LSE IQ podcast

London School of Economics and Political Science

4.7 (81)
COURSES
EVERY TWO MONTHS

LSE IQ is a monthly podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science in which we ask some of the smartest social scientists - and other experts - to answer intelligent questions about economics, politics or society. #LSEIQ

6 MAY

Is AI destroying the planet?

Contributor(s): Professor Nick Couldry, Dr Eugenie Dugoua, Ceara Carney | Artificial intelligence is transforming the world around us, offering increased productivity and promising to help tackle difficult problems like global warming. But behind the scenes, its environmental costs are mounting. From massive energy use to vast quantities of water required to cool data centres, AI’s footprint is growing fast. So, in an age of water scarcity and climate crisis, can we justify this technological boom? In this episode of LSE iQ, Anna Bevan asks: Is AI destroying the planet? She travels to a data centre in Slough to find out exactly how data centres work, and speaks to Nick Couldry, Professor of Media, Communications and Social Theory at LSE; Eugenie Dugoua, Assistant Professor in Environmental Economics at LSE; and Ceara Carney, an actor and climate activist. This episode explores the AI sustainability paradox: can AI be both a climate solution and a climate problem? And discusses surprising ways AI is being used for good, such as catching poachers in the Serengeti. Research Data Grab: The New Colonialism of Big Tech and How to Fight it, Nick Couldry and Ulises Mejias The Space of the World: can Human Solidarity Survive Social Media and What if it Can't? Nick Couldry Induced innovation, inventors and the energy transition, Eugenie Dugoua and Todd D. Gerarden Directed technological change and general purpose technologies: can AI accelerate clean energy innovation? Pia Andres, Eugenie Dugoua and Marion Dumas Could artificial intelligence deliver a green transition? Marion Dumas LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science. We’re keen to find out more about our audience so we can better tailor our content to suit your interests. With this in mind, we would be grateful if you could please take the time to fill out this short survey and share your feedback.

31 min
8 APR

How do we avoid falling for online scams?

Contributor(s): Dr Suleman Lazarus, Professor Andrew Murray, Lisa Mills, Nikki MacLeod | This episode of LSE iQ looks at how we can avoid falling for online scams. We think it couldn’t happen to us, but incidents of online fraud are escalating at an alarming rate, affecting all areas of our day-to-day lives, from social media and dating apps to banking and business. As AI deepfakes and impersonation tactics become more advanced, scammers are finding new ways to exploit us, leaving victims emotionally and financially devastated. In this episode Oliver Johnson talks to a victim of a devastating romance scam, he hears about what motivates some of the fraudsters and what legal protections we have in the battle against the scammers. Contributors: Dr Suleman Lazarus, Professor Andrew Murray, Lisa Mills, Nikki MacLeod Research: Fraud as Legitimate Retribution for Colonial Injustice, Dr Suleman Lazarus et al Examining fifty cases of convicted online romance fraud offenders Dr Suleman Lazarus et al Information Technology Law Professor Andrew Murray Rethinking the Jurisprudence of Cyberspace Professor Andrew Murray et al LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science. We’re keen to find out more about our audience so we can better tailor our content to suit your interests. With this in mind, we would be grateful if you could please take the time to fill out this short survey and share your feedback.

33 min
4 MAR

Are we in danger of losing our communities?

Contributor(s): Professor Shani Orgad, Dr Divya Srivastava, Dr Julia King, Dr Olivia Theocharides-Feldman | With the cost-of-living crisis leading to the closure of community spaces around the UK, and the pressures on urban development projects, this episode of LSE iQ asks, are we in danger of losing our communities? Speakers: Professor Shani Orgad, Dr Divya Srivastava , Dr Julia King, Dr Olivia Theocharides-Feldman Research links: “Listening in times of crisis: The value and limits of radio phone-in shows” by Shani Orgad, Divya Srivastava, and Diana Olaleye https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01634437241308729?af=R Making Space for Girls project, with Dr Julia King and Olivia Theocharides-Feldman https://www.lse.ac.uk/Cities/research/cities-space-and-society/Making-Space-For-Girls LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science. We’re keen to find out more about our audience so we can better tailor our content to suit your interests. With this in mind, we would be grateful if you could please take the time to fill out this short survey and share your feedback.

30 min
4 FEB

Do we need to drive?

Contributor(s): Dr Phillip Rode, Professor Rachel Aldred, Dr Chris Tennant, Indira Ray | This episode of LSE iQ looks at whether we should still be driving, whether public transport in cities has helped alleviate the need to drive and how driverless cars are still a distance away from really helping solve the issue of the number of cars on the road. Speakers: Dr Phillip Rode, Professor Rachel Aldred, Dr Chris Tennant and Indira Ray. LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science. We’re keen to find out more about our audience so we can better tailor our content to suit your interests. With this in mind, we would be grateful if you could please take the time to fill out this short survey and share your feedback.

29 min
7 JAN

Why are our rivers and seas polluted by sewage?

