From citizen to subject: police militarisation and the imperial boomerang
Militarised policing is one of the preconditions for fascist rule, but how and why would police in liberal democracies militarise?
May 27, 2026•1 hr 28 min
LSE: Public lectures and events
The London School of Economics and Political Science public events podcast series is a platform for thought, ideas and lively debate where you can hear from some of the world's leading thinkers. Listen to more than 200 new episodes every year.
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Episodes
Inheritance, demographics, and economic development
Inheritance institutions shape family structures and demographic decisions, with enduring implications for economic development. This lecture describes how inheritance rules affect fertility, marriage, and migration decisions in historical and development contexts.
May 21, 2026•1 hr 24 min
Trade under strain: policy challenges in a fractured world
In an increasingly fragmented global order, new forms of geopolitical and economic division are reshaping the world economy. Long‑standing trade partnerships face growing pressure, and rising tensions threaten to unwind decades of cooperation
May 20, 2026•1 hr 32 min
Economics, ethics, and the role of the state in climate action
Climate change and biodiversity loss are among the defining challenges of our time — but they also open the door to extraordinary possibility. The investments, innovation, and structural change required for climate action can unlock, particularly when combined with AI, far more dynamic and resilient paths of growth and development than anything the past has offered.
May 19, 2026•1 hr 33 min
Investable transition opportunities: what counts as a climate solution?
As companies in high-emitting sectors move from setting net zero targets to implementing detailed transition plans, investors are demanding greater transparency and fully quantified strategies.
May 14, 2026•1 hr 21 min
Why populists are winning and how to beat them
In 2024, two billion people went to vote – and populism won big. Donald Trump returned to the White House. Marine Le Pen surged in France. Reform UK became Britain’s most successful far-right party in modern history. Across the West, authoritarian populists now govern one-quarter of the world’s democracies. But is this peak populism – or the populists’ tipping point?
May 13, 2026•1 hr 30 min
Cooling a warming India: ecology and equity in our time
This talk will examine housing and work, sleep and sociality, as key aspects of everyday life where strategies to create more equitable and sustainable access to cooling must focus.
May 12, 2026•1 hr 29 min
Development finance after Trump
The Trump Administration has closed the world’s largest bilateral aid programme, USAID and poured scorn on its past effectiveness. Other donors are also cutting their aid programmes at the same time as there is a growing chorus of concern around aid effectiveness. It has created ‘’ a perfect storm” in the world of development finance. Can there be a happy ending or is development another casualty of Trump’s new global disorder?
May 11, 2026•1 hr 32 min
The foreign policy of Donald Trump in historical perspective
Commentators around the world draw some startling analogies when they seek to assess President Donald Trump, some even likening him to a Roman emperor or an inter-war dictator. In this lecture, Niall Ferguson puts Trump's foreign policy in an Anglo-American historical perspective.
May 07, 2026•1 hr 27 min
Who is Britain really saving in the fight against modern slavery?
As Black Lives Matter has exposed the legacies of transatlantic slavery and empire, Britain has launched a new moral crusade at home: the fight against “modern slavery.” This panel discussion marks the launch of Drugs, Race and the Politics of Modern Slavery Law by Insa Lee Koch and asks what this crusade is really doing.
May 06, 2026•1 hr 28 min
The ethics of foreign intervention: philosophical perspectives on Venezuela and Iran
The US capture of President Nicolás Maduro in January 2026 and the US–Israeli military campaign against Iran have thrust foreign intervention back to the centre of global debate.
May 05, 2026•1 hr 25 min
Greek Prime Ministers in the eye of the storm
This public lecture is for the book launch of Greek Prime Ministers in the Eye of the Storm: Crisis Management and Institutional Change, featuring authors Kevin Featherstone and Dimitris Papadimitriou.
Apr 29, 2026•1 hr 31 min
Global ideas for global challenges: a panel in honour of Nick Stern
Leaders of the world’s premier economic institutions and a Nobel Prize winning economist discuss how ideas have evolved to shape our world and what is needed for the future.
Apr 22, 2026•1 hr 42 min
From curiosity to prosperity: sharing the gains of science
Why should governments back “Big Science” when discoveries are uncertain and the benefits may seem distant from taxpayers’ daily lives? In this public lecture, France A Córdova—astrophysicist and former Director of the US National Science Foundation, NASA Chief Scientist, and President of the Science Philanthropy Alliance—explores how curiosity-driven research and the large infrastructures that enable it deliver value well beyond the lab.
