From the pets we love to the animals we rarely see, our relationship with non-human life is full of contradictions. In this episode, we explore what it really means to protect animals and whether welfare is enough, or if rights are the way forward. Beginning with a simple question inspired by my own dog, Pip, this episode moves from the personal to the global. Through conversations with experts including Jeff Sebo, Jonathan Birch, Jo-Anne McArthur and Carrie Friese, we examine how ideas about se...
May 12, 2026•30 min•Ep. 82
We’ve all had rough days at work. But none of us have been fired by a sitting President after just 11 days in the job. That’s what happened to American financier and LSE alumnus Anthony Scaramucci, whose brief and explosive stint as White House Communications Director in 2017 became global news. But instead of letting the experience define him, Anthony rebuilt his career, returned to his investment firm SkyBridge Capital, and has since become a prominent political commentator — including co‑host...
Apr 14, 2026•30 min•Ep. 81
Fertility rates are at record lows around the world, reshaping communities and even forcing some schools to close. In 1950, the global average was around five live births per woman. Today, that number has more than halved to 2.2, and in England and Wales, it’s closer to 1.4. The UK’s falling birth rate reflects what the United Nations has described as ‘a global fertility slump’. In this episode of LSE iQ, Anna Bevan asks: Why are we having fewer children? From a closed down primary school in Sou...
Mar 03, 2026•29 min•Ep. 80
What does the future of work really look like?
Feb 02, 2026•30 min
It seems every week we hear a new report of a cyber-attack. What if those attacks were on our critical infrastructure? Our national grid? Our water supply? Is the UK prepared?
Dec 01, 2025•31 min
What does artificial intelligence really mean for the future of work?
Nov 03, 2025•22 min
Amid rising interest rates and inflation, we ask whether debts must always be paid—exploring causes of debt, bankruptcy’s role, and fresh perspectives on repayment.
Oct 06, 2025•29 min
Far-right ideas once on the fringe now dominate feeds and headlines, reshaping politics and threatening democracy worldwide.
Aug 04, 2025•33 min
This episode explores the AI sustainability paradox: can AI be both a climate solution and a climate problem?
May 05, 2025•31 min
What type of person falls for an online scam? Who are the fraudsters and how does colonialism motivate them? And what’s the connection between criminality and pop music?
Apr 07, 2025•33 min
With the cost-of-living crisis leading to the closure of community spaces around the UK, and the pressures on urban development projects, this episode of LSE iQ asks, are we in danger of losing our communities?
Mar 03, 2025•30 min
This episode of LSE iQ looks at whether we should still be driving.
Feb 03, 2025•29 min
This episode of LSE iQ explores a national scandal: widespread illegal sewage dumping by our privatised water companies, and why they are all under criminal investigation.
Dec 14, 2024•33 min
With companies, like SpaceX or Blue Origin, getting into space exploration and the cost of launching rockets dropping, could we see a lot more people heading into space in the future?
Nov 19, 2024•30 min
In this episode of LSE iQ, we explore what it’s like to win the prestigious Nobel Prize and how it changes your life.
Sep 30, 2024•31 min
This episode of LSE iQ explores whether gender pay gap reporting, pay transparency and tackling gender norms can reduce the gender pay gap.
Sep 02, 2024•29 min
The idea of an America in decline has gained traction in recent years and has, of course, been capitalized on by President Trump. Is America’s ‘greatness’ under threat?
May 20, 2024•35 min
Why do some countries, such as China and Russia, stand outside of the liberal international order and oppose values that the West takes for granted – values such as liberty and democracy?
Apr 08, 2024•19 min
Are weight-loss jabs the answer to Britain’s obesity crisis? Should we be doing more to tackle the root causes?
Mar 04, 2024•33 min
This episode of LSE Extra iQ asks, 'Why do so many people mistakenly think they are working class?'.
Feb 05, 2024•10 min
This episode of LSE iQ asks, ‘How can we tackle loneliness?’.
Dec 11, 2023•27 min
This episode of LSE iQ asks, ‘Can we change the world?’
Nov 06, 2023•29 min
Joanna Bale investigates how gay men living in Dubai create covert communities where they can meet and socialise.
Oct 02, 2023•31 min
This episode of LSE iQ asks, ‘Is AI coming for our jobs?’
Sep 06, 2023•30 min
This month we’re re-running an episode from 2021 which asks, ‘What’s it like to be an animal?’
May 01, 2023•30 min
This episode of LSE iQ asks, ‘How can we make homes more affordable?’
Apr 03, 2023•32 min
Joanna Bale talks to Dr Stuart Gordon, Sveto Muhammad Ishoq and Halima, an Afghan refugee living in a hotel, about what it’s like to flee your country and policy ideas to help resolve the situation.
Mar 06, 2023•33 min
Exploring the reasons people might find themselves with problematic levels of debt, this month, LSE iQ asks “Do we always need to pay our debts?”
Feb 06, 2023•28 min
This month, LSE iQ asks: Can gaming make us happier?
Dec 05, 2022•30 min
This episode of LSE iQ asks, ‘How does class define us?’
Oct 31, 2022•33 min
