LSE IQ
- Episodes
- 87
- Released
- monthly
- Latest episode
- Nov 3, 2026
About the podcast
LSE IQ is a monthly podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science in which we ask some of the smartest social scientists - and other experts - to answer intelligent questions about economics, politics or society. #LSEIQ
Episodes 87
How can we stop buying so much stuff? | Award-winning LSE iQ podcast
More stuff. Same habits. Can we break the cycle? In this episode of LSE iQ, Sue Windebank unpacks the psychology, social pressures and economics that keep us buying—and explores what could help us change.
Is your phone listening to you? | Award-winning LSE iQ podcast
Why do online adverts seem to know what you’ve just discussed?
Should we still care about net zero? | Award-winning LSE iQ podcast
In 2019, the UK became the first major economy to commit in law to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But seven years later, the world looks very different.
Should we take hypnotherapy more seriously? | Award-winning LSE iQ podcast
Hypnosis: myth or medicine? We cut through the stage-show stereotypes to uncover the real science of hypnotherapy — and its remarkable results for addiction, pain, and healing.
Should animals have rights? | Award-winning LSE iQ podcast
Starting with a dog called Pip, LSE iQ explores one of the biggest ethical questions of our time. What do we really owe animals — and is the law keeping up with the science?
How can we be more resilient? | Award-winning LSE iQ podcast
How can we build resilience and bounce back from failure? Sue Windebank speaks to Anthony Scaramucci and LSE’s Dr Grace Lordan about overcoming setbacks, managing your inner critic, and the science of recovery.
Why are we having fewer children?
Fertility rates are at record lows around the world, reshaping communities and even forcing some schools to close...
Will the next World War be a cyberwar?
It seems every week we hear a new report of a cyber-attack. What if those attacks were on our critical infrastructure? Our national grid? Our water supply? Is the UK prepared?
Do we need to pay our debts?
Amid rising interest rates and inflation, we ask whether debts must always be paid—exploring causes of debt, bankruptcy’s role, and fresh perspectives on repayment.
How is the far right shaping our future?
Far-right ideas once on the fringe now dominate feeds and headlines, reshaping politics and threatening democracy worldwide.
Is AI destroying the planet?
This episode explores the AI sustainability paradox: can AI be both a climate solution and a climate problem?
How do we avoid falling for online scams?
What type of person falls for an online scam? Who are the fraudsters and how does colonialism motivate them? And what’s the connection between criminality and pop music?
Are we in danger of losing our communities?
With the cost-of-living crisis leading to the closure of community spaces around the UK, and the pressures on urban development projects, this episode of LSE iQ asks, are we in danger of losing our communities?
Why are our rivers and seas polluted by sewage?
This episode of LSE iQ explores a national scandal: widespread illegal sewage dumping by our privatised water companies, and why they are all under criminal investigation.
Who owns outer space?
With companies, like SpaceX or Blue Origin, getting into space exploration and the cost of launching rockets dropping, could we see a lot more people heading into space in the future?
What’s it like to win a Nobel Prize?
In this episode of LSE iQ, we explore what it’s like to win the prestigious Nobel Prize and how it changes your life.
How can we solve the gender pay gap?
This episode of LSE iQ explores whether gender pay gap reporting, pay transparency and tackling gender norms can reduce the gender pay gap.
Will the US remain the world’s superpower?
The idea of an America in decline has gained traction in recent years and has, of course, been capitalized on by President Trump. Is America’s ‘greatness’ under threat?
China, war and the civilizational state
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?
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?
Why do so many people mistakenly think they are working class? | Extra iQ
This episode of LSE Extra iQ asks, 'Why do so many people mistakenly think they are working class?'.
What’s it like to be criminalised for being gay?
Joanna Bale investigates how gay men living in Dubai create covert communities where they can meet and socialise.
What is it like to be an animal?
This month we’re re-running an episode from 2021 which asks, ‘What’s it like to be an animal?’
How can we make homes more affordable?
This episode of LSE iQ asks, ‘How can we make homes more affordable?’
These are the latest 40 of 87 episodes. You’ll find older episodes in the podcast’s feed.
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