In conversation with Ritula Shah, Thomas will dissect the aftermath of the 2024 US presidential election. He will share his insights into the political turbulence ahead, analysing what the election means for the US, its allies and the wider international community.

For years, foreign lobbyists have worked as foot-soldiers for the most authoritarian regimes around the planet. In the process, they’ve not only entrenched dictatorships and spread kleptocratic networks, but they’ve secretly guided U.S. policy without the rest of America even being aware. Casey joins us to shed a light on this powerful group and the damage and devastation they have caused in Washington and elsewhere.

Nate joins us to present a new paradigm of politics and power that will shape the world for decades to come. This power belongs to a new class of professional risk-takers – including VCs, gamblers, tech moguls like Elon Musk and Sam Altman, and crypto-kings like Sam Bankman-Fried. This class, which Silver calls “The River”, drive progress: but they can also cause chaos.

With all the turbulence in our politics and on our campuses, what can universities do to address the major challenges our societies face? Larry  will talk about how universities balance the political challenges they face from within while fostering ideas that can help institutions outside address people’s economic and other needs.

In an alarming account of how autocracies work together to undermine the democratic world, Anne explains how members of Autocracy, Inc aren’t linked by a unifying ideology, like communism, but rather a common desire for power, wealth, and impunity. She calls for democracies to fundamentally reorient their policies to fight this new kind of threat.

Join us at Bloomberg’s spectacular European headquarters for breakfast and an all star panel discussing the forthcoming US election and the new UK Government.

After fourteen years of Conservative Government, Anthony discusses the impact of Conservative rule on a wide range of economic, social, foreign and governmental areas. For the next government, drawing the immediate lessons from this period will be pivotal if the country is to rejuvenate and flourish in the future.

We live in a chaotic, polarised, and unstable age: nothing less than an age of revolutions. Fareed, one of the world’s most sought after commentators, joins us to present his unique analysis of our current global epoch – and reveal what past revolutions including the Glorious Revolution, French Revolution and Industrial Revolution can teach us about navigating the illiberal backlash of our times.

Freshly returned from the front line, Janine will discuss the groundbreaking efforts her organisation is making to gather firsthand testimonies and evidence of war crimes in Ukraine. Collaborating closely with prosecutors, The Reckoning Project aims to eradicate impunity and bring perpetrators to justice.

With taxation at the highest level since the Second World War, the cost of living crisis biting hard and debt levels continuing to rise, the future is bleak. Paul joins us to offer thoughts on what could, and should, be done to get Britain growing again.

Heralding a new era of cooperation between European and Chinese industry pioneers in the areas of renewable energy, EVs, robotics and applied AI, we are co-hosting a cocktail reception with George Osborne and M31 Capital at the British Museum as part of the 2024 Europe Sustainability Summit. We will be joined by C-suite executives from 20 of China’s most prominent companies including Baidu, Xiaomi, BYD, Horizon Robotics, BioMap, Hithium, Foxconn and Inovance.

After three decades of deflation and stagnation, Japan is showing new signs of vigour, including price and wage hikes and a stock market hitting heights not seen since the late 1980s. Meanwhile China is experiencing a ‘Japanication’, with deflation, massive debt overhang from a real estate crisis and drops in FDI, employment and consumer sentiment not to mention trade and geo-political friction with the U.S. With an aging and shrinking population, is China headed for its own lost decades? Can Japan shake off its past and sustain its current recovery?

Stiglitz believes unbridled capitalism reduces economic opportunities, siphons wealth from the many to the few, and impacts our legal and social freedoms – from property and intellectual rights to education to social media. He will share a new vision of true human flourishing, offering an alternative to the neoliberal consensus and a powerful re-evaluation of democracy, economics, and the good society – along with a roadmap for how we can achieve it.

The Israel-Hamas war has shattered the relative optimism that emerged in preceding years. Reconciliation among the Middle East’s main rivals, the Abraham Accords, the Gulf states’ “prosperity first” agenda seemed to have ended a decade of intense rivalry and opened tantalizing prospects for regional cooperation. Instead, the current war has exposed the illusion that unresolved conflicts can be kept frozen and carries serious risks for regional stability.

The contest between America and China is global and unbridgeable, and it encompasses all major instruments of statecraft: diplomacy, technology, military power, intelligence, trade and investment. How we manage this contest will determine not only whether there is still space for international cooperation to deal with our many global challenges, from the climate emergency to the technological revolution, but also who gets to dominate the twenty-first century and, quite simply, the course of all our futures.

Ahead of publication of his forthcoming book, Andrew joins us to discuss the changes we will all need to make to ensure that our health, careers and finances match the longer lifespans we can all expect.

An essential start to the new year: Eurasia’s Chairman, Cliff Kupchan, outlines the key themes shaping the world today and the Top Risks that we face as we head into 2024.

Moderated by Simon Mundy, Moral Money Editor at the FT, we hear from three leaders in climate and impact investing. What role should private capital play in helping us to achieve our climate goals? How do policy, regulation and global climate commitments shape the investment environment? And how do we maximise the real world impact of private investment?

The World Economic Forum (14-19 Jan 2024) brought together leaders from governments, business, civil society and science to discuss the most pressing issues of the day and the outlook going forward. Børge brings us the round-up, the untold stories and his hopes and fears for the future.

Widely anticipated to become the first ever female Chancellor the Exchequer, Rachel joins Financial Times economics columnist Soumaya Keynes to outline her vision for the future of the economy: a future in which productivity is enhanced, growth is sustainable and there are opportunities for all, not just a few at the top (in collaboration with How to Academy).

Powerful, prosperous and authoritarian, China under the leadership of Xi Jinping has become a more intense competitor across the globe — economically, technologically, diplomatically, militarily, and in seeking to influence people’s hearts and minds. In this timely and illuminating talk, internationally renowned China scholar Bates Gill explains the fundamental motivations driving the country’s dynamic, risk-taking ambitions under Xi Jinping and the many challenges he now faces.

The Chinese economy that most Westerners picture is an incomplete sketch, based on Western dated assumptions and incomplete information. Keyu brings a new understanding of China, one that takes a holistic view of its history and its culture, shedding new light on its past, present, and its potential future.

