Sebastian Mallaby is one of the world’s most admired and respected financial storytellers. In his new book The Power Law he draws on unprecedented access to insiders and legendary figures of the venture capital community to tell the origin stories of the VC-backed enterprises that have changed our world in recent decades, from Apple and Google to eBay and Alibaba. 

The key to understanding the venture capitalist mindset, he explains, is to grasp that they operate according to an enduring financial ‘power law’ which justifies big bets on ‘moon-shot’ projects due to the outsize rewards of rare success. 

But can we trust the path of innovation and the global economy to a tribe of maverick risk-takers? The VC community is notorious for its lack of gender and racial diversity. High profile scandals, toxic cultures and profound imbalances of power and equity have soured the public mood towards the tech-industrial complex that it has hugely shaped. 

Is a VC-funded future compatible with the pursuit of a more democratic and inclusive economy and society? 

Mallaby insists venture capital has an important role to play in liberating the finance and expertise that will create the transformative scientific and technological innovations that will improve all our lives. 

Indeed, he argues, VC networks combine and complement the roles of markets and corporations to form an essential ‘third pillar’ of modern capitalism. And so it’s more important than ever to understand how VCs think and operate so their skills can be harnessed more effectively for the global common good.  

#RSAVenture 

Become an RSA Events sponsor: https://utm.guru/udI9x

Donate to The RSA: https://utm.guru/udNNB

Follow RSA Events on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/

Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents

Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsofficial

Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU

Farming is the single greatest cause of environmental destruction: we have plundered our land and pillaged our rivers and oceans to feed ourselves, yet millions still go hungry and our food system is faltering. We need a food revolution – and the answer, says author and environmental activist George Monbiot, lies beneath our feet.

Exploring incredible advances in soil ecology, Monbiot lays out a vision for a new food future in which we farm less but grow more, producing cheap and healthy food in abundance. He reveals the people and initiatives already paving the way towards a new era in food – from perennial grain crops to innovators uncovering new ways to grow proteins – and considers how a radical reimagining of our food could transform our relationship with the living planet.

#RSAfoodfuture

Become an RSA Events sponsor: https://utm.guru/udI9x

Donate to The RSA: https://utm.guru/udNNB

Follow RSA Events on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/

Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents

Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsofficial

Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU

Across Britain, people of all generations are being priced out of homeownership, shut out of social housing options, and required to find a home in the private rental sector. Recent decades have seen this sector reshaped by Right to Buy, Buy to Let, divestment in social housing and deregulation, creating a situation where rents are rising faster than incomes and landlords hold more rights than their tenants.

Combined with the lasting impact of the pandemic and the rising cost of living, Britain is faced with a housing emergency.

Through the lens of history, politics and deeply personal stories, Vicky Spratt traces the policy decisions that have led us to this moment, uncovers the brutal impact of bad renting on our lives, and sets out the real, radical steps we can take to give everyone the chance of a safe and secure home.

#RSATenants

Become an RSA Events sponsor: https://utm.guru/udI9x

Donate to The RSA: https://utm.guru/udNNB

Follow RSA Events on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/

Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents

Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsofficial

Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU

Youth populations across Sub-Saharan African countries are growing at rapid rates compared to other countries globally. With more than 42% of the population under 14 years old, Nigeria is one of the youngest countries in the world.

This sharp population shift is ushering in a thriving culture of innovation and disrupting societal norms as more young people move to cities, challenge traditional political structures, and reap the benefits of more widespread access to technology. A growing diaspora is also altering perceptions of what it means to be Nigerian and African, both at home and on an international stage.

2021-2022 Nine Dots Prize winner, Trish Lorenz, argues that research and reportage of youth experiences has traditionally focused on the West, leaving much to be said about the challenges and opportunities faced by the young in prospering cities like Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria. Here Trish Lorenz shares unique stories and big questions that arose from her time speaking with these exciting, young entrepreneurs, artists, and activists.

#RSAyoungdisruptors

Become an RSA Events sponsor: https://utm.guru/udI9x

Donate to The RSA: https://utm.guru/udNNB

Follow RSA Events on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/

Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents

Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsofficial

Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU

Language is powerful, and often political. With ‘free speech’ debates dominating the so-called culture wars, and hate speech finding new outlets online, we must consider the impact of how words are used, and understand how language both binds and frees us. How does language act as a frame of reference for what we treat as important? What does this mean for who gets to speak freely, and which perspectives are privileged over others? How do we perceive things like gender differently depending on the words we use?

Writer and activist Kübra Gümuşay looks across languages and cultures to explore how our words influence – and are influenced by – our politics, our perceptions, and our values. Only by understanding the role of language in shaping our truth, she says, can we uncover the humility to engage with a multiplicity of perspectives – and truly hear one another. 

