Politics & Society

There are increasing signs that support for a Universal Basic Income is growing across the developed world. But what is it exactly and how would it work in the UK? Anthony Painter, Director of Policy and Strategy at the RSA, explains some of the benefits of a Universal Basic Income as against the UK’s current

The world is full of wannabe ‘change agents’; a mix of campaigners, lobbyists, organisations and officials – all determined to transform the world. But how can we effect REAL change in the world? Watch Duncan Green, Senior Strategic Adviser at Oxfam GB, on How Change Happens in our latest RSA Spotlight – the edits which

Our expert panel discuss findings on the state of wellbeing in the UK and how government and business leaders can use the data to transform our health, happiness and productivity

John Gray, one of Britain’s most provocative and stimulating philosophers, visits the RSA to discuss the ideas raised in ‘The Silence of Animals’ – the much-anticipated sequel to the best-selling ‘Straw Dogs’. Chair: Jonathan Derbyshire, culture editor, New Statesman Listen to the podcast of the full event including audience Q&A: http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2013/the-silence-of-animals-on-progress-and-other-modern-myths Follow the RSA on

Is tribalism an indelible part of human nature? And if it is, can we overcome it?

Introducing RSA Spotlights – taking you straight to the heart of the event, highlighting our favourite moments and key talking points. In this excerpt from the event “Let’s Talk About Death”, Will Self, Joanna Cook, Stephen Cave and Jonathan Rowson exchange views on the role of ritual in coming to terms with our mortality. Watch

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the RSA, introduces the RSA in this short video about who we are: our history, our work, our Fellowship and our future. Purpose, vision & strategy In the light of new challenges and opportunities for the human race, the RSA seeks to develop and promote new ways of thinking about

*Please be aware that there are some images used in this talk of a violent nature. Mark Pagel, one of the world’s leading experts on human evolution and development, visits the RSA to investigate our species’ capacity for culture, cooperation and community. Listen to the podcast of the full event including audience Q&A: http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2012/wired-for-culture Our

Building on the agenda set out in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View, Health as a Social Movement is a three year programme to understand and support social movements in health and care. This animation ‘More Than a Pill’ has been sponsored through the RSA Student Design Awards as part the programme in order to

How can we deal with the addictive nature of speed? Carl Honoré, Gervais Williams, Deepa Patel and Kate Fletcher explore how we can improve our quality of life, well-being and creativity by applying the principles of slow. Listen to the podcast of the full event including audience Q&A: http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2012/the-slow-revolution Follow the RSA on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thersaorg

Sir David Cannadine, one of Britain’s most distinguished historians visits the RSA to provide a new paradigm for historical understanding that emphasises our commonalities, rather than our differences. Distinguished human rights lawyer, barrister and academic, Professor Conor Gearty argues that a new vision of universal freedom is urgently required. Follow the RSA on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thersaorg

Mark Fisher OBE presents the 2012 RDI Address, explaining the development of the industry and the technology that supports large-scale touring live entertainment. Listen to the podcast of the full event including audience Q&A: http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2012/rdi-address-2012-armies-of-pleasure Follow the RSA on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thersaorg Like the RSA on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thersaorg Find out more about: StuFish: http://www.stufish.com/ Royal Designers

James Timpson OBE is taking his family business to new heights with an innovative recruitment and staff development approach which achieves commercial and social goals. Watch the full replay here: https://youtu.be/okLDBi2BGE8 RSA Spotlights – taking you straight to the heart of the event, highlighting our favourite moments and key talking points. In this excerpt from

Marx’s ‘Capital’ is one of the most important texts of the modern era and continues to resonate today. Professor David Harvey, the world’s leading expert on Karl Marx, explains the continued importance of Marx’s analysis and how we can apply it to today’s economy and society. Watch Professor David Harvey in our latest RSA Spotlight

Animator: Charlie Griffin Voice: Tiffany Dufu BRIEF: Moving Pictures, conceive and produce an animation to accompany one of two selected audio files that will clarify, energise and illuminate the content Visit the RSA Student Design Awards website: http://sda.thersa.org/ Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents Like the RSA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theRSAorg Listen to RSA podcasts: https://soundcloud.com/the_rsa