Join us to hear about the start of the US presidential election race and its impact on financial regulation from Milken Institute’s head of MI Finance and former SEC regulator.

Gordon Brown joins business leader Mohamed A. El-Erian and Nobel laureate Michael Spence with a provocative vision for transforming our broken world (in collaboration with How To Academy).

Democracy is under threat in America and around the world. Ben, former Deputy National Security Advisor and senior advisor to former President Barack Obama, joins us to explain what he believes can and should be done to strengthen it.

It’s hard to navigate every twist and turn of the $90 trillion global economy but Stephanie brings clarity of thought and deep insight into the challenges we face.

With the global economy slowing and continued inflationary pressures resulting from the war in Ukraine, Zanny will address global economic issues and discuss what might happen next.

For years China’s young generation was prized as the country’s consumer engine and hope for deeper engagement with the West. After three years of COVID isolation and governance, slowing growth, and a limping job market, how will this young generation face their new reality? What do they portend for the government? What are the opportunities and challenges for global investors and businesses? Flying in from China to speak at the WSJ CEO Council, Zak Dychtwald joins us to discuss and field your questions about Post-Covid China

A member of the House of Lords International Affairs and Defence Committee, George will assess the current situation in Ukraine and the outlook moving forward.

As Chair of the Party, Greg is tasked with winning the next General Election for the Conservative Party. He talks of his experiences in Government and future vision for the Party.

Sharing over three decades of perspective on global issues, John brings a breadth and depth of insight in to the major questions we face today, geopolitically and economically.

Senator Sanders joins Frankie Boyle live on stage at Brighton Dome and via livestream to demand fundamental economic and political change. How can we accept an economic order that allows three billionaires to control more wealth than the bottom half of our society? How can we accept an energy system that rewards the fossil fuel corporations causing the climate crisis? This event is held in collaboration with How to Academy.

Democracy and capitalism are the political and economic ‘operating systems’ of today’s high-income democracies but the relationship between them is increasingly fragile. Martin explains how economic and political changes have undermined this relationship and asks what needs to be done in response to developments that threaten the survival of liberal democracy itself.

As a recognised leading expert on the relations between Europe, the US, and Asia and their implications for risk management by governments and private institutions, Robin highlights the most pressing risks of 2023.

Nouriel outlines the new risks in our uncharted future and how we deal with them. From the worst debt crisis the world has ever seen, to governments pumping out too much money and causing inflation, to borders that are blocked to workers and many shipments of goods, to the rise of a new superpower competition between China and the US, to pandemics and climate change that strike directly at our most populated cities, to the threat to jobs coming from AI, we are facing ten causes of disaster.

Bradley joins us to expand further on the remarkable story of Adrian Hong, the Korean American idealist who set out, improbably enough, to topple the North Korean regime.

Duncan joins us to detail the meteoric rise and spectacular downfall of Australian financier, Lex Greensill, and his company, Greensill Capital. This multibillion dollar scandal shook the very foundations of the British political system, drawing in swiss bankers, global CEOs and world leaders, including David Cameron.

Amid a worsening geopolitical situation and the upheaval created by the Conservative mini-budget, Ed sets out his vision for the future of our country, and the important role the Lib Dems can play in delivering it.

Scott’s urgent examination of the future of America. Scott Galloway looks from the past to the present – from 1945 to the 2020s – to reveal how America has reached its current state of political, social and economic crisis. It is on the brink of massive change, change that will disrupt the working of its economy and drastically impact its financial backbone, the middle class.

Changing demographics and technological change will create strong incentives for people to go back to school several times throughout their lives. How will individuals, companies, and governments adjust?

Desmond offers a rare insight into how China really works: an insider’s perspective on how the Chinese elite parlay their connections with senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials into billions. His knowledge and experience also inform his thoughtful and measured geopolitical views of these troubled and volatile times.

In conversation with John Micklethwait, Editor-in-Chief of Bloomberg, Kissinger analyses the lives of six extraordinary leaders through the distinctive strategies of statecraft which he believes they embodied. To each of these studies he brings historical perspective, public experience and personal knowledge (in collaboration with How to Academy).

Jeremy Hunt believes it is possible to reduce the number of preventable deaths in the NHS to zero – in the process saving money, reducing backlogs and improving working conditions. Thinking through everything from technology to culture, he presents a manifesto for renewal.

On the day of the publication of his book in the UK, The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats – and Our Response – Will Change the World, Ian will detail how domestic and international conflicts leave us unprepared for a trio of looming crises – global health emergencies, transformative climate change, and the AI revolution. He will detail to how governments, corporations, and every concerned citizen can use these coming crises to create the worldwide prosperity and opportunity that 20th-century globalism promised but failed to deliver.

Levelling up is crucial to the prosperity of this country. As Head of the Levelling Up Taskforce, Andy will be explain his mission to finally and irrevocably end the postcode lottery of life prospects by boosting productivity, jobs and wages, spreading opportunities, improving public services, restoring a sense of community and empowering local leaders in places where they are lagging.

Browder has devoted much of the past two decades to exposing Vladimir Putin’s campaign to steal and launder hundreds of billions of dollars from Russia, killing anyone who stands in his way. Bill’s courage and dogged determination are both humbling and truly inspirational. He has chronicled this remarkable journey in two books, Red Notice (2015) and Freezing Order (2022), both gripping reads.

What are failed states? Why does it matter to the rest of us? Why are we seeing more failing and failed states than ever before in history? What has changed and what can be done to arrest/reverse this decline? Drawing on experience gleaned over 37 years in the British Diplomatic Service, James will address each of these questions, bringing clarity to this complex world.

Russia expert, John Lough, joins us to discuss the current crisis, Germany’s failings in the years preceding the war and the outlook for Russia and Ukraine going forward.

Nigel Farage is one of the most influential – and controversial – British politicians of the 21st century, despite having never succeeded in being elected to Parliament. During research for his book, Michael delved deep into Farage’s story, assessing his methods and uncovering remarkable hidden details of this surprisingly anxious, moody and mercurial figure.

