Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Autumn 2014 | Public lectures and events | Audio and pdf

Contributor(s): Yiannis Boutaris | Amidst the economic crisis in Greece, something unusual emerged in Thessaloniki, the idiosyncratic “co-Capital” of the country. Under the mayorship of Yiannis Boutaris, the first non-political figure to be elected as Mayor in the city’s modern history, the city started to re-invent itself, beginning from its very own mode of governance. In this lecture, the Mayor of Thessaloniki will talk about the challenges of administrative modernisation and the necessary institutional changes Greece needs to accomplish at the level of local administration so as to accommodate the principle of subsidiarity.

Contributor(s): Professor Angus Deaton | In lectures across three consecutive evenings (9 December, 10 December and 11 December) leading development economist Professor Deaton will discuss his work on health and poverty. Global poverty has been falling rapidly, even as income inequality has been inexorably rising in most of the world. Perhaps paradoxically, global income inequality has been falling. Or has it? Many claim not. Angus Deaton will discuss recent trends in poverty and inequality, nationally and internationally, and will ask why recent growth has brought such meagre reductions in poverty. He will also argue that measurement depends, not only on theory, but also on politics, and explain why and how the politics of poverty is so often disguised as science. The lectures will ask how we know what we know about poverty and inequality, discuss the many unresolved difficulties of measurement, and make proposals for improvement. Angus Deaton is Dwight D Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Economics Department at Princeton University. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Professor Keller Easterling, Dr David Madden | Infrastructure is not only the underground pipes and cables controlling our cities. It also determines the hidden rules that structure the spaces all around us – free trade zones, smart cities, suburbs, and shopping malls. In this lecture Keller Easterling drew on her new book ‘Extrastatecraft’ to chart the emergent new powers controlling this space and showed how they extend beyond the reach of government. Easterling explored areas of infrastructure with the greatest impact on our world – examining everything from standards for the thinness of credit cards to the urbanism of mobile telephony, the world’s largest shared platform, to the “free zone,” the most virulent new world city paradigm. In conclusion, she proposed some unexpected techniques for resisting power in the modern world.

Contributor(s): Professor Vincent Descombes, Alan Montefiore | What does it mean to speak of an individual’s very identity as a person? And what too of the ongoing identity of an institution or a group? And how is the sense of ‘identity’ as that which is identical related to ‘that which defines what and who we are’? Vincent Descombes will discuss some of the multiple complexities in what he has called Les embarras de l’identité. Vincent Descombes is a Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago and Director of Studies at the School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences in Paris. Alan Montefiore is Emeritus Fellow of Balliol College at the University of Oxford and President of the Forum for European Philosophy.

Contributor(s): Lady Williams, Mark Bostridge | Shirley Williams and Mark Bostridge will be discussing the impact of the First World War on the life and work of her mother, Vera Brittain, author of Testament of Youth. Shirley Williams is a politician, academic and former leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. Mark Bostridge is a British writer and critic. He is the author of Vera Brittain and the First World War: The Story of Testament of Youth and Vera Brittain: A Life. The Ralph Miliband Programme (@rmilibandlse) is one of LSE's most prestigious lecture series and seeks to advance Ralph Miliband's spirit of free social inquiry. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Professor Angus Deaton | In lectures across three consecutive evenings (9 December, 10 December and 11 December) leading development economist Professor Deaton will discuss his work on health and poverty. Global poverty has been falling rapidly, even as income inequality has been inexorably rising in most of the world. Perhaps paradoxically, global income inequality has been falling. Or has it? Many claim not. Angus Deaton will discuss recent trends in poverty and inequality, nationally and internationally, and will ask why recent growth has brought such meagre reductions in poverty. He will also argue that measurement depends, not only on theory, but also on politics, and explain why and how the politics of poverty is so often disguised as science. The lectures will ask how we know what we know about poverty and inequality, discuss the many unresolved difficulties of measurement, and make proposals for improvement. Angus Deaton is Dwight D Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Economics Department at Princeton University. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Professor Angus Deaton | In lectures across three consecutive evenings (9 December,10 December and 11 December) leading development economist Professor Deaton will discuss his work on health and poverty. Global poverty has been falling rapidly, even as income inequality has been inexorably rising in most of the world. Perhaps paradoxically, global income inequality has been falling. Or has it? Many claim not. Angus Deaton will discuss recent trends in poverty and inequality, nationally and internationally, and will ask why recent growth has brought such meagre reductions in poverty. He will also argue that measurement depends, not only on theory, but also on politics, and explain why and how the politics of poverty is so often disguised as science. The lectures will ask how we know what we know about poverty and inequality, discuss the many unresolved difficulties of measurement, and make proposals for improvement. Angus Deaton is Dwight D Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Economics Department at Princeton University. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Costas Simitis | Costas Simitis will examine the European debt crisis with particular reference to the case of Greece. LSE alumnus Costas Simitis served as Prime Minister of Greece 1996-2004. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Sophia Money-Coutts | Sophia Money-Coutts is a former LSE student and has been the features editor on Tatler for two years. Prior to that, she worked on various newspapers, including the the Daily Mail, the Evening Standard, and The National in Abu Dhabi.

