Freedom and Agency [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Patrick Haggard, Dr Amber Jacobs, Professor Thomas Pink | Is freedom part of human nature? And how can freedom be both a human power and a human right? Patrick Haggard is a professor at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and in the Department of Psychology, UCL. Amber Jacobs is a lecturer in the Department of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck, University of London. Thomas Pink is a professor of philosophy at King's College London.
Towards a New Financial System [Audio]
Speaker(s): José Viñals | Editor's note: Unfortunately this lecture was interrupted by a fire alarm, the first 35 minutes of the lecture have been recorded. José Viñals was appointed to the position of Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the International Monetary Fund on April 15, 2009. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Viñals was Deputy Governor at the Bank of Spain from July 2006.
Talking to the Enemy: Violent Extremism, Sacred Values, and What it Means to Be Human [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Scott Atran | Editor's note: Unfortunately the first few minutes of the introduction are missing from the podcast. In this lecture Scott Atran will talk about his new book Talking to the Enemy |which is a courageous exploration of one of the most contentious issues of modern times. Scott Atran asks a question that he is uniquely qualified to answer: Why would someone take their own life through suicide bombing?
Hegemony and International Society [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Ian Clark | International relations theory is weak on how international order is managed under a preponderance of power. This lecture explores the notion of hegemony as a theoretical solution, and develops the thought of Martin Wight in this respect. Ian Clark is E H Carr Professor of International Politics at the University of Aberystwyth and a fellow of the British Academy.
Galileo and the Infinite Universe: science, heresy, and the Inquisition [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor David Wootton | Galileo was convicted in 1633 of defending Copernicanism, but he was also seeking to undermine Christianity. Professor Wootton will show that Galileo was no Christian, and that he welcomed the idea of an infinite universe with other inhabited worlds because he wanted to show that the universe was not made for man. David Wootton is Anniversary Professor of History at the University of York, author of Bad Medicine: doctors doing harm since Hippocrates and most
A Lecture by Álvaro García Linera, Vice President of Bolivia [Audio]
Speaker(s): Álvaro García Linera | The LSE IDEAS Latin America International Affairs Programme is pleased to announce a lecture by Bolivia's vice president Álvaro García Linera as part of its 2010-11 International Peace and Security in Latin America events series.
Zero-Sum World: power and prosperity in the age of anxiety [Audio]
Speaker(s): Gideon Rachman | In this lecture to mark the publication of his new book Zero-Sum World: Power and Prosperity in the Age of Anxiety, Gideon Rachman argues that the global economic crisis has changed the logic of international relations and ushered in a new and more dangerous era. This will be characterised by rising tensions between America and China and a failure to deal effectively with global problems such as climate change and nuclear proliferation. Gideon Rachman is the chief fo
Balkans 2020: The Ministerial Debate [Audio]
Speaker(s): Vuk Jeremić, Nickolay Mladenov | 'Balkans 2020: The Ministerial Debate' marks the launch of the Balkan International Affairs Programme at LSE IDEAS. The foreign ministers of Bulgaria and Serbia will identify the issues the region faces today and offer their vision of the Balkans in 2020. Can present challenges endanger the region's fragile stability or, will the Balkans forever shed the infamous attribute of being the "powder keg of Europe"? Vuk Jeremić was sworn in as minister of
Revisiting the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain: the Parekh Report 10 years on [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Lord Bhikhu Parekh | A decade after the groundbreaking Runnymede Trust 'Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain' report, its chair, Lord Parekh, revisits the issues of race equality and multiculturalism in Britain. Bhikhu Parekh is emeritus fellow of political theory at the University of Hull and a fellow of the British Academy.