Gina believes we can unlock so much more of Britain’s potential, regain our moral compass and international reputation, and achieve a brighter future for our children. But only if we clean up our politics, radically modernise our machinery of government, and have a multi-dimensional approach to policymaking. She joins us to share True and Fair’s policies for achieving a modern, fair, efficient democracy.

Eurasia’s Mij Rahman will talk about the key themes shaping the world today and the Top Risks that we face as we head into 2022.

Nathan will share his struggle – and that of countless Hong Kongers who have marched and protested – for the rights and freedoms that were promised to Hong Kong but have been cruelly denied by Beijing. He argues that we must defend our freedom now or face losing it forever.

Sir Malcolm will analyse the challenges posed by the rise of China; and whether China  is likely to become the new global superpower. He will also discuss the risks we face from Putin’s Russia.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank enables clients to build Infrastructure for Tomorrow – green infrastructure with sustainability, innovation and connectivity at its core. Danny explains how they achieve this.

Neither a ‘panda hugger’ nor a ‘panda mugger’, David goes beneath the headlines with an objective, authentic, on the ground view of China, a far cry from the shrill tone of the western media.

Based in Beijing, he has advised multinationals and small/medium enterprises on their China strategies for over thirty years.

What are the limits of law in politics? What is the relationship between law and the constitution? Is not having a constitution a hindrance or a help in time of crisis? From the role of the Supreme Court to the uses of referenda to the rise of nationalism, Sumption exposes the subtleties, uses, and abuses of legal and judicial interventions.

Josh joins us to expand on his book, an insider’s account of the making and mis-making of China policy by the Trump administration – a chilling twin portrait of the relentless advance of Xi Jinping and the venomous backbiting among Donald Trump and his advisers, who tried unsuccessfully to combat it.

As well as offering an engaging account of life in the upper echelons of the diplomatic and political worlds, and often revealing portraits of global leaders such as Blair, Erdogan, Obama and Biden, Peter mounts a vigorous defence of the continuing relevance of the diplomat in an age of instant communication, social media and special envoys; and shares some of the successes of recent British diplomacy.

It is no exaggeration to say that no one better understands America than Frank – the divisions, the pain, the motivations, the political infighting, the potential. This promises to be an unforgettable, unmissable lunch with a remarkable communicator.

Shaun has spent the last four years as an Assembly Member in the Greater London Authority. And he’s seen how politicians are failing Londoners. Knife crime has hit record highs, good homes are more unaffordable than ever, our transport network is congested and the cost of living keeps rising.

Shaun is standing for Mayor to give London a fresh start. He’ll work with every resident in every community to build a safer, fairer, more affordable city. In this event he tells us how he plans to achieve this.

The China Research Group was set up by a group of Conservative MPs to promote debate and fresh thinking about how Britain should respond to the rise of China. Tom will be telling us more about their work and outlining both the challenges and the opportunities presented by China both now and in the future.

Drawing on a lifetime of experience in the US Military and the CIA, General Petraeus will be sharing his thoughts on the current geopolitical outlook with Bill Roedy.

Once the largest foreign investor in Russia through his Hermitage Fund, Bill Browder is now a global campaigner focussing the world’s attention on Vladimir Putin. He joins us to discuss the protests in Russia against the arrest of Alexei Navalny, and what the West should do to stand up to Vladimir Putin.

Joining us to discuss the extraordinary life of her late husband, Jeremy Heywood, whose insightful questioning of the status quo pushed him to the centre of political power in this country for more than 25 years.

He directly served four Prime Ministers in various roles including as Permanent Secretary of 10 Downing Street, the Cabinet Secretary and the Head of the Home Civil Service. He was at the centre of every crisis from the early 1990s until 2018 and most of the key meetings. Jeremy worked up until his death, retiring just a few days before he died from lung cancer in October 2018.

Mark will be discussing the work he has been doing for the G7 around economic resilience ahead of the G7 Summit in June.

Moyo argues that corporations need boards that are more transparent, more knowledgeable, more diverse, and more deeply involved in setting the strategic course of the companies they lead. How Boards Work offers a road map for how boards can steer companies through tomorrow’s challenges and ensure they thrive to benefit their employees, shareholders, and society at large.

In conversation with Diana Fox Carney, Klaus will take us on a journey into the geopolitical conflicts of tomorrow. He will explain what borders truly mean in the modern world: how are they built? what do they mean for citizens and governments; how do they help us understand our political past and, most importantly, our diplomatic future?

The rise of China is a momentous event, but how it will come to impact the world as a large and open economy, but also a markedly different economy, is still not well understood. Dr Jin brings great clarity and insight to this and to the impact of US policies on China’s techno nationalism.

Africa has the world’s fastest growing population. Its 1.34 bn people represent 18% of the global population today – this will become 25% by 2050 when its population will reach 2.5bn.

It has a long, rich and complex history. Yet that history is neglected and overlooked, and what we are presented with often projects a distorted and partial picture. Few people are more knowledgeable or better placed to discuss Africa’s past, present and future than Zeinab.

In conversation with Professor Eugene Rogan of Oxford University, Vali will discuss US foreign policy towards the Middle East and prospects for US-Iran relations in the midst of shifting regional alliances.  He will also cover political Islam, the importance of sectarian identity and the rise of Shia politics in the Middle East.

In a wide ranging discussion with Jim O’Neill, Stephanie will share her thoughts on ‘building back better’ post Covid, the lost opportunities for the lockdown generation, which jobs are worth saving, Trump’s economic legacy and the outlook for the US under a Biden administration.

In conversation with Ngaire Woods, John will be sharing lessons learned from 22 years in Parliament, including the decade spent as Speaker: the personalities, the challenges, the unique style he brought to the role and how to bring about much needed change.

Gerry will talk about the key themes shaping the world today as well as other Top Risks that we face as we head into 2021.

In the week following the US Presidential Inauguration, in conversation with Pi member Youssef Khlat, Clarissa will share her thoughts on US foreign policy going forward in addition to sharing stories from her recent book, ‘On All Fronts’.

At this crucial time in US politics, Jami will be share her thoughts on both the Supreme Court and Black Lives Matter.

