Rsa Events

Renowned thinker Douglas Rushkoff argues that amidst increasing automation and alienation, humanity’s best path forward is to restore the social bonds that define our existence. Revealing how the intentional repression of humanity impacts diverse sectors of society, Rushkoff shows how money went from being a means of transaction to a means of extraction and how education transformed from the ideal of learning into an extension of occupational training. Digital age technologies have only amplified these trends, he argues, making our systems more brittle and presenting the greatest challenges yet to our collective autonomy: robots taking our jobs, algorithms directing our attention, and social media influencing our votes. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 14th February 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/02/team-human

What does the rest of this century look like for our planet? Viral sensation David Wallace-Wells issues an urgent wake-up call about climate collapse, leading the way for bolder action before it’s too late. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Wednesday 13th February 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/02/a-story-of-the-future-of-earth

Professor James Fishkin, director of the Centre for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford University, shows how a more deliberative politics can revive our modern democracies. Professor Fishkin’s research speaks to a recurring dilemma: listen to the people and get the angry voices of populism or rely on widely distrusted elites and get policies that seem out of touch with the public's concerns. Instead, there are methods for getting a representative and thoughtful public voice that really is worth listening to. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 6th December 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/12/revitalising-our-politics-through-public-deliberation

UCL scientist and expert in criminal behaviour Julia Shaw reveals the surprising science behind humanity’s dark side. Shaw uses the topics of serial murderers, terrorism, sexual assault, technology and the morals we live by day to day to determine the true basis of bad behaviour. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 7th February 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/02/what-makes-people-do-bad-things

Innovation pioneer Charlie Leadbeater talks to winners of the 2019 Future Work Awards, a brand-new showcase for creative and inspiring models of work from around the world. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Wednesday 6th February 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/02/future-work-awards-2019

Amidst a growing mental health crisis, how can we help children recognise their innate dignity and self-worth? Educator Rosalind Wiseman, author of the ground-breaking book behind the film Mean Girls, shows how to navigate them. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 29th January 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/01/creating-cultures-of-dignity

Author of 'Political Entrepreneurship', Josef Lentsch shows how innovative, civic-minded entrepreneurs can create new parties to produce positive political change. Managing Partner of the Innovation in Politics Institute, Josef Lentsch visits the RSA to tell their story, and show how they are taking on the populists by driving positive political change. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 24th January 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/01/how-to-build-political-start-ups

Bestselling author Steven Johnson explains how the science of deliberative decision-making can help us make better long-term choices - both individual and societal. We've heard a lot in recent years about the science of quick-thinking, intuitive choices. But what about more consequential decisions, the ones that affect our lives and societies for years, or centuries, to come? Our most powerful stories revolve around these kinds of deliberative decisions: where to live, whom to marry, what to believe, whether to start a company, how to end a war. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 22nd January 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/01/how-we-make-the-decisions-that-matter

Political analyst Anand Giridharadas reveals how the global elite's efforts to ‘change the world’ simply preserve an unjust status quo. A call to elites and citizens alike to build stronger institutions to make fairer progress. Taking us into the inner sanctums of a new gilded age, Giridharadas shows how the rich and powerful fight for equality and justice any way they can - except ways that threaten the social order and their position at the top. We see how they rebrand themselves as saviours of the poor; how they reward ‘thought leaders’ who redefine ‘change’ in winner-friendly ways; and how they constantly seek to do more good, but never less harm. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Wednesday 16th January 2019. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2019/what-it-really-takes-to-change-the-world

How can better leadership enable us to face the challenges of the day? Pippa Malmgren and Chris Lewis explore new models of leadership fit for our ever-changing world. We live in a world that would have been hard to foresee even a few decades ago, and we need leadership that can keep pace with the changes. Challenges brought by technological, economic, social, and geopolitical shifts have exposed a crisis of leadership, and trust in our decision-makers has hit a low. Old models of successful leadership – which prize hierarchy, machismo, and a ‘greed is good’ approach – have bred a culture of fear and short-termism which stifles innovation and stokes conflict. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 13th December 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/12/leadership-for-the-21st-century