Contributor(s): Mirza Waheed | Acclaimed novelist Mirza Waheed will be introducing his new novel The Book of Gold Leaves: a book of piercing lyricism, a story of the impossible choice between personal duty and romantic love. ‘Waheed writes about war with a devastating and unflinching calm, with the melancholy wisdom of someone attuned to but never hardened by its horrors’ The Guardian. ‘Like his great-grandfather's gold painting, Waheed's work will undoubtedly endure’ Financial Times. Mr Mirza Waheed was born and brought up in Kashmir. His debut novel The Collaborator was shortlisted for The Guardian First Book Award and the Shakti Bhat Prize, and long listed for the Desmond Elliott Prize. It was also book of the year for The Telegraph, New Statesman, Financial Times, Business Standard and Telegraph India. Waheed has written for the BBC, The Guardian, Granta, Al Jazeera English and The New York Times. He lives in London. Ms Razia Iqbal is a BBC Presenter. She is one of the main presenters of Newshour, the flagship current affairs programme on BBC World Service radio. She also presents arts programmes on Radio 4, and a books programme on BBC World TV, called Talking Books. She was a judge on the Baileys Prize for Women's fiction last year; Chair of the Commonwealth short story prize and this year, is judging the Wellcome Foundation book prize. She was the BBC's Arts Correspondent for many years.

Contributor(s): Dame Tessa Jowell | Dame Tessa Jowell will draw on her experiences at the heart of government to discuss the role of capacity building and social integration in cities. Tessa Jowell (@jowellt) has been an MP since 1992. She has served in a variety of ministerial and shadow ministerial roles including as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 2001-2007. Professor Craig Calhoun (@craigjcalhoun) is Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science. LSE Cities (@LSECities) is an international centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science that carries out research, education and outreach activities in London and abroad. Its mission is to study how people and cities interact in a rapidly urbanising world, focussing on how the design of cities impacts on society, culture and the environment. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Professor William Easterly | The admirable fight against global poverty has a blind spot on democracy and human rights, which are both good in themselves and also the most well-proven and lasting path out of poverty. Experts in development have too often unintentionally provided a rationale for oppressive autocrats and unenlightened US foreign policy in poor countries. William Easterly (@bill_easterly) is Professor of Economics at New York University and Director of NYU’s Development Research Institute. The Department of Economics at LSE (@LSEEcon) is one of the largest economics departments in the world. Its size ensures that all areas of economics are strongly represented in both research and teaching. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Martha Acklesberg, Richard Cleminson, Terence Kissack | The panel brings together historians and political theorists of anarchism and sexuality to explore the importance of this relationship to how we conceive of sexual politics today. The panel will explore the history of sexual freedom as part of anarchist revolutionary practice, providing an alternative history to one focused exclusively on sexual rights. Martha Acklesberg is a leading authority on women and gender in the anarchist movement in Spain during the Civil War. Richard Cleminson is reader in Hispanic Studies at the University of Leeds. He lectures on Spanish history, gender studies and the history of sexuality. He has written about anarchism and homosexuality, the history of "hermaphroditism" and the history of eugenics. Terence Kissack is a leading authority on the history of homosexuality in the anarchist movement in the US. Clare Hemmings is Professor of Feminist Theory at LSE. The Gender Institute (@lsegendertweet) was established in 1993 to address the major intellectual challenges posed by contemporary changes in gender relations. This remains a central aim of the Institute today, which is the largest research and teaching unit of its kind in Europe. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Dr Benjamin Noys | How can we imagine a way out of the stasis of a Europe mired in financial crisis? The proponents of ‘accelerationism’ argue the need to embrace forces of abstraction and technology that can escape ‘old’ Europe. In this talk, Benjamin Noys will critically explore these alternative geographical imaginaries as attempts to come to terms with the ‘uneven’ forms of capital within Europe. Benjamin Noys is Reader in English at the University of Chichester.