#RSAlanguage

Become an RSA Events sponsor: https://utm.guru/ueemb
Donate to The RSA: https://utm.guru/udNNB
Follow RSA Events on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/
Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents
Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsoff...
Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU

We live in a world of tumultuous change, in which democracy is in retreat, geopolitical risks are multiplying, the climate crisis is accelerating and the pandemic continues to shape our world.

Societies need to learn how to seize and shape new solutions. Yet, we come to these challenges with the historic patterns of gender disadvantage still marring life chances.

Based on her experiences in politics and her work at the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard will lay out the intersections between leadership, learning and gender today and how we need to advance the global agenda.

The event will include an introduction from HRH The Princess Royal, RSA President.

Find out more about the RSA’s Cities of Learning programme which explores how to promote equality of outcomes for people and places. 

#RSAlearning

Become an RSA Events sponsor: https://utm.guru/ueemb
Donate to The RSA: https://utm.guru/udNNB
Follow RSA Events on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/
Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents
Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsoff...
Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU

When news of every catastrophe – a war, an earthquake, a terrorist attack – can reach across the world in a matter of moments, we can hardly fathom the human impact. We wonder: in these worst of moments, how do people find the strength to come together, pick up the pieces, and begin to heal?

Lucy Easthope has spent her life at the edges of disaster, coordinating the response and recovery in the wake of countless seismic events etched on all our memories. From 9/11 to the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and the Grenfell Tower fire, she has helped communities rally together, advocated for victims, survivors, and families, and made plans for how to manage unknown disasters to come. She reflects on how in these huge, defining moments, it’s often the small things that really matter, and on the strength, solace, and resilience that can be found in the darkest of times.

A world-leading authority on disaster response, Professor Easthope joins theologian, poet, and former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to share the stories of how we rebuild after disaster strikes. Together they reflect on how the human spirit carries us through our greatest losses, and how no matter the magnitude of what has happened, compassion, connection, and hope can – and must – always be found.

#RSADisasterResponse

Become an RSA Events sponsor: https://utm.guru/ueemb
Donate to The RSA: https://utm.guru/udNNB
Follow RSA Events on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/
Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents
Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsoff...
Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU

The debate around whether we should eat animals has historically been the domain of an ethically minded minority, but with the recent surge in vegetarianism and veganism, it is now posed every day on restaurant menus, on supermarket shelves and at the family dinner table.

This dietary shift has re-awoken age-old questions, concerns and contradictions surrounding the place of meat in our diet. How should we align our love for animals with their place on our plates? Is there an ethical way to eat meat? What impact does our appetite for meat have on the planet, the animals we consume, and the humans involved in rearing and slaughtering?

Expert in the many complexities of the meat paradox, Rob Percival examines the politics of meat from hunter-gatherer origins to the industrial scale of modern consumption to consider the psychology of our dietary choices and what role meat should play in our future diet.

#RSAeatingmeat

Become an RSA Events sponsor: https://utm.guru/ueemb
Donate to The RSA: https://utm.guru/udNNB
Follow RSA Events on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/
Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents
Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsoff...
Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU

Today’s energy sector is grappling with an unprecedented price crisis whilst also looking out on an ambitious journey to deliver Net Zero by 2050. This period of recovery and transformation will have a huge impact on households, businesses, and industries, potentially requiring substantial financial investment and behaviour change from us all.

With such large-scale change ahead, it is imperative to consider the power of collective, community-driven change within the energy sector.

Against the backdrop of the current crisis, an expert panel will reflect on ongoing community energy projects and discuss their place in the future of the sector. Speakers will explore how community energy fits into the vision for a just and fair green transition and ask how the sector can get better at asking ‘what if’ and creating smoother pathways for future innovation.

#RSAEnergy

Become an RSA Events sponsor: https://utm.guru/udI9x

Donate to The RSA: https://utm.guru/udNNB

Follow RSA Events on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/

Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents

Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsofficial

Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU

In September 2021, RSA Chief Executive Andy Haldane was appointed by the Prime Minister to define and develop the flagship national levelling up strategy – a decade-long moral, social and economic cross-government, cross-society programme to spread opportunity and prosperity to all parts of the UK.

Kicking off a series of talks around the country, Andy Haldane explores how the White Paper’s ambitious vision and 12 national levelling up missions can now be made a reality in towns and cities in every part of the UK, by 2030.

#RSAlevellingup

Become an RSA Events sponsor: https://utm.guru/udI9x

Donate to The RSA: https://utm.guru/udNNB

Follow RSA Events on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/

Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents

Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsofficial

Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU