Contributor(s): Professor Sarah-Banet-Weiser, Dr Grace Lordan, Dr Shani Orgad | Welcome to LSE's award-winning podcast, LSE IQ, where we ask leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer an intelligent question about economics, politics or society. In this episode, Jess Winterstein asks ‘Is gender equality possible?' This episode features LSE's Sarah-Banet-Weiser, Grace Lordan and Shani Orgad, who examine issues of gender inequality in our culture, work and home lives. For further information about the podcast visit lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ

Contributor(s): Professor Hiroko Akiyama, Kath Scanlon, Dr Thijs Van Den Broek, Professor Alan Walker | Welcome to LSE IQ, a podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where we ask leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer an intelligent question about economics, politics or society. We are all getting older. Not just as individuals, but as societies – particularly in the developed world but middle income and developing countries are following on quickly behind us. In 1950 there were 14 million people over the age of 80 globally. In 2080 that number is expected to be 700 million. In Britain, a child born today will live for more than 90 years and more than 30 per cent will reach a hundred. Indeed, Michael Murphy, professor of demography at LSE, has said that perhaps the greatest achievement of humanity over the last century is the doubling of the amount of years a child could expect to live from birth. Given the extended lifespans many of us will live, in this episode of LSE IQ Sue Windebank asks, 'How can we age better?'. This episode features: Professor Hiroko Akiyama, University of Tokyo; Kath Scanlon, LSE London; Dr Thijs Van Den Broek, Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management; and Professor Alan Walker University of Sheffield. For further information about the podcast and all the related links visit lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSE.

Contributor(s): Professor Hiroko Akiyama, Kath Scanlon, Dr Thijs Van Den Broek, Professor Alan Walker | Welcome to LSE IQ, a podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where we ask leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer an intelligent question about economics, politics or society. We are all getting older. Not just as individuals, but as societies – particularly in the developed world but middle income and developing countries are following on quickly behind us. In 1950 there were 14 million people over the age of 80 globally. In 2080 that number is expected to be 700 million. In Britain, a child born today will live for more than 90 years and more than 30 per cent will reach a hundred. Indeed, Michael Murphy, professor of demography at LSE, has said that perhaps the greatest achievement of humanity over the last century is the doubling of the amount of years a child could expect to live from birth. Given the extended lifespans many of us will live, in this episode of LSE IQ Sue Windebank asks, 'How can we age better?'. This episode features: Professor Hiroko Akiyama, University of Tokyo; Kath Scanlon, LSE London; Dr Thijs Van Den Broek, Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management; and Professor Alan Walker University of Sheffield. For further information about the podcast and all the related links visit lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSE.

Contributor(s): Dr Brett Heasman, Paula Kiel, Brian D. Earp | Welcome to LSE's award-winning podcast, LSE IQ, where we ask leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer an intelligent question about economics, politics or society. No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. So wrote John Donne in 1624. Almost 400 years later, the value we place on relationships is more tangible than ever. In 2016, the British public voted the smartphone as the 21st century’s most important invention. From Facebook and WhatsApp to Tinder and Twitter, the modern world reflects our desire for friendships, relationships and professional networks. But does the modern world enhance or inhibit our ability to build and maintain meaningful relationships? Is society making us more facile and selfish? In this episode, James Rattee asks 'How does the modern world affect relationships?' – looking at how the digital realm is extending our relationships beyond death, whether drugs can improve our romantic relationships, and how we can all learn to become more empathetic. This episode features the following LSE academics: Dr Brett Heasman, LSE Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, Paula Kiel, LSE Department of Media and Communications and Brian D. Earp, The Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford. For further information about the podcast visit lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ.

Contributor(s): Dr Brett Heasman, Paula Kiel, Brian D. Earp | Welcome to LSE's award-winning podcast, LSE IQ, where we ask leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer an intelligent question about economics, politics or society. No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. So wrote John Donne in 1624. Almost 400 years later, the value we place on relationships is more tangible than ever. In 2016, the British public voted the smartphone as the 21st century’s most important invention. From Facebook and WhatsApp to Tinder and Twitter, the modern world reflects our desire for friendships, relationships and professional networks. But does the modern world enhance or inhibit our ability to build and maintain meaningful relationships? Is society making us more facile and selfish? In this episode, James Rattee asks 'How does the modern world affect relationships?' – looking at how the digital realm is extending our relationships beyond death, whether drugs can improve our romantic relationships, and how we can all learn to become more empathetic. This episode features the following LSE academics: Dr Brett Heasman, LSE Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, Paula Kiel, LSE Department of Media and Communications and Brian D. Earp, The Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford. For further information about the podcast visit lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ.

