Welcome to Visionaries, a podcast dedicated to futurological thinkers brought to you by Future Human and the V&A. We seek out people who are reimagining innovation in their field, and ask them to apply their intelligence to emerging trends.

Cher Potter is a senior editor at the fashion forecasting company WGSN. She analyses sociopolitical and cultural trends and their potential impact on the fashion industry – in essence, predicting probable futures. 

How do trend forecasters identify the cultural shifts that shape consumer attitudes? Potter explains how the trend analysts make sense of a complex web of consumer behaviours, and how the narratives they craft manifest themselves in fashion products on the high street. But will trend forecasting services like WGSN see their influence wane as customers and manufacturers source more information online? Presented by Jack Gwilym Roberts. 

Future Human Visionaries #2 – Cher Potter on trend forecasting

This episode of LSE iQ explores whether gender pay gap reporting, pay transparency and tackling gender norms can reduce the gender pay gap.  

On average across the globe, for every pound earned by a man, a woman earns around 80 pence, according to a 2023 report from the United Nations.  

 

But despite huge advances in access to education, the labour market, and the introduction of the UK Equality Act of 2010, which guarantees equal pay for men and women doing equal work, those figures have pretty much remained the same for the past two decades. Still, the gender pay gap - the difference between the average earnings of men and women - endures. So, how can we solve it?  

 

Anna Bevan talks to broadcaster Jane Garvey about the impact of gender pay gap reporting and what happened to her after the BBC was forced to publish its gender pay gap report.  

 

She also speaks to Nina Rousille, the Executive Director of LSE’s Hub for Equal Representation and Assistant Professor of Economics at MIT, about the role of the Ask Gap and pay transparency, and Camille Landais, Professor of Economics at LSE about the Child Penalty.  

 

 

Research  

The Role of the Ask Gap in Gender Pay Inequality by Nina Rousille 

The Child Penalty by Camille Landais, Henrik Kleven and Gabriel Leite-Mariante

LSE IQ podcast

How can we solve the gender pay gap?

In 2024, the Phelan US Centre ran an essay competition for master’s students with the prompt, ““How should the United States work to shape the future of capitalism in this age of insecurity?”. 

We speak to the author of the winning essay, David Millman, and the runners-up, Yazmin Baptiste and Manickam Valliappan. We discuss their essays, the competition, what it’s like for students to engage with a wider audience, and the opportunity they had to present their essays in the UK parliament to MPs and the British-American Parliamentary Group.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.

LSE: The Ballpark | Master’s students essay competition on capitalism

In August 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Evelyne Ong, an undergraduate research assistant with the Phelan US Centre for the 2023-24 academic year. 

They discuss her work with Visiting Professor Jeffrey Legro, on the project, ‘The Nuclear Revolution and Great Power Competition’. They also talked about her experience taking part in the Phelan US Centre’s undergraduate research assistantship programme.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.

LSE: The Ballpark | Faculty-student research collaborations with Evelyne Ong

In September 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Peter Harris, Associate Professor of Political Science at Colorado State University about his new book, Why America Can’t Retrench (And How It Might) which looks at the US’ dominant role in the world, how it got there and the factors preventing global restraint. They discuss the idea of America’s ‘primacist’ approach to international affairs and the role of domestic politics and systems in preventing a change to America’s role in the world.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.

LSE: The Ballpark | Why America Can’t Retrench with Dr Peter Harris

While there are always rumours about who might win a Nobel Prize every year, there is no short list for the globally revered academic awards. This means that winning one always comes as a complete surprise. In this episode of LSE iQ, we explore what it’s like to win the prestigious prize and how it changes your life.
The Nobel Prizes were established in 1900 at the behest of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish Chemist, Inventor and Industrialist, known in particular for his invention of dynamite. In his will he stated that his fortune was to be used to reward those who have made the most significant contributions to humanity. The prizes would recognise achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. The prize for economics would come much later in 1968. The prizes are awarded in October every year.
Sue Windebank and Charlotte Kelloway talk to two Nobel Laureates, Professor Esther Duflo and Sir Christopher Pissarides, as well as to the family of the first black person to win the Nobel Prize in Economics, Sir Arthur Lewis.

Contributors
Professor Esther Duflo 
Elizabeth Lewis Channon
Khari Motayne
Sir Christopher Pissarides

Research
Professor Esther Duflo published papers
Sir Christopher Pissarides published papers
Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour , Manchester School, by Sir W. Arthur Lewis
The theory of economic growth, University Books, by Sir W. Arthur Lewis

What’s it like to win a Nobel Prize?

In September 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Nick Lewis, a PhD student in LSE’s Department of Government and a recipient of a Phelan US Centre PhD Summer Research Grant in 2022. Nick’s research looks at how social media creates bias in democratic deliberation.

They spoke about how Facebook discourages people from taking part in discussions via what’s called the “spiral of silence”. They also discussed the importance of social media in the 2024 presidential election.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.

LSE: The Ballpark | The social media spiral of silence with Nick Lewis

In October 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations in the Department of International Relations at LSE, and holder of the Emirates Professorship in Contemporary Middle East Studies.

They spoke about his new book, “What Really Went Wrong: The West and the failure of democracy in the Middle East”. We also discussed the history of US involvement in the region, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.  

Further reading

•	What Really Went Wrong: The West and the Failure of Democracy in the Middle East – Yale University Press, 2024 - https://yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300259575/what-really-went-wrong/
•	Review of What Really Went Wrong at LSE Review of Books - https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2024/09/24/what-really-went-wrong-the-west-and-the-failure-of-democracy-in-the-middle-east-fawaz-gerges/

LSE: The Ballpark | The West and the failure of democracy in the Middle East with Prof. Fawaz Gerges

In October 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to spoke to Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School. Cited by The New Yorker as “the most important thinker on intellectual property in the internet era”, Professor Lessig now focuses on “institutional corruption”, especially as that affects democracy. He is the author of many books, including They Don’t Represent Us: Reclaiming Our Democracy, Fidelity & Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American Constitution, and most recently, How to Steal a Presidential Election.

They spoke about how AI and the media can affect the legitimacy and conduct of elections, how policymakers have attempted to govern and control the use of AI and about how citizens’ assemblies could be a way to protect democracy against AI’s influence.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.  

Further reading and resources

-	Podcast and video of the 8 October 2024 event, ‘What AI is doing to America's democracy’ – LSE Public Lecture with Professor Lawrence Lessig and LSE President and Vice Chancellor Professor Larry Kramer - https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/events/2024-events/What-AI-is-doing-to-Americas-democracy 
-	How to Steal a Presidential Election (Yale University Press, 2024) - https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300270792/how-to-steal-a-presidential-election/

LSE: The Ballpark | AI and elections with Professor Lawrence Lessig

In October 2024 the LSE Phelan US Centre spoke to Yeling Tan, Professor of Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. They spoke about how China understands economic security and its evolving economic strategy, and how public attitudes in China towards international trade influence the country’s trade policy.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.  

Further reading
•	Global economic influence and domestic regime support: evidence from China. (2023). Review of International Political Economy.  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2024.2402817 

LSE: The Ballpark | China’s evolving approach to economic security with Professor Yeling Tan

Future Human illuminates radical change, telling the stories of the thinkers, innovators and entrepreneurs who are reshaping life in the 21st century. Presented by Jack Gwilym Roberts with Ben Beaumont-Thomas.

Future Human Visionaries #2 – Cher Potter on trend forecasting

The Future Human Podcast