This one-off episode of the podcast is the audio version of a video presentation I prepared for the 'Ends of Autonomy' Colloquium, held over Zoom on the 7-9 July 2020 (UK dates).  The original video version is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uflmg4NTz6A

The Enlightenment value of autonomy is facing unprecedented tensions today: my freedom to drive, fly, eat meat and have a large family are perceived as existential threats to others and as endangering the planet; my "autonomous" desires are curated, packaged and sold to me by a sophisticated market economic and increasingly algorithmic machinery; terrorist and extremist threats have normalised the state of exception; not to mention the centrality of freedoms of speech, association and conscience in the unfolding situations around COVID-19, Black Lives Matter and the relation of Hong Kong to mainland China. 

This short presentation introduces the stakes of autonomy today and stands as an invitation to further reflection. Videos of individual colloquium presentations will be posted at https://bit.ly/theendsofautonomy