Speaker(s): Professor Eileen Barker, Professor Conor Gearty | Thirty years after founding INFORM, the information network on religious movements, Eileen Barker argues that the sociology of religion still has an important role in “knowing the causes of things”. Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have remarked, “I don’t like that man; I must get to know him better”. Today the world is populated by religions that most of us do not like. Throughout most of the 20th century, there was a rumour that secula...
Feb 12, 2018•1 hr 24 min
Speaker(s): Stephen Armstrong, Alex Wheatle, Ros Taylor, Ros Wynne-Jones | In this event, aimed at school children aged 13-18, a panel of speakers discuss how we tell the truth about the people struggling to get by in modern Britain. Stephen Armstrong (@SArmstrong1984) is a journalist and author of The New Poverty. He writes extensively for the Sunday Times, the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian. He also appears occasionally on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 2. His other books include War PLC, The Super-R...
Feb 08, 2018•1 hr 6 min
Speaker(s): Professor Michael Ignatieff | A new ‘populism’ is evident in a variety of countries. Experts and expertise are attacked as standing in the way of the popular will. Universities are under new pressures from populist politicians. How should these pressures be resisted? Born in Canada, educated at the University of Toronto and Harvard, Michael Ignatieff (@M_Ignatieff) is a university professor, writer and former politician. His major publications are The Needs of Strangers (1984), Scar ...
Feb 08, 2018•1 hr 30 min
Speaker(s): Baroness Chakrabarti, Baroness Hale, Professor Nicola Lacey | On February 6th 1918, with the coming into force of the Representation of the People Act, women were by law first given the vote in this country. Even though this foundational right only applied to a restricted category of women initially, the dam had been breached and the universal franchise would soon follow. 100 years on, to the very day, LSE Law will be marking this constitutional watershed with speeches from Brenda Ha...
Feb 06, 2018•1 hr 22 min
Speaker(s): Professor Francesca Klug | At the beginning of the year in which the UDHR’s 70 birthday will be commemorated around the globe, Francesca Klug asks: is the Declaration no longer relevant for our modern world or has its time finally come? Francesca Klug is a Visiting Professor at LSE Human Rights and former Director of the Human Rights Futures Project from 2001-2015 at the LSE Centre for the Study of Human Rights. Francesca was formerly a Senior Research Fellow at King's College Law Sc...
Feb 05, 2018•1 hr 32 min
Speaker(s): Professor Cass Sunstein | How does new information about climate change impact our existing beliefs? Cass Sunstein identifies some surprising biases and findings. Cass Sunstein (@CassSunstein) is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard Law School. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Nicholas Stern (@lordstern1) is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government at the LSE and has been Chair of the Grantha...
Feb 01, 2018•1 hr 23 min
Speaker(s): Dr Clare Chambers, Sir Paul Coleridge, Peter Tatchell | Marriage is an odd mix of sex, religion, and politics. Our speakers ask what marriage is and whether there is there any distinctive moral value in it. Should the state promote it? Is it possible to have an ‘equal’ marriage, or is marriage fundamentally an oppressive institution? Should marriage be rejected in favour of civil partnerships, or something else, or perhaps nothing else? Clare Chambers is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy...
Jan 31, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Speaker(s): Professor Akwugo Emejulu | How might we transform the ways in which we think about ‘crisis’, ‘activism’ and 'solidarity'? Drawing on her new co-authored book, Minority Women and Austerity: Survival and Resistance in France and Britain, Akwugo Emejulu's talk will explore the asymmetrical impacts of austerity measures on women of colour and their strategies for resistance in Scotland, England and France. Akwugo Emejulu is Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick. Aisling Swaine is...
Jan 31, 2018•1 hr 27 min
Speaker(s): Professor Francesco Caselli, Lorenzo Codogno, Miriam Sorace | Italy will hold its next general election no later than spring 2018. What are the potential outcomes and likely implications for Italy and Europe? Francesco Caselli is Norman Sosnow Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, LSE. Lorenzo Codogno is Visiting Professor in Practice, European Institute, LSE. Miriam Sorace (@MiriamSorace) is LSE Fellow in EU Politics, European Institute, LSE. Sara Hagemann (@sarahagemann)...
Jan 31, 2018•1 hr 23 min
Speaker(s): Michael La Cour | Michael La Cour will in this lecture discuss the role and responsibility of corporations in addressing the challenges of the food system, and how sustainability and health drives innovation. Michael La Cour (@MichaelIKEAFood) is Managing Director of IKEA Food Services AB. Richard Perkins is Associate Professor of Environmental Geography at LSE. The LSE Department of Geography & Environment (@LSEGeography) is a centre of international academic excellence in econo...
