Latest 300 | LSE Public lectures and events | Audio and pdf – Details, episodes & analysis

Speaker(s): Professor Danny Dorling | When we think of economic inequality we tend to think of a trend that is ever rising and destined to continue rising; that is far from inevitable. There are many statistics today that point at Britain being at a peak of inequality. However, having allowed the gaps between us to grow so wide has had dire implications for our health, housing, education, demography, politics and future. Danny Dorling highlights these and discusses what it will take to begin to descend from the peak of inequality. Danny Dorling (@dannydorling) is a Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oxford. He has also worked in Sheffield, Newcastle, Bristol, Leeds and New Zealand, went to university in Newcastle upon Tyne, and grew up in Oxford. He has published over forty books including many atlases and All That is Solid in 2014; Injustice: Why social inequalities still persist in 2015; A Better Politics: How government can make us happier in 2016; The Equality Effect in 2017; and Do We Need Economic Inequality? – in 2018. His latest book is Peak Inequality - Britain’s Ticking Time Bomb. Jonathan Hopkin (@jrhopkin) is Associate Professor of Comparative Politics, Department of Government, LSE.

Speaker(s): Jesse Norman MP | At a time when economics and politics are both increasingly polarized between left and right, this book, Adam Smith: What He Thought, and Why it Matters, which Jesse Norman will discuss at this event, returns to intellectual first principles to recreate the lost centre of public debate. It offers a Smithian analysis of contemporary markets, predatory capitalism and the 2008 financial crash; it addresses crucial issues of inequality, human dignity and exploitation; and it provides a compelling explanation of why Smith is central to any attempt to defend and renew the market system. Jesse Norman MP (@Jesse_Norman) studied at Oxford, before completing a Masters and PhD in Philosophy at University College London. Before entering politics, he ran an educational project in Communist Eastern Europe and was a Director at Barclays. He has also been an Honorary Fellow at UCL, a Governor of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, and a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. His previous books include a celebrated study of Edmund Burke. He currently serves as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Transport. Tim Besley is School Professor of Economics of Political Science and W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics in the Department of Economics at LSE. 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. The Centre For Macroeconomics (@CFMUK) brings together world-class experts to carry out pioneering research on the global economic crisis and to help design policies that alleviate it.

Speaker(s): Professor Simon Critchley, Dr Gerald Moore, Dr Emily Ryall | ‘All that I know most surely about morality and obligations, I owe to football’, observed Albert Camus. And it is football, above all other sports, that so many philosophers revere. So there’s everything to play for in this panel discussion exploring the relationship between football and philosophy. We give it 110% in our exploration of what makes for a ‘good game’ and whether philosophical principles can be put into play on the pitch. Simon Critchley is Han Jonas Professor of Philosophy, New School for Social Research, NY. Gerald Moore is Associate Professor of French, University of Durham. Emily Ryall is a Reader in Applied Philosophy, University of Gloucestershire. Shahidha Bari is a Fellow, the Forum; Senior Lecturer in Romanticism, Queen Mary University of London. The Forum for European Philosophy (@ForumPhilosophy) is an educational charity that organises a full and varied programme of philosophy and interdisciplinary events in the UK

Speaker(s): Liam Halligan, Dr Gerard Lyons | In their latest book Clean Brexit, which they will discuss at this event, Liam Halligan and Gerard Lyons offer a vision of how Britain, and the world, can make a great success of Brexit. If the negotiations go well, the UK could become an inspiration for voters elsewhere in Europe who have long demanded EU reform. Unashamedly optimistic about Britain’s future, they argue that leaving the EU provides an opportunity for the UK to re-invent its economy, while reclaiming our place as a premier global trading nation. Liam Halligan (@LiamHalligan) is a British economist, journalist and broadcaster. Gerard Lyons (@DrGerardLyons) is a leading UK and international economist and writer. Tony Travers is Director of the Institute of Public Affairs. This lecture is part of the LSE Programme on Brexit. The LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) is a centre for research and graduate teaching on the processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe. In the most recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) the Institute was ranked first for research in its sector. 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.

Speaker(s): Professor Helen Frowe, Issam Kourbaj, Vernon Rapley, Professor Eleanor Robson | From the recent destruction of Palmyra and the looting of the National Museum of Iraq, cultural artefacts are one of the many casualties of armed conflict. What exactly is cultural property and whose property is it? How should we weigh its value against other priorities during times of conflict? What risks should be taken to protect it, and who is responsible for rebuilding and restoring when the conflict is over? Our speakers discuss the political and ethical issues around culture in war zones. Helen Frowe is Professor of Practical Philosophy and Director of the Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace, Stockholm University. Issam Kourbaj is Lector in Art, University of Cambridge and a Syrian artist. Vernon Rapley is Director of Cultural Heritage Protection and Security, Victoria & Albert Museum and Special Advisor for Cultural Protection Fund, The British Council. Eleanor Robson is Professor of Ancient Middle Eastern History and Director of the Nahrein Network, UCL. Sarah Fine is Fellow, The Forum and Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, King’s College London. The Forum for European Philosophy (@ForumPhilosophy) is an educational charity that organises a full and varied programme of philosophy and interdisciplinary events in the UK.