Contributor(s): Dr Lina Khatib, Dr Dina Matar, Dr Atef Alshaer | In this talk, Dr Lina Khatib, Dr Dina Matar, and Dr Atef Alshaer will present their most recent book, 'The Hizbullah Phenomenon: Politics and Communication'. In this book, the authors address how Hizbullah uses image, language and its charismatic leader, Hassan Nasrallah, to legitimise its political aims and ideology and appeal to different target groups. Dr Lina Khatib is director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut and research associate at the Centre for Media Studies at SOAS. Previously, she was the co-founding head of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. Dr Dina Matar is Senior Lecturer in Arab Media and Political Communication at SOAS. Her research looks at the relationship between politics, culture and communication in the Arab world, especially in discourses of power and resistance. Dr Atef Alshaer is a lecturer in Arabic Language and culture at the University of Westminster. He is also a member of the Palestine Studies Centre and The Middle East Institute in London at SOAS.

Contributor(s): Professor Matthew Connelly | The interwar years are vital to understanding the rise of the U.S. national security state and the government’s approach to official secrecy. World War I both revealed the dangers of secret diplomacy to the world, and rationalised its necessity to its leaders. The ensuing period was marked by intense struggles over the limits to official secrecy. Woodrow Wilson both advocated for the prosecution of anyone who revealed national defense information, but also called for open covenants between nations, openly arrived at. For Wilson, if the US did not join the League of Nations it would remain a nation in arms with a vast intelligence-gathering apparatus, forced to curtail civil liberties. It was not until World War II that Wilson’s premonition finally came into being. Professor Matthew Connelly is Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at LSE IDEAS for 2014-2015. Currently a professor in the Department of History at Columbia University, Matthew Connelly is also founder and director or the LSE-Columbia University Double Degree in International and World History. His current research focuses on planning and predictions, and using data science to analyse patterns in official secrecy. He received his B.A. from Columbia and his Ph.D. from Yale He has authored a wide-range of articles and publications, including the award-winning Diplomatic Revolution: Algeria’s fight for independence and the origins of the post-Cold War era, which has won five prizes since its publication. His most recent book, Fatal Misconception: the struggle to control world population, was chosen as one of the best books of the year by The Economist and the Financial Times. Professor Arne Westad (@OAWestad) is the director of LSE IDEAS. LSE IDEAS (@lseideas) is a centre for the study of international affairs, diplomacy and grand strategy. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Marcelo Neri | Minister Neri will talk about the growth of social welfare in Brazil during the last twenty years, and its determinants. How have growth and distribution of incomes evolved in Brazil? What has been the role played by various public policies (such as income transfers, housing, technical education etc)? How have different groups (organized by gender, race, region etc) performed? Is Brazil becoming a middle class country? What about the middle income trap with respect to other BRICS countries? How sustainable are the observed changes? What is the new agenda on social policies in the country for the next 10 years? Marcelo Neri is Minister for Strategic Affairs for Brazil; has a PhD in Economics from Princeton University. Founder of the Center for Social Policies (CPS) at Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV); teaches at EPGE/FGV. Edited books on Microcredit; Social Security; Diversity; Rural Poverty; Bolsa Familia; Consumption and Middle Class. He was secretary general of the Council of Economic and Social Development (CDES) and president of the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea). He evaluated policies in more than two dozen countries and designed and implemented policies at three government levels in Brazil. The Department of International Development (@LSE_ID) promotes interdisciplinary post-graduate teaching and research on processes of social, political and economic development and change.

Contributor(s): Professor John Broome | Climate change is a moral problem. Through our emissions, each of us causes harm to others - something that generally we should not do. Some people are already suffering great harm from climate change. What should we do to remedy the situation? A solution can be achieved only through the coordinated actions of governments, and difficult ethical analysis is required to choose the right actions. John Broome is the White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College at the University of Oxford.