Animator: Charlie Griffin Voice: Sam Conniff Allende BRIEF: Moving Pictures, conceive and produce an animation to accompany one of two selected audio files that will clarify, energise and illuminate the content Visit the RSA Student Design Awards website: http://sda.thersa.org/ Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents Like the RSA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theRSAorg Listen to RSA podcasts:

RSA Spotlights – taking you straight to the heart of the event, highlighting our favourite moments and key talking points. How should we adapt and change in the face of unprecedented disruption to the world of work? It is tempting to dismiss disruption as yet another business fad. But nothing could be more wrong. In

Introducing RSA Spotlights – taking you straight to the heart of the event, highlighting our favourite moments and key talking points. In this except from the event, Mind Change, Susan Greenfield considers the vast range of technologies that are creating a new environment around us, and asks: how can we ensure these powerful forces bring

Acclaimed author and illustrator Matthew Johnstone reveals how simple daily practices can help us be more present, more positive, have better health and greater clarity. Listen to the podcast of the full event including audience Q&A: http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2012/quiet-the-mind Our events are made possible with the support of our Fellowship. Support us by donating or applying to

For more information about the event and to listen to the podcast go to the RSA event page: http://bit.ly/ShHjII What is economics? In the second of our exciting series of events celebrating the return of the popular and accessible Pelican books, economist Ha-Joon Chang will provide the tools that every responsible citizen needs to understand

How can we tackle the main challenges of our time: the economy in the short-term, life satisfaction in the mid-term, and environment in the long-term? Watch the full replay: https://youtu.be/n-1_DvzOjEk RSA Spotlights – taking you straight to the heart of the event, highlighting our favourite moments and key talking points. In this excerpt from the

Based on insights from psychology and neuroscience, renowned designer Ingrid Fetell Lee shows us how to find joy hiding in the everyday things around us. Watch Ingrid Fetell Leel in our latest RSA Spotlight – the edits which take you straight to the heart of the event! Enjoyed this snippet? Watch the full event here:

Sustainability expert Paul McMahon considers price spikes, market manipulation, land grabs and the race to control food supplies, and asks – can we feed a world of nine billion… and at what cost? Chair: Dr David McNair, head of growth, equity and livelihoods, Save the Children Listen to the podcast of the full event including

Oxfam senior researcher and former co-author of the UN’s annual Human Development Report Kate Raworth visits the RSA to explain ‘doughnut economics’ — the bold new theory that is sweeping the development world. Listen to the podcast of the full event including audience Q&A: http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2012/doughnut-economics-creating-a-safe-and-just-space-for-humanity Follow the RSA on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thersaorg Like the RSA on

Professor Howard Gardner explores the challenges facing today’s young people as they navigate three vital areas of adolescent life – identity, intimacy and imagination – in a digital world. How can we ensure that new technologies act as a springboard to greater creativity and higher aspiration? The event was chaired by Dr Jonathan Rowson, director,

Animator: James Lyle Voice: Matthew D’Ancona BRIEF: Moving Pictures, conceive and produce an animation to accompany one of two selected audio files that will clarify, energise and illuminate the content Visit the RSA Student Design Awards website: http://sda.thersa.org/ Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents Like the RSA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theRSAorg Listen to RSA podcasts: https://soundcloud.com/the_rsa

Artificial Intelligence and the Future with Demis Hassabis, Co-founder and CEO of DeepMind. How far can AI really take us? In this special event at the RSA, Demis Hassabis offers a unique insight from the frontiers of artificial intelligence research, and shares his latest thoughts on AI’s potential to help solve our biggest current and

This was the full webcast from the RSA Event on Monday, 1 July 2013. An edited video of the event will be available in HD in the near future. At the event, world-renowned educationalist Sir Ken Robinson delivers the long-awaited follow-up to his now legendary ‘Changing Education Paradigms’ talk. Chaired by Matthew Taylor, RSA chief

In this new RSA Animate, renowned experimental psychologist Steven Pinker shows us how the mind turns the finite building blocks of language into infinite meanings. Taken from the RSA’s free public events programme www.thersa.org/events. Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents Like the RSA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsofficial/ Listen to RSA podcasts: https://soundcloud.com/the_rsa See RSA Events behind

The New York Times’ health and science editor Barbara Strauch visits the RSA to reveal the latest research that shows that the middle-aged brain is more flexible, more capable and more surprisingly talented than previously thought.

