logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
1h 26m

Power, freedom, and justice: rethinking ...

LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
About this episode
Contributor(s): Professor Mark Pennington | What are the implications of Michel Foucault’s critical social theories for how we think about freedom, power, and justice? Political economist Mark Pennington will address this question exploring themes from his forthcoming book Foucault and Liberal Political Economy: Power, Knowledge and Freedom. Pennington provi ... Show More
Up next
Jul 4
The end of the road
Contributor(s): Professor Alan Taylor | Join us for a special lecture by Alan Taylor, the newest member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, on monetary policy. He will discuss the natural rate of interest, also known as r*, including empirical estimates. He will a ... Show More
1h 8m
Jun 26
Global trends in climate litigation 2025: report launch
Contributor(s): Dr Danielle de Andrade Moreira, Kate Cook, Professor Michael Gerrard, Professor Jacqueline Peel, Dr Joana Setzer | This influential report provides an annual overview of key developments in climate litigation worldwide and identifies emerging trends shaping the fu ... Show More
1h 22m
Jun 21
The future of truth
Contributor(s): Professor Jason McKenzie Alexander, Professor Charlie Beckett, Hardeep Matharu | In a world of mass information, and misinformation, truth seems both easier and harder to find than ever before. As trust in traditional media erodes and social media blurs the line b ... Show More
1 h
Recommended Episodes
May 2024
Joseph E. Stiglitz, "The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society" (Norton, 2024)
In his latest book, The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society (W. W. Norton, 2024), Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz rethinks the nature of freedom and its relationship to capitalism. While many agree that freedom is good and we want more of it, we don’t agree about wh ... Show More
42m 15s
Apr 14
Whatever this is, it isn’t liberalism
What exactly is the basis for democracy? Arguably Iiberalism, the belief that the government serves the people, is the stone on which modern democracy was founded. That notion is so ingrained in the US that we often forget that America could be governed any other way. But politic ... Show More
57m 40s
Dec 2022
57: Machiavelli - Discourses on Livy
Introduction to Machiavelli’s political philosophy. We will consider Machiavelli’s legacy, and the enduring debate as to the significance of Machiavelli’s work. Is he strictly an amoralist, concerned with political power as solely a “force” to be considered in the scientific sens ... Show More
1h 42m
Oct 2024
Michael J. Thompson, "Descent of the Dialectic: Phronetic Criticism in an Age of Nihilism" (Routledge, 2024)
In Descent of the Dialectic: Phronetic Criticism in an Age of Nihilism (Routledge, 2024), Michael J. Thompson reconstructs the concept and practice of dialectics as a means of grounding a critical theory of society. At the center of this project is the thesis of phronetic critici ... Show More
1 h
Aug 2024
Oliver Traldi, "Political Beliefs: A Philosophical Introduction" (Routledge, 2024)
The idiom of contemporary politics is a kind of philosophical hodge-podge. While there’s plenty of talk about the traditional themes of freedom, justice, equality, and autonomy, there is also an increasing reliance on ideas like misinformation, bias, expertise, and propaganda. Th ... Show More
1h 10m
Oct 2024
Slavoj Žižek on chaos and the modern world - PART 3
Heaven in disorderWhat is the concept of 'the self'? How does it relate to how we understand freedom, democracy and ideology?Join Slavoj Zizek as he explores the ideas that underpin how we understand the world. Slavoj is a Slovenian Marxist-Lacanian philosopher and author, known ... Show More
23m 42s
Oct 2024
Exploring Political Theory: Liberal Socialism
Professor and author Matt McManus returns to the show to discuss his newest book, "The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism". Together they explore the major themes of the book, hash out the disagreements they have between revolutionary Marxism and democratic socialism, explore ... Show More
2h 11m
Oct 2021
The Social Contract - History of a Big Idea: Melissa Lane
The Social Contract The state of nature is a human condition that exists in any space that lacks a civil authority. With the social contract, we're prepared to make a deal with each other in order to live together as best we can and exit the state of nature. Philosophers such as ... Show More
42m 34s
Apr 6
Marxism 101: Intro to Historical Materialism (and the Necessity of Socialism)
In this lecture, Breht provides an accessible but rigorous introduction to the Marxist theory of history: historical materialism. Breht explains how historical materialism is dialectical materialism applied to the evolution of human societies over time, the role that the base-sup ... Show More
1h 10m
Sep 2024
J. C. D. Clark, "The Enlightenment: An Idea and Its History" (Oxford UP, 2024)
Enlightenment studies are currently in a state of flux, with unresolved arguments among its adherents about its dates, its locations, and the contents of the 'movement'. This book cuts the Gordian knot. There are many books claiming to explain the Enlightenment, but most assume t ... Show More
31m 40s