What does the post-pandemic future hold for office workers? Will we drift back to old ways of working, or continue with hybrid/remote working? What do the experts advise on how best to adapt?

Joanna Bale talks to LSE’s Connson Locke, Grace Lordan and Carsten Sorensen, as well as Hailley Griffis, a social media management company executive, who believes that offices will soon become extinct.

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

LSE IQ podcast

Has COVID killed the office?

From China’s growing influence in Europe to deepening Russia–China cooperation and the ripple effects of Trump’s America First policies, Eurasia has emerged as a single, highly contested geopolitical space. These shifts are forcing countries — including India — to rethink old assumptions about alliances, security, and the global balance of power.

To discuss these issues, in November 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr C Raja Mohan, distinguished fellow at the Council on Strategic and Defence Research in Delhi and a visiting professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore

Their conversation covers how Eurasia has become strategically integrated, what Trump’s return means for US allies and partners, and how India is navigating a more volatile environment as a rising middle power. They also discussed the future of regional orders in Asia and the pressures reshaping maritime and continental geopolitics.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata.  

Further reading and resources
•	Ball, D, Béraud-Sudreau L, Huxley, T, Mohan, R & Taylor, B 2021, Asia's New Geopolitics: Military Power and Regional Order. Adelphi books, vol. 1, 1st edn, Routledge, London. 
•	C Raja Mohan: The West vs the Rest, a fiction, The Indian Express, 30 July 2025
•	Mohan, R 2025, India and the Rebalancing of Asia, Adelphi books, vol. 1, 1st edn, Routledge, London. 

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LSE: The Ballpark | America first and the future of Eurasian geopolitics with Dr C Raja Mohan

For more episodes visit http://lse.ac.uk/iq. To subscribe on iTunes visit http://apple.co/2r40QPA or search for 'LSE IQ' in your favourite podcast app.

Welcome to LSE IQ, a new monthly podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science. This is the podcast where we ask some of the smartest social scientists - and other experts - to answer pressing questions about economics, politics or society. 

In this episode, Jo Bale investigates how big company bosses continue to command ever increasing salaries despite shareholder rebellions, government intervention and public criticism. She talks to Sir Vince Cable of LSE's Institute of Global Affairs, Deborah Hargreaves of the High Pay Centre, Dr Dirk Jenter, Associate Professor of Finance at LSE, Professor Sandy Pepper of LSE's Department of Management and Max Steuer of LSE's Centre for Philosophy. 

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Why is CEO pay so high?

To subscribe on Apple podcasts please visit http://apple.co/2r40QPA or search for 'LSE IQ' in your favourite podcast app or visit http://lse.ac.uk/iq

Welcome to LSE IQ, a new 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. 

It is with alarming regularity that reports of prison violence, overcrowding and concerns over the impact of funding cuts are hitting the headlines. With 46% of all prisoners reoffending within a year of release last year, the system could be considered not just expensive and unpleasant, but failing. In this episode, Jess Winterstein takes a look at the prison system in England and Wales and asks, is our prison system broken?   

This episode features: Dr Simon Bastow, LSE Fellow, Department of Management; Professor Nicola Lacey, School Professor of Law, Gender and Social Policy at LSE; and Dr Sharon Shalev, a fellow of the Mannheim Centre for the Study of Criminology and Criminal Science at LSE and founder of SolitaryConfinement.org

For further information about the podcast and all the related links visit http://lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ.

Is our prison system broken?

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LSE: The Ballpark | America first and the future of Eurasian geopolitics with Dr C Raja Mohan

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