RSA Events

Rt Hon Michael Gove MP and Sir Ian Cheshire are joined by an expert panel at the launch of the RSA Food, Farming and Countryside Commission final report. We have worked with farming and food businesses, public health and citizens groups, environment and economics experts and many more to understand how we can respond more effectively and urgently to global and domestic challenges, from climate change to spiralling diet-related ill health. This event was recorded live at Tuesday 16th July 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/07/our-future-in-the-land

What does it mean to be young in the UK today? A group of writers and activists share their stories with author and editor Nikesh Shukla. One in four people under twenty-five in the UK will be affected by mental illness. Over half of people under twenty-five have looked for advice on homelessness. University fees are rising, job opportunities are drying up, and buying a house is out of reach for all but a privileged few. This event was recorded live at Thursday 11th July 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/07/stories-from-britains-youth

Leading designers explore the role of cross-cultural exchange in making design a force for change both locally and globally. With Morag Myerscough RDI and Abdulrahman Gazzaz, Bricklab. This event was recorded live at Monday 8th July 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/07/mission-driven-design

What happens when reality surprises us? Writer Michael Blastland explores the curious anomalies that our usual modes of thinking struggle to explain. In a bid to understand the world, we develop theories – in science, medicine, psychology, economics – designed to discern patterns and order. But we encounter mysteries and surprises that these theories cannot explain; curious irregularities that mess up our attempts to comprehend the world. This is down to the ‘hidden half’ – the random, unknowable variables beyond the bounds of our usual reasoning. This event was recorded live at Thursday 4th July 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/07/how-the-world-conceals-its-secrets

Economist Jonathan Aldred reveals the extraordinary hold economics has on our morals and values. In his new book Licence to be Bad – How Economics Corrupted Us, Aldred tells the story of how a group of economic theorists changed our world, and how a handful of key ideas, from free-riding to Nudge, seeped into our decision-making, and, indeed, almost every aspect of our lives. This event was recorded live at Thursday 27th June 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/06/how-economics-corrupted-us

One of the world’s leading evolutionary thinkers David Sloan Wilson offers a bold new approach to solving the problems of our age. Darwin's theory of evolution provides a single theoretical framework for biology, and all life sciences, today. But among humanities scholars, it is widely assumed that our rich cultural and behavioural development operates outside the rules of evolutionary theory. In fact, Darwin's theory has been considered taboo in the study of the social sciences, in the light of the inhumane theories of social Darwinism that emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. But, now, David Sloan Wilson, one of the world’s foremost evolutionary thinkers, expands on what we traditionally consider biological. This event was recorded live at Thursday 20th June 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/06/completing-the-darwinian-revolution

Join us for the annual SDA ceremony and a keynote talk by designer Kate Dundas, planning leader for the City of Melbourne. The RSA Student Design Awards is a global competition focused around a set of project briefs that challenge participants to tackle the big issues of our time through design thinking. Winners receive practical and financial support from the RSA and our partners, as well as the opportunity to join a remarkably diverse community of alumni. This event was recorded live at Wednesday 19th June 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/06/designing-our-futures-the-2019-rsa-student-design-awards

Expert facilitator Priya Parker shows how simple changes can transform the ways we spend our time together – at work, home, and in our communities. Catch up on the conversation between Priya Parker and Rowan Conway after Priya's gathering experience at the RSA. We spend our lives gathering – at home, at school, in the workplace, in our communities and beyond. And yet all too often these occasions are lacklustre and unproductive. We rely too much on convention and routine, failing to focus on the specific purpose for the gathering, and the distinctiveness of the people involved. This event was recorded live at Tuesday 11th June 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/06/how-we-meet-and-why-it-matters

How do you get your passion project off the ground without sacrificing your sanity? Start-up founder Bec Evans offers a complete guide to making ideas happen. Many of us want to do and be more. We want to have ideas, create something new, go beyond the confines of our day-job and start something of our own. But once you have that lightbulb moment, what does it actually take to get an idea into the world? How do you overcome lack of confidence, experience, time and money? This event was recorded live at Thursday 6th June 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/06/how-to-have-a-happy-hustle

Economist Matthias Doepke reveals the impact of economic forces and growing inequality on how parents are raising their children. In many societies, we are now witnessing a growing “parenting gap” in response to rising economic inequality, with rich families able to plough greater resources into their children’s social, cultural and educational development as the social mobility stakes grow higher. This event was recorded live at Thursday 30th May 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/05/how-to-close-the-parenting-gap