LSE IQ Podcast Summary

Episode: What’s it like to win a Nobel Prize?

Date: October 1, 2024
Hosts: Sue Windibank (Narrator), Charlotte Kellaway
Guests: Sir Christopher Pissarides, Esther Duflo, Elizabeth Lewis Channon, Kari Martain, and others

Overview

This episode of the LSE IQ podcast explores the rare experience of winning a Nobel Prize. Through intimate conversations with laureates and their families—including economists Sir Christopher Pissarides, Esther Duflo, and the daughter of Sir Arthur Lewis—the podcast delves into the emotional impact of receiving "the call," the responsibilities and opportunities bestowed by the award, and the lasting legacies of groundbreaking research in economics. The episode also addresses how Nobel recognition reverberates within the academic community and wider society.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Surprise and Drama of Winning the Nobel

• The Announcement Experience

  • The show opens with a humorous moment: Robert Wilson waking his neighbor Paul Milgram at 2 AM to tell him he'd won the Nobel Prize, “a moment preserved for us all to enjoy on Paul's door cam.” (00:05–00:19)
  • There is no shortlist; the call is a genuine surprise for recipients.

• Sir Christopher Pissarides’ Story

  • “You get a call about an hour before the public announcement is made.” (02:50)
  • He was at home sick, not expecting the call: “Economics is always given on a Monday. It somehow didn’t cross my mind…” (02:54)
  • His initial thought: “Oh, my God, I hope I don’t say something silly and they say, sorry, we changed our mind.” (04:19)
  • He recalls being rushed to an LSE press conference while battling a cold, “powered by LEMSIP.” (05:15)

• Esther Duflo’s Reaction

  • Duflo describes learning she had won in the middle of the night: “They called us... about 3 or 4 in the morning. And so of course when you get a phone call from Europe at 3 or 4 in the morning, the first worry is... what is going on with my parents?” (05:45)
  • Her husband and co-winner Abhijit Banerjee's response: “I’m going back to sleep.” (06:25)
  • Immediate whirlwind: “We got deluded by emails and MIT wanted to organize a press conference... but my daughter has a concert.” (07:17)
  • She reflects on the “big whirlwind of event for the next few weeks.” (07:37)

The Big Ideas That Led to the Prize

• Pissarides: The Economics of Matching

  • His research focused on explaining unemployment—the “matching” of workers and employers.
  • “My big idea is that when people want a job, then they spend some time looking for one...” (09:17)
  • Developed a “functional form that tells you how many successful meetings between employers and potential employees” (10:13)
  • Emphasizes the practical policy impact: “It’s crucial to prevent long periods of unemployment. The longer someone is out of work, the harder it becomes for them to re-enter the job market...” (11:05)

• Duflo: Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) in Development Economics

  • Duflo and co-winners introduced rigorous experimental methods to social policy.
  • “The idea is that to know what works and what doesn’t work in social policy, we don’t have to use guesswork, we can really use methods that are the same as in medical science.” (12:01)
  • Explains the fundamental logic of RCTs: “You take a group of people... randomly select half of them and you give them the new drug and the other half gets the standard of care.” (12:33)
  • Once rare in development economics, RCTs have now become a foundation for policy research thanks to their contributions.

• Making a Difference in the World

  • Their work ranged from increasing immunization rates to determining whether charging for mosquito nets improved usage, all through careful experimental design. (14:07)

The Legacy of Nobel Laureates

• Sir Arthur Lewis: Pioneering Development Economics

  • Through his daughter Elizabeth and nephew-in-law Kari, we learn about his foundational models on labor and development.
  • “He realized that the economies of the world, particularly of the developing countries, had unlimited resource in terms of labor… it wasn’t a resource that you can see scarcity happening…” (16:37)
  • Lewis was the first and only Black recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics; he also broke barriers as the UK’s first Black professor and was pivotal in transitioning the University of the West Indies to independence.