Peter is the UK’s leading procurement specialist. He will be sharing stories from his new book of buying and corporate supply chains gone wrong with focus on how the UK government have it got it so wrong with PPE, ventilators, the NHSX app – and even HS2 and Crossrail. Peter will also touch on procurement and supply chain technology and where he sees the best opportunities for new technology that can help organizations AVOID Bad Buying.

Expounding on themes from his recent book, America in the World: A History of US Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, Robert will be discussing the strategic and immediate challenges of U.S. foreign policy during this era of transformation.

Dominic will be in conversation with Daniel Koldyk, Counsellor to the Canadian Embassy in Beijing and Chief Representative of the Department of Finance in China.

Youssef Khlat, Pi member, in conversation with Kim Ghattas around her recent book, Black Wave, analysing the past forty years in the Middle East.

It has never been more imperative to Build Back Better – in conversation with Professor Ngaire Woods, Lord Sedwill will discuss how to achieve this.

Hot on the heels of the US election, Jordan and Chris will be sharing their insights on what we can do to help bridge the divide between Democrats and Republicans.

The Covid crisis has not just highlighted the failures of certain governments, it is accelerating a shift in the balance of power from West to East. After a decade where politics in the US and the UK has been consumed with inward-facing struggles, countries like South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, as well as China, have made extraordinary advances economically, technologically and politically.

John and Adrian will be explaining how we ended up in this mess and exploring the possible routes out. If Western governments respond creatively to the crisis, they will have a chance of reversing decades of decline; if they dither and delay while Asia continues to improve, the prospect of a new Eastern-dominated world order will increase.

As President Trump’s National Security Advisor, Ambassador Bolton spent many of his 453 days in the room where it happened, and the facts speak for themselves. The result is a White House memoir like no other.

In conversation with Professor Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government, John will be sharing the highs and the lows, the turmoil and the conflict.

Matt Stoller chronicles the rise of the corporate giants that control “the toll booths in our economy.” We’ve already lost the internet, as a small number of vastly profitable companies control search, e-commerce, social networking and more. But Stoller, author of Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy, has identified the same trends in cheerleading, horse shows, even jigsaw puzzles. And that’s bad for all of us.

In this event, Duncan Clark OBE, Chairman of BDA China and author of Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built will be interviewing author, founder, and cultural conduit, Zak Dychtwald. Zak will discuss what this generation wants and how they see a post-Covid world. Consumption, innovation competition, and government will all be discussed, as well as a lively Q&A.

Shami Nissan, Head of Responsible Investment at Actis, will be talking to Sir Ronald Cohen about his latest book, Impact, and discussing why impact capitalism will be even more crucial in a post-pandemic world. Doing good can and should go hand in hand with doing well.

In this event we’ll talk about Niall’s approach to the current crisis, his interpretation of what has happened thus far, and how we can make sense of our uncertain future. What are the most important policy dilemmas governments face and how can society move forward towards a new normal?

Since leaving public service in 2014, Sir John Sawers has been advising global companies and investors at the highest levels.

He will join us at Pi to share his views about where we are with the Covid crisis, how we can reset the economy in its wake and how the geopolitical outlook is evolving.

Tony Gardner’s new book, Stars with Stripes, provides careful analysis of US-EU diplomatic collaboration across global politics and makes a compelling case for the critical importance of continued collaboration in a turbulent world.

Gardner draws on his own experiences to show how the United States and the European Union work together, how their foreign policy tools are complementary, and why regional and global stability depends on their continued joint leadership.

Although there certainly are areas of friction, he shows how their interests are aligned on most issues, taking a close look at their collaboration on trade, data privacy, the digital economy, sanctions, energy security, law enforcement, military and security issues, climate change and the environment, as well as foreign aid and humanitarian assistance.

Mayor Gelber issued a lockdown order for all beaches and hotels in Miami Beach on March 23rd well in advance of the State of Florida.

We’ll be in conversation with Mayor Gelber about how the people of Miami Beach have fared, what the exit plan looks like and why Florida seems to be escaping with relatively few deaths, despite its gaining population.

Today we will discuss the state of global governance post Covid with Professor Ngaire Woods.

Why has international cooperation been so poor during the crisis and how will that affect our exit strategies? What does the pandemic mean for the role of the state and those working within government? How will the relationship between the state and business change, going forward? And how does Covid affect the prospects of the global south?

Diana will be talking with the former UK Cabinet Secretary, Lord Gus O’Donnell, about how governments are approaching the virus crisis and what types of biases affect their thinking and action at this time.

Join us, in conjunction with Intelligence Squared, to hear Thomas Piketty in conversation with Oxford economist Linda Yueh.

Piketty caused a sensation in early 2014 with his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, which sparked a global debate about inequality and contributed to a revived wave of interest in socialism across the world. Now he is back with an audacious follow-up, Capital and Ideology, in which he urges us to radically reappraise everything we think we know about politics, ideology, and history.

Join Diana for an off the record conversation with the UK’s Ambassador in Iran, Rob Macaire. We will cover the Iranian experience with the virus as well as broader issues around Iranian domestic and foreign affairs.

Join Diana for a post Easter briefing on the state of the world and the state of journalism, with Zanny Minton Beddoes.

For more than forty years Nobel laureate, bestselling economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has fought for a fair, just and liberal future.

At this evening event hosted by How to: Academy and The New York Times, Krugman, a former professor at LSE, Princeton, Yale and MIT, perhaps the world’s leading theorist of international trade relations, will present his insights into the economics driving our public policy decisions.

Drawing on the ideas in his new book, Arguing with Zombies, Krugman will debunk the economic myths and lies that cloud political debate, bringing his insight to bear on major issues from the housing bubble to the financial crisis, Brexit to the EU.

Rory is running as an independent candidate for Mayor of London. This follows almost ten years as an MP, during which time he served as Secretary of State for International Development, Prisons Minister, Minister for Africa, and Minister for the Environment.

Rory resigned from the cabinet in July following the election of Boris Johnson, and subsequently resigned from the Conservative party.

Immigration and inequality, slowing growth and climate change – these are sources of anxiety across the world. We have the resources to address these great challenges, but lack the bold ideas that will help us overcome the distrust that divides us. If we fail, the potential losses are incalculable. If we succeed, history will remember our era with gratitude.

