Contributor(s): Professor Judy Dunn, Professor Lord Richard Layard | (We apologise for the poor audio quality, this was because of technical problem with the audio-visual system) Is childhood all it should be? Or has it been spoilt by broken homes, junk food, alcohol and exam stress? The speakers will present the findings of The Good Childhood Inquiry. Judy Dunn is professor of developmental psychology at King's College London, and was chair of The Good Childhood Inquiry. Richard Layard is direc...
Feb 11, 2009•1 hr 25 min
Contributor(s): Lakhdar Brahimi | Lakhdar Brahimi, with an extensive career in peace-building, reflects on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with Mary Kaldor. Lakhdar Brahimi was foreign minister of Algeria (1991-93) and prior to that ambassador to the UK (1971-79). He mediated the end of the Civil War in Lebanon (1988-91) and headed UN Missions in South Africa, Haiti, Afghanistan and Iraq. Lakhdar Brahimi is now a member of "The Elders", a group created at the initiative of Nelson Mandela and hi...
Feb 11, 2009•1 hr 24 min
Contributor(s): Professor Nicholas Barr, Lord Turner of Ecchinswell | How can European countries reform pensions so that they keep pensioners and taxpayers happy, follow workers who move from country to country within the EU, and allow workers choice about retirement? Nicholas Barr is professor of public economics in LSE's European Institute. Lord Turner is chairman of the Financial Services Authority and chairman of the Climate Change Committee and the Overseas Development Institute. He is a vi...
Feb 11, 2009•1 hr 33 min
Contributor(s): Professor Richard H Steckel | Measuring social performance is an important task in the social sciences, and the complexity of the problem has given rise to numerous approaches. In this lecture, Professor Steckel will discuss the use of anthropomorphic measures in this field, and explain the advantages of height as a measure of standard of living. Richard H Steckel is SBS Distinguished Professor of Economics, Anthropology and History at Ohio State University. The Space for Thought...
Feb 10, 2009•1 hr 31 min
Contributor(s): Professor David Reynolds | A new president. A new era? David Reynolds will introduce the Obama presidency against the backdrop of America's epic, tangled history. David Reynolds is professor of international history at Cambridge University and a fellow of the British Academy. His most recent book is America, Empire of Liberty: A New History.
Feb 05, 2009•1 hr 20 min
Contributor(s): Professor John Street, Kris Torgeson, Ann McFerran | Why do charities use celebrities to speak out on humanitarian action? Who do celebrities represent? Are they genuinely committed to the causes they espouse or have causes become another path to self-promotion? John Street is a Professor of Politics at the University of East Anglia. Kris Torgeson is the International Secretary for the Midecins Sans Frontihres International Office. Award-winning journalist and freelance feature w...
Feb 05, 2009•1 hr 22 min
Contributor(s): Bruno Le Maire | Bruno Le Maire is the French minister of state for European affairs, prior to this he was principal private secretary to the Prime Minister, 2006-2007, advisor to the Prime Minister, 2005-2006, advisor to the Minister of the Interior, 2004-2005 and advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2002-2004. Bruno has been National Assembly deputy for Eure since 2007, and is a member of the National Assembly Finance Committee. He is also the Finance Committee special r...
Feb 05, 2009•1 hr 11 min
Contributor(s): Professor Lauren Berlant | This lecture draws on two films of Laurent Cantet - Human Resources (1999) and Time Out (2001) - to engage the new affective languages of the contemporary economic atmosphere, languages of anxiety, contingency and precarity. Lauren Berlant is George M Pullman Professor, Department of English, University of Chicago. Sadie Wearing is lecturer in gender theory, culture and media at the Gender Institute, LSE.
Feb 04, 2009•1 hr 36 min
Contributor(s): Professor Clay Shirky | Clay Shirky, one of the new culture's wisest observers, steer us through the online social explosion and ask what happens when people are given the tools to work together, without needing traditional organisational structures. As online communication becomes ubiquitous, Shirky unpicks fundamental issues that are increasingly the source of much debate in particular in the media, in business, and in government, all of whom are grappling to make sense of the ...
