In 2019, the UK became the first major economy to commit in law to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But seven years later, the world looks very different.

Since then, we've experienced a global pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, energy price shocks, US attacks on Iran, more energy price shocks, and growing political opposition to climate policies. As governments face competing priorities around economic growth, energy security and the cost of living, some are questioning whether net zero is still achievable, affordable or even necessary.

In this episode of LSE iQ, Anna Bevan asks: Should we still care about net zero? She speaks to Professor Anna Valero, from LSE’s Centre for Economic Growth and the Global School of Sustainability, about her surprising findings on the UK’s transition to net zero.

Bloomberg journalist Akshat Rathi explores how investment, technology and public policy can accelerate the move towards a low-carbon economy.

Professor Riccardo Crescenzi and Oliver Harman, from LSE’s Department of Economic Geography, discuss what an exploding toaster reveals about the manufacturing slogan “Made in Britain”, and what green global value chains mean for net zero.

Contributors:

Anna Valero

Akshat Rathi

Riccardo Crescenzi

Oliver Harman

Research

Innovation through crises: survey evidence on digital, AI and net zero innovation in the UK by Anna Valero

Innovation, growth and the transition to net zero emissions by Nicholas Stern and Anna Valero

Climate Capitalism by Ashat Rathi

Harnessing global value chains for regional development by Riccardo Crescenzi and Oliver Harman

Made in Britain or designed in Britain? What Port Talbot teaches us about the green economy by Riccardo Crescenzi and Oliver Harman

From stage-show stereotypes to life-changing treatment, this episode explores the science - and the myths - behind hypnosis and hypnotherapy. We uncover extraordinary stories of addiction recovery, pain relief, and everyday healing from a form of talking therapy that remains widely misunderstood.

Asking whether we should take hypnotherapy more seriously, Joanna Bale talks to LSE anthropologist Dr Nick Long, who spent 18 months researching hypnosis and hypnotherapy in Indonesia. There, hypnotic practices are woven into everyday life - used in classrooms, homes and communities to calm, encourage and connect. In the UK, by contrast, hypnotherapy remains marginalised and constrained by cultural suspicion, despite recognition from the NHS.

Joanna also speaks to Amanda Joy, who left the NHS to retrain as a hypnotherapist after witnessing hypnosis succeed in relieving pain where conventional medicine had failed. And Sarah Ibrahim shares a moving personal account of how hypnotherapy helped her break free from a cocaine addiction that had gripped her for two decades.

These powerful first-hand testimonies help to illuminate what hypnosis really is, what it might be capable of, and why we may be too quick to dismiss it.

Contributors

Nick Long

Amanda Joy

Sarah Ibrahim

Research

Suggestions of power: searching for efficacy in Indonesia’s hypnosis boom by Nick Long

Therapeutic aQompaniments: Walking together in hypnotherapy—and ethnography by Nick Long

🗓️ This year’s #LSEFestival, taking place from Monday 15 to Saturday 20 June 2026, will explore the impact of these global challenges, and how individuals, communities, organisations, corporations, and those with political power should be tackling them to save the planet!

Find out more info and browse the programme here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/Events/LSE-Festival/2026

The last two decades have seen significant growth in the relationship between China and the EU. Now, China is the EU’s biggest import and third-largest export partner. But this relationship is becoming increasingly one sided, with China’s industrial policy and economic protections making it increasingly difficult for Europe to sell its products there. And at the same time, there are fears that new high-value manufacturing competition from China could lead to deindustrialization in Europe, with Germany potentially most at risk. These challenges are further complicated by the unpredictability of the United States under the Trump administration and internal divides on China between EU member states.

To discuss these issues in March 2026 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Noah Barkin, a Senior Advisor at the Rhodium Group. His work focuses on Europe-China relations and transatlantic China policy.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata.

Further reading and resources

• Watching China in Europe. Weekly newsletter from Noah Barkin. https://www.gmfus.org/watching-china-europe

• Noah Barkin and Gregor Williams: “Germany’s ‘China Shock’ Revisited.” 2026. February 10, 2026. https://rhg.com/research/germanys-china-shock-revisited/.

• Germany between U.S. and China: Who is the better partner? – DW panel discussion – 26 February 2026. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-between-us-and-china-who-is-the-better-partner/video-76129759

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The Ballpark is ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey.

• Fill in our listener survey – it only takes a few minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1

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From the pets we love to the animals we rarely see, our relationship with non-human life is full of contradictions. In this episode, we explore what it really means to protect animals and whether welfare is enough, or if rights are the way forward.

Beginning with a simple question inspired by my own dog, Pip, this episode moves from the personal to the global. Through conversations with experts including Jeff Sebo, Jonathan Birch, Jo-Anne McArthur and Carrie Friese, we examine how ideas about sentience, law, and ethics are shaping the future of animal protection.

In this episode of LSE iQ, Mike Wilkerson asks: Should animals have rights?

