

LSE: Public lectures and events
London School of Economics and Political Science
The London School of Economics and Political Science public events podcast series is a platform for thought, ideas and lively debate where you can hear from some of the world's leading thinkers. Listen to more than 200 new episodes every year.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 21, 2025 • 1h 1min
Reckoning with the past: truth-telling and the British Empire
Contributor(s): Kofi Mawuli Klu, Lidia Thorpe, Dr Imaobong Umoren | How can we reckon with the complex and painful legacies of the British Empire? What would it mean to create an international truth-telling commission, and why is this conversation so urgent today?
This event explores the vision for a Peoples' International Truth-Telling Commission on the British Empire - a platform to uncover historical injustices, amplify voices silenced by colonial histories, and challenge enduring inequalities. The Commission will foster dialogue and accountability that transcends national borders, acknowledging the shared but unequal impacts of empire on the Global South and North alike.

Jun 21, 2025 • 53min
The golden road
Contributor(s): William Dalrymple | How did ancient India transform the world and what lessons can we learn for the future? Historian and best-selling author William Dalrymple will be in conversation with Professor in Social Anthropology at LSE, Mukulika Banerjee.This recording contains strong language.

Jun 21, 2025 • 1h
The future of truth
Contributor(s): Professor Jason McKenzie Alexander, Professor Charlie Beckett, Hardeep Matharu | In a world of mass information, and misinformation, truth seems both easier and harder to find than ever before. As trust in traditional media erodes and social media blurs the line between fact and fiction, with authoritarian regimes weaponising disinformation and post-truth world leaders taking centre stage, how do we defend and promote knowledge, evidence and informed debate?

Jun 21, 2025 • 1h
Positive futures
Contributor(s): Roger Highfield, Suhair Khan, Isabel Losada, Professor Michael Muthukrishna | Where should we look for optimism about the future? Our final panel come together to share some of the ideas, innovations and discoveries that could shape the world to come for the better.

Jun 20, 2025 • 55min
Visions for the future with Lila Ibrahim
Contributor(s): Lila Ibrahim | Lila Ibrahim, Chief Operating Officer of Google DeepMind, is shaping the company's strategic operations and partnerships to drive innovation and impact. At this event, she will share her vision for the future and discuss the transformative potential of AI in the years ahead.

Jun 20, 2025 • 60min
Putting wellbeing and mental health at the heart of progress
Contributor(s): Professor Martin Knapp, Professor Lord Layard, Dr Laura Taylor | The panel explore how we can identify cost-effective policies to improve societal wellbeing — and why it will be key to shaping the future of the UK and beyond.

Jun 20, 2025 • 1h 1min
The future of US-China relations
Contributor(s): Professor G. John Ikenberry, Professor Rana Mitter, Professor Nathalie Tocci | Navigating the US-China relationship will be one of the great challenges of our time. It will impact everything from geopolitics to global growth to technological innovation. Can this pivotal international relationship be managed peacefully and productively, or are we heading toward a world of economic fracture, military rivalry, and multiple blocs?

Jun 19, 2025 • 1h 4min
Visions for the future with Anthony Scaramucci
Contributor(s): Anthony Scaramucci | Anthony Scaramucci, LSE alumnus and American financier and broadcaster, who briefly served as the White House Director of Communications, joins LSE's President Larry Kramer for a conversation about his visions for the future.
This recording contains strong language.

Jun 19, 2025 • 56min
Are universities still relevant?
Contributor(s): Dr Zhamilya Mukasheva, Dr. Aaron Reeves, Dr Boris Walbaum, Lord Willetts | Is a university education still worth the investment of rising tuition fees and time spent studying towards a degree rather than gaining valuable work experience?
Higher education around the world is undergoing a series of rapid transformations. The effects of AI and emerging technologies, the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on today’s job market, the complex global challenges requiring interdisciplinary attention, and the rise of campuses as the site of contestation around free speech have all led to many questioning both the form and function of contemporary universities.

Jun 19, 2025 • 54min
Reimagining the way we work
Contributor(s): Professor Nava Ashraf, Nick Dalton, Dr Daniel Susskind | As the world of work evolves, so do our expectations, values, and definitions of success. How can we adapt to new ways of working while staying connected to purpose and meaning?