Polarised

Global crises cause big changes and reveal deep structural weaknesses. As drastic measures are taken across the world to stop the spread of COVID-19,  what are the short, medium and long term implications for our society, our economy, geopolitics - and us as individuals?In this special interview series from the RSA, it’s chief executive, Matthew Taylor, talks to a range of practitioners - from scholars to business leaders, politicians to journalists - to assess the scale of the response and consider how we build effective bridges to our new future. Isabel Hilton is a journalist, broadcaster and CEO of chinadialogue.net. Produced by Craig Templeton SmithIn this time of global change, strong communities and initiatives that bring people together are more invaluable than ever before. The RSA Fellowship is a global network of problem solvers. We invite you to join our community today to stay connected, inspired and motivated in the months ahead. You can learn more about the Fellowship or start an application by c

Global crises cause big changes and reveal deep structural weaknesses. As drastic measures are taken across the world to stop the spread of COVID-19,  what are the short, medium and long term implications for our society, our economy, geopolitics - and us as individuals?In this special interview series from the RSA, it’s chief executive, Matthew Taylor, talks to a range of practitioners - from scholars to business leaders, politicians to journalists - to assess the scale of the response and consider how we build effective bridges to our new future. Torsten Bell is the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, an organisation working to improve the lives of people on low to middle incomes. Produced by Craig Templeton SmithIn this time of global change, strong communities and initiatives that bring people together are more invaluable than ever before. The RSA Fellowship is a global network of problem solvers. We invite you to join our community today to stay connected, inspired and motivated in the months a

Global crises cause big changes and reveal deep structural weaknesses. As drastic measures are taken across the world to stop the spread of COVID-19,  what are the short, medium and long term implications for our society, our economy, geopolitics - and us as individuals?In this special interview series from the RSA, it’s chief executive, Matthew Taylor, talks to a range of practitioners - from scholars to business leaders, politicians to journalists - to assess the scale of the response and consider how we build effective bridges to our new future. Geoff Mulgan is Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London.  Produced by Craig Templeton SmithIn this time of global change, strong communities and initiatives that bring people together are more invaluable than ever before. The RSA Fellowship is a global network of problem solvers. We invite you to join our community today to stay connected, inspired and motivated in the months ahead. You can learn more a

Today, if you log on to the internet, just how safe are you from radicalisation? Extremist groups are by no means a new phenomenon, but the internet has radically changed the way these groups operate, turbo-charging their ability to target and recruit susceptible people and advance dangerous agendas. And in a year when America heads to the polls, are any of our democratic elections immune to foreign interference? Already AI is learning how to write convincing newspaper articles and books, generate pictures of people that don’t exist and manipulate faces in real time.So as technology becomes more sophisticated, how do we safeguard ourselves and our democratic institutions from this existential threat? RSA chief executive Matthew Taylor is joined by Julia Ebner, author of Going Dark: The Secret Lives of Extremists, and Archon Fung, Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. Produced by Craig Templeton SmithBrought to you by the RSA.

If there’s one thing our polarised politicians can agree on, it’s that our prison system is broken. Overcrowded. Under staffed. Drug Ridden. And violent. Incarceration is riddled with issues which are complex and inextricably interwoven.   The last 10 years has seen a 20% cut to the prisons budget. One former prisons minister - Rory Stewart - said prisoners often emerge more dangerous than when they entered the system, something we’ve seen with two recent terrorist attacks in London. So, if there’s a consensus that the system is failing on an epic scale, how do we turn this around and create a prison network fit for the 2020s?Ian and Matthew are joined by Chris Atkins, author of A Bit of A Stretch, and Jason Warr, lecturer in criminology at De Montfort university

In this politically charged age of instant communication, how do we talk about race and racism?To help us have better conversations about this divisive subject Matthew and Ian have enlisted the help of geneticist Adam Rutherford whose forthcoming book is called, 'How to Argue with a Racist', and Nimco Ali, an FGM activist who is the author of ‘What We’re Told Not to Talk About (But We’re Going to Anyway)’.Produced by Craig Templeton Smith.Brought to you by the RSA.