Speaker(s): Shri Suresh Prabhu, Y K Sinha | Editor's note: We regret to inform you that owing to a technical problem the last few minutes of the lecture are missing from the podcast Shri Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Commerce and Industry, Government of India will in this lecture discuss the importance of trade and investment in driving sustainable growth and inclusion. He will also reflect on the future of India-UK collaborations in a changing world. Prior to his current role Dr Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) was Minister for Railways during November 2014 – September 2017. He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India; has a Law degree; and is pursuing two PhD programs in climate change and economics, in Germany and in Mumbai. Minister Prabhu is visiting London for a meeting of the India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee. He has been strategically leading the agenda for the future of multilateral trade at the recent WTO talks in Buenos Aires and beyond. Y K Sinha is the High Commissioner of India to the UK. Nicholas Stern (@lordstern1) is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government and Director of LSE India Observatory. The India Observatory (@LSE_IO), set up in 2006, is a Centre to develop and enhance research and programmes related to India's economy, politics and society. It is involved in public policy engagement in, and with, India and also works in collaboration with international partners for the generation and exchange of knowledge on India and its position in the world.

Speaker(s): Jeroen Dijsselbloem | In his lecture Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem will speak about the lessons learnt from the economic and financial crises, where we are now and about the challenges for the Eurozone in the future. Jeroen Dijsselbloem (@J_Dijsselbloem) is President of the Eurogroup and former Minister of Finance for the Netherlands. Kevin Featherstone is Head of the European Institute, LSE. The LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) is a centre for research and graduate teaching on the processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe. In the most recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) the Institute was ranked first for research in its sector.

Speaker(s): Dr Pablo Rodriguez | Innovation in most large companies these days is fairly incremental. There is nothing inherently wrong in this, as much of our progress as a society has resulted from such innovation. Over recent years, however, we are seeing a radical departure from incremental innovation. Instead, we look at organisations who intentionally set extremely ambitious innovation objectives, where incremental innovation cannot get the job done. The focus of this talk is to discuss the ways in which organisations mobilise resources to go after bold objectives which can move the needle: Moonshots. These are not incremental innovation activities, but instead multi-year missions that mobilise extensive scientific and technological resources to expand the horizons for both organizations and societies, and transform both in the process. From the original Apollo mission, the original IBM 360 mainframe computer, NASA, DARPA, Google X, or Telefonica´s new spinoff company — Alpha, more and more organizations are trying to inductively develop a coherent approach to creating and executing organisational moonshots. A major driving force to tackle Moonshots is the incredible advances in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. It is widely believed that global human progress depends on the collection and analysis of data to fuel our increasingly digital world. There is tangible benefit including economic opportunity to be gained. But arguably most important, is data as a force for global and impactful social good and, here, the possibilities are endless. Pablo Rodriguez (@pabloryr) is the CEO of Alpha. Prior to Alpha, Pablo led Telefonica´s corporate research lab and incubator. He has worked in several Silicon Valley startups and corporations including Inktomi, Microsoft Research and Bell-Labs. His current interests are privacy and personal data, re-thinking the Internet ecosystem and network economics. He has co-founded the Data Transparency Lab, an NGO to drive data privacy and transparency. He is on the advisory board of Akamai, EPFL, and IMDEA Networks. He has worked with chef Ferran Adria (El Bulli) on computational gastronomy and with F.C. Barcelona applying data science to soccer. He received his Ph.D. from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He is an IEEE Fellow and an ACM Fellow. Milan Vojnovic is Professor of Data Science with the Department of Statistics and the MSc in Data Science Programme Director. SEDS (@SEDS_LSE) is an interdisciplinary research unit established to foster the study of data science and new forms of data with a focus on its social, economic, and political aspects. SEDS aims to host, facilitate, and promote research in social and economic data science. SEDS is a collaboration between the Departments of Statistics, Methodology and Mathematics.

Speaker(s): Eimear McBride, Dr Kaye Mitchell | Is it possible to express the richness, variety, and depth of our inner experience, our thoughts and feelings? If so, what is the best way to do it? Should we turn to literature or to philosophy? And what can they teach each other about understanding, expressing, and performing the self? In this event, award-winning novelist Eimear McBride will discuss these questions with writer and academic Kaye Mitchell. Eimear McBride is an award-winning novelist, author of A Girl is a Half-formed Thing and The Lesser Bohemians. Kaye Mitchell is Senior Lecturer in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, University of Manchester. Danielle Sands (@DanielleCSands) is a Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture at Royal Holloway, University of London and a Forum for European Philosophy Fellow. The Forum for European Philosophy (@ForumPhilosophy) is an educational charity that organises a full and varied programme of philosophy and interdisciplinary events in the UK.

Speaker(s): Professor Arne Westad | Arne Westad and Michael Cox discuss the truly global nature of the Cold War, with East and West demanding absolute allegiance around the world. For over forty years the demands of the Cold War shaped the lives of millions of people worldwide, with countries as remote from each other as Korea, Angola, and Cuba defined by the conflict. For many nations, the war was not 'cold' at all and the second half of the 20th century offered no reprieve from horrors of world war. This conversation is based on Professor Westad's new book, The Cold War: A World History. Arne Westad (@OAWestad) is the S.T. Lee Professor of US-Asia Relations at Harvard University. Michael Cox is Director of LSE IDEAS and Emeritus Professor of International Relations at LSE. LSE IDEAS (@lseideas) is LSE's foreign policy think tank. We connect academic knowledge of diplomacy and strategy with the people who use it.