Explore every episode of the podcast Autumn 2013 | Public lectures and events | Audio and pdf

Contributor(s): The Hon Mr Justice Peter Jackson | One of the most senior High Court judges assigned to the Family Division, Peter Jackson will answer your questions sent via Twitter to @LSELaw using #LSEJackson. Peter Jackson is a High Court Judge.

Contributor(s): Natalie Hanman, Lola Okolosie, Tracey Reynolds | The panellists will interrogate current representations of feminism in the media and share interventionist strategies that are already going on or that might be taken up in the future. Natalie Hanman is the editor of Comment is Free at theguardian.com. Lola Okolosie is a writer, teacher and prominent member of Black Feminists. Tracey Reynolds is a reader in social and policy research at London South Bank University.

Contributor(s): Professor Robin Cohen, Professor David Downes, Daphna Golan, Thomas Hammarberg, Professor Harvey Molotch | Stan Cohen was a world class sociologist, criminologist and public intellectual whose insight, analysis, commitment and wit inspired and influenced innumerable students, activists and colleagues. This event honours Stan and reflects on his legacy. Robin Cohen, Stan’s brother, is Emeritus Professor of Development Studies at the University of Oxford. David Downes is Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at LSE. Daphna Golan is founding research director of B'Tselem. Thomas Hammarberg is a human rights defender and former Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. Harvey Molotch is Professor of Sociology and Metropolitan Studies at New York University. Margo Picken is a visiting senior fellow at the LSE Centre for the Study of Human Rights.

Contributor(s): Caroline Criado-Perez | Caroline Criado-Perez is a freelance journalist, broadcaster and feminist campaigner. Co-founder of The Women’s Room, an organisation that campaigns for more women experts in the media, she also started and ran the Keep Women on Banknotes campaign. Caroline is currently completing an MSc in Gender at LSE, where her dissertation is on the representation of women experts in the media. Caroline has appeared in international, national and local media (online, print and broadcast), both as an expert on feminist issues, and as a general media commentator. Caroline has also spoken at schools and conferences, and was featured in the Independent on Sunday’s Happy List 2013.

Contributor(s): Boris Johnson | The State Of The Union series has seen people from Alex Salmond to Martin McGuiness and Michael Heseltine discuss the future of the United Kingdom and one part within the greater whole. In this event Boris Johnson will discuss the role and future of London within the Union. Boris Johnson was born in June 1964 in New York. His family moved to London when he was five years old. He went to primary school in Camden and was subsequently educated at the European School in Brussels, Ashdown House and then at Eton College. He later read Classics at Balliol College. During his time at Oxford University he became president of the prestigious Oxford Union. After graduating he moved back to London. He joined The Daily Telegraph in 1987 as leader and feature writer. From 1989 to 1994 he was the Telegraph's European Community correspondent and from 1994 to 1999 he served as assistant editor. His association with The Spectator began as political columnist in 1994. In 1999 he became editor of the paper and stayed in this role until December 2005. In 2001 he was elected MP for Henley on Thames. In July 2007, Boris Johnson resigned from his position as shadow education secretary so that he would be free to stand as Conservative candidate for Mayor of London. He resigned as MP for Henley shortly after becoming Mayor of London.

Contributor(s): Dr Leigh Jenco | Leigh Jenco will explain how the forgotten work of Zhang Shizhao throws light on a dilemma of global importance: how can we act together when no shared space yet exists? Leigh Jenco is Associate Professor of Political Theory at LSE.

Contributor(s): Nelson Mandela | As Africa stands at a critical stage in its development, Nelson Mandela, the leading figure of the anti-apartheid movement, spoke at the London School of Economics and Political Science about his childhood in Africa and its position in the world. He provides a personal account of Africa's history and details how this can be used progressively to tackle some of the major questions facing the country today. His account includes a special plea that political commentators do not judge Africa on the same basis as they judge the old and advanced industrial countries.

Contributor(s): Professor Risa L Goluboff, Dr Jacco Bomhoff | The United States of America is famous for its system of constitutional review- its Supreme Court of unelected judges who can strike down the laws of Congress. How is this justified? Is it popular? What does the future hold? Risa Goluboff is the Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia, visiting professor in LSE’s Department of Law, and author of The Lost Promise of Civil Rights. Jacco Bomhoff is a lecturer in law at LSE.

