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LSE: The Ballpark
London School of Economics and Political Science
156 episodes
1 week ago
The Ballpark is the LSE Phelan US Centre's regular podcast on the politics and policy of the United States. Through features and interviews with academics from the LSE and elsewhere, The Ballpark looks more closely into what's going on behind the headlines.
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All content for LSE: The Ballpark is the property of London School of Economics and Political Science and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
The Ballpark is the LSE Phelan US Centre's regular podcast on the politics and policy of the United States. Through features and interviews with academics from the LSE and elsewhere, The Ballpark looks more closely into what's going on behind the headlines.
Show more...
Courses
Education
Episodes (20/156)
LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | LSE at 130 and the United States with Professor Michael Cox
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Professor Michael Cox | This year LSE is celebrating its 130th anniversary, and how it has shaped history and driven change across the world. Much of LSE’s history is linked to the United States, from philanthropic support from the US in LSE’s early days to famous alumni and American directors of the School. To talk about the LSE’s long and close relationship with the United States, in October 2025, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Michael Cox. Professor Cox is a Founding Director of LSE IDEAS, LSE's foreign policy think tank, and was its Director between 2008 and 2019. He is also Emeritus Professor of International Relations at LSE and has been writing a history of LSE. This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata. Further reading and resources Cox, Michael, John Ikenberry, and Takashi Inoguchi (eds), American Democracy Promotion: Impulses, Strategies, and Impacts(Oxford University Press, 2000) Cox, M., & Stokes, D. (Eds.), US Foreign Policy(Oxford University Press, 2026) Celebrating LSE's 130th anniversary Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers! The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 2 February 2026. Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025
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2 weeks ago
45 minutes 8 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | The promise and peril of Trump’s America First with Professor Charles Kupchan
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Professor Charles Kupchan | Since returning to the White House for his second term in January 2025, Donald Trump has renewed his “America First” agenda by pursing a transactional approach to diplomacy and a desire to limit the US’ involvement overseas. This in turn is remoulding the global order. To discuss Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and the US’ place in the changing world order, in October 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Charles Kupchan, Professor of International Affairs in the School of Foreign Service and Government Department at Georgetown University, and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata. Further reading and resources Charles A. Kupchan., No One's World: The West, the Rising Rest, and the Coming Global Turn(Oxford Academic, 2012), Charles A. Kupchan, Isolationism: A History of America’s Efforts to Shield Itself from the World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020).‌ The promise and peril of Trump's America first – LSE Phelan US Centre event, including links to event video and podcast recording Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers! The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 2 February 2026. Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025
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3 weeks ago
29 minutes 33 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | AI and deepfakes with Dr Gili Vidan
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Gili Vidan | As long as there has been photographic and video imagery, there have been manipulated videos and photos. But only in the last decade or so have the public become aware of what are known as “deepfakes”, computer or AI generated fake images, often of celebrities. The spread of deepfake imagery raises questions about truth and authenticity online – can we still trust what we see on screen? To discuss deepfakes, and the idea of trust and authenticity in the digital sphere more broadly, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Gili Vidan, Assistant Professor of Information Science at Cornell University’s Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata. Further reading and resources Robert Chesney & Danielle K. Citron, Deep Fakes: A Looming Challenge for Privacy, Democracy, and National Security,107 California Law Review 1753 (2019). Habgood-Coote, Joshua (2023). Deepfakes and the epistemic apocalypse. Synthese 201 (3):1-23. Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers! The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 2 February 2026. Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025
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1 month ago
38 minutes 8 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | Autocracy 2.0: How China’s Rise Reinvented Tyranny with Dr Jennifer Lind
