RSA Events

Ted Howard is  co-founder and president of  the  Democracy Collaborative,  and pioneer of the community wealth-building movement.  In conversation with the RSA’s Anthony Painter, he shares his vision for a post-pandemic social and economic reconstruction rooted in community transformation. This conversation was broadcast online on the 18th June 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/events/bridges...

The global pandemic crisis has intensified the need for new thinking to address labour market trends such as automation, employment precarity and economic insecurity. Alan Lockey is joined in conversation by future work experts Carl Frey and Laetitia Vitaud to discuss how we make sure the post-pandemic future is one where good work is enjoyed by all. This conversation was broadcast online on the 1...

Adair Turner, Chairman of the Energy Transitions Commission, explores the policy choices facing governments as we move from crisis response measures to longer-term economic recovery planning. What steps can we take now to build a better economy – one that enhances the health of people and ecosystems? This conversation was broadcast online on the 21st May 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/even...

Governments and states start to look and behave differently in times of crisis. Political theorist John Keane reflects on what our current challenges may reveal about the nature of an anti-democratic trend he observes taking hold across the world, and what it will take to uphold and strengthen the ideals and practices of power-sharing democracy. This conversation was broadcast online on the 4th Ju...

Before the pandemic outbreak, we had been living through a period of increasing polarisation. But now that Covid-19 crisis is revealing the full extent of our shared vulnerability and common humanity, is there an opportunity for us to come together to heal some of those divides? Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who studies how our moral and political intuitions are formed. This conversation...

New polling shows that a substantial majority of the public now want government to focus on improving health and wellbeing over economic growth. Dr Katherine Trebeck of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance joins Jamie Cooke, Head of RSA Scotland, to discuss the new policy ideas that could bring about that change. This conversation was broadcast online on the 14th May 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.o...

Leading economist Mariana Mazzucato explores the potential for new structures, strategies and alliances to lay the foundations for an inclusive and sustainable post-crisis economy. This conversation was broadcast online on the 7th May 2020. Discover more at: https://www.thersa.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

The flaws in our social and economic system are proving fatal to some parts of the population. Renowned economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton examine why the patterns of progress we had come to take for granted – longer life expectancy, rising wages – no longer hold true, and the effects on the people whom capitalism has failed. They explore how the Covid-19 crisis has exposed and exacerbated the...

Leading sustainability expert Sandrine Dixson-Declève calls on international leaders to ensure that economic recovery plans are targeted to restoring the balance between people and nature for future wellbeing and resilience. This conversation was broadcast online on the 30th April 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

The current crisis shows that uncertainty is now an ineradicable fact of life. CEO and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan has closely studied the organisations that adapt most successfully to change, and has found that, in complex environments, an over-reliance on ‘efficiency’ is a hazard, not a help. We should be focusing less on technology, she argues, and investing more in people. It’s by cultivat...

Nicholas Christakis is a physician, sociologist and network scientist at Yale University, who studies human nature and the organisation of societies. In conversation with Matthew Taylor, he discusses how to co-ordinate an efficient public health response to Covid-19; and how to treat those affected with dignity and compassion. The key to an effective response, he argues, is to be found in our inna...

Eric Klinenberg, professor of social science at New York University, argues that policies that promote social solidarity and invest in social infrastructure are critical to effective crisis response, and to building a better world beyond immediate emergency. This conversation was broadcast online on the 14th April 2020. Discover more at: https://www.thersa.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development at the University of Oxford, joins us to reflect on how the current state of globalisation has left us vulnerable to systemic risks such as pandemics, and how these could be mitigated through international cooperation. This conversation was recorded online on the 1st April 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org

Writer Helen Lewis offers a fresh perspective on the battle for equality, by reclaiming the history of feminism as a history of difficult women. This conversation was recorded online on the 18th March 2020. Discover more at: https://www.thersa.org/events/2020/03/how-to-change-the-world

Kathy Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space, recounts her experience of being part of the team that launched, rescued and repaired the Hubble Telescope. This event was recorded live at the RSA on Tuesday 3rd March 2020. Discover more about this event: https://www.thersa.org/events/2020/03/an-astronauts-story-of-invention

Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, two of the leading UN figures behind the landmark Paris Agreement, urge us to confront the climate crisis head on, with determination and optimism. This event was recorded live at the RSA on Monday 2nd March 2020. Discover more about this event: https://www.thersa.org/events/2020/03/the-future-we-choose

What we can learn from those who thrive beyond retirement? Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin offers the latest scientific insights into the power of the evolving human brain. This event was recorded live at the RSA on Monday 24th February 2020. Discover more about this event: https://www.thersa.org/events/2020/02/how-to-live-better-and-age-well

How do people come to be radicalised online? Counter-extremism expert Julia Ebner exposes the inner workings of some of the most dangerous groups on the internet. This event was recorded live at the RSA on Thursday 20th February 2020. Discover more about this event: https://www.thersa.org/events/2020/02/how-extremism-spreads

Can we redesign the working week to improve worker productivity and wellbeing? With author and futurist Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. This event was recorded live at the RSA on Thursday 13th February 2020. Discover more about this event here:https://www.thersa.org/events/2020/02/work-less-and-get-things-done

Is digitised social media destroying democracy? With Archon Fung, Professor of Citizenship at the Harvard Kennedy School. This event was recorded live at the RSA on Monday 10th February 2020. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2020/02/democracy-and-the-digital-public-sphere

Science writer Ziya Tong explores the blind spots and illusions that warp our sense of reality, and lays out a new way of understanding the world that can equip us to face our biggest challenges. This event was recorded live at the RSA on Thursday 6th February 2020. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2020/02/how-to-burst-the-reality-bubble

Happiness pioneer Richard Layard issues a call to action to citizens, governments and policymakers to adopt a new model of social organisation. This event was recorded live at the RSA on Thursday 30th January 2020. Discover more about this event here: https://soundcloud.com/the_rsa/a-new-roadmap-for-eco-politics

Jonathan Bartley, co-Leader of the Green Party in England & Wales and Franziska Brantner, Alliance 90/The Greens MP discuss routes to placing climate change and sustainability front and centre of European political debate. This event was recorded live at the RSA on Thursday 23rd January 2020. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2020/01/a-new-roadmap-for-eco-polit...

Despite working longer hours, the UK produces less in five days than workers in Germany produce in four. Why does the UK perform so poorly on productivity? Andy Haldane, Tera Allas, Kate Bell, Sarah Davidson and Matthew Taylor look at how good work improves productivity – as well as health and happiness. This event was recorded live at the RSA on Thursday 16th January 2020. Discover more about thi...

What will our lives be like when there are fewer jobs to go around? Economist Daniel Susskind envisages a world of work drastically changed by automation, and explores how to find meaning in lives less defined by work. Daniel is joined by Alan Lockey, Head of the Future Work Centre at the RSA. This event was recorded live at the RSA on Thursday 16th January 2020. Discover more about this event her...