RSA chief executive Matthew Taylor and journalist Ian Leslie are joined by this year's winner of the Nobel prize for economics (shared with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer), Esther Duflo. Duflo is co-author of Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems and Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at …

Matthew Taylor and Ian Leslie dissect new (and sometimes controversial) research on the divide between 'anarchists' and 'centrists'; the voters who live for drama; and the real reasons people share misleading news stories online. Plus, the similarities and differences between US and UK public opinion, as Matthew meets two of the top researchers fro…

The RSA's Matthew Taylor and the author of 'Born Liars' and 'Curious', Ian Leslie, look back on the week in which BBC Parliament had more plot twists than Line of Duty.Oleh The RSA

Matthew Taylor is joined by a live Wilderness Festival audience and John Harris from The Guardian to explore the battle between the politics of hope and the politics of fear. Hope can be a great motivating force in politics. And so can fear. In January, the teenage climate campaigner Greta Thunberg told the grown-ups at Davos: “I don’t want your ho…

Ian Leslie and Matthew Taylor analyse Theresa May’s final major speech as prime minister and Donald Trump’s latest racist statements, and try to predict what might happen in the first weeks of a new PM. Everything is unlikely, but something has to happen. So we grade some previous predictions and have a go at making some new ones. Plus, a new theor…

Just as our reality has seemed to take a dystopian turn, there’s been a resurgence of political imagination. Utopian dreams have returned to the forefront of our politics. How achievable are these utopias, especially when they collide with the realities of power and government? And what can we learn from past attempts to make dreams into reality? G…

Matthew Taylor speaks to French political journalist Marie Le Conte about the European elections, French politics and being in the eye of a Twitter storm; and Paul Mason sets out the dual threats of fascism and fatalism. Share this episode Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Produced by James Shield. Brought to you by the RSA (Royal Society for the …

At long last, for a few weeks in April, climate breakdown finally seemed to be at the top of the political agenda. Extinction Rebellion shut down the streets. School children walked out of classes in protest at inaction from the grown-ups. Politicians – some of them, anyway – declared a climate emergency. Does this surge of interest mark a real shi…

Is religion still shaping our politics? And has its decline led to a wider search for meaning in public life? Matthew Taylor and Ian Leslie are joined by Elizabeth Oldfield, director of the think tank Theos. Plus, reflections on the one of the hardest questions in European politics right now: 'what's happening?' Links The Times, 16 April 2019: Amer…

Insights from three of the world's leading thinkers on how political and societal change happens: presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, 'Nudge' author Cass Sunstein, and philosopher Roberto Unger. Plus, the story of how a bar fight in the House of Commons may have inadvertently changed the course of British political history… Presented by Ma…

We’re living through the biggest backlash against neoliberalism for 40 years, and the biggest crisis over Britain’s relationship with Europe since the Second World War. Climate breakdown and new technologies present major threats to the way we live and work. So against that backdrop, where does the politics of conservatism – and its relationship wi…

From climate change to vaccines, there’s a worrying tendency in our culture to bury our heads in the sand, and for a growing number of people to turn their backs on the truth. At its most dangerous, denialism can shade into extremism. Denialism is fundamentally a rejection of reality, but what drives it? What does it say about our psychology that s…

Commentators say the financial crisis and its aftermath sounded the death knell for centrist parties. Is the centre ground of British politics really dead, or could it make a comeback? And what does the ‘centre’ even mean these days? This week, Ian Leslie and Matthew Taylor discuss the Independent Group, before talking to the political sociologist …

Has the opening up of political parties been a vital force for change, or bad for democracy as a whole? How can politicians represent both their party members and the voters? Is it game over for the old party politics of left vs right, and for the old party establishment? This week Matthew Taylor and Ian Leslie are putting political parties in the …

This week Ian Leslie and Matthew Taylor are asking: what's the best way to talk to people we disagree with? If we want to understand the other side – to bridge divides, or even persuade people we disagree with to think differently – what’s the best way to do that? With Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel, and Maria Exner, deputy editor of German new…