Contributor(s): Tan Sri Dr Tony Fernandes | Will the ASEAN Economic Community materialize by 2015 and how will it function in practice? Tan Sri Dr Tony Fernandes will address this question and examine how entrepreneurs could benefit from the 2015 AEC? Tan Sri Dr Tony Fernandes is the founder and group CEO of AirAsia. Tony’s many awards include: Honor of the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, conferred by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2011 for services to promote commercial and educational links between the UK and Malaysia. In this same year he was named as one of the world's 100 most creative people in business by New York-based business magazine Fast Company, and awarded the inaugural ‘Travel Business Leaders Award’ winner by CNBC.

Contributor(s): Mireya Solis | Trade policy aims to satisfy three key criteria: efficiency, legitimacy and political expediency. As Japan embarks on a trade policy of unprecedented ambition through Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the European Union and participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, it faces acute trade dilemmas. Mireya Solis is the Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies and senior fellow at the Brookings Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies.

Contributor(s): Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed, Dr John Chalcraft, Dr Ewan Stein | Three years after the Arab uprisings started in Tunisia, a panel of academics will reflect on the causes and drivers behind these seminal events, how they have transformed countries like Egypt; but also why they have had less impact in other countries, such as Saudi Arabia. Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed is Visiting Professor at the Middle East Centre at LSE and Research Fellow at the Open Society Foundation. She was Professor of Anthropology of Religion at King’s College, London between 1994 and 2013. Previously, she was Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. Dr John Chalcraft works on the history and politics of the modern Middle East with special reference to Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, protest movements, migration, labour history, crafts and guilds, transnationalism, contentious politics, hegemony, and history from below. Dr Ewan Stein is Lecturer at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh. Prior to that, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW), University of Edinburgh from 2008-2011. Dr Stein's research interests include political Islam, the role of ideas in foreign policy and international relations, state-society relations and the links between social and normative change in Middle Eastern regional politics.

Contributor(s): Sunder Katwala | This lecture will examine attitudes towards immigration, integration and opportunity in Britain today. National identity remains important to many people. Can it be a positive force? Sunder Katwala is director of the identity and integration think-tank British Future, and former general secretary of the Fabian Society.

Contributor(s): Professor Jason McKenzie Alexander | It is often said that openness and transparency are required for liberal democracies. But is this true for openness and transparency of personal information? Jason McKenzie Alexander is professor of philosophy at LSE.

Contributor(s): Brendan Paddy | Is showing a tragic portrait of people in the developing world the only effective strategy to call for action and funding from people in donor countries? Can’t we change the perspective toward victims in crisis? Polis reporter Asuka Kageura gives her response to the Polis Media Agenda Talk by Brendan Paddy, Head of Communications at the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), who was speaking in a personal capacity at LSE.

Contributor(s): Dr Christian Emery | During this talk, Dr Emery will discuss the main findings from his new book: 'US Foreign Policy and the Iranian Revolution: the Cold War Dynamics of Engagement and Strategic Alliance'. In February 1979, a revolution led by a seventy-six year old cleric espousing a relatively obscure interpretation of Shia Islam succeeded in dislodging one of Washington's most powerful allies in the Middle East. Although low-level analysts had long warned of a crisis looming in Iran, Carter's senior foreign policy advisors, distracted by more pressing foreign policy initiatives, had resisted any serious rethinking of US strategy. Dr Emery will examine the nature of the adjustment they were forced to make. He will show that, contrary to the claims of Iran's leaders, US diplomats tried in good faith to build bridges with the new regime. Good faith was not enough, however, and Dr Emery will discuss how Cold War dogma and a range of misperceptions undermined America’s 'new' policy. His talk will then focus on how US policy objectives in Iran were refashioned in light of three major and converging crises: the Iran hostage crisis, the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, and the onset of the Iran-Iraq dynamic. Dr Emery will provide a fresh perspective on the origins of one of the most bitter and enduring confrontations in international relations.

Contributor(s): Mark Goldring | Mark Goldring is chief executive of Oxfam GB and has decades of experience within international development, including as chief executive of VSO and chief executive of Mencap, the UK’s leading disability charity. Mark read law at Oxford and has a Masters in social policy and planning in developing countries from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was awarded a CBE in 2008 for services to tackling poverty and disadvantage.

Contributor(s): Lord Browne of Madingley | In 1997, Lord Browne broke ranks with the rest of the oil industry and acknowledged the risk posed by the climate change. In this lecture he will reflect on the progress made since that speech, and the prospects for the future. John Browne is a former chief executive of BP.

