The Challenge of Climate Change [Audio]
Speaker(s): Sir David King | Without a new deal between rich and poor countries, climate change will continue to accelerate. How can this be tackled? David King, former chief scientific adviser to the government, is director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University.
Economic Agendas in a Global Context: reflections on the role of Korea [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Ha-Joon Chang, Cambridge University | The global economy is going through a turbulent time and it is time for a fundamental re-design of the global economic system. In doing this, Korea has a unique set of assets to provide. It is one of the few countries that have transformed itself from one of the poorest to the one of the industrialized in living memory, so it can understand the concerns that span across a huge spectrum of countries. In this lecture, Ha-Joon Chang will d
An Appeal to Reason: a cool look at global warming [Audio]
Speaker(s): Lord Lawson, Dr Simon Dietz | Lord Lawson argues the case for a fully formed view of global warming, and against hysterical environmentalism. He looks at the facts behind the headlines and explains that for governments to make informed decisions about the path ahead, they must listen to economists as well as scientists, utilising economic forecasting to assess the likely evolution of the world economy.
The Economics of the Recession [Audio]
Speaker(s): George Osborne MP | In a major and wide ranging speech George Osborne will ask why Britain's economy was not better prepared for the looming recession, and will outline what steps should now be taken.
Black Panther, the revolutionary art of Emory Douglas [Audio]
Speaker(s): Emory Douglas | Emory Douglas, ex Minister of Culture for the Black Panther party, will speak about the history behind the art of the party, and take a look at some more recent works. Emory Douglas was born May 24th, 1943 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Douglas attended City College of San Francisco where he majored in commercial art. He was politically involved as Revolutionary Artist and then Minister of Culture for the Black Panther party in Oakland, CA from February, 1967 until its
Where Now For the United States After the Election? [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Michael Cox, Jessica Mathews; Bob Singh | The 2008 race for the White House has been the most exciting in recent American history. But will it make much difference to the United States and the rest of the world who wins: Obama or McCain? Michael Cox is a professor of international relations at LSE. Jessica Mathews is president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Rob Singh is a fellow of the RSA and an associate fellow of the Institute for the Study of the Ame
Torturing Democracy Through the American Wars on Crime and Terrorism? [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Randall Coyne | Professor Coyne examines the cost to civil liberties and freedom of America's wars-without-end: the war on terrorism and the war on crime. Coyne's lecture touches on the constitutional questions raised by detention of foreign nationals at Guantanamo Bay, the US' continuing support of capital punishment, and his work for 'enemy combatants' and death-row prisoners. Randall Coyne is Edna Asper Elkouri and Frank Elkouri Professor of Law at the University of Okla
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.
The Independent Kosovo: Partner for Peace and Stability in the Region [Audio]
Speaker(s): President of Kosovo, Dr Fatmir Sejdiu | Fatmir Sejdiu is President of Kosovo, a position he has held since February 2006. Dr. Sejdiu is a professor at the Faculty of Law and the School of Political Science of the University of Prishtina. On 28 June 2006 he received a 'Doctor Honoris Causa' from the University of Tirana in Albania. One of the founding members of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) which was established in late 1989, Fatmir Sejdiu was elected a member of the Presiden
Ross Cranston, QC in Conversation with Lord Mackay of Clashfern [Audio]
Speaker(s): Lord Mackay, Ross Cranston | The separation of powers idea is at the heart of all legal democracies. Yet within those democracies there will often be positions of high office which require their holders to perform functions which are both legal and political. In this series of events senior figures who hold or have held positions of this type talk about their lives in the law, the nature of their office, the institutions which they serve, their roles and responsibilities within those
The Subprime Crisis [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Robert J. Shiller | Bubbles in the stock market and the housing market are the cause of a financial crisis that is wreaking havoc around the world. The bubbles in turn are caused, at their core, by popular misunderstandings. This contradicts the 'rational expectations' view of the economy that has guided much economic theorizing. In dealing with this crisis in the short run, some kind of bailout of injured parties is necessary to prevent damage to the social fabric. In the
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.
Managing Risk: A Global Imperative [Audio]
Speaker(s): Michael Chertoff | Given the threats posed by terrorism and natural disasters, the issue of how to handle risk remains an essential one for nations. While in free societies, people routinely make risk calculations, markets do an imperfect job of risk allocation. Governments must sometimes step in, but in a way that carefully manages risk through prudent, measured regulation. On February 15, 2005, Judge Michael Chertoff was sworn in as the second Secretary of the Department of Homelan
A lecture by Mirek Topolánek, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic [Audio]
Speaker(s): Mirek Topolánek | Mirek Topolanek has been Prime Minister of the Czech Republic since September 2006. He has been chairman of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) since November 2002. Mr Topolanek will speak about the priorities of the forthcoming Czech Republic's EU Presidency.
World War Two: behind closed doors [Audio]
Speaker(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.
Designing Policies for Growth - 21 January 2009 [Audio]
Speaker(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.
Lessons from the credit crisis [Audio]
Speaker(s): Sir John Gieve | The past 18 months have been a tumultuous time for the financial sector and the global economy more generally. In this speech, his last as Deputy Governor at the Bank of England, Sir John Gieve will discuss some of the key lessons for public policy and outline some potential improvements that could be made to the framework and tools available to policy makers. Sir John Gieve was appointed Deputy Governor in January 2006. In addition to his membership of the Monetary
Who Owns Fairtrade? A debate on who benefits, influences and controls Fairtrade [Audio]
Speaker(s): Pauline Tiffen, Rajah Banerjee; Kate Sebag; Katie Stafford; Dyborn Chinonga | The idea of fair trade has become increasingly popular amongst consumers and some producers. But who does fair-trade really benefit? The producers? The consumers? The Farmers? These are some of the issues that the panel will debate.
Asia and Russia in the Age of Globalisation: the impact for Europe's future [Audio]
Speaker(s): Joschka Fischer | Joschka Fischer was Germany's foreign minister and vice-chancellor from 1998 to 2005.
Many Voices: understanding the debate about preventing violent extremism [Audio]
Speaker(s): Hazel Blears MP | The tragic events of 7/7 illustrated the threat to our society posed by violent extremism. Preventing it is one of the defining challenges of our age. Hazel Blears will explore the tough choices government has to make - how to empower new voices to join the debate, how to support people standing up for shared values and how to equip communities with the skills, confidence, and resilience they need to be part of the solution. In June 2007, Hazel Blears became the Sec
