It is time to reimagine how life is organised on Earth. We're accelerating into a future shaped less by countries and more by mega-cities; less by borders and more by connectivity. A world in which the most connected powers, and people, will win. Leading strategist Parag Khanna shows how the global connectivity revolution - in transport, infrastructure, communications - has upended the ‘geography is destiny’ mantra, and how connectivity, not sovereignty, has become the organising principle of 21...
Jun 06, 2016•53 min•Ep. 51
What does it mean to be a man today? Although there is still much work to do, there is a growing public awareness of the need to counter the negative stereotypes that have traditionally limited girls and women. But less is being done to question the accepted rules of masculinity. Join author Rebecca Asher and our panel at the RSA to explore where these problems come from, and what can be done to address them - for the benefit of us all.
Jun 02, 2016•54 min•Ep. 50
Britain is currently enjoying something of a boom in enterprise and self-employment. Many of Europe’s ‘unicorns’ – new firms worth over $1 billion - call the UK home. But few of the greatest firms created in the last 30 years are British, as new American and Chinese start-ups dominate the global super-league of world-beaters. Is Britain losing its edge? And if so what needs to change?
May 25, 2016•58 min•Ep. 49
The sharing economy has grown rapidly in the last 5 years, and is now popularized by big players such as Airbnb and Uber. But with growth, come growing pains. As the sector comes of age, what steps need to be taken now to unlock its full social potential and to ensure it remains an economic model that empowers not exploits? Rachel Botsman returns to the RSA to look back on the evolution of the sector; to consider where it's heading next – who will be the next breakout venture to be cited alongsi...
May 25, 2016•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 48
What informs our views on crime? Why do myths prevail across the political spectrum? How can we begin to understand crime for what it is – as a risk that can be managed and, more importantly, reduced? In this talk at the RSA, policy adviser Tom Gash analyses how our obsession with universal rules to explain crime's causes can lead us to irreversible mistaken individual cases.
May 25, 2016•55 min•Ep. 47
In this exclusive ‘in conversation’ event at the RSA, Adair Turner and John Kay will respond to each other’s work and to the sometimes contrasting, sometimes complementary conclusions and policy recommendations they arrive at – and tackle the key questions: What does ‘good’, socially useful finance look like? Is banking too important to be left just to bankers? Do we need to revisit our understanding of money and debt? Or should we stop treating finance as special and demand that a much simpler ...
May 18, 2016•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 46
Can businesses have both endless growth and be fair and sustainable? Is it possible to conceive an economic model that’s not tainted by our current financial system? Economist Christian Felber introduces an international movement that’s aiming to radically reshape our future economy.
May 16, 2016•59 min•Ep. 45
Writer and journalist Lynsey Hanley explores the idea of class in Britain today, examining how people are kept apart, and keep themselves apart, and the costs involved in the journey from ‘there’ to ‘here’.
May 09, 2016•50 min•Ep. 44
Professor of Chinese history and philosophy Michael Puett draws from ancient teachings to help us challenge deeply-held assumptions about how to live our lives and follow a path of self-cultivation and engagement with the world. He invites us to re-examine the impact of Western philosophy on our lives and to "unlearn" many ideas that inform modern society.
May 05, 2016•58 min•Ep. 43
Science journalist Helen Pearson reveals insights and from five birth cohort studies of over 70,000 people begun in 1940s Britain. These rich findings have been brought together for the first time and help form the basis of how we understand inequality and health today.
May 05, 2016•53 min•Ep. 42
The Inclusive Growth Commission is an independent, impactful inquiry designed to understand and identify practical ways to make local economies across the UK more economically inclusive and prosperous. At this Commission Launch event, we heard from Lord O'Neill, Commercial Secretary to the Treasury; Stephanie Flanders, Commission Chair and Chief Market Strategist for the UK and Europe, JP Morgan Asset Management; Tony Travers, Professor of Government, London School of Economics and Cllr Claire K...
May 03, 2016•53 min•Ep. 41
How can engineering concepts help us make better decisions and create innovative solutions in a complex world? At the RSA, biomedical engineer and policy adviser Guru Madhavan reveals how the engineering toolkit can be useful in designing systems-based strategies and policies that could help in many areas of society, from easing traffic congestion to improving efficiency in health care.
Apr 25, 2016•56 min•Ep. 40
Iris Bohnet, professor of public policy at Harvard University, demonstrates the tools we need to ‘move the needle’ on gender, from classrooms to boardrooms, and offers new research-based solutions for improving businesses, governments and people’s lives.
Apr 21, 2016•54 min•Ep. 39
Is growing inequality a price worth paying for London’s continued economic success? As London’s economy continues to outpace the rest of the UK, so does the inequality gap. Is such inequality an inevitable by-product of the city’s growth, rewarding those who risk their capital to create employment, for example? Or, will it eventually derail the city’s upward progression, and push out those whom London relies on to keep it moving? Panel includes Danny Dorling, Professor of Geography, University o...
