Events
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).
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?
Sarah Carolides
Genetics. Exercise. Microbiome. Epigenetics. The environment. Allergies. Intolerance. Fads.
We are constantly bombarded with advice on nutrition – which is, amongst other things, one of the most socially important parts of our lives. Where is the science at on this topic? How much of our wellbeing and longevity is determined by what we eat and how personalised should – or could – our diets become?
Join Pi member, Sarah Carolides, to find out more.
How to predict the next financial crisis
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.
Past Events
CEO of Burberry Group plc
Breakfast at Burberry's Newly Refurbished Bond Street Store
Senior partner and global leader of QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey
Generative AI: Beyond the hype
