RSA Conversations

In this episode, Daniel and Philipa talk with Indigenous musician, scholar, and community organiser, Dr Lyla June Johnston. Lyla June shares lessons from her Diné, Tsétsêhéstâhese and European heritage and highlights the importance of engaging with, recognising and respecting Indigenous wisdom traditions as we seek to reinhabit our world regneratively.  

Lyla June is an Indigenous musician, scholar, and community organizer of Diné (...

Many of us are guilty of imagining that we can neatly measure and therefore manage the world around us. But an essential aspect of life is its continued motion. How might we learn from the patterns and nature of this motion in order to think ‘like an ecology’?

Nora Bateson is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and educator, as well as President of the International Bateson Institute. Her work brings the fields of biology, cognition,...

When faced with global social and environmental challenges, we can assume that we should be entirely focused on solving the problems ‘out there’. But without paying attention to our inner world and inter-being - the ways in which we relate to one another - can we really reimagine our world and enable flourishing futures for all? 

In this episode, Daniel and Philipa are joined by peace pilgrim, activist and former monk, Satish Kumar....

ReGeneration Rising is a specially-commissioned RSA Oceania podcast exploring how regenerative approaches can help us collectively re-design our communities, cities, and economies, and create a thriving home for all on our planet. In this first episode of the second series, co-hosts Philipa Duthie and Daniel Christian Wahl talk to Biomimicry pioneers Janine Benyus and Dr Dayna Baumeister about the practice of learning from life’s e...

How might the creation of scarcity, lead to popularity? 

 Johnny Lynch is a Scottish musician, also known as Pictish Trail. As well as his solo and collaborative performance career, he runs a unique record label from a remote Scottish Island. 

In this final Spark of the series, enjoy some of Johnny’s music along with his take on what it means to be your very own limited edition – with unlimited results. 

 Disclaimer:  

This Spark has b...

When can constraint be a good thing?  

And why should we learn to trust, in order to maximise creativity? 

Malcolm Gladwell is a journalist, author and public speaker. Malcolm’s enquiring mind and capacity to communicate complex ideas very clearly has made him a best-seller across many book titles.  

 In this sequence of mini-Sparks, Malcolm considers the beauty of constraint, the role of story in ideas and how trust and creativity ar...

How can injecting ideas into art create meaningful direction? 

Nadya Tolokonnikova is perhaps known best for being a musician and founding member of the group Pussy Riot - but would describe themself primarily as a conceptual artist and political activist. 

 Nadya was jailed in their home country of Russia in 2012, following a performance in Moscow Cathedral. Amnesty International named them a ‘Prisoner of Conscience’.  

 For Nadya, c...

How can collective artistic experiences help us to understand how our minds work?  

This short audio Spark introduces the Dream Machine – one of ten UK-wide projects from Unboxed.  

Anil Seth is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex and co-director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science; he also wears other hats including Editor-in-Chief for a leading neuroscience journal and he’s ...

How can wonder and positivity impact the way we make progress? 

Dr Ella Gilbert describes herself as a cloud nerd and all-round polar enthusiast. She has a post-doctorate role in climate modelling at the British Antarctic Survey and believes that communication is key when it comes to the big scientific challenges.   

 In this audio Spark, Ella discusses the idea that creativity and imagination are essential in any discipline, and esp...

How can the science behind a specific human emotion, change our lives for the better? 

Dacher Keltner is Professor of Psychology at Berkeley University, California and is the founder of the Greater Good Science Center. You may have heard his podcast, the Science of Happiness. 

 Dacher and his students have been studying the transformative power of a single emotion. Keep listening to hear a brief history of our understanding of awe, i...

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist and science educator. She’s also a broadcaster and author - bringing science to life for her many audiences. 

 In this audio Spark, you’ll hear a potted tale of dreaming big and reaching for the stars.  

 Maggie’s story is one that we can all feel inspired by, whichever field we create or work in. We’ve got to think big.  

 Disclaimer: This Spark has been created using material recorded onl...

How can we switch our thinking to feel more positive about our collective future? 

Adrian Hon is Co-founder and CEO at Six to Start, creators of game-like stories and story-like games - including the world's bestselling smartphone fitness game, "Zombies, Run!" which has over ten million players. 

 Before Adrian became a game designer, he was a neuroscientist and experimental psychologist at Oxford, Cambridge and the University of Cal...

Dr Ella Gilbert introduces a new podcast from Unboxed. 

This series of short audio Sparks has been created from talks recorded during Unboxed - a UK-wide festival of creativity that brought together Arts, Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEAM).

Each Spark contains at least one take-away idea that you can apply to your own thinking, whatever your approach or discipline.

The collection contains messages across Arts and Scien...

In this farewell episode of Bridges to the Future, Matthew meets with food writer and restaurateur Henry Dimbleby to explore our complex relationship with food and how it shapes our lives, from childhood memories and family traditions to the ways we cook, eat, and share meals with others. 

Henry Dimbleby is the co-founder of LEON, and the Director of The Sustainable Restaurant Association, which runs some of London's most successful...

In this thought-provoking interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of leading thinkers on the spot - from writers to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future. 

Anthropologist and author, Adam Kuper, explores the intricate relationship between museums and the societies that they represent.

Adam joins Matthew to discuss the ways in which ...

In this thought-provoking interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of leading thinkers on the spot - from writers to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future. 

Installed without you even noticing, once on your phone it can record your calls, copy your messages, steal your photos - even secretly film you. But what exactly is 'Pegasus', ...

In this thought-provoking interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of leading thinkers on the spot - from writers to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future. 

McKinsey & Co is one of the biggest names in the global consulting business. Established in 1926, it employs 30,000 people, has offices in more than 130 locations and earns bill...

In this series we’ve heard from key thinkers on what they are doing to nurture regenerative systems – locally, regionally and globally – and to create thriving futures for all life on this planet. In this final episode of the series, Josie and Daniel are joined by Paul Hawken, one of the environmental movement’s leading voices, to hear his perspectives on why now is the time for collaborative action and how we can all be part of th...

In this thought-provoking interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of leading thinkers on the spot - from writers to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future. 

In the wake of the crisis of 2008, austerity measures were implemented across the western world to stop financial catastrophe. But what impact have these long-lasting and contro...