Jonathan Birch, Director of the Jeremy Collier Centre, LSE

“What we need, I think, at minimum, is to see really egregiously cruel practices like dropping crabs and lobsters into pans of boiling water, banned in a really clear, unambiguous way.

I think there should be a first step to much more detailed, meaningful guidance on how to treat them.”

Jeff Sebo, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, NYU

“And if all we aspire to do is protect animal welfare and ensure humane, compassionate treatment of animals, then people will conveniently interpret that in ways that are compatible with ongoing exploitation of animals for food and research and other human purposes.”

Jo-Anne McArthur, Photographer, Founder of We Animals

“I see animal photojournalism as a piece of the puzzle. It's an essential contribution to what animal advocacy as a whole is doing.

We need to see. We need the law. We need the research. We need the grassroots. We need the people pounding the pavement, talking to people, educating people. We need the humane educators and and all of these are vital components.”

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 investment firm SkyBridge Capital, and has since become a prominent political commentator — including co‑hosting The Rest Is Politics: US podcast with the BBC’s Katty Kay.

How do we keep going when life delivers an unexpected blow? How do we protect our mental health, rebuild after setbacks, and strengthen our resilience reserves?

In this episode of LSE iQ, Sue Windebank asks: How can we be more resilient? She speaks to Anthony Scaramucci about what it takes to ‘bounce back’ after public failure. She also speaks to Dr Grace Lordan, economist and founding director of the Inclusion Initiative at LSE, and hears about key behavioural insights that can help build resilience — from managing our inner critic to taking practical steps that boost our capacity to recover and thrive.

Contributors

Grace Lordan

Anthony Scaramucci

Research

Think Big, Take small steps and build the future you want by Grace Lordan.

From Wall Street to the White House and back, The Scaramucci guide to unbreakable resilience by Anthony Scaramucci.

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 LSE iQ, Anna Bevan asks: Why are we having fewer children?

From a closed down primary school in South London to demographic shifts unfolding across the globe, this episode explores the profound social, economic and personal forces behind declining fertility.

Professor Berkay Ozcan explains how countries from Turkey to Chile have experienced some of the steepest drops in modern history, and why the timing of relationships, women’s careers, the economy and uncertainty about the future all play a role.

Professor Emily Jackson, an expert in law and reproductive rights, examines the limits of governmental policies - from baby bonuses to China’s new tax on condoms - and explains why restrictive reproductive laws often have unintended consequences.

Zoe Noble, the founder of We Are Childfree, discusses the growing global community of people choosing not to have children. She shares how one intrusive taxi ride helped spark a movement, and why blaming childfree women for falling birth rates misses the real issues.

Is a shrinking population a problem or simply part of the natural ebb and flow of society? And what would it take to create a world people want to bring children into?

Join us as we dig into the data, the politics and the personal choices behind one of the most important demographic stories of our time.

Contributors:

Berkay Ozcan, Emily Jackson and Zoe Noble

Associated research

The effects of unemployment on fertility (2021)

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 changing, and what it will take to ensure these shifts benefit everyone. He speaks to leading experts on job quality, AI, and remote work models that could reshape economies and communities worldwide.

Dr Kirsten Sehnbruch from LSE’s International Inequalities Institute explains why improving job quality - not just quantity - is essential for tackling global inequalities and creating fairer labour markets.

Professor Raj Choudhury from LSE’s Department of Management reveals how the ability to work from anywhere could reverse the ‘brain drain’ from smaller towns and rural regions.

Fabien Curto Millet, Chief Economist at Google, discusses how artificial intelligence is reshaping creativity, productivity, and the nature of work - and gives advice for graduates entering the workplace.

Together, they explore big questions about the future of work, from the rise of location flexible jobs to the impact of AI on human skills, innovation, and economic opportunity.

Contributors: Kirsten Sehnbruch, Raj Choudhury, Fabien Curto Millet.

Research links:

Https://prithwirajchoudhury.com/the-world-is-your-office/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/10/19/jobs-ai-skills-training/

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13504851.2022.2156460

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities/2024/09/17/why-the-flexicurity-model-of-the-labour-market-is-not-sustainable/

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 our critical infrastructure? Our national grid? Our water supply? Is the UK prepared?

Charlotte Kelloway meets former Director of Operations and Intelligence for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Nigel Inkster, who discusses when a cyber-attack could constitute a declaration of war.

She also talks to former Director Cyber in the Foreign Office and Associate Dean for Strategic Development at the LSE School of Public Policy Professor Alexander Evans about what the UK is doing defensively and offensively to prevent cyber-attacks.

Dr Lauren Sukin from Nuffield College at the University of Oxford explains why there is a lack of regulation in the cyberwar space and explores if depictions of cyberwar in the media are realistic.

Contributors: Professor Alexander Evans, Dr Lauren Sukin, Nigel Inkster

Research links:

Lauren Sukin: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220027231153580

Nigel Inkster: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Decoupling-Struggle-Technological-Supremacy/dp/1787383830

LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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 really mean for the future of work?

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.

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/

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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