Should there be a compulsory retirement age for society's leaders?

Crossing Channels

Content provided by Bennett School of Public Policy & Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Bennett School of Public Policy, and Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Bennett School of Public Policy & Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Bennett School of Public Policy, and Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

1+ y ago 39:28

MP3•Episode home

Fetch error

Hmmm there seems to be a problem fetching this series right now. Last successful fetch was on December 03, 2025 12:15 (1M ago)

What now? This series will be checked again in the next day. If you believe it should be working, please verify the publisher's feed link below is valid and includes actual episode links. You can contact support to request the feed be immediately fetched.

In this episode, Rory Cellan-Jones discusses with Diane Coyle, Ruth Mace, and Paul Seabright the impact of age on leadership, the consequences of having older leaders for society, and the case for implementing a compulsory retirement age.

Our experts discuss the tradeoff between experience, expertise, skill and judgement as society’s leaders age. They draw on evolutionary and current examples to evaluate the case for implementing a compulsory retirement age for leaders. Finally, they consider alternative mechanisms - such as reducing voting ages, term limits and cognitive testing - to improve democratic responsiveness.

This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Professor Dame Diane Coyle (Bennett Institute for Public Policy), Professor Ruth Mace (UCL/IAST) and Professor Paul Seabright (IAST).

Season 3 Episode 10 transcript

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform

For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.

With thanks to:

Audio production by Steve Hankey
Associate production by Stella Erker
Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Kevin Sortino

More information about our host and guests:

Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and his latest “Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC” which was published in 2023. @ruskin147

Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. Diane co-directs the Bennett Institute where she heads research under the themes of progress and productivity. Diane is also a Director of the Productivity Institute, a Fellow of the Office for National Statistics, an expert adviser to the National Infrastructure Commission, and Senior Independent Member of the ESRC Council. Diane was awarded a DBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2023 for her invaluable contributions to economic policy and practice, as well as her unwavering commitment to public service. @DianeCoyle1859

Ruth Mace is Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at University College London (UCL) and a long-term visitor at the Institute of Advanced Study at Toulouse (IAST). She trained as an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford, and then moved into evolutionary anthropology. Her research has covered a wide range of questions in human life history evolution and behavioural and cultural evolution. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal Evolutionary Human Sciences. @tavitonst

Paul Seabright is a professor of economics at the Toulouse School of Economics. He was Director from 2012 to 2021 of the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse. Paul did his undergraduate and doctoral studies at the University of Oxford, where he was a Fellow of All Souls College. Paul’s current research lies in three ar

44 episodes

#Government #Bennett Institute For Public Policy #Institute For Advanced Study In Toulouse #Public Policy #University Of Cambridge #Iast #Economics #Politics