In this talk, hosted by our partners at how to: Academy, 2019 Nobel laureate Esther Duflo will build on cutting-edge research in economics to explain the real sources of our present troubles – and make a persuasive case for intelligent interventionism and a society built on compassion and respect.

The world is at a turning point. While globalization benefited many, it also produced extremes including drastic wealth inequality, indebtedness, and political volatility. In its wake, we see disorderly events such as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump – the harbingers of a world turned upside down.

In his recent book, Michael O’Sullivan paints a picture of how a new world order will evolve. He foresees the levelling-out of: wealth between rich and poor countries; power between nations and regions; political accountability and responsibility between political leaders and “the people”; and institutional power – away from central banks and defunct twentieth-century institutions such as the WTO and IMF.

The main political parties in the UK are pulling apart, adopting ever more extreme positions. As a result, large swathes of the population feel that they have lost their political ‘home.’ This, coupled with anti-democratic forces in the world at large – for example, the power of technology to micro-target voters and spread falsehoods – has led to extreme dysfunction within the political system and even greater disillusion with politics in the population.

How can we get back the political systems that we undoubtedly need to enable us to face up to the threats and challenges so evident in today’s world?

Following the EU Referendum, the shape of UK politics has changed. The left vs right divide has lost much of its relevance. Will the political environment be shaped forever by the leave vs remain split? Or is it more a question of open vs closed, liberal vs authoritarian?

We urgently need to find a way forward that will enable us to address the fundamental challenges of our times. What lies ahead and how will the traditional political parties fare in this new environment?

What has the Trump presidency done for the Middle East? Between escalating tensions with Iran and legacy policies on Israel / Palestine, are regional geopolitics being reshaped?

As the 74th UN General Assembly comes to a close, join Daniel Levy, President of the US / Middle East Project, to gain a better understanding of what is at stake.

How can we turn the talk about rethinking ‘purpose’ in business into a real moonshot?

A more purposeful capitalism requires more than just letters, speeches and goodwill gestures. Business, government and civil society must act together, courageously, to ensure that their walk is as good as their talk.

Mariana is a critic of mainstream thinking in economics which assumes policy can, at best, ‘fix’ market failures. She argues that a more dynamic approach is needed to co-create and shape markets: strategic public sector investment can catalyse economic activity, crowd-in the private sector, spark innovation, solve public problems, and lay the foundations for future economic growth.

In this process, there are important lessons that we can take from the ‘mission-oriented’ investments of the past, such as the Apollo space programme.

Nobel laureate and Yale Professor Robert Shiller predicts bubbles, busts and other financial crises years before anyone else. Join us at this event hosted by how to: Academy and be the first to discover his most powerful idea yet.

Ideas move markets. Spread through society by word of mouth and social media, TV news and internet troll farms, the stories that we tell each other about the economy drive how we invest, spend, and save – and lead, ultimately, to financial crashes, mass unemployment, and wars.

But although the power of stories to affect economies seems obvious, until now no-one has produced a coherent theory for explaining the role they play – let alone a toolkit for harnessing such an understanding to prepare for future crises, recessions and depressions.

With the race for the 2020 election hotting up, Ed Luce will give us an update from Washington. What are the chances of Trump being re-elected and who will he most likely be running against?

From the Industrial Revolution to the age of artificial intelligence, The Technology Trap takes a sweeping look at the history of technological progress and how it has radically shifted the distribution of economic and political power among society’s members.

As Carl Benedikt Frey shows, the Industrial Revolution created unprecedented wealth and prosperity over the long run, but the immediate consequences of mechanisation were devastating for large swaths of the population. These trends, Frey documents, broadly mirror those in our current age of automation.

What happens depends upon how the short term is managed. In the nineteenth century, workers violently expressed their concerns over machines taking their jobs. Today’s despairing middle class has not resorted to physical force, but their frustration has led to rising populism and the increasing fragmentation of society. As middle-class jobs continue to come under pressure, there’s no assurance that positive attitudes to technology will persist.

With Fire and Fury, Wolff defined the first phase of the Trump administration; now, in Siege, he has written an equally essential and explosive book about a presidency that is under fire from almost every side.

A stunningly fresh narrative that begins just as Trump’s second year as president is getting underway, and ends with the delivery of the Mueller report, Siege reveals an administration that is perpetually beleaguered by investigations and a president who is increasingly volatile, erratic, and exposed.

Financial crises happen time and again — and they are extraordinarily damaging. Building on insights gleaned from many years of work in the banking industry and drawing on a vast trove of data, Richard Vague argues that such crises follow a pattern that makes them both predictable and avoidable.

In his latest book, he examines a series of major crises over the past 200 years and argues that the story of financial crisis is fundamentally the story of private debt and runaway lending.

Convinced that we have it within our power to break the cycle, Vague provides the tools to enable politicians, bankers, and private citizens to recognise and respond to the danger signs before the next crisis arises.

This event is held in partnership with INET, the Institute of New Economic Thinking.

Taking a behaviourally-informed approach to decision-making can enrich the process of policy formulation and implementation.

Eldar Shafir is one of the foremost thinkers in this area. His work brings together economics and cognitive science, focusing on the relevance of human cognition and perception and how mindsets change in contexts of scarcity (poverty and deprivation). In this talk he will discuss decision-making, bias and how we can make better policy if we incorporate a more nuanced understanding of why people do what they do.

In the 19th century, the world was Europeanized. In the 20th century, it was Americanized. Now, in the 21st century, the world is being irreversibly Asianized.

What happens when Asia no longer just produces for the West but the West produces for Asia? And when Asians don’t aspire to live like the West but rather Western societies wish they had Asians’ stability and far-sighted leadership?

Parag Khanna’s latest book, The Future is Asian, presents this irrepressible global Asianization through detailed analysis, data and maps of Asia’s major markets and their combined impact on the global economy, society and governance.

To kick off the year, join us to hear from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Exiting the EU about where we are in preparations for Brexit.

Jo served as a Government Minister for 6 years until his resignation over Brexit in November.

His last Ministerial role was as Minister of State at the Department for Transport, and also Minister for London. From May 2015 – January 2018 he served as Minister of State for Universities & Science. Before this he was Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit and Chair of the Prime Minister’s Policy Board, from April 2013 until May 2015, as well as Parliamentary Secretary, then Minister of State in the Cabinet Office.