Contributor(s): Mark Phillips | We are under attack by change. The marketplace and battle-space are increasingly populated by peer competitors and those who can achieve competitive advantage with limited resources. The value of traditional approaches is eroding. We can no longer gain and maintain our strategic position in an industry, market or contested area the way we used to. Cheap and abundant supply chains, the internet, easy user interfaces and the free flow of interpersonal connections over social media challenge our traditional models. This highly interactive discussion focuses on the one element that remains constant: human decision making. It is unpredictable, complex and wickedly creative. It is the source of all uncertainty. Yet it is the source of competitive advantage. Join us for a ground-breaking discussion on harnessing the power of uncertainty to gain and maintain competitive advantage.

Contributor(s): Robin Renwick | Will Hillary Clinton make history and become the first female President of the United States? Robin Renwick provides an invaluable insight into one of the most divisive figures in recent US political history. This event marks the publication of Ready for Hillary? Portrait of a President in Waiting. Robin Renwick, Lord Renwick of Clifton, is a crossbench peer in the House of Lords. He was the British ambassador in Washington when the Clintons arrived in the White House. Purna Sen (@Purna_Sen) is Deputy Director of the Institute of Public Affairs at LSE. This event is hosted by Above the Parapet (@LSEParapet), a research project at the LSE’s Institute of Public Affairs which explores the stories of women in high profile public life. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Lord Clement-Jones | China's creative sector is a field in which Britain's creative industries can build a strong partnership if only we take the opportunity. Tim Clement-Jones is London Managing Partner of DLA Piper and Deputy Chair of the All Party Parliamentary China Group.

Contributor(s): Professor Paul Anand, Catherine Audard, Professor Jonathan Wolff | What is progress and how do we measure it? What account of wellbeing could accommodate a concern for self-realization and self-development? May an approach based on quality of life provide a superior alternative to utilitarian cost-benefit analysis? And could such an approach inform policy and practice? Paul Anand, Catherine Audard and Jonathan Wolff will combine insights from welfare economics and moral philosophy to offer new perspectives on the ideas of progress and human development. Paul Anand is Professor of Economics at the Open University. Catherine Audard is the Chair of the Forum for European Philosophy and Visiting Fellow in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at LSE. Jonathan Wolff is Professor of Philosophy at University College London.

Contributor(s): Professor Judy Wajcman, Genevieve Bell | Judy Wajcman explores why it is that we both blame technology for speeding up everyday life and yet turn to digital devices for the solution. The event marks the publication of Professor Judy Wajcman's new book Pressed for Time: the acceleration of life in digital capitalism. Judy Wajcman is the Anthony Giddens Professor of Sociology at LSE. Genevieve Bell (@feraldata) is Vice President of User Experience Research at Intel Labs. Anthony Giddens is a former director of LSE and a Member of the House of Lords. The Department of Sociology at LSE (@LSEsociology) was established in 1904 and remains committed to top quality teaching and leading research and scholarship today.

Contributor(s): Professor Michael Rosen | Language is central to our understanding of migration: on the one hand, migrants bring languages with them and, on the other, the countries they arrive in develop a special language to describe migrants. Michael Rosen will explore the ways in which these two aspects meet, partly by looking at his own background, partly by looking at his experience in education over the last 40 years. Michael Rosen (@MichaelRosenYes) was born in 1946 in north-west London. His mother was born in London, his father in Brockton, Mass. USA. All their grandparents were migrants – mostly from Poland but also from what is now Romania. He is a former Children's Laureate and the present Professor of Children's Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London. The Migration Museum Project plans to create the UK’s first dedicated Migration Museum, to tell the story of movement into and out of the UK in a fresh and engaging way. The museum will be an enquiry into who we are, where we came from and where we are going. Britons at home and abroad have a shared cultural history and an exciting future. We aim to represent the thrilling tales, the emotion and the history that have gone into shaping our national fabric; we aim to be the museum of all our stories. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Professor Mats Berdal | How can the UN’s mission to raise humanitarian standards find its way in a world dominated by security concerns and power competition? Mats Berdal is Professor of Security and Development at King’s College, London. The International Relations Department (@LSEIRDept) is now in its 87th year, making it one of the oldest as well as largest in the world. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Dr Ingrid Volkmer, Professor Mary Kaldor | Dr Ingrid Volkmer completely rethinks the “public sphere” concept for an age of global media. Ingrid Volkmer is Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Melbourne. Mary Kaldor is Professor of Global Governance and Programme Director, Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit, LSE. Nick Couldry (@couldrynick) is Professor of Media, Communications and Social Theory in the Department of Media and communications at LSE. The Department of Media and Communications at LSE (@MediaLSE) has recently been ranked 2nd in the 2014 QS World University Rankings by Subject. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd | Sir Ross Cranston will interview the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, about his career in the law. John Thomas is the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Dr Mzukisi Qobo | Widely considered to be Africa’s oldest liberation movement, the African National Congress (ANC) played a historic role in ending apartheid in South Africa and has been the country’s ruling political party since 1994. More recently, however, the ANC's legacy has been tarnished by allegations of corruption and inefficiency. Dr Mzukisi Qobo will discuss his view that political governance in South Africa has collapsed, and explore the possibilities of the country’s political future. Dr Mzukisi Qobo teaches international political economy at the University of Pretoria, and is deputy director at the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation. He is co-author of The Fall of the ANC: What Next? Professor Chris Alden is a Professor in International Relations at the LSE and Head of the Africa International Affairs programme at LSE IDEAS.