Feb 03, 2009•1 hr 33 min
Contributor(s): Professor Daniele Archibugi, Professor Michael Cox, George Monbiot | This panel will explore whether or not the concepts and practices of democracy can be extended beyond borders to embrace the global order. Panellists take sharply different views on this question and very lively debate is promised. Daniele Archibugi is professor of innovation, governance and public policy at Birkbeck College. Michael Cox is professor of international relations at LSE. George Monbiot is a bestsel...
Jan 28, 2009•1 hr 30 min
Contributor(s): Jonah Goldberg | For nearly a century the political left has controlled the commanding heights of intellectual discourse by asserting, contrary to the evidence, that the left holds a monopoly on political virtue. The further you move from the left on the political spectrum, it is asserted, the closer you get to evil. "Fascism" has long served as the central prop in this drama. Fascism and evil are interchangeable terms, we are told. The reality is that while fascism may be evil, ...
Jan 27, 2009•1 hr 30 min
Contributor(s): Professor Danny Quah | China has, single-handedly, brought more people out of poverty than the rest of the world combined, and faster than anywhere else has been able to achieve. How can this continue? Danny Quah is professor of economics and head of the Department of Economics at LSE.
Jan 27, 2009•1 hr 34 min
Contributor(s): Professor Chen Jian | Professor Chen offers a historian's overview of China's 1970s transformation and the beginning of global systemic change that this transformation helped create. Chen Jian is Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs for 2008-09 at LSE. He is the Michael J Zak Chair of the History of US China Relations at Cornell University.
Jan 22, 2009•1 hr 25 min
Contributor(s): Dr Sabine Freizer, Professor Salome Zourabichvili | Sabine Freizer is Europe programme director of the International Crisis Group. Salome Zourabichvili is associate professor at Sciences Po, Paris and former foreign minister of Georgia.
Jan 21, 2009•1 hr 28 min
Contributor(s): Professor Philippe Aghion | In Wednesday's lecture Professor Aghion will focus on the relationship between market reforms and trust. Philippe Aghion is Robert C Waggoner Professor of Economics, Harvard University.
Jan 21, 2009•1 hr 27 min
Contributor(s): Professor John Worrall | Richard Dawkins and others claim that science and religion are incompatible. Others argue that on a more sophisticated view there is only the appearance of a clash. Who is right? John Worrall is professor of philosophy of science at LSE.
Jan 21, 2009•1 hr 25 min
Contributor(s): Laurence Rees | Laurence Rees will be discussing his book and BBC series World War Two: behind closed doors. He will re-examine the key decisions made by Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt during the war. Laurence Rees is an award-winning historian and documentary maker.
Jan 20, 2009•1 hr 32 min
Contributor(s): Professor Philippe Aghion | In Tuesday's lecture Professor Aghion will discuss how policies inducing directed technical change can be designed to maximise sustainable growth. Philippe Aghion is Robert C Waggoner Professor of Economics, Harvard University.
Jan 20, 2009•1 hr 13 min
Contributor(s): Professor Philippe Aghion | In Monday's lecture Professor Aghion will lay down the framework to think about growth policy design. Philippe Aghion is Robert C Waggoner Professor of Economics, Harvard University.
Jan 19, 2009•1 hr 8 min
Contributor(s): Dr Ben S. Bernanke | Ben S. Bernanke was sworn in on February 1, 2006, as Chairman and a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Dr. Bernanke also serves as Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee, the System's principal monetary policymaking body. He was appointed as a member of the Board to a full 14-year term, which expires January 31, 2020, and to a four-year term as Chairman, which expires January 31, 2010. Before his appointment as Chairman, Dr...
Jan 13, 2009•1 hr 1 min
