What lessons can we learn from successful leaders about how to navigate the challenges we face today? A panel gathers to reflect on the leadership of the moment and the take-home lessons from the worlds of politics and business. We’re seeing the effects of a crisis of leadership across the board, amidst the recent US government shutdown, abuse of corporate power, and the splintering of mainstream political parties. What’s gone wrong? What does it really mean to be a good leader in politics or in...
Mar 07, 2019•54 min•Ep. 261
The desire for fairness is a fundamental human attribute – but should it be a core business goal? With philosopher Baroness Onora O’Neill and Justin King, former CEO of Sainsbury’s. Whether the issue is pay, tax, or environmental harm, it’s clear that many people feel companies are not playing fair, highlighting an ongoing public dis-ease with business. This underlines the importance of fairness to individuals and in society - but also raises a question about whether fairness is a core business ...
Mar 06, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 260
Renowned psychotherapist and broadcaster Philippa Perry joins journalist and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer to discuss how to build emotionally intelligent relationships with children that benefit you, them, and the wider world. Through the combination of case studies, her own experiences as a parent, and therapeutic insight gained from a career spanning over 20 years, Perry tackles the wider issues of what it actually means to be a parent, rather than getting bogged down in the little details. She ...
Mar 01, 2019•59 min•Ep. 259
What is the negative news cycle doing to our politics and our mental health? An expert panel gathers to discuss how our media landscape can change for the better. Evidence shows that an overload of negative news stories affects our mental health and drives disengagement, with huge numbers of people deliberately avoiding the news. In a political climate defined by the rise of populism and “fake news”, we need to be able to trust our media to give us the full picture and empower us to act on the b...
Feb 22, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 258
Professor Tim Lang and Helen Browning OBE join an expert panel to discuss the collective action required to transition to a global food system that ensures human health and environmental sustainability. EAT gathered 37 of the planet’s foremost experts who, for the first time ever, propose scientific targets for what constitutes a healthy diet from a sustainable food system – as published in the EAT-Lancet ‘Food in the Anthropocene’ report. To unpack what the EAT-Lancet framework might look like ...
Feb 22, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 257
Renowned thinker Douglas Rushkoff argues that amidst increasing automation and alienation, humanity’s best path forward is to restore the social bonds that define our existence. Revealing how the intentional repression of humanity impacts diverse sectors of society, Rushkoff shows how money went from being a means of transaction to a means of extraction and how education transformed from the ideal of learning into an extension of occupational training. Digital age technologies have only amplifie...
Feb 15, 2019•59 min•Ep. 256
What does the rest of this century look like for our planet? Viral sensation David Wallace-Wells issues an urgent wake-up call about climate collapse, leading the way for bolder action before it’s too late. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Wednesday 13th February 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/02/a-story-of-the-future-of-earth
Feb 13, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 255
Professor James Fishkin, director of the Centre for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford University, shows how a more deliberative politics can revive our modern democracies. Professor Fishkin’s research speaks to a recurring dilemma: listen to the people and get the angry voices of populism or rely on widely distrusted elites and get policies that seem out of touch with the public's concerns. Instead, there are methods for getting a representative and thoughtful public voice that really is worth ...
Feb 12, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 254
UCL scientist and expert in criminal behaviour Julia Shaw reveals the surprising science behind humanity’s dark side. Shaw uses the topics of serial murderers, terrorism, sexual assault, technology and the morals we live by day to day to determine the true basis of bad behaviour. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 7th February 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/02/what-makes-people-do-bad-things
Feb 08, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 253
Innovation pioneer Charlie Leadbeater talks to winners of the 2019 Future Work Awards, a brand-new showcase for creative and inspiring models of work from around the world. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Wednesday 6th February 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/02/future-work-awards-2019
Feb 08, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 252
Amidst a growing mental health crisis, how can we help children recognise their innate dignity and self-worth? Educator Rosalind Wiseman, author of the ground-breaking book behind the film Mean Girls, shows how to navigate them. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 29th January 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/01/creating-cultures-of-dignity
Jan 29, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 251
Author of 'Political Entrepreneurship', Josef Lentsch shows how innovative, civic-minded entrepreneurs can create new parties to produce positive political change. Managing Partner of the Innovation in Politics Institute, Josef Lentsch visits the RSA to tell their story, and show how they are taking on the populists by driving positive political change. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 24th January 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/0...
Jan 28, 2019•59 min•Ep. 250
Bestselling author Steven Johnson explains how the science of deliberative decision-making can help us make better long-term choices - both individual and societal. We've heard a lot in recent years about the science of quick-thinking, intuitive choices. But what about more consequential decisions, the ones that affect our lives and societies for years, or centuries, to come? Our most powerful stories revolve around these kinds of deliberative decisions: where to live, whom to marry, what to bel...
Jan 28, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 249
Political analyst Anand Giridharadas reveals how the global elite's efforts to ‘change the world’ simply preserve an unjust status quo. A call to elites and citizens alike to build stronger institutions to make fairer progress. Taking us into the inner sanctums of a new gilded age, Giridharadas shows how the rich and powerful fight for equality and justice any way they can - except ways that threaten the social order and their position at the top. We see how they rebrand themselves as saviours o...
Jan 16, 2019•59 min•Ep. 248
How can better leadership enable us to face the challenges of the day? Pippa Malmgren and Chris Lewis explore new models of leadership fit for our ever-changing world. We live in a world that would have been hard to foresee even a few decades ago, and we need leadership that can keep pace with the changes. Challenges brought by technological, economic, social, and geopolitical shifts have exposed a crisis of leadership, and trust in our decision-makers has hit a low. Old models of successful lea...
