LSE IQ is a 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.

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LSE IQ | Intelligent questions with social science answers

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 podcast

Has COVID killed the office?

Welcome to LSE IQ, where we work with academics to bring you their latest research and ideas. 
 
In this episode, Nathalie Abbott speaks to Shani Orgad (Professor of Media and Communications at LSE) about representations of mothers, and what effects these have on all of us.

We find out the real reasons mums leave the workforce, deep dive into the media coverage of one of the world’s most talked-about mothers, Megan Markle, and get Shani’s advice on how to do it all.  
 

Research

Heading home: Motherhood, work and the failed promise of equality:  Shani Orgad, 2019 (New York: Columbia University Press)

“How Any Woman Does What They Do Is Beyond Comprehension”: Media Representations of Meghan Markle’s Maternity: Shani Orgad and Kate Baldwin, Professor of English and Communication Studies at Tulane University, US.  (Women's Studies in Communication, 44, Issue 2). 

Confidence Culture: Shani Orgad and Rosalind Gill, Professor of Cultural and Social Analysis at City, University of London, 2021 (Duke University Press)

-

Read the article about American Politicians hiding their childcare arrangements by Rebecca Onion for Slate, 2019.


Contributors

Dr Shani Orgad, Professor of Media and Communications at LSE.

Can mothers do it all?

The idea of ‘following your passion’ is widespread in popular culture and on social media. With the pandemic having given many people pause to reflect on meaning in their own lives, this episode of LSE iQ asks whether the advice to ‘follow you heart’ or to ‘find your calling’, is good advice.  

We’ll learn how following a calling turned one LSE graduate to beer and building a successful social enterprise, via a holy revelation. We’ll hear stories of animal hoarding, passions gone wrong and burnout. And there’s some hopeful news for those of us who just haven’t found our passion yet.

Contributors:
Professor Shasa Dobrow
Professor Sally Maitlis
Nick O’Shea

Research
Follow your heart or your head? A longitudinal study of the facilitating role of calling and ability in the pursuit of a challenging career (2015) by Shoshana Dobrow Riza and Daniel Heller in Journal of Applied Psychology.
How to avoid burnout when you follow your passion in your career choice (2017) by Kira Schabram  and Sally Maitlis in the LSE Business Review blog.
Negotiating the Challenges of a Calling: Emotion and Enacted Sensemaking in Animal Shelter Work, Academy of Management Journal (2017) by Kira Schabram and Sally Maitlis.

Should you follow your passion?

This episode of LSE iQ asks do we need the arts to change the world?  

As the UK government looks to recover from the costs of the pandemic its decision to cut funding for creative higher education courses could be seen as a pragmatic response to the changed world or a short-signted move. LSE IQ talks to researchers who have used the creative arts to communicate their findings, and the President of the British Academy, about why the SHAPE (the Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts for People and the Economy) campaign is so important for today’s world.  

We’ll be hearing from Dr Alexandra Gomes, co-creator of Kuwaitscapes (More on the research project that inspired the game, and to download the Kuwaitscapes game), Professor Patrick Wallis, who created an audio drama from the records of a historical document discovered about the Lock Asylum, a home for down-and-out women, Professor Emily Jackson, whose work on fertility has led to a change in the law, and British Academy President and LSE Professor Julia Black, who is spearheading the SHAPE campaign.  

 
Dr Alexandra Gomes, Research Fellow, LSE Cities and co-creator of the Kuwaitscapes card.   

Professor Patrick Wallis, Professor of Economic History, Department of Economic History, LSE  

Professor Emily Jackson, Professor of Law, LSE Law School 

Professor Julia Black, Head of Innovation, LSE, and President, the British Academy.

Do we need the arts to change the world?

This month we’re re-running an episode from 2019 about an issue which has come back into focus with the cost-of-living crisis. As food and energy prices soar, it’s predicted that the demand for food banks will reach record highs as those on low incomes and benefits face an uphill battle to make ends meet.  

Joanna Bale talks to LSE’s Aaron Reeves and Laura Lane, as well as Daphine Aikens, founder and CEO of Hammersmith and Fulham food bank, and some of her clients.

Why do we need foodbanks?

Capitalism and free markets have lifted billions out of poverty across the globe. But it is also blamed for widening the gap between rich and poor - with increasing numbers of people feeling left behind. 

Joanna Bale talks to Lea Ypi, David Hope, Julian Limberg and Tomila Lankina about defining freedom, debunking trickle-down economics and defying the Bolsheviks.

