

LSE: The Ballpark
London School of Economics and Political Science
The Ballpark is the LSE Phelan US Centre's regular podcast on the politics and policy of the United States. Through features and interviews with academics from the LSE and elsewhere, The Ballpark looks more closely into what's going on behind the headlines.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 25, 2023 • 1h 6min
LSE: The Ballpark | Geopolitics and Democracy with Brian Burgoon and Peter Trubowitz
Contributor(s): Professor Peter Trubowitz, Professor Brian Burgoon, Chris Gilson | In May 2023, the Phelan US Centre’s Chris Gilson spoke to Brian Burgoon, Professor of International and Comparative Political Economy in the Department of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam, and Peter Trubowitz, Professor of International Relations, and Director of the Phelan US Centre at LSE and Associate Fellow at Chatham House, about their new book Geopolitics and Democracy, which will be published in July 2023 by Oxford University Press.In this Extra Inning podcast, they discuss the rise of anti-globalist forces which are against international cooperation and multilateralism, and how this connects to the decline of the welfare state and citizens’ perceptions about threats from abroad.This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson, and Anderson Tan.Contributors: Professor Peter Trubowitz (LSE Phelan US Centre), Professor Brian Burgoon (University of Amsterdam)

Jul 21, 2023 • 51min
Climate Change: America and the World – Episode 5: The Cost of Climate Change in America
Contributor(s): Mohid Rehman Malik, Dr Swenja Surminski, Dr Rebecca Elliott | This episode gives an overview of how climate change intersects with class in the United States and the rest of the world. Professor Rebecca Elliot (LSE Sociology) and Professor in Practice Swenja Surminski (LSE Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change) discuss how climate change and climate related hazards disproportionately affect those from low-income backgrounds in the US and globally.
This episode was produced by Mohid Malik, Anderson Tan, and Chris Gilson.
Contributors: Professor Rebecca Elliot (LSE Department of Sociology) and Professor in Practice Swenja Surminski (LSE Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change), Mohid Rehman Malik (Phelan US Centre)

Jun 30, 2023 • 52min
Climate Change: America and the World – Episode 4: Climate Change and Race
Contributor(s): Mohid Rehman Malik, Professor Laura Pulido, Jeremy Williams | In this episode we look at the different experiences of climate change in the United States from a racial perspective. We are joined by Centennial Professor Laura Pulido (LSE Department of Geography and Environment and Phelan US Centre) and Jeremy Williams (The Earthbound Report) to discuss how environmental racism manifests and how urban development has contributed to this problem. By discussing historical developments and contemporary policies, this episode looks to clarify the intersection between climate change and race.
This episode was produced by Mohid Malik, Anderson Tan, and Chris Gilson.
Contributors: Professor Laura Pulido (University of Oregon, LSE Department of Geography and Environment, LSE Phelan US Centre), Jeremy Williams, Mohid Rehman Malik (Phelan US Centre)

Jun 26, 2023 • 30min
LSE: The Ballpark | The defining global challenges of the coming decades with the Lloyd George Study Group
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Professor Peter Trubowitz, Professor Wu Xinbo, Professor Eghosa Emmanuel Osaghae, Dr Selina Ho, Professor Charles Kupchan, Professor Cornelia Woll, Professor Bahgat Korany, Dr C Raja Mohan, Dr Monica Herz | We live in turbulent times. Globalized challenges like climate change, pandemics, migration, and supply chain disruptions are rising in urgency. With these and other challenges in mind, in June 2023, Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the LSE Phelan US Centre convened the Lloyd George Study Group on Global Governance.
For this episode of the Ballpark, we asked each of the ten members of the Lloyd George Study Group on Global Governance one question: What do you take to be the defining global challenges of the coming decades? Their answers tell us a great deal about what global challenges we face, and how we might begin to tackle them.
This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.
Contributors: Wu Xinbo (Fudan University), Eghosa Emmanuel Osaghae (University of Ibadan, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs), Selina Ho (National University of Singapore), Peter Trubowitz (LSE Phelan US Centre), Charles Kupchan (Georgetown University), Cornelia Woll (Hertie School), Bahgat Korany (The American University in Cairo), C. Raja Mohan (Asia Society Policy Institute), Monica Herz (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro), Chris Gilson (Phelan US Centre).

