Podcast
LSE: Public lectures and events
Hosted by LSE Film and Audio Team · EN
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.
2,509episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Joyful revolution: poverty, social justice and a pioneer of participation
Nov 401:11:50Summary readyContributor(s): Dr Eileen Alexander, Fran Bennett, Kate Evans, Diana Skelton | Tackling poverty and campaigning for social justice must be with, not just for, people in poverty. This key insight will be explored by speakers and lived-experience activists at this event, through reflections on the life-story of pioneer Mary Rabagliati and on contemporary anti-poverty struggles, and through a community theatre performance. A new biography charts Rabagliati's 'Joyful Revolution' from the war on poverty in New York City and an emergency housing camp outside Paris, through her studies under Richard Titmuss at LSE, to founding the British branch of ATD Fourth World and ground breaking work at the first three UN World Conferences on Women. She was a force to be reckoned with. Kate Evans will introduce author Diana Skelton, in conversation with Tania Burchardt. Fran Bennett and Eileen Alexander will discuss the participation in research and advocacy of people with experience of poverty and activists will perform a scene inspired by the ‘Joyful Revolution’.
SummarySyria after Assad: a reporter’s view on a nation in transition
Nov 301:07:10Summary readyContributor(s): Raya Jalabi | This talk delivered by Raya Jalabi, Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times, as part of the annual Ian Black Memorial Lecture Series, will examine Syria’s fraught first year in the aftermath of Bashar al-Assad’s fall. In Damascus, the streets hum with the prospect of returning commerce and a flurry of international diplomacy. Yet beyond the capital’s reach, scars of conflict still linger: villages emptied by displacement, communities unsettled by cycles of revenge and the scourge of poverty in a country where trauma, fear and hope for a new future are frenetically enmeshed. At its centre is Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former rebel commander who has recast himself as the country’s new powerbroker. His efforts to steady a nation scarred by fourteen years of conflict have been defined by competing pressures: restive minorities demanding greater autonomy, the persistence of revenge killings and social upheaval, and the delicate task of reintroducing Syria to the international stage. This lecture will look at how Sharaa has navigated these crosscurrents in his first year, consolidating authority while attempting to stabilise the country and stave off fragmentation — and consider whether his grip on power can hold.
SummaryLSE: The Ballpark | US-China strategic competition with Professor Evan Medeiros
Nov 300:38:10Tap to summarizeIn August 2025, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization held its 25th annual summit in Tianjin, China. The absence of the United States in this gathering may tell us about how China is competing with the US and building its own global order.
Transcribe →Sustainability, peace and development: in conversation with Juan Manuel Santos
Oct 30Tap to summarizeJoin Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and LSE alumnus Juan Manuel Santos and LSE academics Mary Kaldor and Nicholas Stern in a conversation to explore how we can build a sustainable, peaceful and stable world.
Transcribe →Sustainability, peace and development: in conversation with Juan Manuel Santos
Oct 3001:24:01Summary readyContributor(s): Juan Manuel Santos, Professor Mary Kaldor, Professor Lord Stern | Join Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and LSE alumnus Juan Manuel Santos and LSE academics Mary Kaldor and Nicholas Stern in a conversation to explore how we can build a sustainable, peaceful and stable world.
SummarySeeing the unseen: combining data to better understand our environment
Oct 2901:30:07Summary readyContributor(s): Professor Claire Miller, Dr Sefi Roth | Join us as the University of Glasgow’s Claire Miller explores the statistical and data analytics approaches being developed to successfully bring different data sources together to improve environmental planning and management. We now have the potential to access more data than ever before, which can help us to explore important, complex and increasingly pressing environmental issues. However, each source of data often has its own limitations, meaning there's often missing information from an individual data source. To get a more complete picture, we can combine data from different data sources. Considerable challenges exist in integrating the data in this way as the data can be recorded at different time points and/or in different spatial locations, can be large but also have gaps, and data sources can have varying levels of uncertainty, different data structures and types.
SummaryHow to help left behind regions and workers
Oct 2801:23:50Summary readyContributor(s): Professor Gordon Hanson | The decline of manufacturing and the acceleration of technological disruption have concentrated joblessness in distressed regions and blocked many workers from access to good jobs. In this lecture Gordon Hanson addresses the origins of job loss, the reasons for its geographic concentration, and what we’ve learned about policies intended to help left-behind places.
SummaryWill AI free us from work?
Oct 2800:21:43Tap to summarizeContributor(s): | Will artificial intelligence cause huge unemployment? Will it free us from working? Will it replace us? In this special edition of LSE iQ, Sophie Mallett sits down with Professor Judy Wajcman, LSE’s Emeritus Professor of Sociology and one of the world’s leading voices on technology and society. Together, they explore one of the biggest questions of our time: what does artificial intelligence really mean for the future of work? In this wide-ranging conversation, Judy shares what really saves people time, talks about the fear of job replacement, and warns of the dangers of letting the most powerful tech companies design the future From Silicon Valley boardrooms to everyday lives, Judy challenges us to think differently about progress, productivity, and what we truly value as work. Contributors: Judy Wacjman Research links: From connection to optimisation How Silicon Valley sets time Feminism confronts AI: the gender relations of digitalisation LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Transcribe →Unlocking climate action opportunities: progress amid geopolitical turbulence
Oct 2701:28:59Summary readyContributor(s): Dr Swati Dhingra, Dr Matilde Mesnard, Dr Luiz Awazu Pereira da Silva, Chris Skidmore, Professor Lord Stern, Sharon Yang | This event will serve as a timely preview of the upcoming UN Climate Conference (COP), offering insights into where meaningful progress can be made on international climate action. It will explore the evolving landscape of global climate policy, with a particular focus on how both physical climate risks and transition-related risks are shaping the decisions of central banks, fiscal authorities, and financial regulators. Through expert discussion and cross-country perspectives, the event will reflect on the mounting challenges faced by policymakers in aligning climate objectives with broader macroeconomic and financial stability goals. While geopolitical fragmentation and economic headwinds continue to complicate the global policy environment, there remain significant opportunities to strengthen the design and implementation of monetary, fiscal, and regulatory frameworks. By identifying areas for coordinated progress, the event will highlight how both advanced and emerging economies can promote a more resilient global financial system, foster sustainable growth, and advance the just transition toward a low-carbon future even amid ongoing geopolitical turbulence.
SummaryThe social safety net as an investment in children
Oct 2301:27:24Summary readyContributor(s): Professor Hilary Hoynes | Join us for the Department of Social Policy’s Annual Lecture at which Hilary Hoynes will explore the concept of viewing the social safety net as a long-term investment in children. Traditionally, economic research has emphasised the incentive effects of tax credits and transfer programs, often neglecting their potential benefits, particularly for children. Hoynes will review a growing body of evidence showing that childhood access to programs like food stamps, the EITC, and Medicaid leads to significant improvements in health, education, earnings, and reduced criminal justice involvement in adulthood. Using cost-benefit analyses like the Marginal Value of Public Funds (MVPF), Hoynes argues these programs often pay for themselves over time. She concludes that understanding these long-term benefits is crucial to shaping effective policy and reimagining the safety net as a strategic societal investment.
Summary