Research links:

Free by Lea Ypi: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320869/free-by-ypi-lea/9780141995106

The economic consequences of major tax cuts for the rich by David Hope and Julian Limberg: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/107919

The Estate Origins of Democracy in Russia. From Imperial Bourgeoisie to Post-Communist Middle Class by Tomila Lankina: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/estate-origins-of-democracy-in-russia/3EBD479CE270DB1647CD5E6A57F1C121

What’s the future of capitalism?

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

How can we survive the next mass extinction?

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.

How does class define us?

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

Can gaming make us happier?

Borrowing is a fundamental part of our world, but with millions considered over-indebted before the pandemic and a deepening cost of living crisis fueled by stagnating wages and high inflation, for many the burden of debt looks only set to increase.  

This month, LSE iQ asks “Do we always need to pay our debts?”, 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.  

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/

Do we always need to pay our debts?

The UK government could soon be sending some asylum-seekers on a one-way flight to Rwanda as part of a controversial strategy to deter those crossing the English Channel on small boats. 

Joanna Bale talks to Dr Stuart Gordon, Sveto Muhammad Ishoq and Halima, an Afghan refugee living in a hotel, about what it’s like to flee your country and policy ideas to help resolve the situation. 

Research links:

Regulating humanitarian governance: humanitarianism and the ‘risk society’ by Stuart Gordon: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/105296/

The protection of civilians: an evolving paradigm? by Stuart Gordon: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/101979/

Afghan women’s storytelling and campaigning platform: https://chadariproject.com/about-chadari/

How can we solve the refugee crisis?

This episode of LSE iQ asks, ‘How can we make homes more affordable?’ We’ll hear how planning restrictions established in the 1700s are still preventing development on some of London’s most valuable land. Experts will set out why we can’t afford to not build on the greenbelts that circle some of our major cities. And an Executive Director will explain how his organisation is building homes that will be truly affordable in perpetuity.
Sue Windebank talks to: Ralitsa (Rali) Angelova, a young mum whose family has had the chance to buy an affordable flat in London; Oliver Bulleid, Executive Director of the London Community Land Trust; Professor Christian Hilber, an urban and real estate economist at LSE and; Kath Scanlon, Distinguished Policy Fellow at LSE London.

How can we make homes more affordable?

This month we’re re-running an episode from 2021 which asks, ‘What’s it like to be an animal?’ Since this episode was recorded the UK Animal Welfare Act 2022 has become law. This extends animal welfare protections to animals such as octopuses, lobsters and crabs  -  a direct result of the findings of LSE academic Dr Jonathan Birch – featured in this episode -  that animals are sentient. They have the capacity to experience pain, distress or harm.
 
For this episode, James Rattee travels to the local park to find out how smart dogs are, he’ll hear about a campaign arguing that chimpanzees are animals deserving of their own rights and, finally, he’ll ask whether insects and other invertebrates have feelings. 


The episode features Jonathan Birch, Associate Professor in LSE's Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, Professor Kristin Andrews, the York Research Chair in Animal Minds at York University (Toronto) and Dr Rosalind Arden, Research Fellow at the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science. 


Research 
Foundations of Animal Sentience Project 
Chimpanzee Rights: The Philosophers’ Brief, Kristin Andrews, Gary L Comstock, Crozier G.K.D., Sue Donaldson, Andrew Fenton, Tyler M John, L. Syd M Johnson, Robert C Jones, Will Kymlicka, Letitia Meynell, Nathan Nobis, David Pena-Guzman and Jeff Sebo. 
A general intelligence factor in dogs, Rosalind Arden, Mark James Adams, Intelligence 
Volume 55, March–April 2016, Pages 79-85

What’s it like to be an animal?

Is AI coming for our Jobs?

What’s it like to be criminalised for being gay?

Homosexuality is illegal in just over a third of countries across the globe. Some nations, like Barbados, have recently repealed anti-gay laws, but others, like Uganda, have just introduced the death penalty.

Joanna Bale talks to LSE’s Dr Ryan Centner about how Western gay men living in Dubai create covert communities where they can meet and socialise. James, a British gay man, and Jamal, an Emirati gay man, also share their very different experiences of life in the city.

Research links: 

Peril, privilege, and queer comforts: the nocturnal performative geographies of expatriate gay men in Dubai http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/110762/

The Pink Line: The World’s Queer Frontiers https://www.markgevisser.com/the-pink-line

What’s it like to be criminalised for being gay?

This episode of LSE iQ asks, ‘Can we change the world?’ Experts will discuss how change isn't as straightforward as we'd like it to be – How it can be all in the timing and that, at times, you just need to wait for the right moment to make change happen. We’ll hear from an academic striving to become a Member of Parliament and make change from within the political system, rather than by lobbying from the outside. And an author and strategic advisor to Oxfam will explain how change is built around communities and groups of people rather than the individual.

