Episodes
Contributor(s): Madhumita Murgia | On the surface a British poet, an UberEats courier in Pittsburgh, an Indian doctor, and a Chinese activist in exile have nothing in common. But they are in fact linked by a profound common experience—unexpected encounters with artificial intelligence.
Published 03/27/24
Published 03/27/24
Contributor(s): Priyanka Kotamraju, Professor Tarun Khaitan, Professor Christophe Jaffrelot, Professor Alpa Shah | In her latest book, The Incarcerations. Professor Alpa Shah finds a shocking case of cyber warfare - hacked emails, mobile phones and implantation of electronic evidence used to make the arrests of the 16 human rights defenders (the BK-16). Delving into the lives of the BK-16, The Incarcerations shows how the case is a bellwether for the collapse of democracy and why these events...
Published 03/26/24
Contributor(s): Professor Anna Mahtani | In deciding whether to carry out a particular healthcare policy for example, the process for reaching a decision will almost certainly involve a calculation of credences. Drawing from the Philosophy of Language, Anna Mahtani argues that objects of credence are "opaque". It matters then how the relevant object is described or designated.
Published 03/25/24
Contributor(s): Gary Stevenson, Rebecca Gowland | Whilst studying at LSE, Gary won a competition run by a bank: "The Trading Game". The prize: a golden ticket to a new life, as the youngest trader in the whole city. A place where you could make more money than you'd ever imagined. Where your colleagues are dysfunctional maths geniuses, overfed public schoolboys and borderline psychopaths, yet they start to feel like family. But what happens when winning starts to feel like losing? Would you...
Published 03/21/24
Contributor(s): Professor Judith Butler | Judith Butler confronts the attacks on gender which have become central to right-wing movements today. Global networks have formed "anti-gender ideology movements" dedicated to circulating a fantasy that gender is a dangerous threat to families, local cultures, civilisation – and even "man" himself. 
Published 03/20/24
Contributor(s): Dr Kate Vredenburgh, Professor Geoffrey Hinton | As artificial intelligence (AI) moves beyond the realm of science fiction, it is already having a profound impact on our economies, societies and politics. Our panel examine its transformative power and disruptive potential. 
Published 03/19/24
Contributor(s): Professor Myria Georgiou, Dr Matt Mahmoudi, Professor Myria Georgiou, Professor Ayona Datta, Sara Alsherif | Our panel investigates the dynamic workings of technology and power in the city from a transnational and comparative perspective as illustrated in Myria Georgiou’s book, Being Human in Digital Cities. They discuss the the contradictory claims and struggles for the future of digital cities and their humanity.
Published 03/18/24
Contributor(s): Rachel Kyte, Professor Lord Stern | As part of the Lionel Robbins Lecture Series, our panel discuss the growth story for the 21st century: building sustainable, resilient, and equitable development.
Published 03/14/24
Contributor(s): Professor Tali Sharot, Professor Cass R. Sunstein | The authors tackle a great question: why are we so often oblivious to things around us, from pollution and lying to bias and corruption? 
Published 03/13/24
Contributor(s): Professor Cameron Hepburn, Professor Lord Stern | As part of the Lionel Robbins Lecture Series, the second lecture explores structural transformation; policies and institutions.
Published 03/13/24
Contributor(s): Humza Yousaf MSP | Humza Yousaf MSP, First Minister of Scotland looks at the relative success of European countries comparable to Scotland, which benefit from an (economic) model grounded in the combination of social solidarity and economic dynamism. With the damage of  Brexit becoming clear, would an independent Scotland in the EU be well-placed to benefit from an economic model and direction different to Westminster’s?
Published 03/12/24
Contributor(s): Professor Emily Shuckburgh, Professor Lord Stern | As part of the Lionel Robbins Lecture Series, our panel discussed the first theme on a world re-drawn; a world in crisis; a moment in history; the agenda for growth and transformation.
Published 03/12/24
Contributor(s): Professor Scott Barrett | The ocean is governed by a combination of property rights, established in customary law, cooperative agreements, and under treaty law. Professor Scott Barrett looks at what these institutions have achieved and why.
Published 03/11/24
Contributor(s): Professor James Feigenbaum | In this talk, James Feigenbaum shows how the ability to link individuals over time, and between databases, means that new avenues for research have opened up, thus allowing us to track intergenerational mobility, assimilation, discrimination and the returns to education.
Published 03/07/24
Contributor(s): Dr Jason Casellas, Dr Ursula Hackett, Mark Landler, Professor Stephanie Rickard | Jason Casellas is the John G. Winant Visiting Professor in American Government at the University of Oxford affiliated with Balliol College and the Rothermere American Institute.  Ursula Hackett is Reader in Politics at Royal Holloway, University of London, and a British Academy Mid-Career Fellow.  Mark Landler is the London bureau chief of The New York Times. Stephanie J Rickard is Professor at...
Published 03/06/24
Contributor(s): Dr Tania Burchardt, Professor Neil Lee, Professor Mike Savage | Our panel of speakers will cover a range of topics, such as how we can improve the quality of employment, how to implement a levelling up agenda, and how we can tackle wealth inequality in the UK.
Published 03/05/24
Contributor(s): Cally Beaton | They discuss how comedy can both perpetuate and conceal sexism, while also having the profound ability to reveal and rise above bias and discrimination.
Published 03/05/24
Contributor(s): Marvin Rees OBE | What lessons are there about how to represent, lead and shape a city? How difficult is it to balance short-term priorities with long-term vision and strategy? And what does central government need to learn about public policy and city services from the sharp end? Join us as we host Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, to address this and more.
Published 02/29/24
Contributor(s): Katie Schmuecker, Professor Mike Savage , Liam Byrne MP | Yet, it doesn’t have to be like this. In his new book The Inequality of Wealth: why it matters and how to fix it, former Treasury Minister, Liam Byrne, explains the fast-accelerating inequality of wealth; warns how it threatens our society, economy, and politics; shows where economics got it wrong – and lays out a path back to common sense, with five practical new ways to rebuild an old ideal: the wealth-owning...
Published 02/28/24
Contributor(s): Kostas Bakoyannis | It has become vital to draw from the local perspective when tackling global issue. The same is true for many organisations and communities, for whom traditional, top-down approaches do not offer the agility and responsiveness that is essential for effective crisis management in our times. Having served local government for 13 years, from a rural to an urban context and from a small town to a region and a big city, Kostas Bakoyannis shares his experience of...
Published 02/27/24
Contributor(s): Sarah Appleton, Nikki Sullivan, Paul Frijters, Helen | Joanna Bale talks to Helen, who found Ozempic ‘life-changing’, Clinical Psychologist Sarah Appleton, and LSE’s Nikki Sullivan & Paul Frijters.
Published 02/25/24
Contributor(s): Stefanos Kasselakis | In Greece, SYRIZA rose dramatically to lead the fight against euro-zone imposed austerity. Yet, it lost badly in two national elections last year and the left is fragmenting. How can the fortunes of the left be restored? What kind of unity is feasible and desirable on the left? How can the left avoid further defeat?
Published 02/23/24
Contributor(s): Tooba Syed, Professor Judith Butler | What might feminist, queer and decolonial forms of resistance teach us about diverse forms of 'anti-gender' backlash? How can we generate political solidarity to counter 'anti-gender' mobilisations across different contexts? Our keynote speakers reflect on political, epistemic and ethical interventions and open up for discussion with the audience.
Published 02/22/24