We like to imagine society is structured by rationality and reason. But, really, isn’t everything a matter of chance? Ros Taylor talks to Brian Klaas, associate professor of global politics at UCL, about his new book Fluke: Chance, chaos and why everything we do matters, in The Bunker and to discuss how randomness shapes our lives. 

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• “Unforeseen events have shaped everything economically and politically in our lives. The illusion of control causes us to be hubristic in how we navigate uncertainty, and that’s a very big problem social science needs to grapple with.” – Brian Klaas

• “Very often people on the political left are worried about the idea of determinism because they say ‘this lets injustice off the hook’. The flip side of that is you believe that everyone dictates their own future – which is what the political right often says." – Brian Klaas

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Written and Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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