Contributor(s): Monique Villa | We all need stories to make sense of the world. And very powerful stories sometimes are hidden behind data. When data is crunched to expose realities often ignored by mainstream media, the impact is global. From fighting human trafficking to empowering women, Monique Villa, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, highlights the potential of data and smart storytelling to create lasting social change. Monique Villa is CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. She has been ranked among the world’s 100 most influential people in Business Ethics by Ethisphere.

Contributor(s): Børge Brende | We live in a world of unprecedented progress and unexpected crises. We have to adapt to a changing security landscape, while at the same time maintaining the pillars of peace and prosperity: democracy, cooperation and respect for international law. Following agreed rules of behaviour brings benefits to all nations - a win-win situation. But we must take into account that not all leaders have taken this on board yet. Børge Brende (@borgebrende) is Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway. He started his political career in 1985 as political adviser with the Young Conservatives. He has been Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party (1994–1998) and a member of the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) for more than 10 years. From 2001 to 2004, he was Minister of the Environment. He was Minister of Trade and Industry from 2004 to 2005. In 2008, Mr Brende was appointed as Managing Director of the World Economic Forum in Geneva. He was Secretary General of Red Cross Norway from 2009 to 2011, before returning to the World Economic Forum in 2011. Mr Brende was Chair of the UN Commission of Sustainable Development in 2003–2004 and member of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (advisory body to the Chinese Government) from 2005 to 2013. He has also been Chair of the Board in Mesta, Norway’s largest onshore contracting group, and Member of the Board in Statoil. Mr Brende has a degree in Economics, Law and History from NTNU in Trondheim. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Ignacio Garcia Bercero, Pascal Lamy | The EU's Chief Negotiator for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and a prominent former Director-General of the World Trade Organisation debate the implications of 'mega-regionals' for the future of multilateral economic governance. What are the prospects and modalities for the multilateralisation of arrangements such as the TTIP? LSE Law (@lselaw) is an integral part of the School's mission, plays a major role in policy debates & in the education of lawyers and law teachers from around the world.

