How do we live with technology without being dominated by it? How do we cherish democracy but avoid the tyranny of the majority? And how do we reap the benefits of globalisation without losing our identities? We need new stories to guide us through the complex maze of modernity. This strand brings together a dazzling array of world-leading thinkers to help find them.

We have collaborated with a range of partners: with The Policy Institute at King’s College London to interrogate notions of trust, democracy, mental health and Brexit; with the Disasters Emergency Committee to look at international aid, climate crisis and humanitarianism; and with author and social activist Hilary Cottam, to interrogate the so-called ‘5th industrial revolution’ with radical re-imaginings of our economic, social and cultural futures. Finally, in an exciting new partnership with The New York Times, we examine some modern-day challenges: the environment, gender, human rights and the role of China.