Welcome to the 5th episode of the second "Making Sense of EU" season! As with the season's other episodes, this one is also dedicated to the RED-SPINEL (https://redspinel.iee-ulb.eu/) research project, and its analysis of the challenges facing liberal democracy across the European Union.In this episode, we talk to professors Ramona Coman and Zolt Enyedi, as they share with us some of the initial findings and questions of their respective Horizon Europe-funded collective research projects, respectively RED-SPINEL and AUTHLIB.Zolte Enyedi, who leads the AUTHLIB (https://www.authlib.eu/) project, is a professor at the Department of Political Science of the Central European University. He studied comparative social sciences, history, sociology, and political science in Budapest and Amsterdam. His research focuses on party politics, comparative government, church-and-state relations, and political psychology. Ramona Coman, who leads the RED-SPINEL (https://redspinel.iee-ulb.eu/) project, is a professor of political science at the Université libre de Bruxelles and a visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges. She is also a former director and president of the Institut etudes européennes and she studied political science, comparative politics, and European studies in Brussels. Her research interests include EU institutions, the EU decision-making process, the Rule of Law, democratic transitions, and comparative politics.Throughout the episode, both Principal Investigators generously share how they came to set up their respective research agendas, and what the projects have allowed for so far.Overall, this is a particularly timely episode as it comes in the run-up to the June European election, and it explores among others how research imperatives and agendas intersect with political ones.

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Making sense of EU - Collective Research on Democracies in the run-up to the European elections

This bonus episode consists in a recording of an authorial roundtable held at University College London on the 16th June 2025. Entitled ‘Literature in the Age of the Self’, it brought together three highly acclaimed contemporary writers whose work evinces a marked preoccupation with the experience and the representation of the self. In this conversation chaired by Scarlett and Alice, Rachel Cusk, Brian Dillon, and Vidyan Ravinthiran discuss the self in connection with notions of style, character, and time. They also reflect on the relations between creative and academic writing, between literature and other arts, and on the status of the self in the age of AI and social media.

Literature in the Age of the Self

AI has legal consequences. Who is responsible when AI makes a mistake which causes harm or financial loss? What role does government regulation play, and do we need to revise our legal frameworks in the face of increasingly capable AI?

To talk about these issues, in July 2025, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Anat Lior, an assistant professor at Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law. Her research interests include AI governance and liability, quantum computing policy, the intersection of insurance and emerging technologies, and intellectual property law.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.  

Further reading and resources

•	Lior, Anat, AI Entities as AI Agents: Artificial Intelligence Liability and the AI Respondeat Superior Analogy (August 31, 2019). 46 Mitchell Hamline Law Review (2020).
•	Lior, Anat, Insuring AI: The Role of Insurance in Artificial Intelligence Regulation (August 10, 2021). Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2022.
•	Lior, Anat, E/Insuring the AI Age: Empirical Insights into Artificial Intelligence Liability Policies. 31 Conn. Ins. L.J. (forthcoming, 2025)
•	Unveiling the Quasi-Regulatory Landscape: Empirical Insights into AI Liability Policies - By Dr. Anat Lior, Sonal Madhok and Stuart Calam | April 30, 2025 

Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers!

The Ballpark will be 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 until 1 November 2025. 

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LSE: The Ballpark | Who is liable for AI? With Dr Anat Lior

In the first episode of our Inequalities mini-series, host Ethne James Souch is joined by Prof Jessica Ringrose, Dr Marc Tibber, and Sophie Wilson to delve into the complex intersection of social media, mental health, and regulation. The conversation spans topics from online safety and digital literacy to phone bans in schools and the lived experiences of neurodivergent communities. It explores how we can better support young people in navigating digital spaces without reinforcing inequalities. Drawing from research, policy, and lived experience, this episode offers a rich and nuanced discussion on what it means to build an inclusive and just digital future. With insights from two UCL Grand Challenges-funded projects, Ethne and guests consider the risks and possibilities of online life, the evolving landscape of regulation, and the power of co-production in developing ethical and effective interventions.

Date of episode recording: 2025-07-31
Duration: 00:33:15
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Ethne James Souch
Guests: Prof Jessica Ringrose; Dr Marc Tibber; Sophie Wilson
Producer: Annabelle Buckland

Shared Screens, Split Realities: Rethinking Online Safety Together

In this episode, we explore a subject that’s deeply important to us as educators: the role of climate in the classroom. How are schools and universities placing climate change at the heart of learning—not just in science lessons, but across the whole school experience?

We look beyond the curriculum to discover how educators are fostering sustainable living and embedding green practices into everyday school life. From encouraging active travel and connecting students with the natural world, to making conscious, eco-friendly choices part of the school culture, we’ll share inspiring examples of how teaching can shape a greener future.

We’re thrilled to welcome three inspiring champions of climate education:
🌱 Jenny Wilson – A passionate advocate from the Green Schools Revolution, Jenny is actively involved in the Teach the Teacher initiative. She collaborates with schools in underserved communities, empowering students to create their own Climate Action Plans and become agents of change.

🌍 Will Wale – A student at LSE and the outgoing Youth Focal Point for Sustainability and Climate Change at the Department for Education, Will brings a wealth of experience. He’s worked closely with young people, educators, civil servants, and ministers to advance climate and sustainability education across the UK.

🏫 Professor Nicola Walshe – Pro-Director of Education at UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, Nicola is also the co-founder and Executive Director of the UCL Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education. Her work focuses on transforming how climate education is delivered in schools nationwide.