Contributor(s): Dr Jennifer Lind, Chris Gilson | The last three decades have seen China’s economic rise. Alongside this, China has become much more influential on the global stage, emerging as a competitor to the United States in many arenas, including as a technology and innovation leader. China has accomplished all this while continuing to be an authoritarian state, which is at odds with many conventional ideas about the relationship between autocracies and technology. To discuss China’s technological rise in the context of its autocratic government, in October 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Jennifer Lind, Associate Professor of Government at Dartmouth College and a leading expert on the international relations of East Asia, about her new book, Autocracy 2.0 How China's Rise Reinvented Tyranny. This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata. Further reading and resources Autocracy 2.0 How China's Rise Reinvented Tyranny by Jennifer Lind (Cornell University Press, 2025) Jennifer Lind and Michael Mastanduno. Hard Then, Harder Now: CoCom’s Lessons and the Challenge of Crafting Effective Export Controls Against China - Texas National Security Review (2025) Blue Blaze on Substack Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers! The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 2 February 2026. Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025
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1 month ago
37 minutes 39 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | US-China strategic competition with Professor Evan Medeiros
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Professor Evan Medeiros | In August 2025, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization held its 25th annual summit in Tianjin, China, with the country’s leader Xi Jinping, hosting representatives from more than 20 countries including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Narendra Modi. The absence of the United States in this gathering of global leaders may tell us about how China is competing with the US and building its own global order. To discuss China’s strategic competition with the US, and how it is evolving under the Trump administration, in September 2025, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Evan Medeiros, the Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies and the Cling Family Senior Fellow in US-China Relations at Georgetown University. This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata. Further reading and resources “China and Russia Will Not Be Split”, Michael McFaul and Evan S. Medeiros, Foreign Affairs, 4 April 2025 Medeiros, E. S., & Polk, A. (2025). China’s New Economic Weapons. The Washington Quarterly, 48(1), 99–123. “S.-China Relations for the 2030s: Toward a Realistic Scenario for Coexistence”, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace”, 17 October 2024 “The Delusion of Peak China”, Evan S. Medeiros, Foreign Affairs, 24 April 2024 Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers! The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 2 February 2026. Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025
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2 months ago
38 minutes 10 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | AI, social media, and political disinformation with Dr Josephine Lukito
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Josephine Lukito | To talk about social media and politics, and how AI can help spread – or tackle – disinformation, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Josephine Lukito, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism and Media. Her research specializes in malicious political language in the public sphere, focusing on cross-platform flows of messages and frames about global economic and political issues. The discussion covers how social media and AI are influencing political communication, disinformation, and election strategies in the US and globally and about the evolving role of platforms, algorithms, and AI tools in shaping elections and democratic governance. This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata. Further reading and resources Lukito, J., & Pevehouse, J. C. (2022). Competing for attention on Twitter during the 2012 and 2016 U.S. presidential debates. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 20(2), 125–138. Rodarte, A. K., & Lukito, J. (2024). Does Social Media Level the Political Field or Reinforce Existing Inequalities? Cartographies of the 2022 Brazilian Election. Political Communication, 42(3), 382–404. Lukito, J., Lee, T., Martin, Z., Glover, K., Hu, A., & Cui, Z. (2023). Connective action in Myanmar: a mixed-method analysis of Spring Revolution. Information, Communication & Society, 27(7), 1422–1440. Candidata - https://www.candidata24.org/ Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers! The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 2 February 2026. Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025
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2 months ago
42 minutes 25 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
Take our Ballpark podcast survey and you could win £250 in vouchers!
Contributor(s): | The LSE Phelan US Centre's regular podcast, The Ballpark, will be 10 years old in 2026. Ahead of our anniversary, and after more than 140 episodes speaking to academic experts on topics from across the social sciences, we'd like to find out what you think about the podcast with a listener survey. It only takes 10-15 minutes, and you'll have the chance to enter a prize draw to win £250 in vouchers.  The Ballpark brings academic commentary to a wide audience, including to students, policymakers and a global community of academics. Recent highlights include The US’ changing relationship with NATO and Europe with Dr Celeste Wallander and an ongoing mini-series on AI and the US covering topics including AI’s effects on the workplace and the US-China AI race. Fill in our listener survey, here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025 Thanks for listening!