Contributor(s): Professor Gwyn Bevan, Dr Kate Bayliss, Jo Bateman | This episode of LSE iQ explores a national scandal: widespread illegal sewage dumping by our privatised water companies, and why they are all under criminal investigation. Speakers: Professor Gwyn Bevan, Dr Kate Bayliss, Jo Bateman Research links: How Did Britain Come to This? A century of systemic failures of governance by Gwyn Bevan: https://press.lse.ac.uk/site/books/m/10.31389/lsepress.hdb/ Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated: The persistence of neoliberalism in Britain by Kate Bayliss et al, European Journal of Social Theory: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13684310241241800 LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science. We’re keen to find out more about our audience so we can better tailor our content to suit your interests. With this in mind, we would be grateful if you could please take the time to fill out this short survey and share your feedback.

33 min
20/11/2024

Who owns outer space?

Contributor(s): Dr Helen Sharman, Dr Jill Stuart, Dr Dimitrios Stroikos | What kind of possibilities does this new space age bring—and what dangers should we be worried about? Can any nation seize possession of the moon? Could it be mined? Is there junk in space? And whatever happened to that flag that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted on the moon fifty five years ago? To find out more, Maayan Arad speaks to Dr Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut in space who flew aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz TM-12 in 1991. He also talks to Dr Jill Stuart, an expert in the politics, ethics and law of outer space exploration and exploitation and Visiting Fellow in LSE’s Department of Government, and Dr Dimitrios Stroikos, LSE Fellow in the Department of International Relations and Head of the Space Policy Programme at LSE IDEAS. Contributors Dr Helen Sharman, first British astronaut Dr Jill Stuart, Visiting Fellow at LSE’s Department of Government Dr Dimitrios Stroikos, LSE Fellow in the Department of International Relations at LSE and Head of the Space Policy Programme at LSE IDEAS. LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science. We’re keen to find out more about our audience so we can better tailor our content to suit your interests. With this in mind, we would be grateful if you could please take the time to fill out this short survey and share your feedback.

30 min
01/10/2024

What’s it like to win a Nobel Prize?

Contributor(s): Professor Esther Duflo, Elizabeth Lewis Channon, Khari Motayne, Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides | While there are always rumours about who might win a Nobel Prize every year, there is no short list for the globally revered academic awards. This means that winning one always comes as a complete surprise. In this episode of LSE iQ, we explore what it’s like to win the prestigious prize and how it changes your life. The Nobel Prizes were established in 1900 at the behest of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish Chemist, Inventor and Industrialist, known in particular for his invention of dynamite. In his will he stated that his fortune was to be used to reward those who have made the most significant contributions to humanity. The prizes would recognise achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. The prize for economics would come much later in 1968. The prizes are awarded in October every year. Sue Windebank and Charlotte Kelloway talk to two Nobel Laureates, Professor Esther Duflo and Sir Christopher Pissarides, as well as to the family of the first black person to win the Nobel Prize in Economics, Sir Arthur Lewis. Contributors Professor Esther Duflo Elizabeth Lewis Channon Khari Motayne Sir Christopher Pissarides Research Professor Esther Duflo published papers Sir Christopher Pissarides published papers Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour , Manchester School, by Sir W. Arthur Lewis The theory of economic growth, University Books, by Sir W. Arthur Lewis We’re keen to find out more about our audience so we can better tailor our content to suit your interests. With this in mind, we would be grateful if you could please take the time to fill out this short survey and share your feedback.

34 min
03/09/2024

How can we solve the gender pay gap?

Contributor(s): Nina Rousille, Camille Landais, Jane Garvey | This episode of LSE iQ explores whether gender pay gap reporting, pay transparency and tackling gender norms can reduce the gender pay gap. On average across the globe, for every pound earned by a man, a woman earns around 80 pence, according to a 2023 report from the United Nations. But despite huge advances in access to education, the labour market, and the introduction of the UK Equality Act of 2010, which guarantees equal pay for men and women doing equal work, those figures have pretty much remained the same for the past two decades. Still, the gender pay gap - the difference between the average earnings of men and women - endures. So, how can we solve it? Anna Bevan talks to broadcaster Jane Garvey about the impact of gender pay gap reporting and what happened to her after the BBC was forced to publish its gender pay gap report. She also speaks to Nina Rousille, the Executive Director of LSE’s Hub for Equal Representation and Assistant Professor of Economics at MIT, about the role of the Ask Gap and pay transparency, and Camille Landais, Professor of Economics at LSE about the Child Penalty. Research The Role of the Ask Gap in Gender Pay Inequality by Nina Rousille The Child Penalty by Camille Landais, Henrik Kleven and Gabriel Leite-Mariante, also displayed here Who has the power to address the child penalty globally? LSE Festival online exhibition LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science. We’re keen to find out more about our audience so we can better tailor our content to suit your interests. With this in mind, we would be grateful if you could please take the time to fill out this short survey and share your feedback.

29 min

See All (75)

4.7

out of 5

81 Ratings

Informative

20/09/2020

AlexJC18

Very accessible and thought provoking. Suitable for everyone, regardless of your knowledge and passion for economics.
Excellent

07/10/2019

Jayzaks

Essential listening for anyone interested in expert analysis of current issues.
Great stuff

18/04/2019

Older Listener 63

Wonderful listening and reflecting !!!
Insightful and accessible

09/01/2018

Dwo20

Academics and experts giving clear and thoughtful views. Good length with half hour episodes too.