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RSA Conversations

Latest episodes

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Feb 15, 2022 • 37min

Lessons in Leadership: Sir Michael Barber

Special series: Lessons in LeadershipIn this special 6 part series, Justin Russell meets with inspirational leaders from the UK public sector to find out how you thrive and survive at the top. In this third episode, Justin speaks to Sir Michael Barber, an educationalist and author who was knighted in 2005 for his contributions to improving government.  His latest book is 'Accomplishment: How to Achieve Ambitious and Challenging Things'. The pandemic has brought home to all of us the importance of the public services we sometimes take for granted. Not just the NHS but schools, local councils, the police and the prison service have all faced huge challenges keeping the show on the road. Clear leadership has been crucial to this task. Now more than ever our public services need great head teachers, chief constables, great prison governors and hospital directors. But what makes for great leadership in the public sector? How do you make sure organisations are delivering for the public and not squandering hard earned taxes? How do you handle a crisis or navigate the complex relationship with an ever-changing government?Justin Russell is Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation. He’s spent his life working and learning from inspirational leaders who have done all of these things and more. In this special series for Bridges to the Future, he’ll be speaking to just some of those who have survived and thrived at the top to find out how they did it and what they can teach you
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Feb 8, 2022 • 35min

A junior doctor's account of working on the frontline during the height of the pandemic

In this lively interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of practitioners on the spot - from scholars to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future.In early 2020, junior doctor Roopa Farooki lost her sister to cancer. Weeks later she found herself working on the frontline of the pandemic, covering the acute medical ward in an A&E department at a hospital in the south-east of England. Roopa joins Matthew to to offer a powerful and evocative account of this time and reveals what it was like battling Covid whilst also battling grief and loss. Dr Roopa Farooki is writer and junior doctor. Her latest book is 'Everything is True: A junior doctor's story of life, death and grief in a time of pandemic'. A Tempo & Talker production for the RSA.  In this time of global change, strong communities and initiatives that bring people together are more invaluable than ever before. The RSA Fellowship is a global network of problem solvers. We invite you to join our community today to stay connected, inspired and motivated in the months ahead. You can learn more about the Fellowship or start an application by clicking here.
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Feb 1, 2022 • 42min

Lessons in Leadership: Pia Sinha

Special series: Lessons in LeadershipIn this special 6 part series, Justin Russell meets with inspirational leaders from the UK public sector to find out how you thrive and survive at the top. In this second episode, Justin speaks to Pia Sinha, Director of Women at Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service  and former governor of HMP Liverpool.The pandemic has brought home to all of us the importance of the public services we sometimes take for granted. Not just the NHS but schools, local councils, the police and the prison service have all faced huge challenges keeping the show on the road. Clear leadership has been crucial to this task. Now more than ever our public services need great head teachers, chief constables, great prison governors and hospital directors. But what makes for great leadership in the public sector? How do you make sure organisations are delivering for the public and not squandering hard earned taxes? How do you handle a crisis or navigate the complex relationship with an ever-changing government?Justin Russell is Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation. He’s spent his life working and learning from inspirational leaders who have done all of these things and more. In this special series for Bridges to the Future, he’ll be speaking to just some of those who have survived and thrived at the top to find out how they did it and what they can teach you 
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Jan 25, 2022 • 37min

Siri Hustvedt on family, sex and art

In this lively interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of practitioners on the spot - from scholars to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future.This week Matthew is joined by the American writer, Siri Hustvedt, described as “a 21st-century Virginia Woolf”, to discuss family dynamics, Western misogyny and its links to Greek culture - and what sex can teach us about learning to appreciate great art. Siri Hustvedt is a novelist and essayist. Her latest collection of essays is: 'Mothers, Fathers, and Others'. A Tempo & Talker production for the RSA.  In this time of global change, strong communities and initiatives that bring people together are more invaluable than ever before. The RSA Fellowship is a global network of problem solvers. We invite you to join our community today to stay connected, inspired and motivated in the months ahead. You can learn more about the Fellowship or start an application by clicking here.
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Jan 18, 2022 • 38min

Lessons in Leadership: Sir David Bell

Special series: Lessons in LeadershipThe pandemic has brought home to all of us the importance of the public services we sometimes take for granted. Not just the NHS but schools, local councils, the police and the prison service have all faced huge challenges keeping the show on the road. Clear leadership has been crucial to this task. Now more than ever our public services need great head teachers, chief constables, great prison governors and hospital directors. But what makes for great leadership in the public sector? How do you make sure organisations are delivering for the public and not squandering hard earned taxes? How do you handle a crisis or navigate the complex relationship with an ever-changing government?Justin Russell is Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation. He’s spent his life working and learning from inspirational leaders who have done all of these things and more. In this special series for Bridges to the Future, he’ll be speaking to just some of those who have survived and thrived at the top to find out how they did it and what they can teach you.Justin's first guest is someone who has been a leader his whole life: Sir David Bell.  He’s held every senior leadership position in education from primary school headteacher to his current role as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Sunderland. He’s worked with government ministers of all political parties; led local councils and schools inspectorates and has been knighted for his services to education. Who better to start this series on “Lessons in Leadership” than Sir David Bell. 
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Jan 11, 2022 • 39min

What does the future hold for cities?