Contributor(s): Alex Massouras (artwork), Alexis Milne (artwork), Nikolas Barnes (play), Rob Oldfield (play), Daniel Koczy (paper) | Following the second issue on fakeness (launched November 2012), CCC’s third issue examines the centrality of the idea of Crisis and attempts to uncover its fluid, ambivalent forms within the contemporary sphere. We are not seeking another theorization or a repetition of the apparent manifold state and the concept of crisis. Instead, we would like to talk about the blind spots within the concept. What is expected and not expected of a crisis? What are the current forms of crisis? Can crisis provide a tool for transformation and social change? In which ways does crisis become a trigger for acting in current circumstances? How does it relate to our understanding of creativity and pulsations towards freedom? How might we rethink the multiple and continuous transformative elements of crisis as moments of clarity? Critical Contemporary Culture is an online journal that envisions an alternative cultural-intellectual public space. In our contemporary moment, the combination of theoretical reflection with engaged cultural practice is as important as ever. We want to have a conversation with artists and students about the status of culture because we believe that we all have common interests and a shared culture.

Contributor(s): Dr David Stuckler | The Body Economic puts forward a radical proposition. Austerity, it argues, is seriously bad for your health. We can prevent financial crises from becoming epidemics, but to do so, we must acknowledge what the hard data tells us: that, throughout history, there is a causal link between the strength of a community's health and its social protection systems. Now and for generations to come, our commitment to the building of fairer, more equal societies will determine the health of our body economic. David Stuckler is a Senior Research Leader in Sociology at the University of Oxford. He is co-author with Sanjay Basu of The Body Economic.

Contributor(s): Jeremy Scahill | Dirty Wars, winner of the Sundance Film Festival Cinematography award, follows the reporting on a US night raid gone wrong in an Afghan village with journalist Jeremy Scahill discovering a cover-up by an elite military unit. What follows is an international investigation into America's expanding covert wars. The Dirty Wars film screening will be followed by a Q&A with the investigative reporter, screenwriter and producer of the film, Jeremy Scahill. This film is described by Glenn Greenwald, formerly of The Guardian, as '"one of the most important political films of the last 20 years". Jeremy Scahill is an award-winning investigative journalist and author of books, Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield, the basis for this documentary, and the best selling Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. He has previously worked as a producer and correspondent for Democracy Now! And has reported for many newspapers worldwide. He is currently a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute. Dirty Wars opens in cinemas and is available on itunes from 29 November.

Contributor(s): Professor Anoush Ehteshami | The victory of Rouhani represents the defeat of the most peripheral groups in the Iranian political spectrum. In a day, one could say, Ahmadinejad and his supporters arguably lost all of their clout and popular appeal. The support they had amassed during the previous eight years apparently melted away, with no-one in the end making a fuss about the rejection of Ahmadinejad’s candidate for the presidency. This is the first significant development to note – the neoconservative order has been shattered. Secondly, we can also say that this election result provides evidence for seeing the election process, for all its constraints and conditionalities, not as ideological but rather highly circumstantial – perhaps, personal. Public sentiment drove support for Khatami in 1997 and Ahmadinejad in 2005, and played its role in the voters’ support for Rouhani in 2013. The political ground shifted very quickly in all these three elections once the final victor had managed to make a positive impression on the electorate. Thirdly, in this instance, there was another struggle going on: that between the Leader and the urban voters. Thus, fourthly, in supporting Rouhani’s candidacy, the latter wanted to send a strong message to the Leader to the effect that they were against the policies implemented by the previous government which he had so emphatically endorsed. Though himself doubtless an establishment figure, Rouhani nevertheless came to represent an alternative to the order created by the previous Leader-endorsed administration. Thus, when asked about their electoral preferences, many Iranians simply replied that they selected their preferred candidate on the basis of how ‘different’ they were from the incumbent president. What are the implications of this shift in policy terms? Finally, given this context and background, it is fair to ask, what drives President Rouhani’s worldview and what constitutes his foreign policy agenda? What does his election victory tell us about Iran and the where it might be heading?

