“Every revolution in human affairs – and we’re in one right now! – comes in tandem with a new understanding of what we mean by the word ‘human’.” Brian Eno

From headlines in the newspapers to the laws that dictate how we live our lives, humans are depicted as selfish beings by nature. Rutger Bregman disagrees. Including the real-life Lord of the Flies, and the true story of the Kitty Genovese murder, Humankind takes some of the world’s most famous studies and events and reframes them, providing a remarkable new perspective on human history. Believing in human kindness and altruism can change how we think – and act as the foundation for achieving true change in our society.

Rutger Bregman is one of Europe’s most prominent young thinkers, and Humankind has become a key work of the pandemic year, selling well over 150,000 copies to date.  His previous book, Utopia for Realists was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller. In 2019, he called out tax-shy billionaires at the World Economic Forum in Davos and he confronted Fox News host Tucker Carlson. These videos have been viewed over twenty-four-million times.

Rutger Bregman is in conversation with writer and journalist Louise O’Neill.

Presented with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and with New Dutch Writing.