Amazing spectrum of topics, excellent speakers, and well-organized discussions. While UK-centric issues may not be of common interest (also quite overlapping Covid-19 ones), single-speaker talks are breathtaking as they are mostly touching global issues. Also, I find some panel talks a little West-EU inbred and narrow-scoped from the same-same-but-different minded speakers with too much conformity and no contrast (e.g., latest Ancient Greek Philosophy Episode). Overall, I strongly recommend it.
Great public lectures on current events. If you are tired of the same old media nonsense. This is the place to hear cogent analysis! Take a listen and hear facts and opinion that doesn’t burn your brain or appeal to your inherent cognitive bias. Guaranteed to make you think.
Sifting through 'clever banter' podcasts, the LSE is an oasis of content. Literally World-Class speakers and the number of them makes me wonder how they organize so many. Comments about audio quality dumbfound me- I would listen to these speakers through a gramophone. Thank you, LSE, for making this available to the rest of the world.
Could LSE please word its lecture titles to be read on an iPhone? We only see the first three words on iTunes/iPhone & therefore can't tell one lecture from another. Thanks much!
Everyday during my drive to UCLA, these podcasts and the ones from Stanford are my best companions. Without these, I have to listen to polarizing talk show hosts who transmit 1/100th of useful information.
Most if the audios are of good quality, but some are pretty bad, may be the speaker turns away from the microphone. Hope LSE uses wireless microphones attached to the speakers.
It's very much to LSE's credit that they go to the effort of posting these lectures in podcast form. It sounds like most of them are public, but as others have pointed out, that doesn't mean the lecturers treat anyone like they're stupid or gullible. Speakers of all political stripe are represented, from a prominent Tory advisor to Slavoj Zizek, and overall, the lecturers are well-prepared and expect difficult questions from the audience. Very occasionally there are lecturers who have typed out a speech which they just read, which can make them a little tedious ("Secularisms in Crisis" was an unfortunate victim of this phenomenon). While currents of thought shift with time, LSE's lectures are posted often enough to keep up with events. This in combination with the high quality of the speakers makes these lectures an outstanding and invaluable resource to sift through, whether out of professional interest, or as a thoughtful bystander.
It is true that some of the lectures have poor sound quality, but the intellectual content is fabulous. These are subject matter experts (in the best sense of the term) talking to a post-graduate or higher audience. There is no talking down, no mealy-mouthed populism, and nobody tries to get away with unsupported slogans.
this can be a great listen on the commute to work. after a dozen or so, the content and speakers tend to be quite good but the audio quality is often mediocre to awful. it usually sounds like someone in the front row is holding a tape recorder, rather than using a line-level recording. speakers often walk away from the microphone, and questions from the audience are inaudible. Such distractions otherwise detract from good speakers and fascinating information.
