On The Pulse

 In the last episode of this season, we talk about a notoriously difficult but crucial topic: well-being and happiness. In recent months, millennial burnout has been making headlines, prompting us to ask: what makes us feel good in general, and what can help us feel better at LSE? We are joined by LSESU's Community & Welfare officer, and happiness expert Paul Dolan. Interested in more? Check out: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/millennials-burnout-generation-debt-work Happiness by Design: Finding Pleasure and Purpose in Everyday Life - Paul Dolan

This year’s comic relief sparked political controversy for its alleged Labourite flavor. In this episode of On the Pulse, we ask what philanthropy does and does not do, and how come that it has become yet another topic for mud slinging between the British Left and Right. We’re joined by Prof. Sir Julian Le Grand, who shares his thoughts on philanthropy and social enterprise. Interested in more? Read: The Economics of Social Problems - Julian Le Grand https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/mar/18/david-lammy-comic-relief-criticism-behind-8m-donation-drop-tory-mp-chris-philp?fbclid=IwAR0sNe8Tf4QP1N8iALYLK5R1EmuCa38UXd3cRmnpFR2Qbop33oSIGBjznYY https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6817711/Comic-Relief-TV-ad-Corbyn-BBC-accused-breaching-neutrality.html?fbclid=IwAR39Pjtmhhala4XKi-TfcoQ3r4nLakKDQZCY7MAsr9p5680Qk_I7T5xIWBs

This week, we're talking about film. Fleur is away again so we're joined by Georgina Connah and Min-Kyoo Kim. What is a political film, and what are the best and worst examples? Interested in more? Watch: The Favourite October The Three Caballeros Jaws Pride Cold War Under The Shadow The Pervert's Guide To Ideology

 This week, we're going local. In lieu of Fleur, we are joined by Sam Anderson to discuss the British constitution. If that's not enough for you, we touch on Welsh UKIP, Vernon Bogdanor and 'the infamous pizza rat'. We talk to Professor Simon Hix about a new electoral system. Interested? Check out more here: The British Constitution - Vernon Bogdanor The Electoral Sweet Spot: Low‐Magnitude Proportional Electoral Systems - John Carey & Simon Hix The Irish Constitutional Convention offers a potential routemap for renewing UK democracy - David Farrell The Dutch Electoral System on Trial - Henk van der Kolk & Jacques Thomassen

 Another in a long line of Britain's industrial woes is the proposed closure of Swindon's Honda factory. But how did we get here - and how can we fix it? On The Pulse talk investment, nationalisation and The Entrepreneurial State. To help us along the way, we speak to Chi Onwurah, a Shadow Minister in the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) team. If you want more information, check out these: The Entrepreneurial State - Mariana Mazzucato www.ft.com/content/79208aae-28…9-88a4-c32129756dd8 www.ippr.org/research/publicati…ibzzw1Q36Rig6KP5J0

 We're only one and a half months into the year and the most 2019 story of 2019 is already upon us. Trump, Saudi Arabia, privacy and... nudity. That's right, we're talking about Jeff Bezos and the internet. In this episode of On the Pulse, we ask: how on earth did we get here? And what could effectively regulate big tech? Sarah Manavis, New Statesman's tech and digital culture writer, helps us out. If you want to read more, check out Sarah's pieces here: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/media/2019/02/defence-jeff-bezos-penis-national-enquirer-dick-pics https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/technology/2019/01/we-should-stop-expecting-tech-companies-cowards-netflix-hasan-minhaj-saudi-arabia-khashoggi https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2018/11/twitter-s-ignorance-hate-speech-india-highlights-wider-social

 Over past weeks, our environmental future has been frontpage news. The Green New Deal, the gilets jaunes, high schoolers going on climate rallies, and Ministers resigning over conspiracy claims. In this episode, we talk about climate policy and American’s history of climate change with Dr. Megan Black. Want to know more? Have a look at the following: Dr Megan Black (2018) - The Global Interior: Mineral Frontiers and American Power Zadie Smith - Elegy for a Country’s Seasons (www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/04/…countrys-seasons/ ) Belgian minister resigns over schools strike conspiracy claims - www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/…otests-a-set-up 2019 Global Temperature Forecast - www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/…ature-forecast Green New Deal: www.theatlantic.com/science/archive…trategy/576514/ Andreou, C. (2007). Understanding procrastination. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 37(2), 183-193.

 A prince, a rockstar, and LSE director Minouche Shafik walk into a bar. It happened last week, at Davos. Well, we’re not sure about the bar part. Still, we wonder: what happens at Davos? Is it truly the annual meeting of neoliberals patting each other on the backs, or do we owe some of our important political achievements to these kind of informal meetings with Bono? We talk to David Graeber, anthropology professor and just back in London after spending time with the Gilets Jaunes. What is his perception of the man who was conspicuous by his absence, French president Emmanuel Macron? Want to know more? Look no further: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/davos-world-economic-forum-global-elites-populism-macron-trump-switzerland-a8737291.html Rutger Bregman - Utopia for Realists (2014) David Graeber - Debt: The First 5000 Years (2011) David Graeber - Bullshit Jobs (2018)

In this first episode of On the Pulse, we reminisce about 2018 together with LSE’s student body and look into the future. While doing so, a more basic question arises: why do we like forecasting so much? Professor Jonathan White (#EU481) of the LSE’s European Institute helps us answering the question and illuminates us about the history of the future as a concept, and what it means for politics. Want to know more? Here’s some of Prof. White’s reading suggestions: Nisbet (1994), History of the Idea of Progress. Beckert (2016), Imagined Futures: Fictional expectations and capitalist dynamics. White (2013), ‘Thinking Generations’, British Journal of Sociology 64 (2). White (2017), Pitfalls of generational thinking: https://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/jonathan-white/pitfalls-of-generational-thinking