Jan 30
Convocation with Brian Klaas '08 | Fluke: How Chance, Luck, and Chaos Theory Explain Our World
Brian Klaas '08 is Professor of Global Politics at University College London, an associate researcher at the University of Oxford, and a contributing writer for The Atlantic. He was recently named one of the 25 “Top Thinkers” globally by Prospect Magazine.
Klaas is the author of five books, including Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters (2024) and Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us (2021). Klaas writes the popular The Garden of Forking Paths Substack, read by 50,000 people in 175 countries, and created the award-winning Power Corrupts podcast, which has been downloaded over three million times.
Klaas is an expert on democracy, authoritarianism, American politics, political violence, elections, and the nature of power. Additionally, his research interests include contingency, chaos theory, evolutionary biology, the philosophy of science and social science, and complex systems. Klaas has advised a variety of governments, US political campaigns, NATO, the European Union, the International Crisis Group, the Carter Center, multi-billion dollar investors, international NGOs, and international politicians.
In addition to his academic work, Klaas regularly engages with the broader public. He frequently appears on national television and radio outlets, including the BBC, MSNBC, CNN, Sky News, National Public Radio, Times Radio, LBC, and an array of other outlets. He previously was a weekly columnist for The Washington Post and now writes for The Atlantic magazine.
At Carleton, Klaas was an international relations and history double major who graduated Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He later received his DPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford (New College) after completing an MPhil in Comparative Government from the University of Oxford (St. Antony's). Originally from the Twin Cities, Klaas is now a dual US/UK citizen who lives just outside London.
This convocation was also presented as a virtual webinar. Please register in advance if you would like to attend via Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.