Two days after the biggest government defeat in the history of the British parliament, Matthew Taylor makes the case for another form of democracy that might help sort out the mess. With James Fishkin and David Runciman. Links The RSA's campaign for deliberative democracy James Fishkin's talk at the RSA Amazon: 'Democracy When the People Are Thinki…

The phrase ‘identity politics’ has come to be used as a sort of political insult. It’s a short way of accusing someone of pandering to voters – based on race, religion or gender. From white nationalists and Donald Trump, to the politics of liberation and demands for equal rights, it feels like everyone is playing identity politics these days. Confl…

Is tribalism an indelible part of human nature? And if it is, can we overcome it? Matthew Taylor speaks to moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind and The Coddling of the American Mind. Plus, Ian and Matthew discuss the recent protests in France, and we ask why the British people have claimed responsibility for 55% of all wo…

It's been a turbulent week in UK politics. What could possibly happen next? Matthew Taylor and Ian Leslie talk Brexit predictions, and whether constant news updates are doing us any good. That brings us on to a discussion about the stories we tell ourselves – fake news, and the importance of myths – before Matthew tests out his new 'theory of every…

Is democracy falling apart? How worried should we be? And how can we fix it? With Niheer Dasandi, author of 'Is Democracy Failing?', and Eliane Glaser, author of 'Anti-Politics: On the Demonisation of Ideology, Authority and the State'. Links Matthew Taylor's blog: Could politics ever be a source of wisdom rather than anxiety? Is Democracy Failing?…

Have feelings taken over the world? Have we lost our collective grip on rationality? And what can a panic about nothing at Oxford Circus last year tell us about our relationship with the truth? With author of 'Nervous States', William Davies. Plus a recommendation for another podcast (because we're generous like that) about social network theory. L…

Anger is all the rage, but is anger itself the problem? Some people say we need to push back against anger in our politics, and respond with tranquil civility. But what if anger is the only rational response to a crisis in our democracy, and crumbling political norms? Claire Fox, director of the Academy of Ideas, joins Matthew Taylor and Ian Leslie…

Is it really true that we all live in our own echo chambers? Fake news and the filter bubble, post-truth and alternative facts… Are we all, as President Obama put it, ‘absorbing an entirely different reality’? In this episode we’re asking: Is our sense of a shared reality becoming even more fragile? And is fragmentation of the media the cause – or …

Are economic divides to blame for everything else that’s broken in our politics? Does 'economic anxiety' explain the Trump and Brexit votes? And what deeper cultural undercurrents are at play in unequal societies? Ian and Matthew speak to Faiza Shaheen, director of the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS) about inequalities in the UK and th…

The third episode of a brand new podcast series from the RSA, 'Polarised'. Matthew Taylor and the author of 'Born Liars' and 'Curious', Ian Leslie, investigate the forces driving us further apart – and what can be done about them. In this episode: Is it inevitable that the internet and social media drive us to the extremes? Or do they just hold up …

The second episode of a brand new podcast series from the RSA, 'Polarised'. Matthew Taylor and the author of 'Born Liars' and 'Curious', Ian Leslie, investigate the forces driving us further apart – and what can be done about them. In this episode they ask: How effective were Cambridge Analytica's methods? Can ‘psychographic microtargeting’ really …

The first episode of a brand new podcast series from the RSA, 'Polarised'. Matthew Taylor and the author of 'Born Liars' and 'Curious', Ian Leslie, investigate the forces driving us further apart – and what can be done about them. They start by asking the sociologist Paula Surridge whether we've become a nation divided into two tribes: liberals and…

A trailer for the new podcast series from the RSA: 'Polarised'. Matthew Taylor and the author of 'Born Liars' and 'Curious', Ian Leslie, investigate the forces driving us further apart – and what can be done about them.Oleh The RSA