Award-winning editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, Farrah Storr explains how discomfort – the very thing modern culture teaches us to shirk from – can, in fact, lead us to personal and collective greatness. We inhabit a culture where children are routinely protected from struggle and failure, a time when our academic institutions incubate students from challenging ideas and where we bubble wrap ourselves in an online world where we need only ever bump up against the opinions and world views that sit ‘comfortably’ with our own. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 11th December 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/12/the-discomfort-zone

Renowned political philosopher Michael Sandel delivers an exclusive address on the birth of a better, wiser politics for the 21st century. Decades of increasing inequality, globalisation, technological change, unfettered markets and technocratic politics have given rise to ever more polarisation and populist sentiment. How do we gain a better, wiser politics in the context of these 21st century challenges? Can the progressive parties reconcile the concerns of the disenfranchised and angry without succumbing to xenophobia and anti-outsider sentiment? What are the new ideas and solutions that will help us? This event was recorded live at The RSA on Monday 10th December 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/12/a-new-politics-of-hope

As 2018 draws to a close, our panel of expert commentators, Bidisha, Hugo Rifkind, Catherine Mayer and Matthew Taylor, reflect on the political and cultural moments that have defined a tempestuous year. Alongside a Brexit process plagued by deadlocks, defeats, and resignations, the big moments of the year – from the Irish abortion referendum to Labour’s antisemitism row – have revealed deep divisions in our society and our politics. How can we understand the stories that have dominated this year’s headlines in the context of such polarisation? What do identity politics have to do with it? And are we really descending into ‘culture wars’? This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 5th December 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/12/2018-the-year-in-review/

Visionary designer Deanna Van Buren shows how innovative design approaches and systems thinking are helping to transform criminal justice. The Bicentenary Medal was instituted in 1954 to commemorate the founding of the RSA over two hundred years earlier, and has been awarded annually for outstanding contribution to the advancement of design in industry and society. In the RSA’s current account of design, the medal is awarded to an individual who has ‘used design to great effect as an instrument of civic innovation.’ This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 4th December 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/12/using-design-to-end-mass-incarceration

Journalist, writer and critic John Harris joins RSA Public Services & Communities Director Ed Cox to host an evening of story-telling by ordinary people living extraordinary lives. Bringing a range of experience from across the UK, our narrators explore the ‘new giants’ facing 21st century Britain - inequality, isolation, intolerance, disempowerment and climate change. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Monday 3rd December 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/12/britains-new-giants-the-stories-of-extraordinary-lives

Morag Myerscough RDI uses design to transform spaces into places, creating specific local responses to create community and build identity. The title ‘Royal Designer for Industry’ was introduced by the RSA in 1936 to promote the important contribution of design in manufacturing in industry, to encourage and reward outstanding practitioners, and to raise the profile of the design profession. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 29th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/rdi-address-2018

The RSA’s education director Julian Astle talks to a group of educators about the importance of ‘mission’ to excellent schooling. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 27th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/my-school-my-mission

Award-winning comedian and broadcaster Robin Ince unites comedy and science in this hilarious, informative and touching exploration of the human condition. Informed by deeply personal insights as well as interviews with some of the world's top comedians, neuroscientists and psychologists, Ince calls on us embrace the full breadth of our inner experience - no matter how strange we worry it may be! This event was recorded live at The RSA on Monday 26th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/what-makes-us-human

In his Albert Medal lecture, Citizens UK founder Neil Jameson presents a roadmap for radical change, charting a course to major systemic change in politics and public life. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 20th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/reweaving-the-fabric-of-society

Acclaimed social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores how we can create institutions and public spaces that foster viewpoint diversity and mutual understanding, and where people can civilly and constructively disagree. Just as the Enlightenment coffeehouse did in its day, the advent of social media has brought down barriers to participation in public discourse. More people than ever take part in public conversations about the big issues of the moment, and yet it seems we are becoming ever more polarised and stuck. Has this all-inclusive openness come at a cost? This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 20th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/why-a-21st-century-enlightenment-needs-walls