Jan 30, 2018•1 hr 23 min
Speaker(s): Professor Ricardo Hausmann | The difference between rich and poor countries is mostly explained by differences in “technology”. But what is technology and why does it not diffuse more quickly? This lecture will clarify the importance of collective know-how in technology diffusion and the importance of a sense of us in creating the needed cooperation to support the implementation of technology. Ricardo Hausmann (@ricardo_hausman) is Director of Harvard's Center for International Devel...
Jan 29, 2018•1 hr 32 min
Speaker(s): Shane Wall | Our planet’s pace of change is at lightning speed. How do we stay ahead of the curve to innovate, adapt, reinvent and engineer experiences for a future that promises to look vastly different from today? Join Shane Wall for a conversation about megatrends – major socio-economic, demographic and technological shifts occurring across the globe that will have a sustained, transformative impact on the world and humanity in the decades ahead. Shane Wall (@ShaneWallCTO) is HP I...
Jan 25, 2018•1 hr 24 min
Speaker(s): Professor Philippe Bourgois, Dr Jens Lerche, Dr Alpa Shah | Our panel examines how economic growth in India entrenches social difference of tribe, caste and class and has transformed identity-based discrimination into new forms of exploitation and oppression. Philippe Bourgois is Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles. Jens Lerche (@JensLerche) is Reader in Labour and Agrarian Studies, SOAS. Alpa Shah (@alpashah001) is Associate Professor (Reader), Departmen...
Jan 25, 2018•1 hr 30 min
Speaker(s): Professor John Burnside,Professor Barbara Taylor,Professor James Warren | ‘Hell is other people’, noted Jean Paul Sartre—rather rudely, it might seem to an outside observer. But is the pursuit of philosophical understanding an inherently solitary pursuit by its nature? From Augustine to Kant, philosophy has cherished the image of the deep thinker immersed in solitudinous reflection. But how does solitude differ from loneliness? And in an age of increasing social atomization, can we t...
Jan 24, 2018•1 hr 23 min
Speaker(s): Dr Brian Klaas | Donald Trump isn't a despot. But he is increasingly acting like a despot's apprentice. An expert on authoritarianism, Brian Klaas is well placed to recognise the warning signs of tyranny. He argues forcefully that with every autocratic tactic or tweet, Trump further erodes democratic norms in the world's most powerful democracy. Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) is Fellow in Comparative Politics, Department of Government, LSE and author of The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Tru...
Jan 24, 2018•1 hr 27 min
Speaker(s): Professor Lord Layard | To mark the publication of The Origins of Happiness Andrew Marr and Richard Layard discuss some of its key focal points: What makes people happy? Why should governments care about people's wellbeing? How would policy change if wellbeing was the main objective? Richard Layard is Director of the Wellbeing program at the Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. Andrew Marr (@AndrewMarr9) is the host of The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One and also hosts BBC Radio 4's Sta...
Jan 22, 2018•1 hr 11 min
Speaker(s): Professor Thomas Shapiro, Zamila Bunglawala | In his latest book, Toxic Inequality, which he will discuss in this lecture, Thomas Shapiro examines a powerful and unprecedented convergence in the United States: historic and rising levels of wealth and income inequality in an era of stalled mobility, intersecting with a widening racial wealth gap, all against the backdrop of changing racial and ethnic demographics. Thomas Shapiro (@tmshapiro) is Director, Institute on Assets and Social...
Jan 18, 2018•1 hr 29 min
Speaker(s): Mary Robinson | Events such as hurricanes affecting Texas, Florida and Caribbean Islands, wild-fires raging in California and Portugal, and severe monsoon rains in South Asia, bring home the urgency of a people centered, climate justice approach. Mary Robinson is President of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice and Chair of the Board of Trustees. She is a former President of Ireland (1990-1997) and a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997-2002). Between March 2...
Jan 18, 2018•1 hr 18 min
Speaker(s): Liam Halligan, Dr Gerard Lyons | In their latest book Clean Brexit, which they will discuss at this event, Liam Halligan and Gerard Lyons offer a vision of how Britain, and the world, can make a great success of Brexit. If the negotiations go well, the UK could become an inspiration for voters elsewhere in Europe who have long demanded EU reform. Unashamedly optimistic about Britain’s future, they argue that leaving the EU provides an opportunity for the UK to re-invent its economy, ...
Jan 17, 2018•1 hr 32 min
Speaker(s): Professor Helen Frowe, Issam Kourbaj, Vernon Rapley, Professor Eleanor Robson | From the recent destruction of Palmyra and the looting of the National Museum of Iraq, cultural artefacts are one of the many casualties of armed conflict. What exactly is cultural property and whose property is it? How should we weigh its value against other priorities during times of conflict? What risks should be taken to protect it, and who is responsible for rebuilding and restoring when the conflict...
