How can we all play a part in changing our ‘fast fashion’ culture? The fashion industry accounts for around 10% of global carbon emissions and a huge amount of pollution and waste. Sustainable fashion means change across the system: from how makers source and produce materials through to how we all consume and value clothing. Designers and collectives across the UK are finding local solutions to a global problem and putting communities at the centre of the effort towards sustainable fashion. To ...
Apr 21, 2021•51 min•Ep. 381
Over the course of the last year, the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement have exposed deep fault lines that show us how much work there is still to be done to make our societies equitable. At the same time, we are witnessing increased momentum for change, with individuals, communities and organisations embracing opportunities to tackle disparity through design, innovation, experimentation and renewal. In the final event in our RSA Living Change season , we talk to four pioneering changemak...
Apr 16, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 380
The 2021 Albert Medal Event Sarah Gilbert is the scientist who designed the Oxford Vaccine – one of the most significant breakthrough developments in the global fight against coronavirus. As she receives the 2021 RSA Albert Medal for ‘collaborative innovation for the global common good’, Professor Gilbert joins RSA Chief Executive Matthew Taylor to reflect on an extraordinary year for scientific innovation, and to tell the inside story of what it took to design, trial, and manufacture a safe and...
Apr 15, 2021•41 min•Ep. 379
Catching the creative wave: digital learning after lockdown The pandemic, and worldwide lockdown that accompanied it, required schools across the globe to redesign their delivery models overnight. Teachers, some for the first time, had to rethink their practice to engage with learners and parents in a virtual classroom. At the same time, schools have had to confront the issue of unequal access to technology and data. One year on, as schools and colleges have adapted to remote and blended learnin...
Apr 08, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 378
There is no secret formula for success, but what if there was a pattern you could follow to help you accomplish your goals? Certain features of accomplishment are universal: it might not be an exact science, but if you look at the successes of others there are definite patterns. Sir Michael Barber has spent many years advising governments, businesses and major sporting teams around the world on how to achieve ambitious goals. In this conversation he’ll share the wisdom he has gained from this ex...
Apr 02, 2021•44 min•Ep. 377
What does it take to challenge the status quo? And when and how does society’s understanding of what’s ‘normal’ start to change? From the civil rights movement to #MeToo, we’ve seen that individual and collective action has the power to disrupt and re-define our prevailing social norms – leading in turn to changes in institutional policy, practice and the law itself. So at a time when we find the status quo no longer serving us, when Covid-19 has challenged so much of what we previously thought ...
Mar 30, 2021•41 min•Ep. 376
In this episode, we’re delighted to share a conversation recently hosted by our Regenerative Futures programme team, which brought together a group of leading designers and entrepreneurs who are breaking new ground in the field of circular design. Since 2011, the RSA and EMF have been working together to accelerate change and support the transition to a more sustainable, regenerative future. Through initiatives such as the Rethink Fashion project, our work has focused on advancing the circular a...
Mar 22, 2021•43 min•Ep. 375
Crisis can bring us together, if we let it remind us what really matters. In March 2020, as the pandemic took hold across the world, beloved children’s author Michael Rosen became seriously ill with coronavirus. During several months in hospital, he observed first-hand the many different kinds of love that bind us to one another, and recorded his path to recovery under the remarkable care of loved ones and strangers. In his new book, Many Different Kinds of Love , he shares the story of his jour...
Mar 19, 2021•46 min•Ep. 374
The social contract shapes everything: our political institutions, legal systems and material conditions, but also the organisation of family and community, our well-being, relationships and life prospects. And yet everywhere, the social contract is failing. At a time of global crisis, when we have an opportunity to think afresh about the future we want, visionary economist Minouche Shafik puts forward a new and hopeful framework for social, economic, and political recovery – one with profound i...
Mar 12, 2021•43 min•Ep. 373
Over recent months, we have seen individuals, communities and organisations embracing uncertainty as an opportunity for innovation, experimentation and renewal. Last year gave us all the signals we need to actively question whether the old normal is healthy and sustainable for the long term, as pandemic shock exposed deep fault-lines in our social and economic systems. The energy released in emergency response is creating the foundations for change at different levels of the system, from policym...