Contributor(s): Professor Susan J Carroll, Professor Sarah Childs, Orlanda Ward | Susan Carroll will present the 2014 Political Studies Association (PSA) annual lecture to highlight an impressive data span to argue convincingly that women's pathways to elected office are varied and sometimes unique. Carroll will also talk about the problems that Hillary Clinton faced the last time she ran for President and what she might encounter in 2016, if she decides to run as expected. Susan J Carroll is Professor of Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University and also Senior Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) of the Eagleton Institute of Politics. She has authored numerous books on women’s political participation, including: Women as Candidates in American Politics (Second Edition, Indiana University Press 1994); Gender and Elections: Shaping the Future of American Politics (Third Edition, Cambridge University Press 2014, with Richard L. Fox); Women and American Politics: New Questions, New Directions (Oxford University Press 2003); and The Impact of Women in Public Office (Indiana University Press 2001). Her latest book is More Women Can Run: Gender and Pathways to the State Legislature (Oxford University Press 2013, with Kira Sanbonmatsu). Sarah Childs is Professor of Politics and Gender at the University of Bristol. Orlanda Ward is Chair of the PSA Postgraduate Network. Purna Sen (@Purna_Sen) is Deputy Director of the Institute of Public Affairs at the LSE. The lecture is held in collaboration with Above the Parapet (@LSEParapet), a research project at the LSE’s Institute of Public Affairs which explores the stories of women in high profile public life. Founded in 1950, The Political Studies Association (@PolStudiesAssoc) exists to develop and promote the study of politics. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Fiammetta Rocco | All over the world, museums are springing up. Will they become white elephants? Fiammetta Rocco (@FiammettaRocco) is the Arts Editor of the Economist. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Professor Muhammad Yunus | Muhammad Yunus (@Yunus_Centre) was born on 28 June 1940 in the village of Bathua, Chittagong, a seaport in Bangladesh. The third of fourteen children, he was educated at Dhaka University and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study economics at Vanderbilt University. He then served as chairman of the economics department at Chittagong University before devoting his life to providing financial and social services to the poorest of the poor. He is the founder of Grameen Bank, serving as managing director until May 2011. Yunus is the author of the bestselling Banker to the Poor. In October 2006, Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Grameen Bank, for their efforts to create economic and social development. Muhammad Yunus was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (Economics) by LSE in November 2011. In April 2013 he received the US Congressional Gold Medal. Professor Alnoor Bhimani is director of LSE Entrepreneurship. LSE Entrepreneurship (@LSEship) runs a series of lectures, short courses, networking platforms, debates and social exchanges that explore entrepreneurship's extreme potential for change.

Contributor(s): Dr Robin Archer | Why did radicals retreat on the eve of the Great War, even where opposition was strongest? What are the lessons for us today? Robin Archer is Associate Professor in Political Sociology and Director of the Ralph Miliband Programme at LSE. Anne Phillips is Graham Wallas Professor of Political Science in the Department of Government and Professor of Political and Gender Theory in the Gender Institute at LSE. The Ralph Miliband Programme (@rmilibandlse) is one of LSE's most prestigious lecture series and seeks to advance Ralph Miliband's spirit of free social inquiry.

Contributor(s): Lee Jackson | Lee Jackson will discuss why the Victorians had boundless enthusiasm for cleanliness and sanitation, but still left their capital mired in filth. Lee Jackson is an author specialising in Victorian London. His latest book is Dirty Old London.

Contributor(s): Sherry Coutu, Geoff Mulgan, Tamara Rajah, Andy Tong | This event marks the launch of a major report commissioned by the UK government on increasing the economic impact of high growth firms which will be published on 17 November during Global Entrepreneurship Week. The report seeks to identify the actions governments, corporates, universities and entrepreneurs in the UK should consider taking to ensure high growth firms are "scaling up" successfully. The approach is based on clear evidence that fostering the growth of scale up firms will realise significantly greater overall benefits for an economy in terms of jobs, wage growth and contribution to GDP. Panellists will address the impact of the report both on government and on business. Sherry Coutu (@scoutu), principal author of the report, is a leading entrepreneur and expert on the impact of scale-ups in economic growth. She is an NED on the London Stock Exchange, Cambridge University and Zoopla and an advisor to LinkedIn, as well as an alumna of LSE. Geoff Mulgan (@geoffmulgan) is Chief Executive of the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA). From 2004-2011 he was the first Chief Executive of the Young Foundation. Between 1997 and 2004 Geoff had various roles in the UK government including director of the Government's Strategy Unit and head of policy in the Prime Minister's office. Before that he was the founder and director of the think-tank Demos. Tamara Rajah is a Partner in McKinsey & Company's London Office. Andy Tong is Director of Deloitte MCS Ltd. LSE Entrepreneurship (@LSEship) runs a series of lectures, short courses, networking platforms, debates and social exchanges that explore entrepreneurship's extreme potential for change. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Norman Lewis | I aim to explore the gap between the potential of information communication technologies and the narrow narcissistic focus which dominates society’s obsession with the technology today. The contrast between the productive potential of Big Data, cloud computing and billions of connected people across the planet on the one hand, versus our obsession with narrow narcissistic consumption and our lowered expectations about what this technology can deliver, is startling. We may have Big Data but we have small ambitions. We may have ‘smart’ devices in our pockets with more computing power than the Lunar module that put man on the Moon but we have a diminished view of human beings and the knowledge developed to create this in the first place. There is no app for low expectations, only apps’. Discuss…. Dr Norman Lewis is recognised as an expert on future trends and user behaviours with regard to technology innovation and adoption. He has spoken on these topics at events all over the world. Norman is currently a Director at PwC responsible for running their crowd sourced innovation service. He is a co-author of Big Potatoes: the London manifesto for innovation.

