The Reith Lectures

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Significant international thinkers deliver the BBC's flagship annual lecture series.

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The Reith Lectures: Ben Ansell: Our Democratic Future: 4. The Future of Prosperity

Episode 4

4. The Future of Prosperity

Ben Ansell: Our Democratic Future

BBC Radio 4 - The Reith Lectures, Ben Ansell: Our Democratic Future, 4. The Future of Prosperity

Ben Ansell concludes his series  of Reith Lectures on why politics fails

Professor Ben Ansell's final Reith Lecture concludes by asking how can we continue to grow our economies without ruining the planet?

This year's BBC Reith Lecturer is Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, Oxford University and  author of “Why Politics Fails.”  
In four lectures called “Our Democratic Future,” he asks how we can build a politics that works for all of us with political systems which are robust to the challenges of the twenty first century, from climate change to artificial intelligence.  

In this fourth and final lecture, recorded in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States, he interrogates a crucial question: can we continue to grow our economies without despoiling the earth?  Focusing on the existential threats created by our own innovation - from climate change to out-of-control artificial intelligence – Ansell asks whether our politics is up to the task of supporting sustainable growth. 

The Reith Lectures are chaired by Anita Anand and produced by Jim Frank. 
The Editors are China Collins and Clare Fordham, and the co-ordinator is Brenda Brown. 
The series is mixed by Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill.

The Reith Lectures: Ben Ansell: Our Democratic Future

BBC Radio 4

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

Professor Ben Ansell asks how we can make politics work for all of us in the 21st century.

Professor Ben Ansell asks how we can make politics work for all of us as we face the challenges of the 21st century, from climate change to artificial intelligence.

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