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2 months ago
35 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | AI and the workplace with Professor Ifeoma Ajunwa
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Ifeoma Ajunwa | AI is now increasingly playing a role in many parts of our lives, and the workplace is no exception. AI is now being used by employers to help them to recruit new staff and by jobseekers in their applications. But AI is also now present when we work. It’s used by employers to manage their employees, from monitoring what they are doing during the day, to what they post on social media. To talk about the rise of AI in the workplace, and what it means for workers and employers, in August 2025, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Ifeoma Ajunwa, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law at Emory University. Professor Ajunwa is also the Founding Director of the AI and Future of Work Program at Emory University School of Law. Her research interests are at the intersection of law and technology with a particular focus on the ethical governance of workplace technologies. This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed. Further reading and resources Ajunwa, Ifeoma, I. and Captured Capital (June 30, 2024). 134 Yale L. J. Forum (2025). Ajunwa, Ifeoma, Artificial Intelligence, Afrofuturism, and Economic Justice, 112 Geo. L.J. 1267 (2024). (November 01, 2023). Georgetown Law Journal, volume 112, pg 1267, Ajunwa, I., (2023). The quantified worker: law and technology in the modern workplace. Cambridge University Press. ‌ Ajunwa, Ifeoma, Automated Video Interviewing as the New Phrenology (July 19, 2021). 36 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 101 (2022). Does ‘Bossware’ Boost Worker Productivity? It’s Far From Clear – Wall Street Journal Tech Briefing Protecting Employees’ Health Data – New York Times - 27 March 2016 Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers! The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 2 February 2026. Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025
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3 months ago
42 minutes 20 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | Who is liable for AI? With Dr Anat Lior
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Anat Lior | AI has legal consequences. Who is responsible when AI makes a mistake which causes harm or financial loss? What role does government regulation play, and do we need to revise our legal frameworks in the face of increasingly capable AI? To talk about these issues, in July 2025, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Anat Lior, an assistant professor at Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law. Her research interests include AI governance and liability, quantum computing policy, the intersection of insurance and emerging technologies, and intellectual property law. This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed. Further reading and resources Lior, Anat, AI Entities as AI Agents: Artificial Intelligence Liability and the AI Respondeat Superior Analogy (August 31, 2019). 46 Mitchell Hamline Law Review (2020). Lior, Anat, Insuring AI: The Role of Insurance in Artificial Intelligence Regulation (August 10, 2021). Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2022. Lior, Anat, E/Insuring the AI Age: Empirical Insights into Artificial Intelligence Liability Policies. 31 Conn. Ins. L.J. (forthcoming, 2025) Unveiling the Quasi-Regulatory Landscape: Empirical Insights into AI Liability Policies - By Dr. Anat Lior, Sonal Madhok and Stuart Calam | April 30, 2025 Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers! The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 2 February 2026. Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025
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3 months ago
45 minutes 46 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | AI automation and the workforce with Dr Baobao Zhang
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Baobao Zhang | With the growth of the capability of artificial intelligence (AI), there is growing concern that this technology could make millions of jobs – and their workers – obsolete. In the third episode of The Ballpark’s miniseries on AI and the US, the Phelan US Centre explored the impacts AI is already having on the workforce with Baobao Zhang, Maxwell Dean Associate Professor of the Politics of AI in the Political Science Department at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Professor Zhang’s research and work focuses on trust in digital technology and the governance of artificial intelligence The discussion covers how recent advances in AI have shifted the landscape when it comes to labor automation, the anxiety that many people are feeling about the potential for AI to affect jobs and industries through automation, and what students should be doing to best prepare for a career in workplaces that will be affected by AI in the coming decades. This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.   Further reading and resources   Lee, Y.S, Soroushian, J., Bullock, J., Carroll, M., Dokko, J., Dominski, J., Hinds, R., Holzer, H., Horrigan, M., Munyikwa, Z., Oschinski, M., Radsch, C., Rock, D., Rossi, M., Seamans, R., Zhang, B. (2025). “Proactively Developing and Assisting the Workforce in the Age of AI.” Americans for Responsible Innovation and the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. Zhang, Baobao and Dafoe, Allan, Artificial Intelligence: American Attitudes and Trends (January 9, 2019). Zhang, B., Anderljung, M., Kahn, L., Dreksler, N., Horowitz, M.C. and Dafoe, A. (2021). Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence: Evidence from a Survey of Machine Learning Researchers. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, Baobao Zhang. 2022. No Rage Against the Machines: Threat of Automation Does Not Change Policy Preferences. In Proceedings of the 2022 AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society (AIES '22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 856–866. https://doi.org/10.1145/3514094.3534179
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4 months ago
38 minutes 42 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | Might unmakes right with Professor Oona Hathaway
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Oona Hathaway | In an article in the July/August edition of Foreign Affairs magazine, “Might Unmakes Right: The Catastrophic Collapse of Norms Against the Use of Force”, Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro look at the history of the prohibition of the use of force between states and discuss what they see as the current assault on this prohibition.