Apr 20, 2026•1 hr 45 min
End of the America era? Looking back, looking forward
At a time of intensifying geopolitical rivalry, economic nationalism, and ideological extremism, this roundtable brings together a group of leading political scientists and historians to take stock of the choices and pathways that have brought America and the world to this unsettled moment.
Apr 02, 2026•1 hr 25 min
Mediate the middle: moving with and beyond dichotomies
Join us in celebrating the launch of Bart Cammaerts’ latest textbook, Dichotomies in Media and Communication Theory — a bold and original exploration of the key theoretical tensions that shape our media landscape.
Mar 31, 2026•1 hr 29 min
Is a democratic economy possible? Lessons from history, horizons for the future
Fifty years after powerful labour movements launched radical plans to democratise the economy and gain control of large businesses, what is the legacy of these efforts and what are the prospects for economic democracy today?
Mar 30, 2026•1 hr 31 min
Assessing risk assessment in cases of domestic abuse
Domestic abuse affects roughly one-third of women worldwide and carries serious consequences for victims, their children, and society at large. This lecture presents findings from three studies examining the risk assessment process which has been used across England since 2009 to help police identify victims at high risk of serious repeat abuse and connect them with protective services.
Mar 26, 2026•1 hr 14 min
Animal economics
Humans care about animals, and many would argue that animals are morally relevant. Many of our decisions profoundly affect the welfare of animals and yet welfare economics has not, up to this point, considered animals in its frameworks, theories and cost-benefit calculations.
Mar 24, 2026•1 hr 21 min
Mass media, justice and me: a victim’s perspective
Step into the lives of those whose pursuit of justice collided with the power of the press.
Mar 23, 2026•1 hr 26 min
Housing supply and the future of our urban planet
Join us for this special Economica Coase lecture which this year will be delivered by Harvard academic Edward Glaeser.
Mar 19, 2026•1 hr 17 min
How stories can transcend borders and boxes of identity
By drawing upon multiple disciplines and weaving these threads into the broader practice of literary arts, the Turkish-British writer Elif Shafak offers an inspirational talk about our world today, the stories that bring us together, and the silences that keep us apart.
Mar 18, 2026•1 hr 28 min
The world is your office: AI and the evolution of work from anywhere
During the past decade, technological change and management practices have disrupted how organisations access global talent and organise work. Thousands of employees are now enabled to work from anywhere. Why? Because trailblazing organisations recognise that geographic flexibility offers a competitive edge.
Mar 17, 2026•1 hr 27 min
The geopolitical implications of the Israel-US-Iran war
A panel of academic experts is brought together by the Middle East Centre at LSE to discuss the current Israel-US-Iran war.
Mar 17, 2026•1 hr 25 min
Rebalancing the new world order in an age of fragmentation
Join us for this special event with LSE alumnus and President of Finland Alexander Stubb.
Mar 16, 2026•53 min
Infinite justice: political cosmologies that protect our future
In her inaugural lecture, Shakuntala Banaji explores how our ethical and political imaginations of love, justice and rights—shaped by education systems, media and technologies under savage capitalism—differ between individuals, communities and geopolitical entities.
Mar 16, 2026•1 hr 28 min
Donald Trump and the unmaking of Europe
Join us for this lecture by Nathalie Tocci who will argue that Donald Trump’s foreign policy record has not been very successful so far, as wars continue to rage in Ukraine and in the Middle East.
Mar 12, 2026•1 hr 24 min
Gender, culture and equality in today’s Britain
Join us for a timely conversation on equality, gender and culture in contemporary Britain with Sarah Owen MP, chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee.
Mar 11, 2026•1 hr 27 min
Invisible inputs: gender bias in AI systems
Behind every algorithm lies a set of choices, some visible, many not. This panel discusses the unseen forces that shape AI, focusing on how gender bias enters systems through data, design, and deployment.
Mar 10, 2026•1 hr 24 min
Women’s health matters: science, systems, and global change
The LSE Health and Department of Health Policy Annual Lecture 2026 was delivered by Michelle A Williams, Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University.
Mar 09, 2026•1 hr 31 min
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