Environmental expert Mike Berners-Lee provides the facts we need to make more carbon-conscious purchases and lifestyle decisions.

The Future of Humankind with Yuval Harari. What is the next stage of human evolution? How will we protect this fragile planet and humankind itself from our own destructive powers? Professor and author Yuval Harari envisions our future: a not-too-distant world in which we face a new set of challenges and possibilities. With his trademark

Leading evolutionary psychologist Robert Kurzban visits the RSA to argue that there is no “I” but that instead each of us is a contentious “we”.

César visits the RSA to present a new view of the relationship between individual and collective knowledge, linking information theory, economics and biology to explain the deep evolution of social and economic systems. In a radical rethink of what an economy is, one of WIRED magazine’s 50 People Who Could Change the World, César Hidalgo

Internationally influential thinker on education and creativity, Sir Ken Robinson considers how higher education institutions might play a greater role in developing the creative capacities of their students. His RSA Animate ‘Changing Educational Paradigms’ galvanised thinking about the role that creativity plays in schools: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U RSA Spotlights – taking you straight to the heart of

This is the full webcast from the RSA event including Q&A from the audience on Thursday 4 July at 1pm BST. There is also an edited HD video available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXSjc-pbXk4. For more information about this talk, visit the RSA event page http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2013/the-power-of-vulnerability Dr Brené Brown has spent the past twelve years carrying out ground-breaking

In the inaugural RSA Tindale Lecture, Alice Rawsthorn, leading design critic and author of the forthcoming book “Hello World: Where Design Meets Life”, explores the powerful and pervasive influence of design in our lives — and addresses design’s social responsibilities. SUBSCRIBE to our channel! Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents Like RSA Events on Facebook:

Leading social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the uniquely human ability for self-transcendence, and shows how this is crucial for understanding the origins of morality and religion. Listen to the podcast of the full event including audience Q&A: http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2012/the-groupish-gene-hive-psychology-and-the-origins-of-morality-and-religion Our events are made possible with the support of our Fellowship. Support us by donating or applying

“Academic magician” Professor Todd Landman reveals how successful people make their good decisions. Listen to the audio from the full event: http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2011/rational-intuition-strategic-thinking-and-gut-instinct-for-successful-leadership

The Sharing Economy with collaborative economy expert Rachel Botsman. The sharing economy has grown rapidly in the last 5 years, and is now popularized by big players such as Airbnb and Uber. What steps need to be taken now to unlock its full social potential and to ensure it remains an economic model that empowers

How do we build a future that doesn’t leave humans behind? Erik Brynjolfsson, co-author of Machine, Platform, Crowd argues that ‘deep learning’ technologies can do much more than routine work. So how do we harness technological progress to benefit the many, not just the few? Watch Erik Brynjolfsson, Co-founder and Director of MIT Initiative on

Watch this 5 Minute Life Lesson interview with Bernadette Jiwa, global authority on the role of story in business, innovation and marketing, and author of “Hunch: Turn Your Everyday Insights Into the Next Big Thing”. These bite-sized interviews offer backstage access insights – with brand new, updated questions, hear about what makes Bernadette happy, who

The House provides a unique setting for your special day, offering Georgian grandeur, contemporary style and surprising spaces under one roof. A short walk from the River Thames, Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square, it is an unrivalled location in the heart of London.

How do our brains generate new ideas, and how can we nurture that process? Bestselling author Leonard Mlodinow reveals the secrets of flexible thinking. Watch academic, bestselling author and Star Trek scriptwriter Leonard Mlodinow, in our latest RSA Spotlight – the edits which take you straight to the heart of the event! Enjoyed this snippet?

Benedict Dellot discusses a new RSA report looking at the living standards of the self-employed. It touches upon issues such as earnings, mortgages, pensions and welfare, and makes the case for why we need to take the living standards of the self-employed more seriously. For more information about the report visit https://www.thersa.org/discover/publications-and-articles/reports/boosting-the-living-standards-of-the-self-employed/ RSA Insights, videos