Mar 05, 2021•54 min•Ep. 372
As interest in green business models increases all over the world, how can we make sure we’re eliminating destructive practices and not merely greenwashing them? What can we do to achieve growth that is regenerative rather than wasteful, and which instils equity rather than exacerbating inequalities? Per Espen Stoknes , Director of the Center for Sustainability and Energy at the Norwegian Business School in Oslo, guides us through the mindset and mechanisms that we need to move towards a sustain...
Feb 26, 2021•50 min•Ep. 371
As we strengthen our connection with one another, we are healthier, more resilient, more productive, more vibrantly creative and more fulfilled. - Dr Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General As humans we’re hardwired for connection; the need for community and family have deep roots in our health and wellbeing. The impact of strong relationships and social attachments on the quality of our lives is becoming better understood, but long periods of isolation and social distancing to protect physical health ...
Feb 19, 2021•47 min•Ep. 370
How do we eat, where does it come from, and what’s gone wrong? Our food systems are fragmented and plagued by short-termism. Even as we have become wealthier and enjoyed greater choice in what we eat, we have failed to balance health and environmental issues with fair and secure access to good quality food. Brexit and the pandemic together have exposed the fragility of the systems upon which we rely, and who tends to suffer when those systems encounter problems. When it comes to food, it’s not j...
Feb 12, 2021•47 min•Ep. 369
A year of crisis and confusion has led many of us to think hard about what we really want and need from our working lives. Pandemic shock has up-ended conventional ways of working and prompted profound re-examination of our work-life priorities, practices and pathways. Professor Herminia Ibarra is a leading expert on career development and transition. In an unmissable talk for anyone contemplating a career change or thinking about how to re-define their existing role, Professor Ibarra offers a s...
Feb 05, 2021•34 min•Ep. 368
Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life, right? Wrong. This neoliberal ideal of “doing what you love” is actually a recipe for exploitation that is wreaking havoc on our lives and communities. Whether it’s working for exposure and experience, or enduring long hours and poor treatment in the name of ‘being part of the family,’ many of us have fallen into the trap of making sacrifices for the ‘privilege’ of fulfilling work. Understanding the trap, and why we so readily buy into i...
Jan 29, 2021•38 min•Ep. 367
How can 2021 become a turning point for progress on climate change? With COP26 on the horizon and the incoming Biden administration poised to rejoin the Paris Agreement, climate action will be high on the agenda in 2021. But to make urgently necessary progress towards decarbonisation, the world must go further, embedding transformative economic changes across the board and building on them in the decades to come. This will mean connecting the climate crisis to economic strife and addressing both...
Jan 22, 2021•48 min•Ep. 366
Societies showed remarkable resilience and adaptability in 2020: in the face of public health crisis, political polarisation, and economic insecurity, we witnessed extraordinary examples of community solidarity and social innovation. And yet deep uncertainties and challenges lie in wait in the year ahead. To meet these challenges, we need to strengthen the ties that bind us. To reimagine and renew our social contract. To build stronger, more resilient communities, from the ground up. As we look ...
Jan 15, 2021•49 min•Ep. 365
An unprecedented global pandemic. The worst global economic recession since the Great Depression. The tipping point for systemic racism. Growing polarisation and conflict. One of the biggest non-nuclear explosions of all time. An alarming increase in wildfires across five continents. 2020 has presented huge challenges for us to respond to. It is human nature to design for need, to design for better, to design for change. We design at our best in times of urgency and crisis, embracing uncertainty...
Dec 11, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 364
Competition laws are failing us on a whole host of issues vital to the public interest. But campaigning lawyer Michelle Meagher has a bold new agenda for reform. We live in the age of big companies, where power is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, monopolies are the gold standard, and workers’ rights, the environment and democracy are bulldozed at every level. With markets further narrowing due to the recent collapse of smaller businesses, emergency cartelising of industry-giants,...
Dec 04, 2020•37 min•Ep. 363
Changing what we do with our money could be one of the most powerful tools at our disposal for tackling the climate crisis – but putting our money where our values are can be complicated. How do we match our priorities with the opportunities available for investing ethically? Is divestment the only way? And how can we tell what is genuinely transformative, and what is just ‘greenwashing’? What matters, says finance expert Alice Ross , is not just avoiding harmful companies and practices, but dir...
