Contributor(s): Professor Judy Wajcman | In this wide-ranging conversation, Judy shares what really saves people time, talks about the fear of job replacement, and warns of the dangers of letting the most powerful tech companies design the future
From Silicon Valley boardrooms to everyday lives, Judy challenges us to think differently about progress, productivity, and what we truly value as work.
Contributors: Judy Wacjman
Research links:
From connection to optimisation
How Silicon Valley sets time
Feminism confronts AI: the gender relations of digitalisation
LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Take the listener survey for the LSE Phelan US Centre’s podcast, The Ballpark and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers!
The LSE Phelan US Centre’s podcast, The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and they want to hear from you to make their podcast even better. Their survey only takes 10-15 minutes, and you'll have the chance to enter a prize draw to win £250 in vouchers.
The Ballpark brings academic commentary to a wide audience, including to students, policymakers and a global community of academics. Recent highlights include The US’ changing relationship with NATO and Europe with Dr Celeste Wallander and an ongoing mini-series on AI and the US covering topics including AI and the workplace and the US-China AI race.
Fill in the listener survey – it only takes 10-15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1
Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025
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21:43
Do we need to pay our debts?
Contributor(s): Dr Joseph Spooner, Sara Williams | Exploring the reasons people might find themselves with problematic levels of debt, the options open to those in financial trouble and how bankruptcy laws could be used more impactfully to the benefit of both individuals and society; this month we revisit an episode from 2023 which asks, “Do we always need to pay our debts?”
It's a question that has come back into focus recently as the UK continues to grapple with elevated interest rates and the lingering effects of inflation, putting increasing pressure on household budgets and reigniting debates around debt and repayment.
Jess Winterstein talks to: Dr Joseph Spooner, Associate Professor in the LSE Law School and author of Bankruptcy: the case for relief in an economy of debt, and Sara Williams, founder of debt advisory website Debt Camel. https://debtcamel.co.uk/
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28:34
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28:34
How is the far right shaping our future?
Contributor(s): Professor Tim Bale, Dr Marta Lorimer, Dr Michael Vaughan, Imam Adam Kelwick | How is the far right shaping our future?
Across the world, far right ideas, once confined to the political fringe, have entered the mainstream. They spread through social media feeds and dominate tabloid headlines. Many fear they’re transforming politics, threatening democracy and tearing at the fabric of society.
Joanna Bale meets Imam Adam Kelwick, whose Liverpool mosque was surrounded by an angry mob after the murders of three young girls in nearby Southport. He tells an extraordinary story of bravery and reconciliation. She also talks to Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, about the booming popularity of Nigel Farage. Marta Lorimer, Visiting Fellow at LSE’s European Institute and Lecturer in Politics at Cardiff University, discusses how millions are voting for far right parties across Europe. And Michael Vaughan, Research Fellow at LSE’s International Inequalities Institute, dissects Elon Musk’s far right political agenda.
Contributors: Professor Tim Bale, Imam Adam Kelwick, Dr Marta Lorimer, Dr Michael Vaughan.
Research links:
Tim Bale: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0263395718754718
https://theloop.ecpr.eu/why-we-need-to-halt-hard-right-in-its-tracks/
https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/reform-members
Marta Lorimer: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/europe-as-ideological-resource-9780198892366?cc=gb&lang=en&
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00323217251346639
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nana.13001
Michael Vaughan: https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/22639
LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science.
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32:46
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.
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31:17
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.
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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