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4 months ago
37 minutes 38 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | The US’ changing relationship with NATO and Europe with Dr Celeste Wallander
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Celeste Wallander | In an article in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, “Beware the Europe You Wish For, The Downsides and Dangers of Allied Independence”, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Celeste Wallander, wrote on the potential downsides of Europe spending more on its own defense for the transatlantic alliance and for American foreign policy leadership.   To discuss her article, In July 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Celeste Wallander, Executive Director of Penn Washington. They spoke about NATO members’ greater investment in defence, the connection between defence strategy and global influence and the future of US-European relations.   This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.   Further reading and resources “Beware the Europe You Wish For, The Downsides and Dangers of Allied Independence” Celeste Wallander, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
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5 months ago
44 minutes 31 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | The Administrative State with Professor Kimberley S. Johnson
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Kimberley S. Johnson | In July 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Kimberley S. Johnson, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University and the John G. Winant Visiting Professor of American Government at the University of Oxford, about the recent history of the US administrative state and racial representation in the US government and administration They also discussed the second Trump administration’s moves to dismantle Diversity, Equity and Inclusion measures in the US government as part of Project 2025.   This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.   Further reading and resources Dark Concrete: Black Power Urbanism and the American Metropolis by Professor Kimberley S. Johnson (Cornell University Press, 2025) – to be published on 15 December 2025 Reforming Jim Crow: Southern Politics and State in the Age Before Brown by Professor Kimberley S. Johnson (Oxford University Press, 2010) Governing the American State: Congress and the New Federalism, 1877-1929 by Professor Kimberley S. Johnson (Princeton University Press, 2007)
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5 months ago
36 minutes 29 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | Deemphasizing Nuclear Weapons in Nuclear Deterrence with Dr Lauren Sukin
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Dr Lauren Sukin | In response to what the US sees as potential growing threats from China and North Korea, nuclear weapons are becoming a more and more important part of US alliance commitments and partnerships in East Asia. But what does this focus on nuclear weapons for both deterrence and reassurance mean for US foreign policy and for the security of the region? And could there be an alternative which puts a greater focus on conventional armed forces? To discuss these topics, in June 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Lauren Sukin about her recent article, in the Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, with Samuel Seitz of MIT, “Deemphasizing Nuclear Weapons in Nuclear Deterrence: The Case for Conventional Counterforce”. Dr Sukin is Assistant Professor in LSE’s Department of International Relations and a Centre Affiliate at the LSE Phelan US Centre. Further reading and resources Seitz, S. and Sukin, L. (2025). Deemphasizing Nuclear Weapons in Nuclear Deterrence: The Case for Conventional Counterforce. Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, [online] 8(1), pp.15–35.  
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5 months ago
30 minutes 3 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | The US-China AI race with Professor Angela Zhang
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Angela Zhang | In January 2025, the release of a new model and chatbot by Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company, DeepSeek, sent shockwaves through the tech industry in the US and elsewhere. DeepSeek’s launch was only one milestone in the ongoing AI competition between China and the US which has seen the US try to restrict the exports of key components used in AI development to other countries. In the second episode of The Ballpark’s miniseries on AI and the US, the Phelan US Centre explored the ongoing AI competition between China and the US with Angela Zhang, Professor of Law at the Gould School of Law of the University of Southern California. Professor Zhang is an expert on AI regulation, both in China and globally. They spoke about China’s current approach to AI regulation, and how this compares with the US, and why China may be content with being a “close second” in the AI race. Further reading and resources High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy by Angela Huyue Zhang (Oxford University Press, 2024) The Promise and Perils of China’s Regulation of Artificial Intelligence, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, 21 January 2025
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6 months ago
34 minutes 52 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | The US and India–Pakistan tensions with Lisa Curtis
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson | On May 7th, 2025, India launched missile strikes on Pakistan in response to a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir on April 22nd. On May 10th a ceasefire was reached following mediation from the United States.   To discuss the US’ part in brokering a ceasefire, and the US’ responses to disputes between India and Pakistan over the past three decades, in June 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Lisa Curtis, senior fellow and director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.   The conversation covers the recent India–Pakistan crisis and the US’ role, how US involvement in the Kashmir dispute has evolved over the years, and how China’s growing influence has complicated how the US approaches India–Pakistan relations.   This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.   Further reading and resources   “How America Can Keep the Peace Between India and Pakistan”, Foreign Affairs, May 13, 2025 “Democracy in South Asia amid U.S. Aid Cuts What’s at Stake for Great Power Competition”, Center for a New American Security, May 15. 2025