Prior to his election to Parliament in 2010, Jo spent thirteen years at the Financial Times, working in a variety of roles, including Associate Editor & Editor of The Lex Column, South Asia Bureau Chief (2005-2008) and Paris Correspondent.

Robert D. Kaplan is the bestselling author of eighteen books on foreign affairs and travel, including Earning the Rockies, In Europe’s Shadow, Asia’s Cauldron, The Revenge of Geography, Monsoon, The Coming Anarchy, and Balkan Ghosts.

His latest book, The Return of Marco Polo’s World, is a collection of essays which draws on decades of firsthand experience as well as encounters with preeminent realist thinkers. In it, Kaplan outlines the timeless principles that should shape America’s role in a turbulent world: a respect for the limits of Western-style democracy; a delineation between American interests and American values; an awareness of the psychological toll of warfare; a projection of power via a strong navy, and more.

Michael Lewis, the bestselling author of The Big Short, Moneyball and Liar’s Poker, comes to the how to: Academy stage with his explosive exposé of the chaos and mismanagement taking place in the White House under the Trump administration.

His new book The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy, reveals the combustible cocktail of wilful ignorance and corruption that is fuelling the destruction of a country’s fabric and exposes Trump’s attempts to privatise and profit from publicly funded assets.

Michael will be in conversation with Guardian columnist Owen Jones, on the day after the US mid-term elections. Join us for what promises to be a fascinating insight into the state of America today.

Identity politics is now entrenched on both sides of the political spectrum.

On the left it proliferates into ever-expanding categories, and new forms of exclusion. Outsiders are not allowed to share in the knowledge possessed by a group, because to do so is seen as cultural appropriation.

The idea of universal human rights has been replaced by the demand for ‘recognition’ – not for inclusion within the fold, but for acknowledgment of group identity as the right to assert and maintain difference.

On the right, political tribalism in America has mobilized around the idea of whites as an endangered group, faced by the bleak demographic prospect of becoming a minority in their ‘own country’.

Join us – in conjunction with the How To Academy – and discover from Francis Fukuyama: is there still time to restore the dream of universal recognition and equality of rights upon which liberal democracy was founded?

In conjunction with Pro Bono Economics we present renowned author and economist, Stephen King.

Stephen’s third and latest book, Grave New World: The end of globalisation, the return of history was published in May 2017. It was long-listed for the FT-McKinsey Business Book of the Year and later picked as a ‘book of the year’ by the Financial Times.

His previous books, When the Money Runs Out and Losing Control, also received several awards and accolades and have been widely translated.

He emerged from nowhere to seize the presidency, defeat populism and upend French party politics. A year on, Sophie Pedder asks who is Emmanuel Macron and how far can he really change France?

In Revolution Française, Sophie Pedder examines the first year in office of France’s youngest and most exciting president in modern times. President Emmanuel Macron’s vision for France is far more radical than many realise. His remarkable ascent from obscurity to the presidency is both a dramatic story of personal ambition and the tale of a wounded once-proud country in deep need of renewal.

This book chronicles Macron’s remarkable rise from independent outsider to the Élysée Palace, situating the achievement in a broader context: France’s slide into self-doubt, political gridlock and a seeming reluctance to embrace change; the roots of populism and discontent; the fractures caused by globalisation and the Le Pen factor.

In The Growth Delusion, David Pilling explores how economists and their cult of growth have hijacked our policy-making and infiltrated our thinking about what makes societies work.

Our policies are geared relentlessly towards increasing our standard measure of growth, GDP. By this yardstick we have never been wealthier or happier. So why doesn’t it feel that way? Why are we living in such fractured times, with global populism on the rise and wealth inequality as stark as ever?

Not so long ago the nation-state seemed to be on its deathbed, condemned to irrelevance by the forces of globalisation and technology. Now it is back with a vengeance, propelled by a groundswell of populists around the world.

Dani Rodrik was an early and outspoken critic of economic globalization taken too far. He argues that the obsession of elites and technocrats with hyper-globalization has made it more difficult for nations to achieve legitimate economic and social objectives, calling for a balance to be found between national and global governance.

Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP is the first woman Chair of the Treasury Select Committee in the Commons.

She is the Member of Parliament for Loughborough and was first elected to serve the constituency for the Conservatives in the 2010 General Election.

In her first Parliament, Nicky served as the Financial Secretary and Economic Secretary to the Treasury, and as an Assistant Whip. She then served as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women & Equalities from 2014-2016.

In his talk, Nobel Prize-winning economist, Jean Tirole, will focus on how to take good economic ideas into the domain of effective public policy (rather than leaving them to languish in the academic departments where they were developed).

Can public decision-making be structured to achieve better outcomes? What role should the market, the state and broader ideas of social responsibility play in achieving the common good? Can economists and other experts overcome the distrust in which they are currently held by the public? And how can they become more effective in their work?

In her new book, Edge of Chaos, Dambisa Moyo sets out the new political and economic challenges facing the world, and the specific, radical solutions needed to resolve these issues and reignite global growth.

She offers a radical menu of ten ways to improve democracy, making it better able to address the range of headwinds that the global economy faces – including technology and the prospects of a jobless underclass, demographic shifts, gapping income inequality, an unsustainable debt burden, natural resource scarcity and declining productivity – and deliver greater economic growth and prosperity.

Peter is Co-founder and Chairman of Global Counsel, a regulatory, political risk and public policy advisory business based in London, Brussels and Singapore.

He is a former European Trade Commissioner and British First Secretary of State. As Trade Commissioner between 2004 and 2008, he negotiated trade agreements with many countries and led European negotiations in the WTO Doha World Trade Round.

Prior to this, he was Minister without Portfolio, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Northern Ireland Secretary and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the Blair and Brown governments. He was Member of Parliament for Hartlepool in the UK from 1992 until 2004 and Director of Campaigns and Communications for the Labour party between 1985 and 1990.

Peter is an independent director of Global Ports Holding, the world’s largest cruise ports operator, and Senior Adviser to Lazard. He chairs the Design Museum and is Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University as well as being President of Policy Network.

