LSE: Public lectures and events

248
Courses #94

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.

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Recent Reviews
  • Ochtapas
    PLEASE FIX THE AUDIO
    This used to be my favorite podcast and it’s now become almost unbearable. The sound has never been great - poor use of mics I assume - but now there seems to be some machine being picked up by the mics or perhaps ungrounded mic cables causing an extremely distracting noise on every podcast I’ve tried to listen to lately. Listen to the Blood and Power episode, for example. Come on LSE, I know you don’t have Hollywood budgets but you must be able to sort out a few proper mics and a sound engineer intern to help you set them up.
  • Andret6
    Hit and miss but the good long lectures are so good
    Don’t care for the short casts , but man when the good longer lectures are good they are next level still talk about em 5 years later good.
  • iPaloAltan
    Great source of information
    Amazing spectrum of topics, excellent speakers, and well-organized discussions. While UK-centric issues may not be of common interest (also quite overlapping Covid-19 ones), single-speaker talks are breathtaking as they are mostly touching global issues. Also, I find some panel talks a little West-EU inbred and narrow-scoped from the same-same-but-different minded speakers with too much conformity and no contrast (e.g., latest Ancient Greek Philosophy Episode). Overall, I strongly recommend it.
  • Slanebrain
    Uneven Excelence
    The good podcasts are stratospheric but I’m afraid that the others . . . .
  • SlipperySnake321
    Engaging Thoughtful Content
    Access to thoughtful experts, great questions, and overall a great learning opportunity. Thank you!
  • Em38562
    Worst sound quality ever.
    Very interesting subject matter that is largely overlooked because the sound quality is so poor.
  • DarkKnight47
    Economists Unite!
    Great public lectures on current events. If you are tired of the same old media nonsense. This is the place to hear cogent analysis! Take a listen and hear facts and opinion that doesn’t burn your brain or appeal to your inherent cognitive bias. Guaranteed to make you think.
  • 8Hannah
    Thankful
    These podcasts bless me. Despite some lecturers being misguided idiots, most bring stimulating, intellectual ideas to the table.
  • clinappsman
    Few others have better content
    Sifting through 'clever banter' podcasts, the LSE is an oasis of content. Literally World-Class speakers and the number of them makes me wonder how they organize so many. Comments about audio quality dumbfound me- I would listen to these speakers through a gramophone. Thank you, LSE, for making this available to the rest of the world.
  • mllejae
    Please improve quality
    Great content, but audio quality is terrible. Some parts are downright inaudible.
  • tastytomato
    Better titles
    Excellent series! iPod only captures 1st 3 words so could you include speaker last name, then a colon with the subject when you title?
  • LSS3
    Please Reduce the Number of Programs in the Feed
    There are so many programs that my podcast app can't handle the feed. I had to unsubscribe.
  • Egomet Bonmot
    Best podcast ever!
    Could LSE please word its lecture titles to be read on an iPhone? We only see the first three words on iTunes/iPhone & therefore can't tell one lecture from another. Thanks much!
  • Rex.grove
    Incredible!
    What an incredible opportunity for fans of social theory to stay current with the best scholars in the world. Thanks!!
  • Listener Erik
    Many eye-opening, mind-expanding lectures by a great variety of speakers from around the world
    I am so glad LSE's live lectures and events podcasts are back!
  • Jacob Borth
    Fantastic.
    Please keep them coming.
  • Ocgene
    Best companion during my 2 HR drive in LA
    Everyday during my drive to UCLA, these podcasts and the ones from Stanford are my best companions. Without these, I have to listen to polarizing talk show hosts who transmit 1/100th of useful information. Most if the audios are of good quality, but some are pretty bad, may be the speaker turns away from the microphone. Hope LSE uses wireless microphones attached to the speakers.
  • caveat-emptor
    Invaluable resource
    It's very much to LSE's credit that they go to the effort of posting these lectures in podcast form. It sounds like most of them are public, but as others have pointed out, that doesn't mean the lecturers treat anyone like they're stupid or gullible. Speakers of all political stripe are represented, from a prominent Tory advisor to Slavoj Zizek, and overall, the lecturers are well-prepared and expect difficult questions from the audience. Very occasionally there are lecturers who have typed out a speech which they just read, which can make them a little tedious ("Secularisms in Crisis" was an unfortunate victim of this phenomenon). While currents of thought shift with time, LSE's lectures are posted often enough to keep up with events. This in combination with the high quality of the speakers makes these lectures an outstanding and invaluable resource to sift through, whether out of professional interest, or as a thoughtful bystander.
  • Yngveld
    Serious brain food
    It is true that some of the lectures have poor sound quality, but the intellectual content is fabulous. These are subject matter experts (in the best sense of the term) talking to a post-graduate or higher audience. There is no talking down, no mealy-mouthed populism, and nobody tries to get away with unsupported slogans.
  • thinkdriver8
    good content, poor quality
    this can be a great listen on the commute to work. after a dozen or so, the content and speakers tend to be quite good but the audio quality is often mediocre to awful. it usually sounds like someone in the front row is holding a tape recorder, rather than using a line-level recording. speakers often walk away from the microphone, and questions from the audience are inaudible. Such distractions otherwise detract from good speakers and fascinating information.
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