LSE Podcasts

In June 2022, the Phelan US Centre’s Chris Gilson spoke to Centre Affiliate Professor James Morrison about his new book, England's Cross of Gold Keynes, Churchill, and the Governance of Economic Beliefs (Cornell University Press, 2021). They also discussed the history of the gold standard in the UK, and what research on economic and monetary history can tell us about the current moment.

This Extra Inning was produced by Anderson Tan. ‘Take me out to the Ball game’ by Ranger and the “Re-Arrangers” used with permission.

Contributors: James Morrison (LSE International Relations); Chris Gilson (Phelan US Centre)

On 27 September 2022, The Phelan US Centre’s Chris Gilson and Mohid Malik spoke to Professor Rana Mitter of the University of Oxford about China’s changing national narrative. They also discussed nationalism in China and the ways China has engaged in revisionist history with regards to its conception of the current international order. This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson, Mohid Malik, and Anderson Tan.

Contributors: Professor Rana Mitter; (University of Oxford); Chris Gilson (Phelan US Centre); Mohid Rehman Malik (Phelan US Centre)

On 9 June 2022, The Phelan US Centre’s Chris Gilson and Mohid Malik spoke to Professor Mary Kaldor of the LSE about ways to reimagine a future European security framework.

They also discussed the importance of empowering the local civil society groups in Russia and Ukraine that oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson, Mohid Malik, and Emmanuel Olugbenga.

Contributors: Professor Mary Kaldor (London School of Economics); Chris Gilson (Phelan US Centre); Mohid Rehman Malik (Phelan US Centre)

Gaming has become a normal part of many people's everyday lives, from mobile to console games it is easier than ever to be a gamer. But how do online games affect us?

This month, LSE iQ asks: Can gaming make us happier? We talk about online abuse in gaming and the toxic nature of some gamers and how a location-based game like Pokémon Go gently nudges players to go outside to play and interact with others.

Mike Wilkerson talks to: Dr Aaron Cheng, Assistant Professor in LSE’s Department of Management; Michael Steranka, Product Director at the creators of the game Pokémon Go Niantic; and Joanna Ferreria an online blogger and avid gamer.

Research blog:

https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2022/d-Apr-22/Location-based-mobile-games-like-Pok%C3%A9mon-Go-may-help-alleviate-depression

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

By Ioana Puricel and Nick Muller

This episode builds on the previous theme by zooming in on the World Bank’s Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) score. The scoring is based on what the Bank considers to be ideal policies and institutional qualities that contribute to growth, poverty reduction and thus aid effectiveness. We discuss criticisms and reforms for the CPIA with two prominent development scholars: Erik Thorbecke and Yusi Ouyang.

Notes and references:

1. IEG (2009). The World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment: An IEG Evaluation

2. OECD (2020). External financing to Least Developed Countries (LDCs): where we stand

3. Thorbecke, Erik. and Ouyang, Yusi (2016). Is Sub-Saharan Africa Finally Catching up?

By Alyssa Scharpf, Ali Raja and Sanath Jaishankar

This episode addresses how the IMF conceptualises creditworthiness. We make the case that the IMF is allowing subjectivity within this, informed by ideological culture and geopolitical interests. Ultimately, this creates a self-reinforcing system of knowledge production, and leads to a loss of policy autonomy for African countries. The podcast concludes the IMF prescribes the ways in which developing countries fit into the global hierarchy.

Notes and references:

1. Bienefeld, Manfred. “Structural Adjustment: Debt Collection Device or Development Policy?” Review (Fernand Braudel Center), vol. 23, no. 4, 2000, pp. 533–82, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40241499. Accessed 9 May 2022.

2. Chwieroth, Jeffrey M. Capital Ideas the IMF and the Rise of Financial Liberalization. Princeton University Press, 2010.

3. Copelovitch, Mark S. The International Monetary Fund in the Global Economy: Banks, Bonds, and Bailouts. Cambridge University Press, 2010.

4. Dreher, Axel, and Nathan M. Jensen. “Independent Actor or Agent? an Empirical Analysis of the Impact of U.S. Interests on International Monetary Fund Conditions.” The Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 105–124., https://doi.org/10.1086/508311.

5. Gehring, Kai, and Valentin Lang. “Stigma or Cushion? IMF Programs and Sovereign Creditworthiness.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2018, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3169341.

6. Haque, Nadeem Ul, et al. “Rating the Raters of Country Creditworthiness.” Finance & Development, March 1997, International Monetary Fund, 1997.

7. Mkandawire, Thandika. “Disempowering New Democracies and the Persistence of Poverty.” Globalisation, Poverty and Conflict, 2004, pp. 117–153., https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-2858-x_8. Mkandawire, Thandika. “Lessons from the Social Policy and Development of South Korea: An Interrogation.” Learning from the South Korean Developmental Success, 2014, pp. 11–30., https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137339485_2.