Dec 13, 2018•58 min•Ep. 247
Award-winning editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, Farrah Storr explains how discomfort – the very thing modern culture teaches us to shirk from – can, in fact, lead us to personal and collective greatness. We inhabit a culture where children are routinely protected from struggle and failure, a time when our academic institutions incubate students from challenging ideas and where we bubble wrap ourselves in an online world where we need only ever bump up against the opinions and world views that sit...
Dec 12, 2018•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 246
Renowned political philosopher Michael Sandel delivers an exclusive address on the birth of a better, wiser politics for the 21st century. Decades of increasing inequality, globalisation, technological change, unfettered markets and technocratic politics have given rise to ever more polarisation and populist sentiment. How do we gain a better, wiser politics in the context of these 21st century challenges? Can the progressive parties reconcile the concerns of the disenfranchised and angry withou...
Dec 12, 2018•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 245
As 2018 draws to a close, our panel of expert commentators, Bidisha, Hugo Rifkind, Catherine Mayer and Matthew Taylor, reflect on the political and cultural moments that have defined a tempestuous year. Alongside a Brexit process plagued by deadlocks, defeats, and resignations, the big moments of the year – from the Irish abortion referendum to Labour’s antisemitism row – have revealed deep divisions in our society and our politics. How can we understand the stories that have dominated this year...
Dec 07, 2018•59 min•Ep. 244
Visionary designer Deanna Van Buren shows how innovative design approaches and systems thinking are helping to transform criminal justice. The Bicentenary Medal was instituted in 1954 to commemorate the founding of the RSA over two hundred years earlier, and has been awarded annually for outstanding contribution to the advancement of design in industry and society. In the RSA’s current account of design, the medal is awarded to an individual who has ‘used design to great effect as an instrument ...
Dec 06, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 243
Journalist, writer and critic John Harris joins RSA Public Services & Communities Director Ed Cox to host an evening of story-telling by ordinary people living extraordinary lives. Bringing a range of experience from across the UK, our narrators explore the ‘new giants’ facing 21st century Britain - inequality, isolation, intolerance, disempowerment and climate change. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Monday 3rd December 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa...
Dec 06, 2018•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 242
Morag Myerscough RDI uses design to transform spaces into places, creating specific local responses to create community and build identity. The title ‘Royal Designer for Industry’ was introduced by the RSA in 1936 to promote the important contribution of design in manufacturing in industry, to encourage and reward outstanding practitioners, and to raise the profile of the design profession. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 29th November 2018. Discover more about this event her...
Dec 06, 2018•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 241
The RSA’s education director Julian Astle talks to a group of educators about the importance of ‘mission’ to excellent schooling. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 27th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/my-school-my-mission
Nov 29, 2018•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 240
Award-winning comedian and broadcaster Robin Ince unites comedy and science in this hilarious, informative and touching exploration of the human condition. Informed by deeply personal insights as well as interviews with some of the world's top comedians, neuroscientists and psychologists, Ince calls on us embrace the full breadth of our inner experience - no matter how strange we worry it may be! This event was recorded live at The RSA on Monday 26th November 2018. Discover more about this event...
Nov 27, 2018•57 min•Ep. 239
In his Albert Medal lecture, Citizens UK founder Neil Jameson presents a roadmap for radical change, charting a course to major systemic change in politics and public life. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 20th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/reweaving-the-fabric-of-society
Nov 22, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 238
Acclaimed social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores how we can create institutions and public spaces that foster viewpoint diversity and mutual understanding, and where people can civilly and constructively disagree. Just as the Enlightenment coffeehouse did in its day, the advent of social media has brought down barriers to participation in public discourse. More people than ever take part in public conversations about the big issues of the moment, and yet it seems we are becoming ever more p...
Nov 22, 2018•58 min•Ep. 237
Ted Howard, community wealth building visionary, shows how we might dramatically expand the vision and reality of democratic political economy. What kind of economy is suited for living inside a democracy? How might we redesign our local economies – from the community level up to the national – in order to produce more equitable, inclusive and sustainable outcomes that benefit the largest number of people? How do we create a shift from today’s extractive economy to a democratic political economy...
Nov 20, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 236
Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin talks to C4 broadcaster Jon Snow about the qualities that make truly great leaders - those who summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others. In today’s polarized world, stories of authentic leadership in times of apprehension and fracture take on a singular urgency, offering essential lessons for aspiring and established leaders from every field. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Monday 19th November 2018. Discover mor...
Nov 19, 2018•58 min•Ep. 235
A panel gathers in honour of David Marquand to reflect on the state of social democracy today, and examine how progressive politics can invigorate our society. Amidst the rise of populism and anti-democratic sentiment, it’s often easy to feel pessimistic about the survival prospects of liberal and social democratic values. But the threats to progress stand alongside great opportunities, and progressive ideals recognise the potential for good in people and in politics. This event was recorded liv...
Nov 15, 2018•59 min•Ep. 234
What does joy look like? Designer Ingrid Fetell Lee exposes the power of ordinary things to create extraordinary happiness, and shows us how to find joy in the world around us. Our surroundings can have a profound effect on our wellbeing. Seeing flowers can improve our memories, looking at nature scenes reduces prisoner violence, and better sunlight increases our productivity at work – we can live happier, healthier lives if we open our eyes to the physical world and look for happiness in ordina...
Nov 07, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 233
LBC broadcaster and online talk show sensation, James O’Brien, shows how to dismantle small minds, expose falsehoods and conquer prejudice. The age of politely agreeing to disagree is over. O’Brien has become a breakout media star, with a million people tuning in each week to hear him trumping countless guests and politicians into total silence with his inimitable interview technique. But how does he expose these inconsistencies, fallacies and faulty opinions, and can the skill be taught? This e...
Nov 07, 2018•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 232
