Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
We only get 4000 weeks on this earth. Why are so many of us wasting them?
This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Rutger Bregman. Named “one of Europe’s most prominent young thinkers” by TED, Rutger is a New York Times bestselling author whose books (Moral Ambition, Humankind, and Utopia for Realists) have sold over 2 million copies and been translated into 46 languages. He has shared the stage with Yuval Noah Harari, been interviewed by Jon Stewart, gone viral at the World Economic Forum conference at Davos, and given a TED Talk which TED curator Chris Anderson named one of the 10 best of the year.
Rutger is a warm, passionate keynote speaker who argues that we need more than good intentions to change the world. We need "moral ambition": the idealism of an activist and the ambition of an entrepreneur. And he can show us how to muster both in order to make real change.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- Why making the world "a little bit better" is the wrong goal—and what to aim for instead
- How small groups of committed people can spark outsized movements
- The counterintuitive truth about doing good (hint: it's not about being a good person)
In conversation with The Lavin Agency's founder and CEO, David Lavin, Rutger answers these questions and more:
- How can ordinary people change the world?
- Why do good people do nothing about injustice?
- Is universal basic income a good idea?
- What can you do if you hate your job?
- How can you find meaningful work?
Learn more about Rutger or book him as a keynote speaker: https://thelavinagency.com/speakers/rutger-bregman/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm…
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: @TheLavinAgency
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Credits:
Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney
Host: David Lavin
Guest: Rutger Bregman
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Timestamps:
0:00 Cold Open
0:21 Intro to the episode
0:59 Defining moral ambition
2:26 What big fights are left today?
4:20 Universal Basic Income explained
6:42 Activism vs charity in turbulent times
8:52 Can small contributions still make change?
11:48 How to handle immoral ambition
14:40 Why taxing billionaires hasn’t worked yet
17:02 Who are today’s Ralph Naders?
19:45 Teaching moral ambition at Harvard
21:01 Why people struggle to do the right thing
23:59 America’s response to the book
26:00 Europe’s decline vs US ambition
29:09 China, solar, and building vs regulating
32:00 Final thoughts on moral ambition
33:28 Outro & subscribe
We only get 4000 weeks on this earth. Why are so many of us wasting them?
This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Rutger Bregman. Named “one of Europe’s most prominent young thinkers” by TED, Rutger is a New York Times bestselling author whose books (Moral Ambition, Humankind, and Utopia for Realists) have sold over 2 million copies and been translated into 46 languages. He has shared the stage with Yuval Noah Harari, been interviewed by Jon Stewart, gone viral at the World Economic Forum conference at Davos, and given a TED Talk which TED curator Chris Anderson named one of the 10 best of the year.
Rutger is a warm, passionate keynote speaker who argues that we need more than good intentions to change the world. We need "moral ambition": the idealism of an activist and the ambition of an entrepreneur. And he can show us how to muster both in order to make real change.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- Why making the world "a little bit better" is the wrong goal—and what to aim for instead
- How small groups of committed people can spark outsized movements
- The counterintuitive truth about doing good (hint: it's not about being a good person)
In conversation with The Lavin Agency's founder and CEO, David Lavin, Rutger answers these questions and more:
- How can ordinary people change the world?
- Why do good people do nothing about injustice?
- Is universal basic income a good idea?
- What can you do if you hate your job?
- How can you find meaningful work?
Learn more about Rutger or book him as a keynote speaker: https://thelavinagency.com/speakers/rutger-bregman/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm…
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: @TheLavinAgency
------
Credits:
Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney
Host: David Lavin
Guest: Rutger Bregman
------
Timestamps:
0:00 Cold Open
0:21 Intro to the episode
0:59 Defining moral ambition
2:26 What big fights are left today?
4:20 Universal Basic Income explained
6:42 Activism vs charity in turbulent times
8:52 Can small contributions still make change?
11:48 How to handle immoral ambition
14:40 Why taxing billionaires hasn’t worked yet
17:02 Who are today’s Ralph Naders?
19:45 Teaching moral ambition at Harvard
21:01 Why people struggle to do the right thing
23:59 America’s response to the book
26:00 Europe’s decline vs US ambition
29:09 China, solar, and building vs regulating
32:00 Final thoughts on moral ambition
33:28 Outro & subscribe
