Garibaldi: the patriot as global hero [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Lucy Riall, Professor John Breuilly | The Italian revolutionary leader Giuseppe Garibaldi was not only worshipped as national hero in his country but he was also a hugely popular global figure in his lifetime - an estimated 500,000 people turned out to greet him on his arrival in London in 1864. The lecture, which marks the bicentenary of Garibaldi's birth, examines the charismatic leader's emergence as global symbol in the context of nineteenth-century globalization proces
The Psychology of Saving and Investment: Intertemporal Choice [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor David Laibson | Over three lectures, David Laibson will challenge many standard assumptions in economics and show how a combination of psychology and economics can better predict behaviour.David Laibson is professor of economics at Harvard University.
Escaping the Prisoners' Dilemma [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Nicola Lacey | Only by understanding the institutional preconditions for a tolerant criminal justice system can we think clearly about the possible options for reform within the British system.
Why is it Always 'Us' and 'Them': on the natural history of thinking through groups [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Lawrence Hirschfeld | This event presents recent findings about representations of social categories that have potential relevance for anthropology, psychology and evolutionary biology.Lawrence Hirschfeld is professor of psychology and anthropology at the New School for Social Research, New York.
The UK and the EU: what has changed over 35 years? [Audio]
Speaker(s): Lord Brittan of Spennithorne | After 35 years Britain still seems to be struggling with its relationship with the EU. as a former Cabinet Minister, and then Britain's longest serving EU Commissioner, Leon Brittan looks at the underlying issues, relationships and institutional developments, and seeks answers to the question: what has changed over the past 35 years? Lord Brittan of Spennithorne was Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Trade and Ind
Creating a World Without Poverty: how social business can transform our lives [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Muhammad Yunus | Professor Yunus will outline his vision for a new business model that combines the power of free markets with the quest for a more human world - and tell the inspiring stories of companies that are doing this work today. This event marks the launch of his new book Creating a World Without Poverty: how social business can transform our lives.Muhammad Yunus is founder and managing director of Grameen Bank and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
Beyond the Banality of Evil [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Steve Reicher | This lecture critically addresses Hannah Arendt's hypothesis on the banality of evil arguing that those who commit extreme acts are not aware of the consequences of their actions: rather, they celebrate these consequences as moral. Steve Reicher is professor of social psychology at the University of St Andrew's, Scotland
A Debate about the Definition of 'Britishness' [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Sir Bernard Crick, Professor Anne Phillips | As the composition of British society transforms with immigration and transnational identities, ideas about the notion of 'Britishness' are changing too. In the interest of a cohesive citizenry, must the UK return to 'core British values'? Or should Britain's identity change with its population? Should a British identity even exist? Sir Bernard Crick is emeritus professor of Birkbeck College and author of Life in the United Kingd
McMafia: Crime without frontiers [Audio]
Speaker(s): Misha Glenny | International journalist Misha Glenny talks about his investigation into the world of organised crime. He reveals how conventional policing cannot cope with globalised crime which is corrupting governments and fuelling human rights abuses and suffering. Misha Glenny is an award winning international journalist and author.
The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means [Audio]
Speaker(s): George Soros and Howard Davies | In the midst of the worst financial upheaval since the Great Depression, George Soros explores the origins of the crisis and its implications for the future. Soros, whose breadth of experience in financial markets is unrivalled, places the current crisis in the context of decades of study of how individuals and institutions handle the boom and bust cycles that now dominate global economic activity. "This is a once in lifetime moment", says Soros in ch
Why Civilisations Can't Climb Hills: a political history of statelessness in Southeast Asia [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor James Scott | Professor Scott argues that the hill peoples of mainland Southeast Asia are fugitive, runaway populations, practising 'escape agriculture', 'escape social structure' and 'escape culture'. Jim Scott is Sterling Professor of Political Science and Anthropology at Yale University.
A Global Deal for Climate Change [Audio]
Speaker(s): Dr Nikolaus von Bomhard, Professor Ian Diamond; Jeremy Grantham; Professor Lord Stern of Brentford | To inaugurate the LSE's new Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, Lord Stern of Brentford, author of the influential 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, will discuss a global deal for climate change.
Inhuman and Degrading Treatment: the words themselves [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Jeremy Waldron | Many human rights charters contain prohibitions on inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners and detainees. Terms like "inhuman" and "degrading" are difficult to interpret, but they are certainly not meaningless. It is important to attend to attend to the meanings of the words themselves, as well as to the decisions that courts have made about particular practices. Reflection on the meanings of these highly-charged terms reveals important complexity, whi
In Sickness and In Power [Audio]
Speaker(s): Lord Owen | The course of world history has been critically shaped by the physical and mental illnesses of heads of state, sometimes in the public eye but usually in secrecy. Long fascinated with the inter-relationship between politics and medicine, David Owen uses his deep knowledge of both to undertake a unique study of illness in Heads of Government during the last 100 years. Owen expertly scrutinises such diverse political personalities as Sir Anthony Eden at the time of Suez in
Navigating Global Economic and Financial Change [Audio]
Speaker(s): Mohamed A El-Erian | The global economy is experiencing a number of consequential transformations that impact long-standing economic and financial relationships. The resulting change goes well beyond the emergence of a new destination for the global economy; it is also reflected in what is an inevitably bumpy journey that is prone to a series of market accidents and policy mistakes. In his presentation, Mohamed A. El-Erian will discuss the nature of the transformations. He will detai
Did religion make a difference? The American elections and beyond [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Peter Berger, John Micklethwait | This event will reflect on the American presidential election, drawing on expert insights into the place of religion in the US, as compared with the European context. Peter Berger is professor emeritus of religion, sociology and theology at Boston University. John Micklethwait is editor-in-chief of The Economist.
Forensic Anthropology: the reconstruction of the truth in the fight against impunity [Audio]
Speaker(s): Silvana Turner | Applying forensic anthropology and related sciences, and working closely with victims and their relatives, the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team seeks to shed light on human rights violations, contributing to the search for truth, justice, reparation, and prevention of future abuses. Silvana Turner is a forensic anthropologist, investigator and researcher for the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team.
Celebrities and Aid: new humanitarians or just another fad? [Audio]
Speaker(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 write
LSE Literary Weekend - The Financial Crisis, Climate Change and Energy [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Lord Anthony Giddens | Political action and intervention, on local, national and international levels, is going to have a decisive effect on whether or not we can limit global warming, as well as how we adapt to that already occurring. At the moment, however, Anthony Giddens argues controversially, we do not have a systematic politics of climate change.
LSE Literary Weekend - Poetry and Choices [Audio]
Speaker(s): Jane Duran, John Mole; Robert Minhinnick; Jo Shapcott | A high profile poetry event reflecting on the choices that we all make in our lives, whether social, economic, moral or spiritual, featuring a great line-up of some of the UK's finest poets.