Educated at an Essex state school and Oxford University, the Chancellor came to politics from a wide-ranging background of hands-on business experience in small and medium-sized companies in manufacturing, property, construction and oil and gas, both in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

He was first elected as a Conservative MP in 1997. Since then he has served in various shadow cabinet roles and as Secretary of State for Transport (2010-2011), Secretary of State for Defence (2011-2014), Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs (2014-2016) and Chancellor of the Exchequer (July 2016 to the present).

In conversation with Stephanie Flanders, former economics editor at the BBC, Michael Lewis will take to the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss the themes of his latest book, The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed the World.

The Undoing Project explores the extraordinary relationship between Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky – a collaboration which created the field of behavioural economics and won Kahneman the Nobel Prize in economics in 2002, the first time the award had gone to a psychologist.

Behavioural economics shows that human beings are not the rational creatures we imagine ourselves to be. It has revolutionised our thinking about everything: from big data to medicine, from how we are governed to how we spend, from high finance to football.

Stewart Wood is a Labour member of the House of Lords, a Fellow in Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University, and Chair of the United Nations Association (UK). He is a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford University, where he taught politics from 1995-2011.

From 2001-2007 Stewart was a member of the Treasury’s Council of Economic Advisers. He moved to become a Senior Special Adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, leading on foreign policy (Europe, USA & Middle East), culture, media & sports policy, and Northern Irish affairs until 2011. He co-ran Ed Miliband’s successful campaign to be Leader of the Labour Party in 2010 and was a member of the Labour Shadow Cabinet and an adviser to Ed Miliband from 2010-2015.

He writes regularly on issues of contemporary politics and public policy, and gives talks to companies and conferences on issues ranging from Brexit, German politics and the US election to international security and the prospects for international economic growth.

Stewart is a Board member of the Royal Court Theatre as well as the Marshall Scholarship Commission, and a lifelong devotee of Liverpool Football Club.

Peggy Noonan has been an extraordinary chronicler of the events that led to Brexit and made Donald J. Trump America’s 45th president.

This year, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, American journalism’s highest award, for her eloquent, wise reporting and unparalleled insight into the views and the rise of those she called the “unprotected” — the people around the globe who are distrustful of and disenchanted with the “protected” — the policymakers and powerful people who are made safe from much of the roughness of the world they helped create.

As a long-running Wall Street Journal columnist who began her career at CBS News and became an advisor to President Ronald Reagan, Peggy Noonan is uniquely placed to speak of what is happening in America, Britain and across continental Europe in this intimate conversation with Thorold Barker.

In conjunction with INET (the Institute for New Economic Thinking) we present Margaret Heffernan, entrepreneur, chief executive and celebrated author of Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril and A Bigger Prize: Why Competition isn’t Everything and How We Do Better.

If economists are so clever, why are we in such a mess with rising inequality, populist movements upending global relationships and the rise of technology impacting global social stability? Perhaps we have been asking the wrong questions all along.

Heffernan believes that economics is often blind to the range of human experience, with potentially disastrous consequences. She argues that the disconnection of economics from disciplines including psychology, history, and sociology has left it unable to reckon with the disruptions and distortions of the 21st century and asks “How can we ensure economics is up to the task?”

In his own words, Varoufakis was “thrust onto the public scene by Europe’s inane handling of an inevitable crisis”.

Having been elected to Greece’s Parliament in January 2015 with the largest majority in the country, Varoufakis served as Greece’s Finance Minister from January to July 2015. He resigned the finance ministry when he refused to sign a loan agreement that he believed would perpetuate Greece’s debt-deflationary cycle.

In conjunction with Pro Bono Economics (PBE) we are hosting a morning of discussion around the June 8th General Election led by Lord Gus O’Donnell.

Gus is Chair of the Board at PBE. He was Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service between 2005 and 2011, serving three Prime Ministers. Before this, he held several positions at the Treasury, British Embassy in Washington, International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Gus has been Chairman of Frontier Economics since 2012.

Join Chris Lu, Bill Antholis and David Leblang from the Miller Center, a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in presidential scholarship, public policy, and political history, to discuss America’s new president.

Having overseen President Obama’s transition back in 2008-2009, Chris is uniquely well positioned to comment on the early days of the Trump administration. He will draw on insights from the Miller Center’s First Year Project , an ambitious effort devoted to a new president’s make-or-break first year, focusing on the key issues an untested commander in chief must confront.

Gillian Tett serves as US managing editor, leading the Financial Times editorial operations in the region across all platforms. Her past roles at the FT have included assistant editor, capital markets editor, deputy editor of the Lex column, Tokyo bureau chief, and a reporter in Russia and Brussels.

In 2015, Tett was awarded an honorary doctorate from Lancaster University. In 2014, she was named Columnist of the Year in the British Press Awards and was the first recipient of the Royal Anthropological Institute Marsh Award. Her other honors include a SABEW Award for best feature article (2012), President’s Medal by the British Academy (2011), being recognized as Journalist of the Year (2009) and Business Journalist of the Year (2008) by the British Press Awards, and as Senior Financial Journalist of the Year (2007) by the Wincott Awards.

George Osborne has been the Conservative MP for Tatton, Cheshire since June 2001 and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between May 2010 and July 2016.

He is Chair of the newly formed Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

We are standing at a crossroads. A massive disruption of new, effectively exponential technology is sweeping through our economy just at a time when the economic, social and environmental costs of conventional growth are becoming ever more evident.

Disruptive technology is one of the defining economic trends of our age. What is the true impact of such disruption on the world’s economies, and does it have the potential to solve global problems such as low growth, inequality and environmental degradation? Why not seize this opportunity and make it a good disruption?

A Good Disruption highlights some of the huge costs that are at stake and argues that managing such disruption will be the defining business challenge of the next decade.

Presented in collaboration with the Institute for New Economic Thinking.

Much of the world, especially the advanced economies, has been mired in a pattern of slow and declining GDP growth in recent years, causing many to wonder whether this is becoming a semi-permanent condition – so called ‘secular stagnation.’ The answer is probably yes, but the question lacks precision. Why is this happening and is there anything we can do about it?

Nobel Economics laureate Michael Spence has written extensively on the various explanations for this ‘new normal’,  and will share his views on the characteristics, causes and potential remedies for the current declining growth patterns.