• Family Memories and the Experience in Sweden

  • “Swedes really make an effort to make it memorable... there’s this huge dinner party with the King and Queen.” (18:40)
  • By the time Lewis received the Nobel, it served as a “crowning achievement” after decades of impactful work. (19:14)

• Lewis’ Enduring Impact

  • “What was quite moving was seeing how much of his academia is still featured as foundational coursework for the lse.” (18:00)
  • “He showed that you could. There was nothing inherently about being black that stops you.” (21:33)

Life After the Prize: Responsibilities and Reflections

• A “Benign Avalanche”

  • Duflo quotes poet Seamus Heaney: “A benign avalanche, uncalled for, unexpected, and putting everything... on its week.” (22:37)
  • She struggles to separate the impact of the Nobel from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic but insists, “The day to day of that doesn't really change... But it gives responsibility in terms of presenting the work, sharing the work, making sure it has policy impact... access is made easier.” (23:17)

• Advising the Next Generation

  • Duflo counsels young academics: “You really have to do what seems important to you and feasible to you at a given point in time without worrying about the greater implication... I really went from one small idea to the next one.” (24:40)
  • She emphasizes that important work often emerges from cumulative small steps, not grand intentions: “So you have just to assume that it’s important to others, if it’s important to you, and kind of do it without so much looking. What’s the vision?” (25:15)

• Pissarides on Responsibility

  • “Your professional life changes, your personal, of course, as well...” (26:20)
  • Winning acts as a “signal,” often unrealistic: “It’s as if you signal something. Here is an economist who can answer all the questions you have, which of course is completely false.” (26:53)
  • The increased visibility leads to more requests to advise policymakers and influence real-world change: “If people are prepared to listen to you much more than before the prize, then you should use it and talk to them and try and influence where you can…” (28:24)

• Advice for Future Laureates

  • “Step back a little bit and think now I’ve got a much bigger audience... So just focus on the important things that are going to make a difference.” (29:13)
  • “If you have the ability to go as far as the Nobel Prize, at least make some use of it... you have social responsibilities.” (29:53)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Christopher Pissarides:

  • On the shock of the call:

    “Oh, my God, I hope I don’t say something silly. And they say, sorry, we changed our mind.” (04:19)

  • On life after the Nobel:

    “People outside academia started looking at you and wanted to communicate with you in a different light than before. … It’s as if you signal something. Here is an economist who can answer all the questions you have, which of course is completely false.” (26:20, 26:53)

  • Advice to winners:

    “If you have the ability to go as far as the Nobel Prize, at least make some use of it… you have social responsibilities.” (29:53)

• Esther Duflo:

  • On the initial call:

    “They called us I think in Boston. It was about 3 or 4 in the morning... my first question was with whom? And then since they said with Abhijit Banerjee, I said okay, I’ll give him the phone... Abhijit looks at me and said I’m going back to sleep. I was like, what? We just won a Nobel Prize. And he tells me it’s going to be a long day.” (05:45–06:25)

  • On advice for young academics:

    “You really have to do what seems important to you and feasible to you at a given point in time without worrying about the greater implication... I really went from one small idea to the next one.” (24:40)

• Elizabeth Lewis Channon (about Sir Arthur Lewis):

  “He realized... the labor is essentially unlimited. There is always somebody else who wants a job. So the supply of labor did not fix the price for labor...” (16:37) “He showed that you could. There was nothing inherently about being black that stops you.” (21:33)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Nobel call stories / Reactions: 00:05–07:37
• Explaining winning research — Matching & RCTs: 08:18–14:28
• Sir Arthur Lewis — legacy & impact: 15:11–21:33
• How the prize changes life & responsibilities: 22:37–29:53
• Advice to future Nobel laureates & young academics: 24:30–29:53

Takeaways

• Winning a Nobel is unexpected and personally overwhelming—but it’s also a catalyst for new responsibilities, greater reach, and amplified expectations.
• Laureates often see themselves as part of broader movements—for example, Duflo’s “Randomistas”—emphasizing collaborative progress rather than lone genius.
• For some, like Sir Arthur Lewis, the Nobel crowned decades of ground-breaking research and barrier-breaking leadership, stands as a beacon for underrepresented groups in academia.
• Crucially, laureates advise the next generation: Focus on meaningful work, not accolades. The impact of research often grows from small, cumulative steps.

The LSE IQ podcast pulls back the curtain on the Nobel experience—not just an award, but a new chapter of public engagement, policy influence, and societal responsibility.