RSA Events

Renowned writer Amitav Ghosh explores the role of stories in understanding our place in the world and reframing how we approach the biggest challenge of our era. We were told we were nearing the end of history; that globalisation would lift millions out of poverty, and that the onward march of time would bring unprecedented peace and stability across the world. But globalisation is delivering on its promises only to a powerful minority, and the result is a global system that our planet can’t sustain. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Wednesday 29th May 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/05/fiction-and-the-fact-of-climate-change

What does it mean to be human in the digital age? Writer and broadcaster Paul Mason explores how to defend our rights and freedoms against the forces that threaten our humanity. As we move towards a future defined by artificial intelligence, we must make a choice: will we accept machine control of human beings, or resist it? The logic of machines and market forces threaten to reduce us to little more than consumers whose every action can be programmed, leading some to declare that ‘humanity is over’ – but there is another way. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 23rd May 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/05/how-to-future-proof-humanity

What’s gone wrong with our workplace culture? Dan Lyons explores how we can put people back at the centre of our working practices. Welcome to work in the modern economy, where the climate is cultish and management fads rule. Silicon Valley workplace culture has filtered through to other industries, dehumanising our working practices and putting tech in the driving seat. In a rapidly transforming world where entire industries are collapsing, companies scrabble to reprogramme their workforce to adapt and survive, conducting large-scale experiments in organisational behaviour; in short, we’re all their lab rats. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 14th May 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/05/why-modern-work-makes-us-miserable

Sustainability expert Mike Berners-Lee looks at the big challenges facing Earth and offers guidance on what we can all do to help humanity thrive on our only planet. Should we frack? Should we fly? Do we all need to become vegetarian? What about population growth? Faced with so many pressing environmental questions and dilemmas, and a sense that time’s rapidly running out to make a difference, it’s no wonder that for many people this all adds up to a feeling of despair and paralysis. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 9th May 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/05/there-is-no-planet-b

In a new report presented to the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, world authority on basic income Dr Guy Standing sets out how the idea could become a UK reality. An effective pilot has the ability to demonstrate the strengths or shortcomings of a basic income scheme. Pilots have been tried in many countries, most recently in Finland and the Netherlands. Now, Dr Standing argues, it is the UK’s turn. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 7th May 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/05/basic-income-as-common-dividends

Renowned psychology professor Jennifer Eberhardt examines how racial bias affects every sector of society, and how we can work to overcome it. Drawing on scientific studies, investigative insights and personal experience, Jennifer Eberhardt explores the far-reaching and devastating consequences of racial bias. Such bias is not an innate and inevitable evil, she argues, but a universal human problem to be addressed. By acknowledging sometimes uncomfortable truths about how we perceive the world and each other, we can make real progress towards racial justice. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 25th April 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/04/how-bias-works

Award-winning journalist, author and hit podcaster Elizabeth Day shares the valuable life lessons to be learned from things going wrong. In her new book, Elizabeth shares honest, uplifting stories of her own experience of failure, as well as insights gleaned from her interviews with people from all walks of life who found that life’s twists, turns and tragedies shaped them far more profoundly than the times of plain sailing. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 11th April 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/04/how-to-fail

One of the world’s most influential public thinkers Cass Sunstein explores the different ways that social change can happen, from nudges to movements to cascades. Drawing from two new books On Freedom and How Change Happens, Sunstein explores the myriad ways that change can happen at both individual and social scale, ranging from gradual nudges, to growing movements to sudden cascades. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 4th April 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/04/how-change-happens

How can storytelling help us navigate the world around us? Writer Will Storr explores the science behind humanity’s most powerful tool. Stories shape as well as reflect the world we live in, moulding our cultural identities, framing our politics and beliefs, and giving meaning to our experiences. Storytelling runs throughout our individual and collective lives, from our newspapers and our law courts to our religions, our song lyrics, and our teenage diaries. It’s out of these stories that our complex human culture has developed, and by delving into the science of storytelling, we can better navigate the world around us and our experiences in it. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 28th March 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/03/how-stories-make-us-who-we-are

How does class background affect our prospects in the workplace and in life? Sociologist Sam Friedman shares his insights into the hidden barriers to equality in elite occupations. Social mobility is a goal often hailed by politicians and voters across the spectrum, but evidence shows that we’re falling short of the meritocratic ideal. The effects of social class are shown to follow us throughout our lives in intangible ways, dictating how we are perceived by others, opening or closing doors to elite jobs and education, and affecting our tendency to take risks. How can we ensure that privilege isn’t misread as merit, and reduce the impact of class on opportunity? This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 21st March 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/03/why-it-pays-to-be-privileged