Are we living through the fall of civilisation? | The Reith Lectures 2025

In the first of four 2025 BBC Reith Lectures titled 'A Time of Monsters', the Dutch historian Rutger Bregman asks what can be done to counter the moral decay of today's un-serious elites. After the lecture, click on the below links to listen to the full episode and hear audiences questioning Rutger Bregman and interrogating his views. BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00... Outside the UK? Listen on BBC.com You can hear more discussion about the issues raised in the 2025 Reith Lectures on The Moral Maze. BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00... Outside the UK? Listen on BBC.com Every year since 1948, the BBC has invited someone to give a series of talks expressing their own views on a significant issue. The Reith Lectures have included a wide variety of individuals with a range of views including Bertrand Russell, Robert Oppenheimer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and George Kennan. They are recorded before an audience who then interrogate the lecturer’s views. This year’s lecturer is Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian and best-selling author. In his four-part lecture series titled Moral Revolution, he charts how small groups of committed people have changed society – and expresses his hopes for future change for the better. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe and 🔔 to BBC Sounds YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/bbcsounds?s... Listen to the full episode here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00... Find more episodes of The Reith Lecture 2025 here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b0... The Reith Lectures 2025 playlist:    • The Reith Lectures 2025   Fresh on BBC Sounds playlist:    • Fresh on BBC Sounds   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #rutgerbregman #history #politics #lecture #reithlectures We are BBC Sounds. The home of binge-worthy podcasts, music curated by music lovers and live radio.