LSE: Public lectures and events

Join us for the launch of Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State, the new book by acclaimed author and LSE alumnus Michael Lewis.

What does it truly mean to achieve a sustainable future — and what kinds of change will get us there?

Since its origins, sociology has shaped—and been shaped by—multiple political traditions, including liberalism, radicalism, progressivism, and conservatism. This lecture examines the conservative tradition in sociology, a tradition central to yet insufficiently recognised within the discipline’s formation.

In the week before COP31, the annual platform for negotiating and advancing global action on climate change, this event will reflect on the state of national transition planning in 2026.

How do capitalist economies change over time? And what political consequences follow?

Barry Buzan is one of Europe’s most influential scholars of international relations, renowned for his interdisciplinary collaborations and for making complex ideas accessible to a wide audience. This panel discussion marks the launch of The Big Picture as an Approach to the Study of International Relations: Thinking With and Beyond Barry Buzan, and reflects on his intellectual legacy and enduring contribution to the discipline.

30 October 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review at the Royal Society by Prime Minister Tony Blair, Chancellor Gordon Brown and the Secretary of State for the Environment David Miliband, together with Nicholas Stern.

It is no secret that the alumni of Britain’s elite schools remain disproportionately represented in positions of power and influence. But what is it about these institutions that gives their students such a lasting advantage? This event marks the launch of An Elite Education: How Privilege is Produced in a Private School by Emma Taylor.

Two hundred and fifty years after the publication of The Wealth of Nations, Jeffrey D Sachs returns to one of Adam Smith's most striking claims: that "the discovery of America, and that of a passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope, are the two greatest and most important events recorded in the history of mankind." Drawing on new geospatial datasets, Professor Sachs argues that Smith's observation captures deep truths about long-term global economic change — truths that remain profoundly relevant for our own age.

Join us to celebrate Hilde Himmelweit as part of LSE’s 130th anniversary programme, honouring the life and legacy of Hilde Himmelweit (1918–1989), a pioneering refugee scholar and one of the very few women to hold a professorship at the School in its early history.