Rutger Bregman: 4. Fighting for humanity in the age of the machine
Dutch historian Rutger Bregman delivers his first BBC Reith Lecture, Moral Revolution.
Rutger Bregman's 2025 Reith Lectures, called Moral Revolution, explore the moral decay and un-seriousness of today's elites, drawing historical parallels to past eras of corruption that preceded transformative movements especially the 19th Century campaign to abolish slavery.
In this fourth and final lecture, he zooms out to reflect on humanity’s strange historical trajectory, warning of the existential risks posed by unchecked AI and urging privileged individuals to take on an active role in shaping a better future.
The Reith Lectures are presented by Anita Anand. The programme was recorded in front of an audience at Stanford University, USA with a Q&A.
(Photo: Dutch historian Rutger Bregman is seen during his speech at the Barcelona Thought Biennale. Credit: Paco Freire/Getty Images)
Last on
More episodes
Broadcasts
- Sat 20 Dec 202519:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sun 21 Dec 202509:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
- Sun 21 Dec 202512:06GMTBBC World Service except Australasia, East Asia & South Asia
The Reith Lectures on Radio 4
Archive recordings from the BBC's flagship annual lecture series going back to 1948
