Events
Historian, author, opinion writer
The World in 2024: Crisis, Conflict and Consequences (in collaboration with Intelligence Squared)
How can the West deal with the geopolitical and ideological threats posed by what Ferguson calls the axis of ill will – Russia, China and Iran? With localised wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the threat of a crisis next year over Taiwan, are we sleepwalking towards a Third World War? And what are the likely consequences of the ongoing conflicts for the world economy?
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Vision for a Fairer Britain
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).
Dr Jeffrey Rediger
Can the body really heal itself of terminal disease? What can ‘medical miracles’ teach us all about our mind, body and identity?
Long after she’s supposed to be dead, a woman with aggressive pancreatic cancer finds herself cured. A teenage girl suddenly and unexpectedly overcomes the cerebral palsy she’s had since birth. An 85-year-old man stuns doctors when his CT scan shows that the tumours on his kidneys have inexplicably vanished. What can we learn from these incredible, yet true, case studies of spontaneous remission?
Dr Rediger offers clear, practical advice on how we can harness our body’s natural resilience to improve our health and create better connections with others.
In conversation with Kenneth Roth
From climate change to migration, populism to human rights abuses, the crises of the 21st century are global in magnitude, revealing the delicate web of connections that bind nations and citizens, individuals and ecosystems. Faced with tyranny and violence, to say nothing of the inordinate complexity of our times, can an artist really hope to make a difference? Does human creativity truly have the power to change our world for the better?
Ai Weiwei is living proof that it does. Raised in a labour camp and later beaten, surveilled and imprisoned on trumped-up charges by the Chinese state, Ai has dedicated his life to the struggle against corruption and oppression of all kinds. As a conceptual artist and activist fighting for justice, he has become an icon in his own lifetime, renowned world-wide for his work promoting freedom of thought and expression, compassion, and humanitarian values.
How to understand our times
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.
Dr Daniel J. Levitin, neuroscientist and cognitive psychologist
Dr Daniel Levitin has read thousands of research papers on the brain through the ages and, in his new book, draws on cutting-edge research from neuroscience and psychology to demonstrate the cognitive benefits of getting older.
He challenges the beliefs that surround the ageing process, including our assumptions around memory loss and our focus on lifespan instead of ‘healthspan’. In fact, recent studies show that our decision-making skills improve as we age, and that our happiness levels peak at age 82.
Dr Levitin’s book presents a realistic plan full of practical, cognitive enhancing tricks for everyone to follow during each decade of their life.
Better answers to the biggest challenges of our time
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.
How to solve the climate crisis
Join us, in conjunction with how to: Academy and the Conduit Club, to find out what part you can play in saving our species and our planet from devastation.
In An Inconvenient Truth, former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, awakened the world to the realities of the climate crisis, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
Since then he has worked tirelessly to rouse the world into action against this existential threat to our civilisation. In this talk he will explore what we – as nations, organisations, and individuals – can do to turn the tide in the battle against climate change.
Jonathan Safran Foer
The climate crisis is the single biggest threat to human survival. And it is happening right now. We all understand that time is running out — but do we truly believe it? Caught between the seemingly unimaginable and the apparently unthinkable, how can we take the first step towards action, to arrest our race to extinction?
In this event, hosted by how to: Academy, best-selling author, Jonathan Safran Foer, will demystify climate change. Previewing the ideas of his new book, We are the Weather, Jonathan will explore how the task of saving the planet will involve a great reckoning with ourselves — with our all-too-human reluctance to sacrifice immediate comfort for the sake of the future.
Jennifer Petriglieri, INSEAD Professor of Organisational Behaviour
How can dual-career couples thrive in their love and work?
While most career advice is targeted at individuals, treating major career decisions as if we’re flying solo – without partners, children, siblings, friends, or aging parents to consider – Jennifer Petriglieri reframes career advice through a new lens, helping us to balance our ambition at work with our ambition for our relationships.
Her research seeks to answer some of the key questions of our time: can both partners in a relationship have equally important careers? is it possible to juggle family commitments without sacrificing family? and does every decision require compromise?
Past Events
Director of Regional Security and Senior Fellow for Middle East Security at the IISS
Conflict and competition in the Middle East: How bad can it get?
Consultant Oncologist and Professor of Breast Oncology
The detection and treatment of secondary cancer