Jack Monroe on Greed at The School of Life

As ‘A Girl Called Jack’ she became the face of opposition to austerity Britain – a single mother who turned her experiences trying to feed her young son on benefits into a brilliant career as a food writer and poverty campaigner. Then, following a psychotic breakdown, she blazed another trail – becoming one of the first people in the British media spotlight to come out as transgender. Now Jack Monroe joins The School of Life to give us her unique perspective on the way we live now.

In the 20th century we flaunted our wealth through what we bought and put on show – from fast cars to jewellery, haute couture to bleeding edge tech. We allowed what we owned to define who we were. It was called conspicuous consumption – and now its days are numbered.

Jack Monroe knows a thing or two about the value of money. As a food blogger known for her recipes to feed families struggling to get by in the age of austerity, she was catapulted from relative poverty to fame as a Guardian columnist and the author of two acclaimed books. She’s going to take a hard look at the way that we consume culture – and tell us about how things are changing now that, from Steve Jobs to Warren Buffet, the wealthiest and most exalted figures of our age prefer to make a show of spending their money on as little as possible.