Permission to be queer: the case for liberty

Contributor(s): Dr Michael Aldous, Professor John Turner, Dr Judy Stephenson | The CEOs of Britain's largest companies wield immense power, but we know very little about them. How did they get to the top? Why do they have so much power? Are they really worth that exorbitant salary? In their book, The CEO: The Rise and Fall of Britain's Captains of Industry, which they will discuss at this event, Michael Aldous and John Turner provide the answers by telling the story of the British CEO over the past century. From gentleman amateurs to professional managers, entrepreneurs, frauds, and fat cats, they reveal the characters who have made it to the top of the corporate ladder, how they got there, and what their rise tells us about British society. They show how the quality of their leadership influences productivity, innovation, economic development and, ultimately, Britain's place in the world. More recently, issues have arisen regarding high CEO pay, poor performance, and a lack of professionalisation and diversity. Are there lessons from history for those who would seek to reform Britain's flagging corporate economy?

Contributor(s): Dr Dana H. Allin, Dr Anahita Motazed Rad, Dr Sanam Vakil | This event will examine how a second Trump administration might reshape U.S.-Iran relations and regional security—whether through renewed maximum pressure, diplomatic engagement, or military action to contain Iran’s nuclear and military ambitions. The Middle East that Donald Trump left in 2021 is vastly different from the one he re-enters in 2025. Since October 7, the region’s strategic landscape has shifted dramatically, leaving Iran at its weakest and most isolated position since 1979. Economic turmoil, internal dissent, and regional setbacks—amid mounting U.S. and Israeli pressure—have further exposed Tehran’s vulnerabilities.

Contributor(s): Professor Deirdre Nansen McCloskey | Join us in welcoming back to LSE, economist Deirdre Nansen McCloskey who will deliver this special lecture. Fear of the queer, says McCloskey, undermines our liberty every time, from the persecution of heretics and witches down to the demonization of Catholics, gays, immigrants, and trans people. The ideal of a liberal society has been 'Do anything you want, but don't spook the horses'. Don't damage people physically but otherwise feel free. It's a noble and uniquely modern ideal. No masters. As Richard Rumbolt declared from his scaffold at Edinburgh in 1685, ‘there was no man born marked of God above another, for none comes into the world with a saddle on his back, neither any booted and spurred to ride him'. Such an equality of permission is threatened worldwide-and now even in the first home of our liberties.

Contributor(s): Dr Cahal Moran | As the UK economy struggles along while the US seems destined for chaos, evaluating why we’re getting poorer has never seemed more relevant. Join us for this event at which LSE's Cahal Moran will talk about their new book, Why We’re Getting Poorer: A Realist’s Guide to the Economy and How We Can Fix it. Did you know that while we think of money as notes issued by the government, the truth is that the overwhelming majority of money today is credit created by private banks? Did you know that the reason housing keeps getting less accessible is because we haven’t found a way to separate houses from land in our policies? Cahal Moran delves into the key topics in economics showing that what we think we know about these things is wrong, and teaching us what we really need to know. Deciphering the jargon and complexity of economic thinking, with examples ranging from the Simpsons to the German football league to The Inbetweeners, Cahal shows us why our economy set us up to fail, and offers suggestions for how we can make positive changes.

Contributor(s): Dr Tarsis Brito, Dr Maya Goodfellow, Dr Luke de Noronha | We are joined by Maya Goodfellow, Tarsis Brito and Luke de Noronha who will each draw on their areas of expertise to discuss the implications of borders in a changing world. Borders are not just lines on a map marking geographical boundaries but are important for maintaining countries’ nationhood, identity, and security. Due to their importance, borders are also increasingly politicised to define who belongs and who does not, who is legally allowed to enter, and who has the right to own or live in a certain piece of land. Borders are connected to many of the debates of today and challenges of tomorrow, from the refugee crisis to decolonisation and global conflicts. So, how can we better understand how borders are connected to inequalities? Should we re-evaluate how we think about borders altogether? And what will the future of borders look like?

Contributor(s): Professor Charles Kupchan | Donald Trump’s America First is a response to too much globalisation, too much immigration, and too many wars. But has Trump overcorrected? In this lecture, Charles Kupchan considers whether a divided America can find the middle ground over foreign policy.

Contributor(s): Sir Nick Clegg | Join us for this special event where former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will talk about his new book, How to Save the Internet. The global, open internet is fragmenting. As democracies seek to rein in the power of big tech, as Silicon Valley pivots to an America-first agenda, as authoritarian regimes such as China and Russia segregate their populations from the rest of the internet, the most powerful tool ever created for bringing the world together risks being dismantled. Taking us behind the scenes at Meta and his interactions with world leaders, Nick Clegg, Meta’s former President, Global Affairs, sets out where big tech has gone wrong. But he also makes the case that many of the charges against them – including that their algorithms polarise, manipulate and harm – are vastly overstated or simply untrue. The book sets out a blueprint for the global cooperation we need in order to reform Big Tech while preserving the fundamental openness of the internet on which our future so depends.

Contributor(s): Professor Claus Kress | Eighty years on from the start of the Nuremberg War Crime Trial in November 1945 we ask what is the future of the crime of aggression after the creation of the ICC in 1998 and the Ukraine war? At this event, Claus Kress, a leading German academic, judge and currently Special Adviser to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on the Crime of Aggression, will be in conversation with Gerry Simpson, a legal adviser at the ICC negotiations in Rome and at the UN and a professor of international law here at LSE. They will discuss the prospects for international law and the crime of aggression after Ukraine and in the light of the historic first international trials of war criminals at Nuremberg.

Contributor(s): Dr Luara Ferracioli | oin us for the annual Auguste Comte lecture delivered by Luara Ferracioli, a leading thinker on the philosophy of immigration and the philosophy of the family. Reduced birth rates in key economies could lead to population collapse by 2100. Demographic change disrupts retirement systems, income distribution, and government services like healthcare and aged care. How should liberal states respond to this challenge? The lecture explores the ethical complexities around potential solutions like boosting fertility, delaying retirement, and increasing skilled migration.

Contributor(s): Professor Nick Couldry, Baroness Beeban Kidron | Drawing on his recent book, The Space of the World, Nick Couldry will reflect on the global space of social communications and interaction that has been constructed over the past three decades through a commercialized internet and digital platforms whose business model depends on extracting data from users and shaping their behaviour to optimize advertising value. What if those conditions – valid perhaps in narrowly commercial terms – have guaranteed a space of human interaction that is larger, more polarized, more intense, and more toxic than is compatible with human solidarity? A space associated increasingly with toxic forms of political power and risks to the most vulnerable members of society? If so, we need to build a different space of the world, less likely to be toxic and more likely to generate the solidarity and effective cooperation that humanity absolutely needs if it is to have any chance of addressing its huge, shared challenges.