Contributor(s): Dimitar Bechev, Lawrence Meredith, John Peet, Professor Robert Cooper | Enlargement is widely hailed as the EU’s most successful policy, largely responsible for the successful transition from dictatorship to democracy first in Southern Europe, then in Central and Eastern Europe after the end of the Cold War. Yet forty years after the first enlargement, which saw the UK join the European Community, confidence in the European project seems to be at an all-time low. From enlargement fatigue within the EU to Russian overtures to Eastern European states and the fading prospects of Turkish accession, enlargement faces daunting challenges. In the context of the ongoing economic and political crises in the EU, we may well ask: Is EU Enlargement in crisis? Dimitar Bechev is a senior policy fellow and head of Sofia office of the European Council for Foreign Relations. Robert Cooper is a visiting professor at LSE IDEAS. Lawrence Meredith is head of strategy and policy at the Directorate General for Enlargement at the European Commission. John Peet is Europe editor at The Economist. Before joining The Economist he was a civil servant, working for the Treasury and the Foreign Office from 1976 to 1986.

Contributor(s): Dr Nina Morgan | What role does metaphor have in shaping our emotional lives? Reading texts by Freud and Derrida, this lecture will focus on the emergence of metaphor in times of crisis. Nina Morgan is associate professor of English and interdisciplinary studies at Kennesaw State University.

Contributor(s): Alec Ross, Professor Michael Cox | Information is transforming what power means and how it operates. Social media, wikileaks, surveillance and big data represent the battleground of a new contest between individuals, corporations and the state that is redefining the structures of power relations. Alec Ross discusses how the information age is changing global politics. Alec Ross is one of America’s leading experts on innovation. He was appointed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Senior Adviser for Innovation, tasked with maximising the potential of technology and innovation in service of America’s diplomatic goals, having previously served as Convener for Technology & Media Policy on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. He is currently writing a book to be published by Simon & Schuster about the industries and businesses of the future. Professor Michael Cox is Founding Co-Director of LSE IDEAS. He is also Head of the United States Programme, Executive Programme Director and an Academic Management Committee Member.

Contributor(s): Professor Calliope Spanou | The Ombudsman will focus on the establishment 15 years ago of the Ombudsman institution in Greece, highlighting its place and role in the political-administrative system of the country. She will also present current challenges in the context of economic austerity, lack of trust in institutions as well as demands for a new relationship between citizens and the state in Greece. Professor Calliope Spanou is the Greek Ombudsman, and Professor of Administrative Sciences at the University of Athens. Professor Kevin Featherstone is the Eleftherios Venizelos Professor of Contemporary Greek Studies, Professor of European Politics, and Director of the Hellenic Observatory.

Contributor(s): Lina Sinjab | In this talk, the BBC's Lina Sinjab will focus on the realities on the ground in Syria and the resilient civil society that is striving to continue amidst the civil war and the Islamic challenges.

Contributor(s): Professor Nick Couldry | Professor Couldry challenges some ‘digital age’ myths about how we gather on social media platforms and the value of ‘big data’, and considers the new forms of agency and injustice emerging alongside them. Nick Couldry is professor of media, communications and social theory and author of Media, Society, World.

Contributor(s): Professor Damian Chalmers, Professor Sebastien Dullien, Yiannos Papantoniou | The single European market has been a remarkable achievement. Its completion could substantially boost growth- especially in the EU’s struggling economies. Has the euro crisis put paid to these hopes? 'The Europe Question: perspectives from the UK’ initiative aims to bridge the evident gap in understanding and mutual distrust between the UK, its European partners and the EU institutions in Brussels, through a sober and systematic examination of the most fundamental issues surrounding European integration and the UK's place within the European project. This initiative by ECFR, the LSE European Institute and the European Commission Representation in the UK constitutes the next chapter in the well-received ‘Europe at the Crossroads’ initiative. Damian Chalmers is professor of European Union Law at LSE. Sebastian Dullien is senior policy fellow at ECFR and professor of international economics at HTW Berlin. Yiannos Papantoniou was the Greek economy and finance minister from 1994 to 2001.

