LSE Podcasts

The last decade has seen a period of prolonged competition between the US and China with China continuing to grow economically and pursue technological self-reliance while the US attempts to hinder this growth through measures like export controls. In this episode of The Ballpark, we speak with Dr Yu Jie, Senior research fellow on China with Chatham House. She argues that this relationship has led...

Donald Trump’s first presidential term meant that many allies, including in the EU and Europe, were forced to consider the possibility that the United States could no longer be a reliable partner in global affairs. With Trump’s return to the White House last year and the resurgence of his “America First” agenda, Europe has had to return to that way of thinking as it reconsiders its own economic an...

We’ve all had rough days at work. But none of us have been fired by a sitting President after just 11 days in the job. That’s what happened to American financier and LSE alumnus Anthony Scaramucci, whose brief and explosive stint as White House Communications Director in 2017 became global news. But instead of letting the experience define him, Anthony rebuilt his career, returned to his investmen...

To talk about Donald Trump’s foreign policy, in February 2026 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Walter Russell Mead, the Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship at the Hudson Institute, the Alexander Hamilton Professor of Strategy and Statecraft with the Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida, and the “Global View” columnist at th...

From the rise of Donald Trump in the US, Brexit in the United Kingdom and Victor Orban in Hungary and National Rally in France, anti-system populists have seen a resurgence in many western democracies in the last decade. In his new book, “After the Fall: From the End of History to the Crisis of Democracy, How Politicians Broke Our World” Professor Ian Shapiro of Yale University and Visiting Profes...

From China’s growing influence in Europe to deepening Russia–China cooperation and the ripple effects of Trump’s America First policies, Eurasia has emerged as a single, highly contested geopolitical space. These shifts are forcing countries — including India — to rethink old assumptions about alliances, security, and the global balance of power. To discuss these issues, in November 2025 the Phela...

Fertility rates are at record lows around the world, reshaping communities and even forcing some schools to close. In 1950, the global average was around five live births per woman. Today, that number has more than halved to 2.2, and in England and Wales, it’s closer to 1.4. The UK’s falling birth rate reflects what the United Nations has described as ‘a global fertility slump’. In this episode of...

Understanding China’s role in the world has never been more important — or more complex. China projects itself variously as a moral global actor, a fiercely defensive power guarding its core interests, and a pragmatic, opportunistic player driven by economic incentives. At the same time, policymakers in the West interpret China through competing stories — from historical cycles and ideological cla...

America is undergoing profound change. Demographic transformation, shifting global power dynamics, and a foreign policy establishment in transition are reshaping how the United States sees itself—and how the world responds. These shifts raise fundamental questions: What does a more diverse America mean for its global role? As new voices emerge, how do longstanding foreign policy elites adapt, or w...

What does the future of work really look like?  Many workers today face unstable contracts, insecure employment, and widening inequalities. Yet, at the same time, rapid technological change and advances in AI are transforming productivity, reducing repetitive tasks, and opening new possibilities for creativity and flexible working. In this episode of LSE iQ, Maayan Arad explores how work is changi...

To talk about the current state of US-China relations, in October 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Scott Kennedy, Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and a leading authority on Chinese economic policy and US-China commercial relations. The discussion conversation covered the October 2025 deal between US preside...

Recent years have seen growth in the capability and use of AI tools across society, including by business, academia, the media, and in the economy more widely. Many institutions have embraced AI tools and models such as ChatGPT (OpenAI) and Gemini (Google) to provide solutions to a variety of challenges, from the everyday to the global. At the same time, many commentators have expressed concerns a...

The last 40 years have seen a sharp decline in America’s manufacturing industries with growing joblessness in many previously prosperous industrial regions of the US. But how and why did these job losses happen, and how did the US move from an economy based on manufacturing to one that’s now based on services? And what can be done to help workers affected by technological disruption in what are ca...

This year LSE is celebrating its 130th anniversary, and how it has shaped history and driven change across the world. Much of LSE’s history is linked to the United States, from philanthropic support from the US in LSE’s early days to famous alumni and American directors of the School. To talk about the LSE’s long and close relationship with the United States, in October 2025, the Phelan US Centre...

Since returning to the White House for his second term in January 2025, Donald Trump has renewed his “America First” agenda by pursing a transactional approach to diplomacy and a desire to limit the US’ involvement overseas. This in turn is remoulding the global order. To discuss Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and the US’ place in the changing world order, in October 2025 the Phelan...

It seems every week we hear a new report of a cyber-attack. Recent examples include the hacks on Marks and Spencer's, Jaguar Land Rover, and the Co-op, all causing massive economic disruption. While these attacks seem to have come from cyber criminals working within the UK rather than other nation states, they highlight the destruction that cyber-attacks can wreak. What if those attacks were on ou...

As long as there has been photographic and video imagery, there have been manipulated videos and photos. But only in the last decade or so have the public become aware of what are known as “deepfakes”, computer or AI generated fake images, often of celebrities. The spread of deepfake imagery raises questions about truth and authenticity online – can we still trust what we see on screen? To discuss...

The last three decades have seen China’s economic rise. Alongside this, China has become much more influential on the global stage, emerging as a competitor to the United States in many arenas, including as a technology and innovation leader. China has accomplished all this while continuing to be an authoritarian state, which is at odds with many conventional ideas about the relationship between a...

Will artificial intelligence cause huge unemployment? Will it free us from working? Will it replace us? In this special edition of LSE iQ, Sophie Mallett sits down with Professor Judy Wajcman, LSE’s Emeritus Professor of Sociology and one of the world’s leading voices on technology and society. Together, they explore one of the biggest questions of our time: what does artificial intelligence reall...

In August 2025, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization held its 25th annual summit in Tianjin, China, with the country’s leader Xi Jinping, hosting representatives from more than 20 countries including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Narendra Modi. The absence of the United States in this gathering of global leaders may tell us about how China is competing with the US and building its own globa...

To talk about social media and politics, and how AI can help spread – or tackle – disinformation, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Josephine Lukito, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism and Media. Her research specializes in malicious political language in the public sphere, focusing on cross-platform flows of messages and frames about global economic and...

The LSE Phelan US Centre's regular podcast, The Ballpark, will be 10 years old in 2026. Ahead of our anniversary, and after more than 140 episodes speaking to academic experts on topics from across the social sciences, we'd like to find out what you think about the podcast with a listener survey. It only takes 10-15 minutes, and you'll have the chance to enter a prize draw to win £250 in vouchers....

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 continue...

AI is now increasingly playing a role in many parts of our lives, and the workplace is no exception. AI is now being used by employers to help them to recruit new staff and by jobseekers in their applications. But AI is also now present when we work. It’s used by employers to manage their employees, from monitoring what they are doing during the day, to what they post on social media. To talk abou...

AI has legal consequences. Who is responsible when AI makes a mistake which causes harm or financial loss? What role does government regulation play, and do we need to revise our legal frameworks in the face of increasingly capable AI? To talk about these issues, in July 2025, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Anat Lior, an assistant professor at Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law. H...