Jun 12, 2023 • 24min
LSE: The Ballpark | The Confederate Diaspora with Professor Samuel Bazzi
Contributor(s): Samuel Bazzi, Mohid Rehman Malik, Chris Gilson | In March 2023, the Phelan US Centre’s Chris Gilson and Mohid Malik spoke to Samuel Bazzi, Associate Professor in the School of Global Policy and Strategy and the Department of Economics at the University of California, San Diego about his new research on The Confederate Diaspora. They discussed how white migration from the early American South soon after the Civil War helped to diffuse and entrench Confederate culture across the United States, holding back civil rights and economic equality for Black Americans, and how the diaspora continues to influence on contemporary American politics.
This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson, Mohid Malik, and Anderson Tan.

Jun 2, 2023 • 41min
LSE: The Ballpark | The Rise and Fall of the EAST with Professor Yasheng Huang
Contributor(s): Mohid Rehman Malik, Chris Gilson, Professor Yasheng Huang | In March 2023, the Phelan US Centre’s Chris Gilson and Mohid Malik spoke to Professor Yasheng Huang, Epoch Foundation professor of global economics and management at MIT’s Sloan School of Management about his new book, The Rise and Fall of the EAST, which will be published by Yale University Press in August 2023. They also discussed Chinese technological development over the last three decades, and the challenges China currently faces in developing and maintaining its talent and human capital to support innovation.
This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson, Mohid Malik, and Anderson Tan.

May 25, 2023 • 32min
LSE: The Ballpark | Waning Globalisation with Professor Pinelopi Goldberg
Contributor(s): Professor Pinelopi Goldberg, Chris Gilson, Mohid Rehman Malik | In March 2023, the Phelan US Centre’s Chris Gilson and Mohid Malik spoke to Professor Pinelopi Goldberg, Elihu Professor of Economics and Global Affairs and Affiliate of the Economic Growth Center at Yale University about her new book, The Unequal Effects of Globalization, which will be published by MIT Press in August 2023. They also discussed the rise of scepticism towards globalisation, the role of international institutions like the WTO, hyper-globalisation, and whether globalisation can be fair. This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson, Mohid Malik, and Anderson Tan.

May 18, 2023 • 44min
Climate Change: America and the World – Episode 3: Conflict and Security
Contributor(s): Mohid Rehman Malik, Professor Neta C. Crawford, Sherri Goodman | Professor Neta Crawford (University of Oxford) and Sherri Goodman (Wilson Centre) discuss how the American military can be implicated in making climate change worse through either direct conflict, or by its own carbon footprint. They also discuss how climate change induced natural disasters contribute to destabilisations that may eventually call upon military actions to address the problem. Do we need to change our understanding of security to include how the role of the military may make us more vulnerable to climate change?
This episode was produced by Mohid Malik, Anderson Tan, and Chris Gilson.
Contributors: Professor Neta Crawford (University of Oxford) and Sherri Goodman (Wilson Centre), Mohid Rehman Malik (Phelan US Centre)

May 12, 2023 • 44min
Climate Change: America and the World – Episode 2: Migration and Forced Movement
Contributor(s): Mohid Rehman Malik, Professor Susana Beatriz Adamo, Professor Sarah Bermeo | In this episode, we examine the interaction of climate change with migration. Through this lens, we explore America’s role in engaging with climate related forced movement in Latin America, and from Latin America to the US. Professor Sarah Bermeo (Duke University) and Professor Susana Beatriz Adamo (Columbia University) discuss the implications of climate change induced migration, including whether it is even possible to attribute this migration to climate change. This episode begins to uncover the deep-rooted, structural problems that need to be overcome to offer a robust solution to climate change migration, as well as the potential inadequacies of development aid to address climate change related issues in the developing world.
This episode was produced by Mohid Malik, Anderson Tan, and Chris Gilson.
Contributors: Professor Sarah Bermeo (Duke University), Professor Susana Beatriz Adamo (Columbia University), Mohid Rehman Malik (Phelan US Centre)

May 4, 2023 • 56min
Climate Change: America and the World – Episode 1: Climate Change and Global Responsibility
Contributor(s): Professor Kathryn Hochstetler, Christopher Callahan, Mohid Rehman Malik | What is the US’ role in the climate crisis, and can a climate change framework exist without addressing climate change reparations and the different experiences of climate change across the globe? In the first episode of Climate Change: America and the World, Professor Kathryn Hochstetler and Christopher Callahan discuss the experiences of climate change in the Global North and Global South. The discussion examines the role that international climate frameworks, including annual global COP summits, play in providing a venue for developing nations to voice their climate grievances, and whether financial compensation is needed to effectively address unequal climate damages.
This episode was produced by Mohid Malik, Anderson Tan, and Chris Gilson.
Contributors: Kathryn Hochstetler (LSE International Development); Christopher Callahan (Dartmouth College); Mohid Rehman Malik (Phelan US Centre)