Date of episode recording: 4th August 2025
Duration: 00:42:16
Language of episode: English 
Presenter: Professor Mark Maslin and Dr Simon Chin-Yee 

Guests:  
Jenny Wilson, Green Schools Revolution https://www.greenschoolsrevolution.uk/
Will Wale, LSE student and Youth Focal Point for Sustainability and Climate Change at the DOE
Nicola Walsh, Professor and Pro Director of Education UCL IOE and CoFounder and Executive Director of UCL’s Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-and-centres/ucl-centre-climate-change-and-sustainability-education
 
Producers: 
Adam Batstone
Caitlin Mullin

Season 5, Episode 9 - Climate in the Classroom: the green revolution in schools and universities


In this episode, we talk about the importance of sociology to Annie Ernaux’s Nobel-Prize-winning literary project, specifically focusing on the influence of Pierre Bourdieu’s notion of ‘habitus’. Our special guest, Clare Carlisle, Professor of Philosophy at King’s College London, introduces the concept, explaining what Bourdieu hoped to achieve by coining a new term to designate the idea of a collective disposition or class sensibility. Together, focusing on the opening of The Years (2008), Ernaux’s magnum opus, we consider the ways in which the book’s treatment of self, class, and nation can be read as ‘applied Bourdieu’. 

Our philosophical starting-point is a chapter by Karl Maton entitled ‘Habitus’ and published in Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts, ed. Michael Grenfell, 2012. 

Our literary focus is on pages x-51 of Annie Ernaux’s The Years in Alison L. Strayer’s translation (Fitzcarraldo, 2018).

Hosts: 

Scarlett Baron, Associate Professor of English at University College London.
Alice Harberd, PhD student in the Philosophy Department at University College London.

Guest: 
Clare Carlisle, Professor of Philosophy at King’s College London.

Keywords: 

#AnnieErnaux #TheYears #LesAnnées #NobelPrize #Literature #Autofiction #contemporaryculture #sociology #PierreBourdieu #aesthetics #philosophy #philosophyofmind #theself #interdisciplinarity #contemporarywriting #RachelCusk #Outlinetrilogy #class #habitus #subjectivity #sharedsubjectivity


Season 2, Episode 1  - The Sociological Self, with special guest Prof. Clare Carlisle

In this episode, Onya speaks with Mara Stoll (UCL MSc Prosperity, Innovation & Entrepreneurship) and theologian Dr. David Dark about how hermeneutics, the art of interpretation, can transform social entrepreneurship. Together, they unpack why understanding our own assumptions and a community’s lived reality is key to avoiding well-intentioned missteps. Discover how applying hermeneutic principles can help founders slow down, listen deeply, and co-create ventures that truly fit the people they are meant to serve.

Date of episode recording: 2025-09-01
Duration: 00:41:27
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Dr Onya Idoko
Guests: Mara Stoll and Dr David Dark
Producer: Manolo Fournier
Podcast owner: Victoria Howard


Slow Down and Listen: Hermeneutics for Social Entrepreneurs

AI is now increasingly playing a role in many parts of our lives, and the workplace is no exception. AI is now being used by employers to help them to recruit new staff and by jobseekers in their applications. But AI is also now present when we work. It’s used by employers to manage their employees, from monitoring what they are doing during the day, to what they post on social media. 

To talk about the rise of AI in the workplace, and what it means for workers and employers, in August 2025, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Ifeoma Ajunwa, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law at Emory University. Professor Ajunwa is also the Founding Director of the AI and Future of Work Program at Emory University School of Law. Her research interests are at the intersection of law and technology with a particular focus on the ethical governance of workplace technologies. 

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.  

Further reading and resources
•	Ajunwa, Ifeoma, A.I. and Captured Capital (June 30, 2024). 134 Yale L. J. Forum (2025).
•	Ajunwa, Ifeoma, Artificial Intelligence, Afrofuturism, and Economic Justice, 112 Geo. L.J. 1267 (2024). (November 01, 2023). Georgetown Law Journal, volume 112, pg 1267, 
•	Ajunwa, I., (2023). The quantified worker: law and technology in the modern workplace. Cambridge University Press. 
•	Ajunwa, Ifeoma, Automated Video Interviewing as the New Phrenology (July 19, 2021). 36 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 101 (2022).
•	Does ‘Bossware’ Boost Worker Productivity? It’s Far From Clear – Wall Street Journal Tech Briefing
•	Protecting Employees’ Health Data – New York Times - 27 March 2016

Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers!

The Ballpark will be 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 until 1 November 2025. 

•	Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 
•	Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025

LSE: The Ballpark | AI and the workplace with Professor Ifeoma Ajunwa

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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Do we need to pay our debts?

In this episode, we discuss Annie Ernaux’s The Years alongside, an article by Prof. Lucy O’Brien entitled ‘Shameful Self-Consciousness’. Shame, according to this paper, is a feeling which arises when we become conscious of ourselves as diminished by another’s appraisal of our social value. Prof. O’Brien joins us in the studio to discuss Ernaux’s frequent portrayals of shame in The Years and to consider how well they fit the theory outlined in her paper.
 
Hosts: 
Scarlett Baron, Associate Professor of English at University College London.
Alice Harberd, PhD student in the Philosophy Department at University College London.
 
Guest: 
Lucy O’Brien, Richard Wollheim Chair of Philosophy at University College London.

Season 2, Episode 2 The Shamed Self, with special guest Prof. Lucy O’Brien

L’IEE-ULB est un centre d’excellence interdisciplinaire en enseignement et recherche. Il se concentre sur les questions européennes.