RSA Radio

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 MIT, where she is co-director of the Poverty Action Lab.

In this wide-ranging interview she makes the case for how economics, when done right, can help us solve the thorniest social and political problems of our times.

Produced by James Shield.

Brought to you by the RSA.

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 world history...

Links

• Washington Post: The top 10 reasons American politics are so broken, by Jonathan Haidt and Sam Abrams, January 2015
• The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff
• YouTube: Why a 21st Century Enlightenment Needs Walls | Jonathan Haidt | RSA Replay
• Twilight of the Elite: The Prosperous, the Periphery, and the Future of France by Christophe Guilluy
• We Made History: Citizens of 35 Countries Overestimate Their Nation's Role in World History
• Ian's newsletter, The Ruffian - TinyLetter

Twitter:

• Matthew Taylor
• Ian Leslie
• Jonathan Haidt

Produced by James Shield.

Brought to you by the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).

www.thersa.org

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 the US. And Matthew interviews the Emmy-winning director and photographer Lauren Greenfield, whose new documentary 'Generation Wealth' (out in the UK on 20th July) looks back at her career, and tells the story of how the American Dream came to be corrupted.

###Links###

Full Disclosure:

• The Atlantic: People Voted for Trump Because They Were Anxious, Not Poor
• Understanding the Social and Cultural Bases of Brexit
• New York Times: Trump Voters Driven by Fear of Losing Status, Not Economic Anxiety, Study Finds
• RSA report: Addressing economic insecurity

Faiza Shaheen interview:

• Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS)
• Gini coefficient
• CLASS factsheet: How unequal is the UK?
• CLASS report: 'Minority Report: Race and Class in post-Brexit Britain', edited by Omar Khan and Faiza Shaheen
• Podcast: CLASS on Class miniseries hosted by Faiza Shaheen

Lauren Greenfield interview:

• Generation Wealth trailer
• Wikipedia: Lauren Greenfield
• RSA Event: How inequality gets inside our heads, with Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, authors of 'The Spirit Level' and 'The Inner Level'

The Provocation:

• Centre for Social Investigation: People’s Stated Reasons for Voting Leave or Remain
• A Tale of Two Houses: The House of Commons, the Big Brother House and the People at Home

Twitter:

• Faiza Shaheen on Twitter
• Lauren Greenfield on Twitter
• Ian Leslie on Twitter
• Matthew Taylor on Twitter

Produced by James Shield, with production help from Jade Vowles.

Brought to you by the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).

www.theRSA.org

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 shift in public opinion and political will? Can the energy behind it be harnessed? And can our politicians unite against climate change in time to stop the worst of it?

This week, Matthew Taylor and Ian Leslie ask where the climate movement goes next.

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Guests

• Claire Farrell, Extinction Rebellion
• Dr Alice Bell, 10:10 Climate Action

Links

• Video of Extinction Rebellion meeting with Michael Gove
• 10:10 Climate Action
• Matthew Taylor discussing citizens' assemblies on the Extinction Rebellion podcast

Produced by James Shield.

Brought to you by the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).

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 everything', and we ask whether all of our society's problems stem from a yearning for solidarity and belonging.

Links

• Ian Leslie on fake news – New Statesman
• The problem for democracies isn't "fake news" but pathological consumerism – Thomas Wells for ABC
• Matthew Taylor: Reprogramming the future – on hierarchy, solidarity, individualism, and fatalism
• Netflix: The Vietnam War
• Bodyguard (BBC)

Produced by James Shield.

Brought to you by the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).

www.thersa.org