The Spark

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Leading thinkers posit solutions to the structural problems of our age.

The Spark: Margaret Heffernan and Preparedness

Margaret Heffernan and Preparedness

BBC Radio 4 - The Spark, Margaret Heffernan and Preparedness

Helen Lewis meets the writers and thinkers who are breaking new ground.

Helen Lewis talks to entrepreneur, CEO, and writer Margaret Heffernan about the perils of prediction and the importance of preparing for unforeseen events.

Helen Lewis meets the writers and thinkers who are breaking new ground. 
From politics to economics, from tech to the study of how we live, things are changing fast. Old certainties have not been under such challenge for decades. 
So each week, we give the whole programme over to a single in-depth, close-up interview with someone whose big idea is bidding to change our world. 
Helen’s challenge is to make sense of their new idea, to find out more about the person behind it – and to test what it has to offer us against the failures of the past.
This week, Helen talks to entrepreneur, CEO, and writer Margaret Heffernan about just how often the prediction business gets it wrong. Governments, business and individuals are attracted to certainty, yet the reality is that we face an uncharted future. Planning for an outcome we expect – whether it’s a family holiday or ‘just in time’ food supply chains – can lead to disappointment or even disaster, as events so often take an unexpected course.
Instead, Heffernan argues, the best course of action is not to plan, but to be prepared: to build resilience for a range of possible outcomes. Helen Lewis asks how this works in practice, and how individuals, organisations and policy-makers can prepare for a future that is – try as we might – impossible to predict. 
Producer: Eliane Glaser

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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