Exclusive media partner: The New York Times

Newsletter

Receive regular updates about forthcoming events and other news from Intelligence Squared

Thanks

You have been added to our mailing list and will now be among the first to hear about events.

Live On Stage
Wednesday November 13 2024, 7:30pm GMT

Jordan Stephens on Love, Chaos and Becoming a Man

Art &
Culture

Jordan Stephens’ life during his teenage years and his twenties was a whirlwind. As one half of the hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks, his days were full of success, fame and adulation as Rizzle Kicks’ debut sold over 1 million singles and 600,000 albums in 2012. But for Jordan, success brought pain in its wake: a hidden pattern of self-harm, hedonism, destructive ideas of masculinity, and heartbreak. Diagnosed twice with ADHD, he was always chasing the elusive feeling of love and continually found himself distracted and derailed by drugs, drink, sex and chaos.

After his world imploded, Jordan chose to step away from his previous life completely and allowed himself to finally explore the pain he’d repressed his entire life. His new memoir Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak & Dogs  unsparingly digs into the fear, tenderness and trauma he carried. And it examines the confusing assumptions and contradictions about what a man should be that Jordan – and increasing numbers of young men today – struggle with. 

Join us live at Brighton Dome on November 13 where Jordan will reflect on his own life experiences as he explores how we can encourage men to have a healthier and more loving conception of masculinity. 

Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs
by Jordan Stephens

BUY ON:
Event Name

Jordan Stephens on Love, Chaos and Becoming a Man


ATTEND IN PERSON


Speaker
  • Jordan Stephens

    Writer and performer. His new memoir is Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs

 

Host
  • Chanté Joseph

    Writer and award-winning Guardian podcast presenter

Speakers are subject to change.


Location
  • Brighton Dome
  • Church St, Brighton and Hove
  • Brighton and Hove
  • BN1 1UE
Time
  • Wednesday 13 November 2024
  • 7:30pm to 9pm GMT





Speakers

Speaker

Jordan Stephens

Writer and performer. His new memoir is Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs


Writer and performer, and one half of the chart- topping duo Rizzle Kicks, who have sold over 600,000 records in the UK. Having been publicly open with his own struggles surrounding mental health, Jordan has been active in creating awareness around the stigma. His mental health campaign #IAMWHOLE reached over 120 million people online and was mentioned in the Houses of Parliament. His children’s book The Missing Piece was shortlisted for the 2023 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.

 

Host

Chanté Joseph

Writer and award-winning Guardian podcast presenter


Writer and award-winning Guardian podcast presenter. With over 160,000 followers across all her social platforms, she has worked with some of the world's biggest brands such as Amazon, Bumble, Unilever and more as a content producer creating engaging and impactful social adverts. A versatile journalist with words in Vice, Vogue, Refinery 29 and more Chante frequently writes for her work ranging from celebrity interviews to cultural commentary and first-person reportage. She has published essays in two anthologies Black Joy and Unattached and is currently writing for her first book A Quick Ting On: The Black British Power Movement, due out in October 2025.

Speakers are subject to change.