Sebastian Mallaby’s book, The Man Who Knew: The Life & Times of Alan Greenspan, will be released in October 2016 following five years of research and unlimited access to the former Federal Reserve chairman.

Eurasia Group’s annual Top Risks report identifies the most challenging political and geopolitical trends and stress points for global investors and market participants, as well as a few red herrings-issues that, despite media attention, are unlikely to pose a significant threat or instability in the coming year.

In The Only Game in Town, El-Erian casts his gaze toward the future of the global economy and markets, outlining the choices we face both individually and collectively in an era of economic uncertainty and financial insecurity.

El-Erian explains how and why our central banks became the critical policy actors—and, most important, why they cannot continue is this role alone. They saved the financial system from collapse in 2008 and a multiyear economic depression, but lack the tools to enable a return to high inclusive growth and durable financial stability. The time has come for a policy handoff, from a prolonged period of monetary policy experimentation to a strategy that better targets what ails economies and distorts the financial sector—before we stumble into another crisis.

Using a mix of insights from economics, finance, and behavioral science, this book gives us the tools we need to properly understand this turning point, prepare for it, and come out of it stronger.

Connectography completes Parag Khanna’s trilogy on the future of world order. In this book he guides us through the emerging global network civilization in which mega-cities compete over connectivity more than borders. His journeys take us from Ukraine to Iran, Mongolia to North Korea, Panama City to Dubai, and the Arctic Circle to the South China Sea—all to show how 21st century conflict is a tug-of-war over pipelines and Internet cables, advanced technologies and market access.

Yet Connectography is a hopeful vision of the future. Khanna argues that new energy discoveries and innovations have eliminated the need for resource wars, global financial assets are being deployed to build productive infrastructure that can reduce inequality, and frail regions such as Africa and the Middle East are unscrambling their fraught colonial borders through ambitious new transportation corridors and power grids. Beneath the chaos of a world that appears to be falling apart is a new foundation of connectivity pulling it together.

‘How the UK and China are aligned as never before by the spirit of the ‘Golden Era’ – How can both nations deliver significant economic gains from this alignment?’

As the 2016 US presidential election kicks into high gear, the leaders of cities and metropolitan areas have begun to argue for a new compact with the federal government.  Years of partisan gridlock and policy drift have forced cities – and their networks of local governments, corporations, philanthropies and universities – to shoulder the burden of investing in critical areas such as infrastructure, economic development, education, and the environment. At the heart of the new compact is a plea to devolve more powers to cities, giving them greater flexibility to leverage private and civic capital and adapt federal resources to their own needs and priorities.

This event will focus on how cities can be further empowered and enabled to fix America’s broken politics and address pressing social, economic and environmental challenges.

Between Debt and the Devil challenges the belief that we need credit growth to fuel economic growth, and that rising debt is okay as long as inflation remains low. In fact, most credit is not needed for economic growth – but it drives real estate booms and busts and leads to financial crisis and depression. Turner explains why public policy needs to manage the growth and allocation of credit creation, and why debt needs to be taxed as a form of economic pollution. Banks need far more capital, real estate lending must be restricted, and we need to tackle inequality and mitigate the relentless rise of real estate prices.

Turner also debunks the big myth about fiat money – the erroneous notion that printing money will lead to harmful inflation. To escape the mess created by past policy errors, we sometimes need to monetize government debt and finance fiscal deficits with central-bank money. Between Debt and the Devil shows why we need to reject the assumption that private credit is essential to growth and fiat money is inevitably dangerous. Each has its advantages, and each creates risks that public policy must consciously balance.

Founded in 2009, the Institute for New Economic Thinking is dedicated to the rigorous pursuit of innovative economic theories and methods that address society’s most pressing concerns.

Macro Advisory Partners provides leading investors, corporations, and governments with the strategic insights required to navigate the intersection of global markets, geopolitics and government policy in a volatile and complex world.

The Centre for Social Justice is an independent think tank established in 2004 to seek effective solutions to the poverty that blights parts of Britain.

Inequality is an increasing problem in the Western world, leaving everyone – the rich as well as the poor – worse off. The dream of a socially mobile society is becoming an ever more unachievable myth.

Stiglitz will argue that inequality is not inevitable but a choice – the cumulative result of unjust policies and misguided priorities.  he will expose the neoliberal policies, such as deregulation and tax cuts for the rich, which he claims are causing many people to fall further and further behind. He will propose real solutions: increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthy; helping homeowners instead of banks; investing in education, science, and infrastructure; and, most importantly, doing more to restore full employment.

In conjunction with Intelligence Squared we bring you a debate on the work of Thomas Piketty. Thomas’s book Capital in the 21st Century was the surprise publishing sensation of 2014 and the recent winner of the 2014 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year . An analysis of the causes and growth of inequality, it has sold nearly half a million copies worldwide to date. It was described by many reviewers as the economic book not just of the year, but of recent decades.

How is that a young, largely unknown French economist stirred up such a massive worldwide debate on inequality, a topic that Nobel Prize-winning economists such as Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman have been writing about for most of their careers? The answer lies in Piketty’s main argument, backed up by his extensive research, which states that capital – whether invested in the stock market or property – will always grow faster than income. As a result, he argues, people who are already rich will carry on getting richer, while those who depend on income will never catch up. Piketty’s solution? A global redistribution of wealth that would give poorer earners some capital to invest.

Ten years ago, New York Times columnist and three-time Pulizer Prize winner Thomas L. Friedman shone a light on how the world was ‘flattening’; how the convergence of world events and new technologies had opened up the global supply chain to previously excluded economies. His book The World is Flat captured a pivotal moment in the 21^st Century, examining the trends, opportunities and challenges this ‘next new world’ presented to countries, companies and individuals.

Ten years on, the writer will offer new insights into the effects of technological change, globalisation, economic crisis and political turmoil, in a lecture that promises to be thought-provoking and challenging.

Economic signals are everywhere, from magazine covers to grocery stores to military events. They reveal the story of the world economy. By being alert to signals anyone can start to navigate through the turbulence to the treasures of the world economy, instead of being overwhelmed and surprised by it.