Jan 17, 2018•1 hr 29 min
Speaker(s): Shri Suresh Prabhu, Y K Sinha | Editor's note: We regret to inform you that owing to a technical problem the last few minutes of the lecture are missing from the podcast Shri Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Commerce and Industry, Government of India will in this lecture discuss the importance of trade and investment in driving sustainable growth and inclusion. He will also reflect on the future of India-UK collaborations in a changing world. Prior to his current role Dr Prabhu (@sureshpp...
Jan 12, 2018•1 hr 17 min
Speaker(s): Jeroen Dijsselbloem | In his lecture Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem will speak about the lessons learnt from the economic and financial crises, where we are now and about the challenges for the Eurozone in the future. Jeroen Dijsselbloem (@J_Dijsselbloem) is President of the Eurogroup and former Minister of Finance for the Netherlands. Kevin Featherstone is Head of the European Institute, LSE. The LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) is a centre for research and graduate teaching...
Jan 11, 2018•1 hr 23 min
Speaker(s): Dr Pablo Rodriguez | Innovation in most large companies these days is fairly incremental. There is nothing inherently wrong in this, as much of our progress as a society has resulted from such innovation. Over recent years, however, we are seeing a radical departure from incremental innovation. Instead, we look at organisations who intentionally set extremely ambitious innovation objectives, where incremental innovation cannot get the job done. The focus of this talk is to discuss th...
Jan 10, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Speaker(s): Eimear McBride, Dr Kaye Mitchell | Is it possible to express the richness, variety, and depth of our inner experience, our thoughts and feelings? If so, what is the best way to do it? Should we turn to literature or to philosophy? And what can they teach each other about understanding, expressing, and performing the self? In this event, award-winning novelist Eimear McBride will discuss these questions with writer and academic Kaye Mitchell. Eimear McBride is an award-winning novelis...
Jan 09, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Speaker(s): Professor Arne Westad | Arne Westad and Michael Cox discuss the truly global nature of the Cold War, with East and West demanding absolute allegiance around the world. For over forty years the demands of the Cold War shaped the lives of millions of people worldwide, with countries as remote from each other as Korea, Angola, and Cuba defined by the conflict. For many nations, the war was not 'cold' at all and the second half of the 20th century offered no reprieve from horrors of worl...
Jan 09, 2018•1 hr 22 min
Speaker(s): Professor Mike Savage, Dr Abigail McKnight, Dr Sam Friedman | We hope you’ve enjoyed listening to the autumn 2017 programme of LSE public events and that you’ll stay tuned for the exciting programme of events we have lined up for the new year. In the meantime we have a new podcast series that we think you might enjoy. LSE IQ is a monthly, thirty minute podcast, where we ask some of the smartest social scientists - and other experts - to answer intelligent questions about economics, p...
Dec 11, 2017•38 min
Speaker(s): Brhmie Balaram, Jason Moyer-Lee | The gig economy is on the rise and with it worries about exploitation. Leading experts will analyse how to deal with the challenges and opportunities of new ways of working. Brhmie Balaram (@Brhmie) is a Senior Researcher in the RSA’s Economy, Enterprise and Manufacturing team. She leads the RSA’s research on the sharing economy. She was previously a researcher for the Independent Review of the Police Federation and for the influential RSA City Growt...
Dec 07, 2017•1 hr 21 min
Speaker(s): David Gauke | Beveridge offered a radical response to the social and economic circumstances of his time in a country emerging from global depression and conflict. Yet today’s world would be unrecognisable to Beveridge: the past 75 years have seen significant social and economic changes that the welfare system has needed to accommodate. We now face further significant changes as we enter the fourth industrial revolution. Our welfare system will need to change to adapt to future circum...
Dec 07, 2017•46 min
Speaker(s): Yasmin Diamond | Yasmin Diamond reflects on her extensive career in corporate, government and public sector communications to discuss effective female leadership, what makes a good communicator and overcoming cultural differences in the workplace. Join her in conversation with Dr Hyun-Jung Lee. Yasmin Diamond is Executive Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). Before joining IHG, Yasmin was Director of Communications at the Home Office. She...
Dec 06, 2017•1 hr 26 min
Speaker(s): Pierre Krähenbühl | Appointed by the UN Secretary-General in November 2013, Pierre Krähenbühl (@PKraehenbuehl) became UNRWA Commissioner-General on 30 March 2014. As Commissioner-General, he serves at the level of Under-Secretary-General. A Swiss national born in 1966, Mr. Krähenbühl has 25 years of experience in humanitarian, human rights and development work. Prior to joining UNRWA, he served as Director of Operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from July...
Dec 04, 2017•1 hr 21 min