In this lively interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of practitioners on the spot - from scholars to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future.Edward Glaeser is the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. He is also Director for the Cities Research Programme at the International Growth Centre, LSE and Oxford, and is a senior fellow at the Manhattan institute. David Cutler is the Otto Ekstein Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard University. He holds a joint appointment in the economics department and in Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard School of Public Health, as well as serving as commissioner on the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. David and Edward are co-authors of Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in an Age of Isolation. A Tempo & Talker production for the RSA.  In this time of global change, strong communities and initiatives that bring people together are more invaluable than ever before. The RSA Fellowship is a global network of problem solvers. We invite you to join our community today to stay connected, inspired and motivated in the months ahead. You can learn more about the Fellowship or start an application by clicking here.
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Dec 28, 2021 • 35min

Can fashion ever be sustainable?

In this lively interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of practitioners on the spot - from scholars to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future.Maxine Bédat is the director of New Standard Institute, a non-profit working with scientists and citizens to make the fashion industry more sustainable, ethical, and equitable. Her new book is Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment.A Tempo & Talker production for the RSA.  In this time of global change, strong communities and initiatives that bring people together are more invaluable than ever before. The RSA Fellowship is a global network of problem solvers. We invite you to join our community today to stay connected, inspired and motivated in the months ahead. You can learn more about the Fellowship or start an application by clicking here.
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Dec 21, 2021 • 39min

BONUS: Matthew's Pick of the Year

In this lively interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of practitioners on the spot - from scholars to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future.In the final edition of Bridges to the Future for 2021, Matthew picks out his favourite conversations from the last year.Ece Temelkuran is a Turkish journalist and author. Her latest book is called, 'Together: 10 Choices for a Better Now'. Eliot Higgins is a journalist, blogger and founder of Bellingcat. He's the author of We Are Bellingcat: An Intelligence Agency for the People.Tim Jackson is an ecological economist and writer. Since 2016 he has been  Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). His new book is Post Growth - Life After Capitalism. Will Storr is the author of five books, including the novel The Hunger and The Howling of Killian Lone. His latest book is The Status Game. Otegha Uwagba is a writer, speaker, and consultant. Author of three best-selling books, her latest is We Need to Talk About Money.David Baddiel is a comedian and author of Jews Don't Count. A Tempo & Talker production for the RSA.  In this time of global change, strong communities and initiatives that bring people together are more invaluable than ever before. The RSA Fellowship is a global network of problem solvers. We invite you to join our community today to stay connected, inspired and motivated in the months ahead. You can learn more about the Fellowship or start an application by clicking here.
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Dec 14, 2021 • 37min

What drives people to commit the most heinous crimes?

In this lively interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of practitioners on the spot - from scholars to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future.Dr. Gwen Adshead is one of the UK’s leading forensic psychiatrists and psychotherapists and the co-author of The Devil You Know: Stories of Human Cruelty and Compassion. A Tempo & Talker production for the RSA.  In this time of global change, strong communities and initiatives that bring people together are more invaluable than ever before. The RSA Fellowship is a global network of problem solvers. We invite you to join our community today to stay connected, inspired and motivated in the months ahead. You can learn more about the Fellowship or start an application by clicking here.
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Nov 30, 2021 • 37min

Mary Ann Sieghart on 'The Authority Gap'

Global crises cause big changes and reveal deep structural weaknesses.  In this lively interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of practitioners on the spot - from scholars to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future.Mary Ann Sieghart is an author, journalist, radio presenter and former assistant editor of The Times. Her latest book is The Authority Gap: why women are still taken less seriously than men, and what we can do about it. A Tempo & Talker production for the RSA.  In this time of global change, strong communities and initiatives that bring people together are more invaluable than ever before. The RSA Fellowship is a global network of problem solvers. We invite you to join our community today to stay connected, inspired and motivated in the months ahead. You can learn more about the Fellowship or start an application by clicking here.

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