In the battle between the human desire for risk and the desire for safety, being safe has been the clear winner. By every measurable standard, humanity has never been safer. Global conflict deaths have plummeted from 300 to 1 per 100,000 between the 17th century and today. Child mortality has fallen from one in three to less than one in twenty. Tracking threats has undeniably saved lives. Yet, despite the data, many remain convinced we are living in an era of unprecedented peril. For two decades, Gallup found that most Americans believed crime was rising, even as FBI records showed it in freefall. We have built entire industries, government agencies, and daily protocols around predicting and mitigating danger — and the resulting hyper-vigilance some argue has left us paralysed by panic.

In trying to eliminate every danger, have we manufactured a culture of fear that stops us from living? Should we seek to reverse safety culture and cultivate a desire for risk? Or should the saved lives speak for themselves, and current anxieties a rational response to unpredictable, modern threats?

Heterodox sociologist Frank Furedi, celebrated statistician David Spiegelhalter, and Deputy Leader of the Green Party Rachel Millward debate danger, safety, and risk.