The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau
A speakers bureau that represents the best original thinkers,
writers, and doers for speaking engagements.
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A speakers bureau that represents the best original thinkers,
writers, and doers for speaking engagements.
We live in a world of scarcity. But there's a better way forward—into a future of abundant housing, energy, innovation, and progress on all fronts.
Few speakers can match Derek Thompson‘s ability to synthesize mega-trends in society, labor, economics, technology, and politics. Put another way: Derek trawls the data sets and does the forecasting and deep reporting necessary to help us better understand how we live, how we vote, how we spend, and how we work. In his paradigm-shifting book, Abundance (co-written with Ezra Klein), this long-time Atlantic staff writer reveals how our policies and culture have pushed us into a world of scarcity (not enough housing, workers, or progress)—and offers a radical new path towards a world where housing is affordable, energy is plentiful, and innovation flourishes across industries. He shares a compelling vision of a future where we have more than enough for everybody, and a practical, actionable roadmap for how to get there. It starts with taking more risks, building more expansively, and recognizing that we all have the power to create a world of abundance. “Everything’s utopian until it’s reality,” he says.
“Derek Thompson has long been one of the brightest new voices in American journalism. With Hit Makers, he becomes one of the brightest new voices in the world of non-fiction books.”— Daniel H. Pink
Derek Thompson is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he writes about issues ranging from consumer spending habits to the economics of entertainment. He offers a fresh, sharp, and clear voice amidst the chaos of new technology and the changing world. He effectively dissects the biggest technological, economic, political, and cultural trends of the moment, and interprets what they might mean for our futures. Original and prescient, his writing has earned him a Best in Business Award for Columns and Commentary from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. “My job is to notice when I’m curious, and to notice when I’m confused, and to turn those noticings into words,” Derek says, “and to hope that people enjoy reading the crystallization of a quietly shared curiosity.”
In his latest book Abundance, co-written with bestselling author and fellow journalistic titan Ezra Klein, Derek shows us how we’ve fallen into a world where we feel like we never have enough—whether in housing, energy, workers, innovation, or progress—and offers a radical, hopeful new path towards a politics of plenty. He argues that the future is ours to build, if we’re willing to take a risk. In talks, Derek draws on the book to apply its lessons across all industries (including yours), showing audiences how to shift their mindset and spark extraordinary growth. “We can build more housing and transform energy and have a new Gilded Age of scientific breakthroughs and technological splendor,” he says. “But we need different policies and different ways of thinking at the company level to make that possible.”
Derek’s hit podcast Plain English does precisely as the name promises. He breaks down the weekly headlines into plain English, cutting the misinformation and confusion. Work in Progress, Derek’s newsletter on work, technology, and how to solve some of America’s biggest problems, has attracted a large audience looking to get ahead and prepare for the future. In his landmark cover story “A World Without Work,” Derek offered a wide-ranging exploration of the future of artificial intelligence and employment, and how Americans might cope with a jobless future.
His latest release, On Work: Money, Meaning, Identity, is unique in its position. Spanning the history of labor and the future of work, Derek’s commentary and analysis made him a core voice in the conversation around work.
In his debut book Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction, Derek shows us why blockbuster success isn’t a matter of chance, but a fascinating intersection of power, network, science, art, and sheer brilliance—making some ideas disappear, and others explode. Since its release, Hit Makers has been hailed by critics as a “wonderful book … [filled with] solid research, ready wit, and catchy aphorisms” (USA Today) and “a fun, thought-provoking take on the strange turns of cultural fortune” (Publishers Weekly). To bestselling author Adam Alter, it’s “a bible for anyone who’s ever tried to promote practically anything, from products, people, and ideas, to books, songs, films, and TV shows.”
He is the recipient of several honors, including the 2016 Best in Business award for Columns and Commentary from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. He’s a weekly contributor to NPR’s national afternoon news show “Here and Now” and a regular guest on CBS, the BBC, and MSNBC. He has also appeared on Inc and Forbes’ “30 Under 30” round-ups and Time magazine’s “140 Best Twitter Feeds.”
Derek was a dream to work with. He brought such energy to the Summit stage and shared a sincere interest in the work we do—he even came to the reception!
Oregon Business CouncilDerek was great! Reviews on his presentation were outstanding and he was a pleasure to work with.
Great American Media ServicesAuthor, A Brief History of Intelligence AI Entrepreneur and Founder of Bluecore Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree
First Deputy National Cyber Director for Technology and Ecosystem Security Former White House AI Council Member Former Google Global Head of Product Security Strategy
WIRED Global Editorial Director
Author, A Brief History of Intelligence AI Entrepreneur and Founder of Bluecore Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree
First Deputy National Cyber Director for Technology and Ecosystem Security Former White House AI Council Member Former Google Global Head of Product Security Strategy
WIRED Global Editorial Director
Author of The Age of Cryptocurrency and Our Biggest Fight Co-Host of the Money Reimagined Podcast MIT Media Advisor
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Expert Founder of the Creative Destruction Lab Bestselling Co-Author of Prediction Machines and Power and Prediction
New York Times bestselling author of Hate, Inc., Insane Clown President and The Divide Rolling Stone Writer
Author of Grit, the #1 New York Times Bestseller | Pioneering Researcher on Grit, Perseverance, and the Science of Success
2024 Nobel Prize Winner | 3rd Most Cited Economist in the World | MIT Institute Professor | Bestselling Co-Author of Why Nations Fail and Power and Progress
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Creator of The 1619 Project | Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-Winning 1619 Project Hulu Docuseries | MacArthur Genius
Nike's Former Chief Marketing Officer | Author of Emotion by Design
CEO of The Atlantic | Former Editor-in-Chief of WIRED
Why does it feel like we never have enough? Derek Thompson, bestselling author and Atlantic staff writer, says that our current policies and cultural attitudes have created a world of scarcity—scarce housing, scarce energy, scarce innovation. But scarcity isn’t inevitable. In this inspiring and actionable talk, Derek shows how we can flip the script, embracing bold policies and risk-ta...
“When we look at generative AI, what are we actually looking at?” asks Derek Thompson. A bestselling author and staff writer at The Atlantic, Derek argues that although we may think we know what ChatGPT is, its full potential is so huge that we can’t even begin to grasp it yet. He draws on examples from history—the steam engine, the lightbulb, the Promethean rise of fire as a...
Why do things become popular? Why do certain songs, apps, games, films, and cultural figures rise to blockbuster-levels of prominence, while others wither in obscurity? If you think the answer’s simple, think again—and start listening. In this absorbing keynote—based on his instant national bestseller Hit Makers—Derek Thompson reveals, for the first time, the complex blend of psyc...
In his prescient, national bestselling book Hit Makers, Derek Thomson predicted that the future of politics would be entertainment. Ever since then politics has become more and more like reality TV. With politician-obsessed media and media-obsessed politicians, the political realm seems to take after Hollywood and the world of entertainment. With the same clear-eyed insight that define...