Mike Wilkerson talks to: Faiza Shaheen, an author and a Labour candidate running to become an MP; Dr. Jens Madsen an Assistant Professor at LSE’s Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science; and Dr. Duncan Green a Professor in Practice and Senior Strategic advisor to Oxfam.

Contributers
Faiza Shaheen
Duncan Green
Jens Madsen

Research
How change Happens: Duncan Green

Can we change the world?

This episode of LSE iQ asks, ‘How can we tackle loneliness?’.  According to the Office for National Statistics, 7.1 per cent of adults in Great Britain - nearly 4 million people - say they 'often or always' feel lonely. Look around you when you’re in a crowded place – a supermarket or an office -  1 in 14 of the people you’re looking at are likely to be lonely, not just sometimes but most of the time.  

And that’s half a million more people saying that they feel chronically lonely in 2023 than there were in 2020 – suggesting that the pandemic has had some enduring impacts in this respect. 

Sue Windebank talks to a young person who responded to her own deep feelings of loneliness by campaigning to help others. She hears how people can be influenced to feel more or less lonely – at least for a short time.  And she got a surprising insight into which group of people are the loneliest. 

Sue talks to: Heather Kappes, Associate Professor of Management at LSE; David McDaid Associate Professorial Research Fellow in the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre at LSE; and Molly Taylor, Loneliness Activist and founder of #AloneNoMore.   

 

Contributors 

Heather Kappes 

David McDaid 

Molly Taylor 

 

Research 

The Role of Comparisons in Judgments of Loneliness by Andrew J. Arnold, Heather Barry Kappes, Eric Klinenberg and Piotr Winkielman. 

Tackling loneliness evidence review: main report by: Louise Arseneault; Manuela Barreto; Anne-Kathrin Fett; Nancy Hey; Sonia Johnson; Kalpa Kharicha; Timothy Matthews; David McDaid; Ellie Pearce; Alexandra Pitman; and Christina Victor. 

Addressing Loneliness in Older People Through a Personalized Support and Community Response Program by David McDaid and A-La Park.

How can we tackle loneliness?

More than one in four people in the UK, from solidly middle-class backgrounds, mistakenly think of themselves as working-class. Why is this? In this episode of Extra iQ, a shorter style of the LSE iQ podcast, Sue Windebank speaks to Sam Friedman, a sociologist of class and inequality at LSE to find out more. Sam spoke to the podcast in November 2022 for an episode which asked, ‘How does class define us?’ The whole interview was fantastic but we couldn’t include it all in the original episode. This episode features some more of the thought-provoking content from that interview. 

 

Contributors  

Sam Friedman 

 

Research 

Deflecting Privilege: Class Identity and the Intergenerational Self by Sam Friedman, Dave O’Brien and Ian McDonald

Why do so many people mistakenly think they are working class? | Extra iQ

Are we on the verge of a weight-loss revolution?

Are weight-loss jabs the answer to Britain’s obesity crisis? Should we be doing more to tackle the root causes?

Joanna Bale talks to Helen, who found Ozempic ‘life-changing’, Clinical Psychologist Sarah Appleton, and LSE’s Nikki Sullivan & Paul Frijters.

Research links:

The relationship between obesity and self-esteem: longitudinal evidence from Australian adults by Sophie Byth, Paul Frijters and Tony Beatton:

https://academic.oup.com/ooec/article/doi/10.1093/ooec/odac009/6751730?login=true

Are we on the verge of a weight-loss revolution?

Why do some countries, such as China and Russia, stand outside of the liberal international order and oppose values that the West takes for granted – values such as liberty and democracy? For the late Professor Christopher Coker the answer lay in the rise of a new political entity, the civilizational state. In an episode of LSE iQ which explored China’s position in the world in the coming century, Professor Coker talked about this, the potential for war between the United States and China and what that might look like. 

Christopher Coker, was Professor of International Relations at LSE for almost four decades, and co-Director of LSE IDEAS, LSE’s foreign policy think tank. He was a scholar of war and warfare. This episode of LSE iQ is a lightly edited version of our 2019 interview recorded before the COVID pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is dedicated to his memory.


Contributors

Professor Christopher Coker

Research

The Rise of the Civilizational State by Christopher Coker

The Improbable War, China, the United States and the Logic of Great Power Conflict by Christopher Coker

China, war and the civilizational state

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LSE IQ | Intelligent questions with social science answers

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