8. Mkandawire, Thandika. “The Spread of Economic Doctrines and Policymaking in Postcolonial Africa.” African Studies Review, vol. 57, no. 1, 2014, pp. 171–198., https://doi.org/10.1017/asr.2014.12.

9. Mkandawire, Thandika. “Thinking about Developmental States in Africa.” Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 25, no. 3, 2001, pp. 289–313, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23600389. Accessed 9 May 2022.

10. Nelson, Stephen C. “Playing Favorites: How Shared Beliefs Shape the IMF's Lending Decisions.” International Organization, vol. 68, no. 2, 2014, pp. 297–328., https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020818313000477.

11. Stone, Randall W. Controlling Institutions International Organizations and the Global Economy. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

12. Stone, Randall W. “The Political Economy of IMF Lending in Africa.” American Political Science Review, vol. 98, no. 4, 2004, pp. 577–591., https://doi.org/10.1017/s000305540404136x.

13. Stone, Randall W. “The Scope of IMF Conditionality.” International Organization, vol. 62, no. 4, 2008, pp. 589–620., https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020818308080211.

14. Vygotsky, Lev S. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press, 1978.

15. “What Is the 'Gentleman's Agreement'?” Bretton Woods Project, 28 Oct. 2021, https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2019/07/what-is-the-gentlemans-agreement/.

16. Woods, Ngaire. The Globalizers: The IMF, the World Bank, and Their Borrowers. Cornell University Press, 2014.

This episode of LSE iQ asks, ‘How does class define us?’ It examines how we wear and reveal our social class in English society today. Do accents really matter? Is it enough to imitate one supposed ‘social betters’ to achieve social mobility? What cost is there to the individual who changes their social status?

Sue Windebank talks to an LSE Law student who reveals how she has overcome the challenges of being an asylum seeker and a care leaver to study law at the School. Professor Sam Friedman, a sociologist of class and inequality, discusses the arbitrariness of what is considered ‘high culture’. And economic historian Professor Neil Cummins reveals how class will probably determine who you marry.

Contributors

Professor Neil Cummins

Professor Sam Friedman

Sabrina Daniel

Research

Assortative Mating and the Industrial Revolution: England, 1754-2021, CEPR Discussion Paper by Gregory Clark and Neil Cummins.

(Not) bringing your whole self to work: The gendered experience of upward mobility in the UK Civil Service by Sam Friedman.

The Class Ceiling, Why it Pays to be Privileged by Sam Friedman and Daniel Laurison.

From Aristocratic to Ordinary: Shifting Modes of Elite Distinction, American Sociological Review by Sam Friedman and Aaron Reeves.

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

This podcast asked the question, what is considered legitimate knowledge within the development studies field? It explores the role of the 'Journal Impact Factor' in solidifying existing north-south hierarchies and how funding affects the kind of research produced. It discusses the role of CODESRIA and considers how language hierarchies and barriers shape who can speak about African countries within international academia.

Notes and references:

Hoffmann, Nimi. “The Knowledge Commons, Pan-Africanism, and Epistemic Inequality: A Study of CODESRIA.” Rhodes University; Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Social and Economic Research, 2018. https://commons.ru.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:27764?site_name=Rhodes%20University.

Okere, Theophilus. “Is There One Science, Western Science?” Africa Development 30, no. 3 (December 15, 2005). doi:10.4314/ad.v30i3.22227.

Sea levels are rising, carbon emissions are increasing and deforestation is continuing at an alarming rate. Human created climate change is drastically reshaping life on earth, with up to 75% of the diversity of the species on our planet on their way to becoming extinct.

This month, LSE iQ asks: How can we survive the next mass extinction? We’ll discuss the dangers of greenwashing, what it’s like to witness an environmental catastrophe and how we can change our behaviour to benefit the planet.

Anna Bevan talks to: Dr Ganga Shreedhar, Assistant Professor in LSE’s Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, and Associate at the Grantham Research Institute of Climate Change and the Environment and the Inclusion Initiative; and former BBC Science Editor, and now Visiting Professor in Practice at the Grantham Research Institute, David Shukman.

Contributors

Dr Ganga Shreedhar

David Shukman

Research

Stories of intentional action mobilise climate policy support and action intentions (2021) by

Sabherwal, Anandita and Shreedhar, Ganga

Personal or Planetary health? Direct, spillover and carryover effects of non-monetary benefits of vegetarian behaviour (2021) by Shreedhar, Ganga and Galizzi, Matteo

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

On 9 June 2022, The Phelan US Centre’s Chris Gilson and Mohid Malik spoke to Professor Ayse Zarakol of the University of Cambridge about the state of the Liberal International Order following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. They also discuss what the rise of non-Western powers that have not fully adhered to Liberal Internationalism suggests about the future of this American-led system. This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson, Mohid Malik, and Emmanuel Olugbenga.

Contributors: Professor Ayse Zarakol (University of Cambridge); Chris Gilson (Phelan US Centre); Mohid Rehman Malik (Phelan US Centre)