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...
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
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29:24
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
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33:26
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.
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29:39
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
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33:55
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 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
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