Contributor(s): Professor Liu Wei | China has built a relatively well-off society by the end of the 20th century, transforming from a low-income country to a lower-middle-income one. In the first decade of the 21st century, China has further elevated itself to an upper-middle-income country. Based on these achievements, the country sets its new goals for economic development: a sustainable economic growth to double its scale, a high-income economy with a higher per capita GDP, a transformation in the economic structure and an overall modernisation. Since China took its baby-steps toward an upper-middle-income economy in 2010 at a time when the government began to retreat from its growth-stimulating policies against the 2008 financial crisis, new features of China’s economic imbalance have emerged. The country now faces two risks: great pressure from inflation and a lack of demand to drive up the economy. Professor Liu Wei is executive vice president of Peking University in charge of humanities and social sciences, continuous education, sports and technology transfer at the university. He got his bachelor, master and Ph.D. degrees in economics at Peking University. Before the current position, he served as dean of School of Economics, assistant president and vice president of Peking University. He is also the chief editor of the academic journal Economic Science. His research interests include economic theories of socialism in political economics, economic transition theories in institutional economics, industrial structure evolution in development economics, and enterprise ownership. He was appointed as chief expert in the projects “Research on the Development of China’s Market Economy” (2003) and “Research on China’s Monetary Policy and Transmission Mechanism” initiated by the Ministry of Education of China. He was also responsible for the key project “The Trend of China’s Mid-term and Long-term Economic Growth and Structure Changes” (2009) supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China. Professor Liu is also a member of the Theoretical Economics Section of the Disciplinary Appraisal Panels under the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, Vice Chair of the Steering Committee for Economics Teaching of the Ministry of Education of China and Vice Chair of Expert Committee on Discipline Development and Specialty Setup of the Ministry of Education of China. This lecture is available in both English and Chinese.

Contributor(s): Professor Liu Wei | China has built a relatively well-off society by the end of the 20th century, transforming from a low-income country to a lower-middle-income one. In the first decade of the 21st century, China has further elevated itself to an upper-middle-income country. Based on these achievements, the country sets its new goals for economic development: a sustainable economic growth to double its scale, a high-income economy with a higher per capita GDP, a transformation in the economic structure and an overall modernisation. Since China took its baby-steps toward an upper-middle-income economy in 2010 at a time when the government began to retreat from its growth-stimulating policies against the 2008 financial crisis, new features of China’s economic imbalance have emerged. The country now faces two risks: great pressure from inflation and a lack of demand to drive up the economy. Professor Liu Wei is executive vice president of Peking University in charge of humanities and social sciences, continuous education, sports and technology transfer at the university. He got his bachelor, master and Ph.D. degrees in economics at Peking University. Before the current position, he served as dean of School of Economics, assistant president and vice president of Peking University. He is also the chief editor of the academic journal Economic Science. His research interests include economic theories of socialism in political economics, economic transition theories in institutional economics, industrial structure evolution in development economics, and enterprise ownership. He was appointed as chief expert in the projects “Research on the Development of China’s Market Economy” (2003) and “Research on China’s Monetary Policy and Transmission Mechanism” initiated by the Ministry of Education of China. He was also responsible for the key project “The Trend of China’s Mid-term and Long-term Economic Growth and Structure Changes” (2009) supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China. Professor Liu is also a member of the Theoretical Economics Section of the Disciplinary Appraisal Panels under the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, Vice Chair of the Steering Committee for Economics Teaching of the Ministry of Education of China and Vice Chair of Expert Committee on Discipline Development and Specialty Setup of the Ministry of Education of China. This lecture is available in both English and Chinese.

Contributor(s): Professor Yongjin Zhang | Is there any significant international thought in antiquity beyond the West? If there is, what insights can it offer? Inspired by Martin Wight’s profound contributions to international relations so steeped in historical and philosophical depth, this lecture explores how order as a pivotal idea of international relations is deliberated in ancient Chinese political thought. It investigates how alternative visions of order in international relations are imagined and the ways in which the moral and political pursuit of order is conducted in the relations among states in Ancient China. In establishing a broad claim that ancient Chinese political and philosophical deliberations are rich in international thought, it will be argued that a Wightian exploration of ancient Chinese thought is integral in our quest for international theory today. Yongjin Zhang is professor of international politics at the University of Bristol and editor of International Orders in the Early Modern World: before the rise of the West.

Contributor(s): Professor Mike Savage , Professor Bev Skeggs | In his inaugural lecture, Professor Savage will unravel "the paradox of class": that overt class politics and consciousness decline as divisions become more entrenched. He draws on research from the BBC’s Great British Class Survey and the public reaction to its findings. Mike Savage is professor of sociology at LSE. Beverley Skeggs is head of the Department of Sociology at Goldsmiths, London. She is soon to be an ESRC professorial fellow working on A Sociology of Value and Values.

