Gillian Tett, editor-at-large of the Financial Times, demonstrates the key role that an understanding of human behaviour plays in solving some of the most pressing global challenges.

For over a century, anthropologists have immersed themselves in unfamiliar cultures, uncovering the hidden rituals that govern how people act. Now, a new generation of anthropologists are using these methods in a different context: to illuminate the behaviour of consumers and businesses at home.

Tett – bestselling author of Fool’s Gold, journalist, and anthropology PhD – shows how anthropology helps explain consumer habits, revealing the ‘webs of meaning’ that underpin how we shop, and unpicking the subtle cultural shifts driving the rise of green investment. She explores how anthropology can shed light on the workplace, identifying the hidden tribes within the office, and pinpointing which rituals are binding together a team. And she shows how we can all use anthropology in our own lives, too: helping us make better decisions, navigate risk – even work out what our peers are really thinking.

Along the way, Tett draws on stories from Tajik villages and Amazon warehouses, Japanese classrooms and Wall Street trading floors, all to reveal the power of anthropology in action.

She discusses this new way of making sense of human behaviour with Margaret Heffernan.

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Festival of Economics: Gillian Tett