Contributor(s): Professor Timothy Garton Ash, Professor Renaud Dehousse, Giuseppe Laterza, Professor Jan Zielonka | A panel debate to mark the official launch of Eutopia (@EutopiaMag) - the pan-European online magazine in which incisive thinkers from Europe and beyond address searching questions about the very nature of Europe. What exactly is "Europe"? What should be the EU's final frontier? What's left ( if anything) of "The European Project"? And do Europeans need a new lexicon and a whole new mindset for thinking about their continent? Timothy Garton Ash (@fromTGA) is Professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford, and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Renaud Dehousse holds a Jean Monnet Chair in European Union Law and Political Science at Sciences Po, Paris, where he directs the Centre d'études européennes. Giuseppe Laterza (@giuslat) is Chairman of Laterza Publishing. Jan Zielonka is Professor of European Politics at the University of Oxford and Ralf Dahrendorf Fellow at St Antony’s College. Maurice Fraser is Head of the LSE European Institute’. The LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) was established in 1991 as a dedicated centre for the interdisciplinary study of processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe. In the most recent national Research Assessment Exercise, the Institute was ranked first for research in European Studies in the United Kingdom. The LSE European Institute has been a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence since 2009. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Michael Mainelli, Angela Ridgwell, Nick Robins | Speakers from the financial sector, NGOs and think tanks will discuss if the finance industry is doing enough to combat the challenges of environmental sustainability. Michael Mainelli (@mrmainelli) is Chairman of Z/Yen. Angela Ridgwell is Director General of Corporate Services at the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Nick Robins is Head of the Climate Change Centre of Excellence at HSBC in London. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): | Organised under the auspices of LSE and UNESCO, this international seminar brings together multiple voices from Brazil and the UK to discuss how ground level experiences of social development intersect with governments and policy-makers in shaping decisively processes of policy design and implementation. This dialogue builds on the lessons of Underground Sociabilities, a multiple stakeholder research partnership that mapped life trajectories and strategies of bottom-up social development in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Since the realisation of the research, LSE and UNESCO have led a series of international events focusing on the continuing dialogue between government bodies, policy-makers, NGOs, activists, researchers and disenfranchised citizens, and the role of grassroots agencies in bridging the gap. This event is supported by the LSE Knowledge Exchange Programme.

Contributor(s): | Organised under the auspices of LSE and UNESCO, this international seminar brings together multiple voices from Brazil and the UK to discuss how ground level experiences of social development intersect with governments and policy-makers in shaping decisively processes of policy design and implementation. This dialogue builds on the lessons of Underground Sociabilities, a multiple stakeholder research partnership that mapped life trajectories and strategies of bottom-up social development in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Since the realisation of the research, LSE and UNESCO have led a series of international events focusing on the continuing dialogue between government bodies, policy-makers, NGOs, activists, researchers and disenfranchised citizens, and the role of grassroots agencies in bridging the gap. This event is supported by the LSE Knowledge Exchange Programme.

Contributor(s): | Organised under the auspices of LSE and UNESCO, this international seminar brings together multiple voices from Brazil and the UK to discuss how ground level experiences of social development intersect with governments and policy-makers in shaping decisively processes of policy design and implementation. This dialogue builds on the lessons of Underground Sociabilities, a multiple stakeholder research partnership that mapped life trajectories and strategies of bottom-up social development in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Since the realisation of the research, LSE and UNESCO have led a series of international events focusing on the continuing dialogue between government bodies, policy-makers, NGOs, activists, researchers and disenfranchised citizens, and the role of grassroots agencies in bridging the gap. This event is supported by the LSE Knowledge Exchange Programme.

