RSA Conversations

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 with capitalism – go next?

Presented by Matthew Taylor.

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Music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Produced by James Shield.

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

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 sometimes we need to protect ourselves from what’s really going on? And what should we do about the malign online forces that are driving more people to construct their own truth?

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Produced by James Shield.

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

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 Paula Surridge from the University of Bristol about public opinion and the centre.

Plus: what is Tom Watson up to?

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Produced by James Shield.

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

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 spotlight.

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Produced by James Shield.

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

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 news website Zeit Online.

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Produced by James Shield.

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

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.

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Produced by James Shield.

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

www.thersa.org

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. Conflicts between identity groups now dominate our politics. How did we get here? Is the rise of identity politics really that big a problem? And if it is, what should we do about it?

Francis Fukuyama, author of 'The End of History and the Last Man' and more recently 'Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment', joins Matthew Taylor and Ian Leslie to give his take on the rise of identity politics.

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Produced by James Shield.

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

www.thersa.org

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…

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Produced by James Shield.

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

www.thersa.org

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.

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Produced by James Shield.

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

www.thersa.org

Is democracy falling apart? How worried should we be? And how can we fix it? With Niheer Dasandi, author of 'Is Democracy Failing?' (part of the Big Idea series from Thames & Hudson), and Eliane Glaser, author of 'Anti-Politics: On the Demonisation of Ideology, Authority and the State'.

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Produced by James Shield. With thanks to Thames & Hudson.

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

www.thersa.org