Contributor(s): Dr Rachel Cooper, Professor Eileen Munro, Professor Emily Simonoff | The classification, identification and treatment of mental illnesses in children raises particular challenges. For example, what are the appropriate criteria for diagnosing children with a mental disorder? How can we avoid the risk of stigmatisation that some children and their families experience? What are the risks of not identifying mental illness in children and how does it impact on their well-being, self-esteem, academic attainment and social development? Is it true that there is an increased tendency towards medicalizing certain behaviours that might once have been seen as normal (if challenging)? To what extent is it possible to predict which children will experience deficits in physical, psychological and social development due to problematic parenting, and what are the implications for public policy decision making? Rachel Cooper is senior lecturer in philosophy at Lancaster University. Eileen Munro is professor of social policy at LSE. Emily Simonoff is professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at King’s College London.

Contributor(s): Professor Michael Cox | It has become the truism of our age that power is fast ebbing away from a declining West to the East and the "rest". Some indeed predict that the 21st Century will either be Asian or dominated by the so-called BRICs. But how far has this process really gone? Michael Cox is founding co-director of LSE IDEAS and professor of International Relations at LSE.

Contributor(s): Professor Roberto Mangabeira Unger | The progressive left lacks the imagination to tackle the fundamental problems of society. Renowned social theorist Roberto Unger calls on fellow progressives in Britain to think beyond current institutional arrangements. Roberto Mangabeira Unger is the Roscoe Pound Professor of Law at Harvard University. He served as a minister in the Brazilian government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from 2007-2009. Jo Fidgen is a presenter and reporter on BBC radio. Previous editions of Analysis have focused on pornography, feminism and the new Swedish model. She studied philosophy at Oxford and political theory at the LSE.

Contributor(s): Dr Andrew Blick, Bernard Donoughue, Professor George Jones | Discreet, inconspicuous, prudent... the perfect Prime Ministerial aide should always be in the background, a low-profile figure unknown outside the Westminster bubble. When reality falls short of the ideal – as when Cameron’s head of communications Andy Coulson was arrested in connection with the News of the World phone hacking affair – the impact upon the Prime Minister can be drastic. However, for as long as there has been a Prime Minister, he or she has depended on the help of a cast of supporting actors who have courted acclaim and scandal in equal measure. At Power’s Elbow tells their story for the first time, uncovering the truth behind three centuries’ worth of Prime Ministers and their aides. Its subjects range from the early media-managers and election-fixers of Sir Robert Walpole, to the teams supporting the wartime premierships of David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, to the semi-official ‘Department of the Prime Minister’ established under Tony Blair. Packed with unusual characters, this is a fascinating peek at the power behind the political throne – the history of the most mysterious and misunderstood job in British politics. Andrew Blick is Lecturer in Politics and Contemporary History at the Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies, King’s College London. He has worked as an assistant in the Prime Minister’s Office and has written extensively about British Politics. George Jones has been Emeritus Professor of Government at LSE since 2003 and was Professor of Government between 1976 and 2003. He has written and edited a number of books on British government. Bernard Donoughue was a senior adviser to the Labour governments of 1974-79. He is a businessman and author and was created a life peer in 1985.

Contributor(s): Professor Roger Brownsword, Dr Sarah Edwards, Dr Sarah Richmond | The continuing development of brain imaging technologies is now bringing into reach the correlation of brain activity with psychological states and traits, such as personality traits, mental health vulnerabilities, (unconscious) preferences and desires, or truthfulness. At the same time, different groups, such as employers, advertisers, health insurers and the government, all have strong interests in the knowledge offered by the neurosciences. How concerned should we be about these developments, and how can we ensure the protection of our privacy and dignity? Roger Brownsword is professor of law at King’s College London. Sarah Edwards is senior lecturer in research ethics and governance in the Centre for Philosophy, Justice and health at University College London. Sarah Richmond is senior lecturer in philosophy at University College London.