Contributor(s): | Organised under the auspices of LSE and UNESCO, this international seminar brings together multiple voices from Brazil and the UK to discuss how ground level experiences of social development intersect with governments and policy-makers in shaping decisively processes of policy design and implementation. This dialogue builds on the lessons of Underground Sociabilities, a multiple stakeholder research partnership that mapped life trajectories and strategies of bottom-up social development in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Since the realisation of the research, LSE and UNESCO have led a series of international events focusing on the continuing dialogue between government bodies, policy-makers, NGOs, activists, researchers and disenfranchised citizens, and the role of grassroots agencies in bridging the gap. This event is supported by the LSE Knowledge Exchange Programme.

Contributor(s): Professor Adam Swift | The family is hotly contested ideological terrain. Some defend the traditional two-parent heterosexual family while others welcome its demise. Opinions vary about how much control parents should have over their children’s upbringing. Adam Swift will discuss the ethics of parent-child relationships, telling us why the family is valuable, who has the right to parent, and what rights parents should -- and should not -- have over their children. Adam Swift is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Warwick.

Contributor(s): Satish Kumar | Our economy relies on stable ecological foundations. So why is ecology missing from big economic and political debates? Is it time for a new approach? Satish Kumar is Editor-in-Chief of Resurgence magazine (@Resurgence_mag). Martin Bolton is Head of Environmental Sustainability at LSE. The LSE Sustainability Team (@SustainableLSE) addresses LSE’s environmental impacts. Working with staff and students across the School, to embed good practice and incorporate sustainability into all areas of its activities. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias and Almyros | As historically a central pole of national identity, and with a new politics of nationalism evident, the way in which the Greek Orthodox Church is impacted by Greece’s economic crisis and how it responds to it is of major importance to the nation’s public and social affairs. The Bishop has a strong record of connecting the Church to contemporary social issues and of opening up to other faiths. This lecture will address the challenges posed by the crisis. His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias and Almyros is a Diocesan Bishop of the Church of Greece. H. E. Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias, member of many synodal commissions of the Church of Greece, is also President of the Board of Directors of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, and of the General Assembly of the Greek Bible Society, while for the last twenty years he was presenting the religious emission on the Greek TV. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Professor Kimberly Hutchings | Professor Hutchings offers a feminist critique of the idea of just war and calls for the renewal of forms of pacifism and non-violent politics pioneered in feminist opposition to WW1. Kimberly Hutchings is a Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary, University of London. The Ralph Miliband Programme (@rmilibandlse) is one of LSE's most prestigious lecture series and seeks to advance Ralph Miliband's spirit of free social inquiry. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).

Contributor(s): Professor Sir John Hills, Polly Toynbee, Professor Holly Sutherland | This ground-breaking book Good Times Bad Times: the welfare myth of them and us challenges the idea of a divide in the UK population between those who benefit from the welfare state and those who pay into it. John Hills is Director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at LSE. Polly Toynbee (@pollytoynbee) is a political and social commentator for the Guardian. Holly Sutherland is a Director of EUROMOD, ISER at the University of Essex. Julian Le Grand is the Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy at LSE. The Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at LSE (@CASE_lse) focuses on the exploration of different dimensions of social disadvantage, particularly from longitudinal and neighbourhood perspectives, and examination of the impact of public policy.

Contributor(s): Professor Slavoj Zizek | Critique of ideology should not begin with the critique of reality, but with the critique of our dreams. As Herbert Marcuse put it back in the 1960s, freedom (from ideological constraints, from the predominant mode of dreaming) is the condition of liberation. If we only change reality in order to realize our dreams, and do not change these dreams themselves, we sooner or later regress to old reality. The first act of liberation is therefore for us to become ruthless censors of our dreams. Slavoj Zizek is a Hegelian philosopher, Lacanian psychoanalyst, and political activist. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities and the author of numerous books on dialectical materialism, critique of ideology and art, including Less Than Nothing, Living in the End Times, First as Tragedy, Then as Farce and The Year of Dreaming Dangerously. This event marks the publication of his new book, Trouble in Paradise: From the End of History to the End of Capitalism. Purna Sen (@Purna_Sen) is Deputy Director of the Institute of Public Affairs at the LSE. The Institute of Public Affairs (@LSEPubAffairs) is one of the world's leading centres of public policy. We aim to debate and address some of the major issues of our time, whether international or national, through our established teaching programmes, our research and our highly innovative public-engagement initiatives. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).