Believing Cassandra: how to be an optimist in a pessimist's world [Audio]
Speaker(s): Alan AtKisson | Coinciding with the reprint of Alan’s classic book, this event will look at how to build a bridge over the sea of despair, and show how to catch the wave to an enticing, sustainable future. Alan will discuss the pioneers who created the ideas, techniques and practices of sustainable living - the people who prove Cassandra's warnings wrong, by believing in them, and taking strategic action. Alan AtKisson is president and CEO of The AtKisson Group, an international su
Africa and the World: the view from Washington [Audio]
Speaker(s): Howard Wolpe | Ambassador Wolpe will comment on the Obama Administration's Africa policy and its perceptions of the continent's place in the international community today. Howard Wolpe is former special envoy to the Great Lakes Region for President Barack Obama. Dr Chris Alden is Co-Head of the Africa International Affairs Programme at LSE IDEAS. Michael Cox is Professor of International Relations at the Department of International Relations at LSE.
SIPRI Yearbook 2010 Seminar on Nuclear Weapons in Europe [Audio]
Speaker(s): Lord Browne, Dr Bates Gill, Professor Mary Kaldor, Baroness Shirley Williams | London launch of the 2010 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Yearbook on Nuclear Weapons in Europe, which this year considers world military expenditure increases despite the financial crisis. Lord Browne of Ladyton is convenor of the Top Level Group. He served as parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office 2001-03; Secretary of State for: Defence 2006-08, Scotland
What Europe Means to Me [Audio]
Speaker(s): Jerzy Buzek, Professor Norman Davies | Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament and former prime minister of Poland, in conversation with Professor Norman Davies, author of Europe: a History and God's Playground, a History of Poland.
The Meaning of Life [Audio]
Speaker(s): Robert Rowland Smith | From Plato through Monty Python to Terry Eagleton and beyond, the question of the meaning of life has been a source of both mystery and mirth. In this lecture, based on his new book Driving with Plato, Robert Rowland Smith breaks life down into its milestones from cradle to grave: what does it mean not just to be born and to die, but to learn to talk, to lose your virginity or have a mid-life crisis? Robert Rowland Smith began his career as a Prize Fellow of Al
The Long History of Dietetics: thinking sociologically about food, knowledge and the self [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Steven Shapin | A survey and interpretation of historically changing ideas about food, knowledge, and the self. Steven Shapin is Franklin L Ford Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University.
Israeli Academic Boycott: Helpful or Harmful? [Audio]
Speaker(s): Dr John Chalcraft, Professor Daniel Hochhauser | This is a joint event hosted by the LSESU Palestine Society and LSESU Israel Society, this debate will be centred around the following motion: "This house believes in an academic boycott of Israel". John Chalcraft graduated with a starred first in history (M.A. Hons) from Gonville and Caius college Cambridge in 1992. He then did post-graduate work at Harvard, Oxford and New York University, from where he received his doctorate with dis
The Naked City [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Sharon Zukin | Renowned sociologist Sharon Zukin will discuss her latest book, The Naked City: the death and life of authentic urban places, which explores the gentrification of cities. Sharon Zukin is professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and City University Graduate Center.
Gender, Words and Power: meanings of inequality at a time of neo-liberalism [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Mary Evans | This lecture explores changing vocabularies of feminism and the possibilities of a new political language and new forms of politics. Mary Evans is LSE centennial professor attached to the Gender Institute from 2010 to 2013.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL): Prerequisites for Injustice? [Audio]
Speaker(s): Omar Nashabe | Editor's note: Unfortunately the first few minutes of the lecture are missing from the podcast. The indictment of the STL in the Hariri assassination case is expected to be filed soon. However there are suspicions that the judicial process has been politically manipulated. This lecture will attempt to show that there have been serious flaws in the STL as an international mechanism for achieving justice. Omar Nashabe received a PhD in Criminal Justice; he serves as edit
Latvia Turns the Corner [Audio]
Speaker(s): Valdis Dombrovskis | After years of unsustainable growth and profligate spending, in 2009 Latvia experienced the deepest economic crisis in the European Union, with a GDP fall of 18%. Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis came to power facing the daunting task of averting bankruptcy. Severe austerity measures, combined with an international loan package, have yielded results – in 2010 Latvia's recession ended and economic growth is expected to resume in 2011. In this lecture, the Prime