Contributor(s): Simon Hix, Marta Lorimer, Matthew Feldman, Sara Khan | Welcome to LSE's award-winning podcast, LSE IQ, where we ask leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer an intelligent question about economics, politics or society. In this episode, Joanna Bale asks 'Should we fear the rise of the far right?' She talks to LSE's Simon Hix and Marta Lorimer, as well as Matthew Feldman of the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right and Sara Khan, Britain’s first counter-extremism commissioner. For further information about the podcast visit lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ.

Contributor(s): Simon Hix, Marta Lorimer, Matthew Feldman, Sara Khan | Welcome to LSE's award-winning podcast, LSE IQ, where we ask leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer an intelligent question about economics, politics or society. In this episode, Joanna Bale asks 'Should we fear the rise of the far right?' She talks to LSE's Simon Hix and Marta Lorimer, as well as Matthew Feldman of the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right and Sara Khan, Britain’s first counter-extremism commissioner. For further information about the podcast visit lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ.

Contributor(s): Dr Rebecca Elliott, Professor Ian Gough, Dr Rodolfo Leyva | Welcome to LSE IQ, the monthly podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science. This is the podcast where we ask some of the leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer intelligent questions about economics, politics or society. For this LSE IQ we have something slightly different for you – an 'live' episode recorded in front of an audience at LSE at the beginning of November 2018. Economic growth has helped millions out of poverty. The jobs it creates mean rising incomes and consumers who buy more. This drives further growth and higher living standards, including better health and education. Yet WWF, the World Wildlife Fund, has recently warned that exploding human consumption is the driving force behind unprecedented planetary change, through increased demand for energy, land and water. Plastics and microplastics are filling our oceans and rivers and entering the food chain. The production of goods and services for household use is the most important cause of greenhouse gas emissions. The textile industry is responsible for depleting and polluting water resources and committing human rights abuses against its workers. It is also a major source of greenhouse gases, and three fifths of all clothing produced ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being made. For this episode of LSE IQ Jo Bale and Sue Windebank ask, 'Can we afford our consumer society?'. This episode features: Dr Rebecca Elliott, Assistant Professor, LSE’s Department of Sociology; Professor Ian Gough, Visiting Professor at LSE’s Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion and an Associate at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment; and Dr Rodolfo Leyva, LSE Fellow in LSE’s Department of Media Communications. For further information about the podcast visit lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ.

Contributor(s): Dr Rebecca Elliott, Professor Ian Gough, Dr Rodolfo Leyva | Welcome to LSE IQ, the monthly podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science. This is the podcast where we ask some of the leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer intelligent questions about economics, politics or society. For this LSE IQ we have something slightly different for you – an 'live' episode recorded in front of an audience at LSE at the beginning of November 2018. Economic growth has helped millions out of poverty. The jobs it creates mean rising incomes and consumers who buy more. This drives further growth and higher living standards, including better health and education. Yet WWF, the World Wildlife Fund, has recently warned that exploding human consumption is the driving force behind unprecedented planetary change, through increased demand for energy, land and water. Plastics and microplastics are filling our oceans and rivers and entering the food chain. The production of goods and services for household use is the most important cause of greenhouse gas emissions. The textile industry is responsible for depleting and polluting water resources and committing human rights abuses against its workers. It is also a major source of greenhouse gases, and three fifths of all clothing produced ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being made. For this episode of LSE IQ Jo Bale and Sue Windebank ask, 'Can we afford our consumer society?'. This episode features: Dr Rebecca Elliott, Assistant Professor, LSE’s Department of Sociology; Professor Ian Gough, Visiting Professor at LSE’s Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion and an Associate at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment; and Dr Rodolfo Leyva, LSE Fellow in LSE’s Department of Media Communications. For further information about the podcast visit lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ.

Contributor(s): Ayça Çubukçu, Armine Ishkanian, Chris Rossdale | Welcome to LSE IQ, the monthly podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science. This is the podcast where we ask some of the leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer intelligent questions about economics, politics or society. In 1832, Mary Smith presented the first women’s suffrage petition to Parliament. 86 years later, after a long and often violent campaign, the Representation of the People Act granted some women the vote. But although today the suffragettes are generally seen to have won their fight, the journey was far from smooth, and while all women in the UK may now have the vote, gender equality, political and otherwise, is still very far from achieved. As the suffragette story reveals, identifying an issue is the easy part. The journey to bring about the change you want, may be far harder. So can activism really change the world? This episode features Dr Ayça Çubukçu, Associate Professor in Human Rights in LSE’s Department of Sociology, Dr Armine Ishkanian is Associate Professor in LSE’s Department of Social Policy and Dr Chris Rossdale is both a Fellow in the Department of International Relations at LSE. For further information about the podcast visit lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ.