Roman Krznaric

Roman Krznaric is a cultural thinker and founding faculty member of The School of Life in London, which offers instruction and inspiration on the important questions of everyday life. He advises organizations including Oxfam and the United Nations on using empathy and conversation to create social change, and has been named by The Observer as one of Britain’s leading lifestyle philosophers.

After growing up in Sydney and Hong Kong, he studied at the universities of Oxford, London and Essex, where he gained his PhD. He has taught sociology and politics at Cambridge University and City University, London, and has done human rights work in Central America with refugees and indigenous people. For several years he was Project Director at The Oxford Muse, the avant-garde foundation to stimulate courage and invention in personal, professional and cultural life. He regularly speaks at public events on topics such as empathy, the history of love, the future of work, and the art of living. Recent appearances include the Edinburgh International Festival, the Latitude Arts Festival and the London Design Festival.

His latest book, The Wonderbox: Curious Histories of How to Live, explores what we can learn from the past about better living. He is the author of a book on what sport can teach us about life, The First Beautiful Game: Stories of Obsession in Real Tennis and, with the historian Theodore Zeldin, edited Guide to an Unknown University. His next book, How to Find Fulfilling Work, is part of a new practical philosophy series edited by Alain de Botton. Roman’s books are currently being translated into over a dozen languages. His blog dedicated to empathy and the art of living, Outrospection, has been featured in the media around the world.

Roman is a fanatical real tennis player, has worked as a gardener, and has a passion for furniture making. His ambition is to found the world’s first empathy museum.

The Wonderbox: Curious Histories of How to Live