jerk orthodoxies since 2000. Subscribe to our channel for recordings of our live conferences, discussions and salons, and find out more at www.academyofideas.org.uk","last_synced_at":"2026-07-11T00:18:42.961222+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/academy-of-ideas-740460"},"episode":{"title":"Is there a right to die? The moral dilemmas of assisted death","slug":"is-there-a-right-to-die-the-moral-dilemmas-of-assisted-death","published_at":"2026-06-04T11:28:38+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/academy-of-ideas-740460/is-there-a-right-to-die-the-moral-dilemmas-of-assisted-death","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/academy-of-ideas-740460","url":"https://InstituteofIdeas1.podbean.com/e/is-there-a-right-to-die-the-moral-dilemmas-of-assisted-death/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/z9y4y4ht22pdu87w/4_Is_there_a_right_to_die_The_moral_dilemmas_of_assisted_death6n68a.mp3","summary":"Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2025 on Saturday 18 October at Church House and the Abbey Centre, Westminster. ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is still being discussed in parliament. But beyond proposals for a law change, how should we tackle one of the great debates of our time: should we set up a system of assisted death and profound questions it raises about everything from whether adults have a right to assistance to end their own life to what safeguards and protections should exist between individuals and the state when death is offered as a medical option by health professionals. Philosopher and bestselling author of Material Girls Kathleen Stock will lead a discussion raising themes in her forthcoming book Do Not Go Gentle, arguing that we should reaffirm life, rather than death and collectively, we should rage against the dying of the light. The issue throws up many moral dilemmas worth discussing: Is the status quo a ‘cruel mess,’ to quote campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen? Is assisted death for those with a terminal illness, or suffering chronic pain or extreme mental distress, a progressive and compassionate choice as its supporters argue? Does it give a person more “freedom” or “control” over their lives, allow dignity in dying as it were? How should we square a patient’s freedom of choice with existing frameworks of medical ethics? Will having the right to take control of your death by asking a doctor to kill you, really have broader sinister outcomes for the vulnerable, the elderly, the disabled, the suicidally depressed as its opponents warn? Is it ever possible to guard effectively against situations in which people are coerced to die, either by family members or by a state that is too ofte…","meta_description":"Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2025 on Saturday 18 October at Church House and the Abbey Centre, Westminster. ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION Labour MP Ki…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":5751,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/academy-of-ideas-740460/episodes/is-there-a-right-to-die-the-moral-dilemmas-of-assisted-death/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/academy-of-ideas-740460/is-there-a-right-to-die-the-moral-dilemmas-of-assisted-death.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}