Nov 27, 2020•42 min•Ep. 362
RSA President’s Lecture 2020 As we navigate a series of urgent global crises, how might cities and communities be empowered to respond in ways that are ecologically safe and socially just? Doughnut Economics proposes a set of core principles for creating economies that are regenerative and distributive by design. What happens when these principles are put into practice? In her 2020 RSA President’s Lecture, Kate Raworth , author of the book, and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab, tells ...
Nov 26, 2020•51 min•Ep. 361
Creativity matters now more than ever. But for too long we’ve been told that it’s a mysterious gift granted to a select few. Nonsense, says Seth Godin. Creativity is a choice. The turbulent events of 2020 have presented an opportunity for pause and self-reflection. A moment to look at our lives, and to ask what truly gives them meaning and purpose. In the face of crisis and constraint, many people have been moved to rediscover their innate creativity. To renew their commitment to doing good work...
Nov 20, 2020•41 min•Ep. 360
There is growing concern that Covid-19 disruption is creating the conditions for a rise in school exclusions. Who do we need to listen to, what needs to change, and how can we work better together to support educators, parents and policymakers to address the problem of exclusions at its roots? The RSA’s Pinball Kids project explores the underlying factors that lead to school exclusions, and looks to learn from best practice to support those students most at risk. As exclusion rates in England re...
Nov 13, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 359
Black women’s experience is now moving from the private to the public sphere, bringing with it new opportunities and challenges for those on the frontline of change. Following on from the acclaimed Slay in Your Lane, timely new anthology Loud Black Girls invites a new generation of writers, artists and activists to explore the richness and variety of what it means to exist as a black woman in a turbulent political age. At a time when black women find themselves increasingly courted, and yet cont...
Oct 30, 2020•52 min•Ep. 358
Covid-19 brought with it a mass global experiment in working from home. And with the results now in, 2020 looks set to be the year that changed office life forever. Pandemic lockdown forced companies worldwide into a crash course in remote working. For many, it was a bumpy ride at first. But six months in, the data shows a remarkably swift and widespread adaptation to new working practices, cultures and technologies. In a recent survey, over three quarters of UK CEOs said home working is here to...
Oct 23, 2020•42 min•Ep. 357
Humans are hard-wired for community, but our political and economic systems have encouraged and rewarded extreme individualism for far too long. How can we rethink how we do things to put collective purpose back at the centre? Modern economics has for many years been driven by a belief which is no longer tenable: that ‘greed is good’. This mode of thinking has contributed to environmental destruction and vast inequality, and caused us to lose sight of an important truth about ourselves and each ...
Oct 16, 2020•34 min•Ep. 356
As the world faces the critical issues of Covid-19, climate emergency and political disquiet, what are the novel democratic approaches we can deploy to tackle these acute and existential challenges? How can a more ‘active democracy’ break political deadlock, build civic trust and drive transformative collaboration between government, civil society and communities? One month on from Climate Assembly UK’s reported recommendations and with the US election looming, RSA chief executive Matthew Taylor...
Oct 09, 2020•58 min•Ep. 355
How can the ones who have been winning at this broken game become the ones to change the rules for good? The excesses of capitalism left unchecked are catching up with us, in the form of huge inequality, environmental disaster, and institutional collapse. Can business, which has until now been part of the problem, become part of the solution? What we urgently need, argues economics professor Rebecca Henderson , are businesses with a purpose beyond profit, that can create sustainable shared value...
Oct 02, 2020•35 min•Ep. 354
Are we still a liberal nation? Are we even pretending or aspiring to be one? Several extraordinary years in politics and public life have shaken Britain’s image of itself as a model of liberal democracy. The status of political parties, the media, and public officials have morphed and shifted as increasingly desperate attempts have been made to contain the impulses of reactionary nationalism within mainstream political institutions. Widening inequality and the expanding role of technology have c...
Sep 25, 2020•39 min•Ep. 353
Statistics are vital in helping us tell stories and make sense of the world - and yet we doubt them more than ever. But numbers - in the right hands - have the power to change the world for the better. Good statistics are not smoke and mirrors; in fact, they help us see more clearly – if we keep our wits about us. Economist Tim Harford is an unrivalled guide to the world of numbers. Amidst a sea of disinformation and obfuscation, he shows how to seek out data with the power to inform and illumin...
Sep 21, 2020•42 min•Ep. 352