Contributor(s): Professor Brendan Simms | If there is a fundamental truth of geopolitics, it is this: whoever controls the core of Europe controls the entire continent, and whoever controls all of Europe potentially dominates the world. Over the past five centuries, a rotating cast of kings and conquerors, presidents and dictators have set their sights on the European heartland, desperate to seize this pivotal area or at least prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. From Charles V and Napoleon to Bismarck and Cromwell, from Hitler and Stalin to Roosevelt, Gorbachev and the achitects of the European Union nearly all the key power players of modern history have staked their titanic visions on this vital swath of land. In Europe, Brendan Simms presents an authoritative account of the past half-millennium of European history, demonstrating how the battle for mastery there has shaped the modern world. Beginning in 1453, when the collapse of the Byzantine Empire laid Europe open to Ottoman incursion and prompted the attempted reform of the Holy Roman Empire, Simms leads readers through the epic struggle for the heart of Europe. Stretching from the Low Countries through Germany and into the North Italian plain, this relatively compact zone has historically been the richest and most productive on earth. For hundreds of years, its crucial strategic importance stoked a seemingly unending series of conflicts, from the English Civil War to the French Revolution to the appalling world wars of the 20th century. But when Europe is in harmony, Simms shows, the entire world benefits—a lesson that current leaders would do well to remember. A bold and compelling work by a renowned scholar, Europe integrates religion, politics, military strategy, and international relations to show how history—and the West itself—was forged in the crucible of Europe. Brendan Simms is professor of the history of international relations at the University of Cambridge.

Contributor(s): Michael Kumhof | Michael Kumhof will discuss his 2012 paper on the Chicago Plan, a radical reform plan for the banking industry that would eliminate banks’ power to create money. Based on proposals developed by members of the Chicago School in the US in the 1930s, Kumhof’s plan represents the most far-reaching and decisive proposal to eliminate the risks associated with fractional reserve banking. Michael Kumhof is deputy division chief of the Modelling Division at the IMF Research Department.

Contributor(s): Dr Carrie Friese, Professor Charis Thompson | The natural world is marked by an ever-increasing loss of varied habitats, species extinctions, and new kinds of dilemmas posed by global warming. At the same time, humans are working to actively shape this natural world through contemporary bioscience and biotechnology, as humans seek scientific solutions to environmental crisis. Cloned endangered animals in zoos sit at the apex of these trends. In her new book Carrie Friese argues that cloning technologies significantly affect our conceptualizations of and engagements with wildlife and nature. Carrie Friese is associate professor of sociology at LSE.

Contributor(s): Jesse Norman MP | Edmund Burke and Michael Oakeshott are often considered as the intellectual founding fathers of British conservatism. But in fact they disagree on some fundamental issues. What are those issues, and who is right? Jesse Norman is Member of Parliament for Hereford and South Herefordshire. His book Edmund Burke: Politician, Philosopher, Prophet has been recently published to wide acclaim. He was awarded Parliamentarian and Backbencher of the Year in 2012.

Contributor(s): Professor George Loewenstein | George Loewenstein is professor of economics and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. He received his PhD from Yale University in 1985 and has held positions at the University of Chicago, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Russell Sage Foundation and Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin.

Contributor(s): Eve Harris, Lloyd Bradley, Fatima Manji | This week’s Media Agenda Talk was about London’s identity and culture. Three panellists – Author Eve Harris, music critic Lloyd Bradley and Channel 4 Reporter Fatima Manji – presented their unique perspective on the city, stemming from their professional experience and their life as Londoners. Does London have a culture of its own, or should we be speaking of a culture of neighbourhoods? Do its inhabitants identify more as ‘Londoner’ than ‘British’? How accurately does the media represent the capital?

Contributor(s): Joaquín Almunia | The online world is of crucial importance to consumers and businesses. Its role in providing innovation and connectivity means that it can boost productivity and competitiveness across many sectors of the economy. The proper functioning of the internet therefore needs to be safeguarded by making sure that gatekeepers (such as search engines, operating systems, patent holders and network operators) do not abuse their position by preventing competitors from bringing innovative new products to the market. At the same time, there should be sufficient incentives for young companies to gain market share and get returns on their investment, which are often uncertain or short-lived due to the strong dynamics in the online environment. A burning question is why we observe so few European companies among the giants of the internet? Is it due to a different approach to antitrust enforcement? Does national fragmentation make it difficult to reach scale in Europe? Is it a lack of good ideas? Or the limited availability of funding? Joaquín Almunia is Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Competition (2010-2014). He graduated in Law and Economics at the University of Deusto (Bilbao) and completed postgraduate studies at L’École Practique des Hautes Études de Paris. Having worked as an economist at the Council Bureau of the Spanish Chambers of Commerce in Brussels, in 1976 he went on to become the Chief economist of the Spanish trade union, UGT. From 1979 to 2004 he served as a Member of the Spanish Parliament, in 1982 becoming Minister of Employment and Social Security, and in 1986, Minister of Public Administration. Joaquín Almunia served as leader of the Parliamentary Party from 1994 to 1997, preceding his appointment as leader of the Spanish Socialist Party from 1997 to 2000. In 2000 he stood as Socialist candidate for Prime Minister. A Member of the European Commission since April 2004 (previously as Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs from 2004 to 2010), he is the author of several books and numerous academic articles and press columns.