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6 months ago
34 minutes 30 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | International Relations and Democracy in a Multipolar World
Contributor(s): Dr Theresa Squatrito, Rohan Mukherjee, Agnes Yu, Farsan Ghassim, Tim Murithi | The US-led international order is under strain from without and within. Authoritarian powers such as Russia and China are challenging the core tenets of global cooperation and conflict management. Rising states of the Global South like India, Brazil, and South Africa demand reformed multilateralism in the institutions of global governance, and the US and its Western allies face a domestic surge of right-wing populism that seeks to reverse the eighty-year-old open and interdependent system of international relations. At stake is democracy, a core tenet of American political life and foreign policy. To discuss and consider these issues, in May 2025, the LSE Phelan US Centre held the conference: International relations and Democracy in a Multipolar World. The conference brought together scholars and experts to examine how important these democratic discourses and practices are in the broader context of challenges to the US-led international order and the domestic contestation over the future direction of US foreign policy. The conference was convened by Phelan US Centre Affiliates Dr Rohan Mukherjee and Dr Luca Tardelli of LSE’s International Relations Department, and by Theresa Squatrito also of LSE’s Department of International Relations and Mathias Koenig-Archibugi of LSE’s Department of Government. In this episode of The Ballpark, we speak to Rohan Mukherjee and Theresa Squatrito about the main themes and takeaways from the conference. We also talked to three of the conference participants, Agnes Yu (LSE Department of Government), Farsan Ghassim (University of Oxford), and Tim Murithi (University of Cape Town), about their thoughts on the future of democracy and global governance. This episode of The Ballpark was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.
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7 months ago
34 minutes 28 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | AI and intellectual property with Dr Bhamati Viswanathan
Contributor(s): Bhamati Viswanathan, Chris Gilson | Many institutions are now using artificial intelligence (AI) models as tools to think about solutions to a variety of challenges, from the everyday to the global. At the same time, many commentators have expressed concerns about AI and its effects on society, the economy and democracy. In the first episode of The Ballpark’s miniseries on AI and the US, we explore the implications of AI for intellectual property. The rise of AI tools has been fuelled by the scraping of online resources as training data for the large language models that power them. This has important implications for how we think about intellectual property and the rights of those who created this training data. To find out more, in May 2025, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Bhamati Viswanathan of New England Law Boston. Dr Viswanathan is an expert in the areas of copyright law, intellectual property, innovation and creativity law, and on cultural property and appropriation. This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed. Further reading and resources ChatGPT is eating the world - https://chatgptiseatingtheworld.com/
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7 months ago
38 minutes 9 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | The state of American democracy with Professor Michael Latner
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Michael Latner | In February 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Michael Latner, Professor of Political Science at California Polytechnic State University and Director of Research on Democratic Reform at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School. They discussed the recent history of voting rights and the state of democracy in America in 2025. This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed. Further reading and resources Keena, A., Latner, M., McGann, A.J.M. and Smith, C.A. (2021). Gerrymandering the States. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108995849 The Guinier Project at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute - https://charleshamiltonhouston.org/events/guinier-project-roundtable/
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8 months ago
34 minutes 28 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
LSE: The Ballpark | The Origins of the US-China Chip War with Dr John Minnich
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, John Minnich | In March 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to John Minnich, Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations at LSE about why semiconductors are so important in the global economy, and why the US is willing to go to what Dr Minnich terms, economic war, over them. They also discussed how the semiconductor trade is framed as a national security issue in the US and China, and how President Trump may approach the ‘chip-war’ in coming months.   This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.   Further reading and resources   Ling S. Chen and Miles M. Evers, "'Wars without Gun Smoke': Global Supply Chains, Power Transitions, and Economic Statecraft," International Security 48, no. 2 (Fall 2023): 164–204. Disaggregating China, Inc. by Yeling Tan (2024) | Cornell University Press - https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501759635/disaggregating-china-inc/ 11 November 2024 - China’s evolving approach to economic security with Professor Yeling Tan | The Ballpark podcast - https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2024/11/11/chinas-evolving-approach-to-economic-security-with-professor-yeling-tan-the-ballpark-podcast/ 13 February 2023 - China’s Belt and Road with Professor Taylor Fravel | The Ballpark podcast - https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2023/02/13/the-ballpark-podcast-extra-innings-chinas-belt-and-road-with-professor-taylor-fravel/
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9 months ago
46 minutes 34 seconds

LSE: The Ballpark
The Ballpark is the LSE Phelan US Centre's regular podcast on the politics and policy of the United States. Through features and interviews with academics from the LSE and elsewhere, The Ballpark looks more closely into what's going on behind the headlines.