Apr 18, 2016•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 38
Who really drives transformation in society? And how do they do it? Skoll Foundation President and CEO Sally R. Osberg and strategy guru Roger L. Martin set forth a bold new framework for social entrepreneurship, demonstrating how and why meaningful change actually happens in the world, and providing concrete lessons and a practical model for businesses, policymakers, civil society organisations, and individuals who seek to transform our world for good.
Apr 14, 2016•57 min•Ep. 37
Whilst we strive for stronger personal relationships, to conquer our bad habits or to get ahead in our careers, we often get caught in negative emotional and behavioural patterns that prevent us from moving forward. Meanwhile, the demands of our culture increasingly make us even less able to perform at our best. But by becoming more aware of our own emotional nature, learning how to face our feelings and unhooking from our negative thoughts, we can begin to evaluate them and to change our action...
Apr 14, 2016•56 min•Ep. 36
In 2015, Yanis Varoufakis became the world’s most prominent opponent of austerity when, as finance minister of Greece, he refused to accept the terms of the loan agreement dictated to his bankrupt country by the eurozone’s leaders. Since resigning his post he has become the figurehead of an international grassroots movement, joining together to put the ‘demos’ back into European democracy. At the RSA, in conversation with Matthew Taylor, Yanis Varoufakis will explore the origins of the crisis of...
Apr 11, 2016•55 min•Ep. 35
Western Culture has long separated the mind from the body; and the mind, with its home as the brain, has been privileged as the source of intellect, with the rest of the body annexed as mere matter. But the new field of ‘embodied cognition’, which draws on the latest advances in neuroscience and psychology, offers a richer, more holistic view of intelligence that involves the whole body. At the RSA, author and education reformer Professor Guy Claxton introduces this new field, explores the far-r...
Apr 06, 2016•59 min•Ep. 34
Lack of affordable housing is one of the defining social justice issues of our times. Eviction can lead to a cascade of events that can trap families in a cycle of poverty for years. Matthew Desmond is a social scientist and ethnographer, co-director of the Justice and Poverty Project at Harvard University, and a 2015 MacArthur ‘Genius’ award winner. In this election year, Desmond’s landmark work of reportage Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City offers a searing portrait of the conte...
Mar 24, 2016•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 33
In the evolution of human culture from pre-history to the present, changes in ethical values have been driven by the most basic force of all: energy. In a bold new theory, historian Ian Morris argues that humans have found three main ways to get the energy they need – foraging, farming and fossil fuels – and that in each of these epochs, the dominant energy source sets limits on the kinds of societies that can succeed, and each society in turn rewards specific values. Small forager bands valued ...
Mar 22, 2016•55 min•Ep. 32
The world is changing fast and public education needs to change with it. But debates about innovation in education can reinforce existing divides – between ‘progressives’ and ‘traditionalists’, between the converted and the sceptical, between the confident and the constrained. How do we break through these divides and craft a unifying challenge to both teachers and systems to grasp how public education must change to enable learners and institutions to thrive in the new conditions which confront...
Mar 16, 2016•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 31
What makes us who we are? Child psychologist and writer Oliver James shares his new findings on the nature-nurture debate. Genetics is often cited as the key factor in explaining what makes us who we are. Recently, however, there is increasing weight given to the importance of our childhood in the formation of our ‘persona’. It is our upbringing, and less so our genes, that is critical to achieving wellbeing and fulfilment across our lifespan. The implications of this are profound. As adults we ...
Mar 16, 2016•56 min•Ep. 30
Can any of us be creative, and if so, how we do we nurture our creativity? How can we advance courageous new ideas, policies and practices without risking it all? New York Times bestselling author and one of Malcolm Gladwell’s favourite thinkers, Professor Adam Grant shows us how to improve the world by championing novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battling conformity, and bucking outdated traditions. But how do we know if we’re harbouring a great idea? How do we counteract fear ...
Mar 09, 2016•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 29
Author Dawn Foster, Fawcett Society CEO Sam Smethers and ‘Token Man’ founder Daniele Fiandaca debate the values that shape the way we live and work together.
Mar 07, 2016•57 min•Ep. 28
Leading innovation expert and former adviser to the US Secretary of State, Alec Ross visits the RSA to give an insider's perspective on the industries of the future.
Feb 29, 2016•57 min•Ep. 27
After huge successes at the helm of Obama’s Open Government Initiative, Professor Beth Simone Noveck visits the RSA to outline a profound new vision of democracy – one that is rooted in the knowledge and know-how of everyday people.
Feb 25, 2016•1 hr•Ep. 26
Founder and president of the Public Banking Institute, Ellen Brown, argues we can recapture the sovereign power to create money by reclaiming ownership of the banks.
Feb 22, 2016•56 min•Ep. 25
How do we develop creative approaches to digital media to bring knowledge, skills, critical thinking – and a passion for reading - to all of our children?
Feb 22, 2016•58 min•Ep. 24
Join our panel to discuss how we can ensure devolved governance strengthens democracy and civic engagement.
Feb 18, 2016•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 23
Paul Morrell OBE explores a range of challenges facing the built environment professions and the need for adaptability at a time of marked institutional, technological and social evolution.
Feb 08, 2016•58 min•Ep. 22
