"How to Rule the World" author Theo Baker in conversation

Conversations at King's returns with debut author Theo Baker in conversation with the Provost.

Theo Baker arrived at Stanford University as a seventeen year old freshman with a sense of wonder and anticipation. With an annual budget eclipsing the budgets of 116 countries, yet a reputation for being laid-back and innovative, Stanford seemed like tech heaven. Instead, Baker discovered a cultural rot.

"How to Rule the World" is Baker's account of his mission to uncover the secrets behind Silicon Valley's training ground. By the end of his freshman year, after Baker's reporting revealed two decades of unreported research misconduct allegations, including in a study that claimed to have found the cause of degeneration in Alzheimer's patients, Stanford's president was forced to resign.

Event details:

12.00 - 1pm: Theo Baker in conversation with Gillian Tett

1 - 1.30pm: Audience Q&A

Copies of "How to Rule the World" will be available on the day.

Theo Baker is an undergraduate at Stanford University. His reporting led to former Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s resignation and made Baker the youngest-ever recipient of the prestigious George Polk Award. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, New York magazine, The New York Times, and elsewhere. He will graduate from Stanford in June 2026.