The Future of Banking in a Global Economy [Audio]
Speaker(s): Vikram Pandit | Today's financial and economic wreckage will provide the foundations for a system on which a stronger future will be built. This will only happen with a real cooperation and collaboration that is hard to envisage amidst the growing clamour for protectionism, speculation over the possible nationalisation of the banking system, and questions over the right of those at the centre of the industry to be part of the solution. In his lecture, Vikram Pandit will outline his v
Europe's Growth and Decline [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Vytautas Landsbergis | Professor Vytautas Landsbergis will in his lecture be giving his perspective on the today's pressing events in the western world. His lecture will be an examination of consequences of doubtful mentality, as growth in population figures and average living standards have not resulted in increased happiness. Growing frustration and the crumbling myth of welfare state point to a crucial need to consider a new philosophy for life. The lecture will be follo
Thinking Like a Social Scientist: a lecture by Professor Gilat Levy [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Gilat Levy | In this lunchtime series lectures, a selection of LSE's academics from across the spectrum of the social sciences explain the latest thinking on how social scientists work to address the critical problems of the day. They survey the leading ideas and contributions made by their discipline, explain the types of problems that are addressed and the tools that are used, and explore the kinds of solutions proposed.
Extraordinary Times Demand Extraordinary Actions [Audio]
Speaker(s): Wayne Swan | Wayne Swan was sworn in as Australian Treasurer on 3 December 2007. He has been Member for the Brisbane seat of Lilley from 1993 to 1996, and from 1998 to the present. In 2005 he published Postcode: the Splintering of a Nation, a well-received book on economic and social policy in Australia. Before Wayne's appointment to his current role, he was Shadow Treasurer for three years and for six years Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services (1998-2004).
Eastern DRC: what should the international community be doing? [Audio]
Speaker(s): David Leonard, General Olusegun Obasanjo; Professor James Putzel; Clare Short | With its most recent press release the Crisis States Research Centre (LSE) prompted fierce debate on the international response to the ongoing crisis in the Eastern DRC. Reactions to the arrest of the rebel leader Laurent Nkunda in Rwanda on 22 January are loud and divided, though international actions continue to follow the same three trends identified in the CSRC release. This response, says the CSRC, f
Nudge: improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Richard Thaler | Standard economic analyses rely on an unrealistic model of human behavior in which economic agents are hyperrational robots. Modern behavioral economics takes a more realistic approach and assumes that economics agents are humans, who sometimes forget where they put their keys, panic in the face of economic volatility, and are growing more obese by the day. The theme of Nudge is that it is possible to help such humans make better choices without taking away
In Praise of Weak Incentives [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor John Roberts | The current financial crisis was largely caused by strong, misaligned incentives for bankers, resulting in calls for redesign of these pay schemes. Yet economic research over the last several years has suggested a number of contexts where muted incentives are desirable. This lecture will examine these.
A Blueprint for a Safer Planet [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Lord Stern of Brentford | Nicholas Stern presents an outline of his new book, A Blueprint for a Safer Planet, which describes how to manage climate change while creating a new era of growth and prosperity.
Imagining India: ideas for the new century [Audio]
Speaker(s): Nandan Nilekani | Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, who has been a key player in India's growth story, argues that the country's future rests on more than simply economic growth. Only a safety net of ideas - from genuinely inclusive democracy to social security, from public health to sustainable energy - will enable the country to continue to grow and support the young people who have become one of its greatest assets.
Declining Hegemon? The United States and the World of Crisis [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Michael Cox, Professor Danny Quah | How will the world economic crisis impact the United States? Are we now witnessing the end of the American era? Michael Cox is professor of international relations and co-director of IDEAS at LSE. Danny Quah is head of department and professor of economics at LSE.
Capitalism 3.0 [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Dani Rodrik | Capitalism needs to be reinvented for a new century in which the forces of economic globalization are much more powerful than before. Just as Adam Smith's minimal capitalism was transformed into Keynes' mixed economy, we need to contemplate a transition from the national version of the mixed economy to its global counterpart. We have to imagine a better balance between markets and their supporting institutions at the global level. Sometimes, this will require
An Alternative to Statecraft: should diplomacy adapt to a new world environment? [Audio]
Speaker(s): His Excellency Georg Boomgaarden; Dr Mary Martin; Her Excellency Pilar Saborio | The European Union is designing a new external action service as part of the changes to foreign policy proposed under the Lisbon Treaty. This lecture examines the contemporary demands on diplomatic missions. Pilar Saborio is the ambassador of Costa Rica to the UK. Georg Boomgaarden is the ambassador of Germany to the UK. Nick Mabey is chief executive of E3G Third Generation Environmentalism. Mary Martin
Bringing the Penal State Back In [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Loïc Wacquant | We need to bring the penal state back to the centre of the sociology of social inequality, public policy, and citizenship. Loïc Wacquant is professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley and Centre de Sociologie Européenne, Paris. Nicola Lacey is a professor of criminal law at LSE.
Cities and the Environment [Audio]
Speaker(s): Peter Head | By changing patterns of urban behaviour, cities can meet the challenges of climate change. How can advanced technologies help create sustainable cities and self-sufficient urban form?
The Politics of Media and Cultural Policy [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Philip Schlesinger | Media and cultural policies are shaped by the few with access to political power. What role can academics play in current policy debates? Philip Schlesinger is director of the Centre for Cultural Policy Research at the University of Glasgow.
Torture and Accountability: where does President Obama go from here? [Audio]
Speaker(s): Karen Greenberg; Professor Philippe Sands | Karen Greenberg and Philippe Sands discuss the issues facing the Obama Administration as it grapples with the consequences of President Bush's 'global war on terror', interrogation practises and other detainee issues, including issues of investigation and criminal liability.
Superfreakonomics [Audio]
Speaker(s): Stephen J Dubner; Professor Steven D Levitt | Freakonomics was a worldwide sensation, selling 4 million copies in 35 languages. Now, four years in the making, arrives the follow up: SuperFreakonomics. Steve Levitt and Stephen Dubner return with a book that is even bolder, funnier, and more surprising than the first. Freakonomics made the world safe to discuss the economics of crack cocaine and the impact of baby names. SuperFreakonomics retains that off-kilter sensibility (comparing,
Them and Us: how capitalism without fairness is capitalism without a future [Audio]
Speaker(s): Will Hutton | Will Hutton is executive vice chair of the Work Foundation taking up this position in mid 2008 having served as chief executive since 2000. He began his career as a stockbroker and investment analyst, before working in BBC TV and radio as a producer and reporter. Prior to joining The Work Foundation, Will spent four years as editor in chief of the Observer and he continues to write a weekly column for the paper.
Cities, Design and Climate Change [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Saskia Sassen; Professor Richard Sennett | With cities contributing upwards of 75 per cent of global carbon emissions, urban design is increasingly important when planning for climate change. This discussion examines the creative urban design solutions coming out of the world's cities. Saskia Sassen is Robert S Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University. Richard Sennett is professor of sociology at LSE and NYU. Jonathon Porritt is the chair of the sustainable develo
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work [Audio]
Speaker(s): Alain de Botton | This talk will raise a host of questions about the meaning and purpose of work - in particular investigating the effects of industrialisation and modernisation on the individual worker. Alain de Botton is a philosopher, author and entrepreneur.