Contributor(s): Dr Ramachandra Guha | The life of Gandhi is one of the most remarkable and potent in the modern era – yet few know what shaped him in his formative years. Renowned historian and public intellectual, Ramachandra Guha, paints a vivid portrait of a man whose ideas were fundamentally shaped before his return to India in 1915. At the dawn of his international reputation, Guha explains how Gandhi was the sometimes unwilling leader in the midst of race and class, living in a world where he could develop the techniques that would undermine, and ultimately destroy, the British Empire. Dr Ramachandra Guha is author of Gandhi before India and was Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at LSE IDEAS for 2011-2012.

Contributor(s): Charles Shamas | In July the European Commission published "guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU from 2014 onwards." This step has been variously described as a 'political earthquake', a sanction targeting Israeli settlements and settlement policies, and a confrontational move to save the two-State solution and the Middle East Peace Process from final collapse. But what precisely is taking place and how did we get here? What are the likely political consequences? The presentation will outline the actual processes that have actually driven EU's production of these guidelines. In this light it will examine the role of the EU as a normative power striving to respect international law and comply with its own law while intensifying EU-Israel relations.

Contributor(s): Lionel Barber | After four successive crisis years, an economic recovery in Europe is within sight. The euro's survival - which was in question as recently as a year ago - appears assured. But the crisis remains chronic, if not fatal. Without further steps - closer economic integration and a banking union - the single currency will be at risk and the eurozone divided between northern creditors and southern debtors. And there are fresh signs that at the very least Greece, and possibly Ireland and Portugal, may need further rescue funds. But a break-up would be the worst option for all, including Germany. Financial Times editor Lionel Barber gives his views on the ongoing Eurozone crisis, the economic and political challenges ahead, and the future of the Euro. Lionel Barber has been editor of the Financial Times since November 2005.

Contributor(s): Professor Ali Mirsepassi | Why the "human sciences" have become the target of a major government crackdown in Iran today. This talk will focus thematically upon a specific conceptual shift. Today’s religious-reformist intellectuals articulating Iran’s contemporary mass movement for democracy draw their vision of change from the social sciences rather than philosophy, reflecting complex underlying conceptual-theoretical and organizational-practical shifts since the long struggle over independence and the future that shaped the twentieth century. In the 1950s a radical intellectual shift had taken place from a discourse of progress and science to a different discourse focusing on issues of authenticity, nativism or anti-Enlightenment. The Iranian reform movement, with its origins in the 2nd of Khordad Front, changed the terms of public discourse from the ideologically closed post-revolutionary worldview grounded in the Heideggerian philosophical concepts Bazghash be khish (return to roots/self) and Gharbzadegi (Westoxication) to an open-ended pragmatic politics dedicated to Weberian principles of asadi (liberty) and jam’eh-e madani (civil society) based on predictability of legal procedure (i.e. constitutionalism, citizenship and human rights) – a significant shift from ontology to pragmatics. Ali Mirsepassi is professor of Middle Eastern studies and sociology and director of the Iranian Studies Initiative at New York University, and Visiting Professor in the Department of Sociology at LSE during MT 2013.

Contributor(s): Michael Palin | The story of the making of Michael Palin’s BBC1 Brazil series, made up of Michael’s own reminiscences, with a slide show of Basil Pao’s accompanying photos. Michael Palin is a comedian, actor, writer and television presenter, one of the creators of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. A self-confessed dromomaniac (travel addict), he has travelled the globe making award-winning television series, books and audios including Around the World in 80 Days and Brazil. Between 2009 and 2012 Michael was President of the Royal Geographical Society.

Contributor(s): Professor Timothy Snyder | Marx and Engels tended to be romantics about East European liberation from imperial rule in the nineteenth century, but the period of nominally Marxist rule in the twentieth is one of oppression. The theorists imagined a revolution that would spread from Germany to the East, yet history brought a revolution that arose in Russia and then spread to the West. What can we say, today, about the theory and the practice? Was Marxism in any sense native to Eastern Europe? Timothy Snyder will discuss. Professor Timothy Snyder is Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at LSE IDEAS for 2013-2014.