Rachel O’Brien talks to ‘Tom’ – not his real name – who although still young, has spent nearly half of his life inside. Despite some fantastic governors and staff, the prison service is still under acute pressure due to cuts in funding and staffing. Ironically, the officer due to join us for this episode was unable to do so because of an incident i…

Having been convicted for trafficking, CJ served her sentence in Japan and the UK. Studying a law degree through the Open University, CJ now works for SOS, part of the St. Giles Trust, a charity working to break the cycle of reoffending. While still in prison, the Longford Trust matched CJ with Jessica Jones, a barrister working in human rights law…

Gethin’s early life included time spent in care, and years spent going in and out of prison. Now in his forties, he runs his own successful business. For the RSA, Rachel O’Brien talked to him about his journey, and to Bruce, the first person to give Gethin a full-time job knowing his past. “Volunteering got me to the stage where I was able to go in…

Hardly a day goes by without headlines reminding us of the huge challenges facing the UK’s prison service. The system depends on having the right staffing and the right resources in place. But it also depends on prisoners being able to develop – and sustain – positive relationships. In this series for the RSA, Rachel O’Brien explores some of the co…

The accelerating pace of political and economic change can be disorienting – but, for some, change isn’t happening fast enough. Matthew Taylor is joined by the journalist Andy Beckett and the philosophers Benjamin Noys and Nina Power to find out about ‘Accelerationism’ a philosophy with both Left and Right variants - bubbling into the mainstream - …

When economies stop growing they go into crisis, but it seems impossible for them to grow forever without causing ecological catastrophe. Matthew Taylor talks to Tim Jackson about the big dilemma in sustainability and the updated and expanded second edition of ‘Prosperity without Growth’ (2017). Can we safely stabilize the size of the economy? What…

Matthew Taylor talks to Kate Pickett co-author of ‘The Spirit Level’ (2009) which argued inequality is bad for everyone (even the rich) citing evidence that the overall of burden health and social problems was worse in more unequal countries. Can simply knowing that people have a lot more or less than you do be bad for your health? Both sides of th…

Matthew Taylor talks to Geoff Mulgan about his book ‘Connexity’ (1997). Shortly after its publication Geoff became an advisor to Tony Blair’s newly formed New Labour government. The book described how the growth in global connectedness had ushered in a new age of interdependence which was at odds with our focus on individual freedom and demanded an…

Can ideas change the world? Matthew Taylor talks to David Willetts about intergenerational inequality and his book ‘The Pinch: How the baby boomers stole their children’s future and why they should give it back’ (2010). Since its publication, inequality between the generations has only gotten worse. Why is it so difficult to turn peoples concern fo…

At its best work can provide more than an income but meaning, purpose and community. In the final episode in our Work Shift series Matthew Taylor explores the characteristics of Good Work, how this compares with peoples’ working lives today and whether we could make all work Good Work in the 21st century. He’s joined by: the sociologist Richard Sen…

Login, complete gigs, get paid. The “gig economy” promises to deliver flexible working, efficiency and consumer convenience but some platforms may be dodging their responsibilities as employers. How should they be regulated? And can their benefits be combined with fair and decent work? Anthony Painter is joined by Trebor Scholz, a leading advocate …

A number of forces are combining to make work less stable and predictable. We’re switching jobs and retraining much more frequently. The job for life era appears to be history - is a universal basic income the right response? In episode two of ‘Work Shift’ Anthony Painter - Director of The RSA’s Action Research Centre - explores the different ratio…

Could advances in technology like big data, machine learning and robotics replace jobs faster than new ones can be created? How should we understand the impact of automation on the labour market? And how should government and society respond? In the first episode in our 'Work Shift' series exploring the big debates in the changing nature of work, M…

We are anxious to succeed but terrified of failing. Matthew Taylor interviews RSA fellow Moses Sangobiyi about his single minded attempts to break into professional American Football, what he learnt from falling short and why he’s on a mission to let people know that it’s ok to fail. Music: Lobo Loco - Mountain Creek…