A new decade has dawned.  But following their most devastating election defeat in 80 years, what new dawn awaits the British Labour party? If there’s one thing the Corbyn years will be remembered for it’s the rampant ideological in-fighting between the left and the right of the party, Momentum versus the Blairites, leavers and remainers.   But now with the leadership contest in full swing, and a new successor to be named on the 4th of April, will the party seize the opportunity to elect a leader who can heal the deep divides within the party and end the civil war - and maybe one day win them an election too?Matthew Taylor and Ian Leslie are joined by  journalist Ayesha Hazarika and former Labour insider Chris Clarke who has just published Warring Fictions, a critique of Corbynism and left populism.  Produced by Craig Templeton Smith. 

The British people have spoken.  In the first December election since 1923, it’s turned out to be Christmas with all the trimmings for Boris Johnson, while Corbyn’s Labour party have been cruelly thrown out into the cold. Many called this our most polarised election in living memory.  So in the wake of this Tory triumph and Labour drubbing, where do we go from here? With Britain now finally set to leave the EU on the 31st of January, will we see our politics becoming even more tribal and divided? Are the populist movements of the right and left here to stay?Matthew Taylor and Ian Leslie are joined by Times columnist,  Mercy Muroki, and Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, to dissect the election result and consider the future of British politics. Produced by Craig Templeton Smith.Brought to you by the RSA.

More than ever our broadcasters are accused of bias and spin, and the subject of wild conspiracy theories. Have they brought these attacks upon themselves? For those at the top of our broadcast media, what’s the right response to a polarised political landscape? And can they win back the growing minority who have lost trust in what they see and hear?Recorded the day after the Channel 4 climate change debate, Matthew Taylor and Ian Leslie speak to Dorothy Byrne, the broadcaster's head of news and current affairs, and author of, ‘Trust Me, I’m Not a Politician’.  Produced by James Shield and Craig Templeton Smith.Brought to you by the RSA.

The tide of public opinion has turned against the big tech firms. How serious of a threat are these companies to democracy? Are they having a malign impact on our economies? And if they are, can people and governments stand up to Silicon Valley?The RSA's director of economy, Asheem Singh, speaks to Roger McNamee, an early investor in Facebook – now turned vocal critic – and author of ‘Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe’.Plus: Ian Leslie and Matthew Taylor dish out some free advice to the tech giants. You're welcome, Mr. Zuckerberg.Watch Roger McNamee's full RSA talk here.Produced by James Shield and Craig Templeton Smith.Brought to you by the RSA.

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.

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 from either side of the pond: director of the Pew Research Center, Michael Dimock; and director of the Policy Institute at King's College London, Bobby Duffy.LinksAnarchy in the UK (and Everywhere Else): The Ideological Roots of PopulismA “Need for Chaos” and the Sharing of Hostile Political Rumors in Advanced DemocraciesMatthew Taylor: Populism is growing because more people than you think want chaosIan Leslie: British voters are divided into anarchists and centrists – but the anarchists are calling the shotsYouTube: King's College London event: The state of trust, facts and democracyYouTube: The RSA: Why We're Wrong About Nearly Everything with Bobby DuffyPolarised: I

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. Produced by James Shield. Brought to you by 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 hope. I want you to panic. And then I want you to act.” But on climate change and many other issues, fear can turn into fatalism. So how can we remain hopeful without losing a sense of reality? Share this episode on Twitter. Recorded live at Wilderness Festival on Saturday 3rd August 2019. Produced by James Shield. Brought to you by the RSA.

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 theory: the four paths to polarisation. Twitter: Matthew Taylor Ian Leslie Produced by James Shield. Brought to you by the RSA.

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? Guests: James Meadway, former economic policy adviser to shadow chancellor John McDonnell Gregory Claeys, professor of the history of political thought at Royal Holloway, University of London Presented by Matthew Taylor. Produced by James Shield. Brought to you by the RSA.

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 encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).

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. Share this episode Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Guests Clare 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 Comm

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: Americans lose their taste for going to church Theos think tank European Council on Foreign Relations: What Europeans Really Want: Five Myths Debunked Produced by James Shield. Brought to you by the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).

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 Matthew Taylor. Featuring: Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and America’s pre-eminent presidential historian. Author of Leadership: Lessons from the Presidents from Turbulent Times. Cass Sunstein, co-author of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness, on the use of behavioural economics in shaping social policy, author of How Change Happens, and Robert Walmsley Professor at Harvard. Roberto Mangabeira Unger, philosopher and author of The Knowledge Economy. Produced by James Shield. Brought to you by the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).