RSA Events

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 June 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

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.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

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/events/bridges-to-the-future

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 was broadcast online on the 5th May 2020. Discover more at: https://www.thersa.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

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 forces threatening health, equality, and welfare, and offer a hopeful account of how society can be overhauled to provide a framework for people to live dignified and meaningful lives. This conversation was broadcast online on the 28th April 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

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 cultivating and harnessing human skills – creativity, empathy, curiosity – that we’re best prepared to meet unexpected challenges, and build a more robust, resilient future. This conversation was broadcast online on the 23rd April 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

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 innate social natures - our impulses towards cooperation, learning and goodness. This conversation was broadcast online on the 16th April 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

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