Even though joking is often wielded by the powerful against the weak, it’s just as often the recourse of the weak against the strong. About Devorah Baum "I'm an Associate Professor in English Literature and Critical Theory at the University of Southampton. I research literature, philosophy, psychoanalysis and religion, and I've laid a particular em…

Freedom of speech is about freedom of expression. I want to be able to express myself, in dance, or in painting or in speech, because I should be able to tell you what I think. About Michael Roth "I'm the President and a professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. My work is on how people make sense of the past. I have spent many y…

The United Nations launched the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) became the most universally ratified treaty in history. About Roger Hart "I'm a professor in psychology at CUNY, trained in geography and most affiliated with the interdisciplinary field of childhood studies. Much of my research has been on children's use and experience of …

David Runciman, Professor of Politics at the University of Cambridge, examines the role and representation of young people in democracy. About David Runciman "I’m a Professor of Politics at Cambridge University and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. I explore the history of politics and political ideas, and democracy. My interest is in the …

Alex Teytelboym, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford, examines the economic reality experienced by refugees. About Alex Teytelboym "I am an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford, where I specialise in market design and network economics. My research interests include how best to run complex auctions a…

Jonathan White, Deputy Head of the European Institute and Professor in Politics at the London School of Economics, examines civil disobedience. About Jonathan White "I am the Deputy Head of the European Institute and Professor of Politics at the European Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science. My research focuses on democ…

Lea Ypi, Professor of Political Theory at the London School of Economics, explores new social movements and the reformation of political parties. About Lea Ypi "I am Professor in Political Theory at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I am interested in the history of political thought, justice, democratic theory, critiques of cap…

Jonathan White, Deputy Head of the European Institute and Professor in Politics at the London School of Economics, talks about emergency politics. About Jonathan White "I am the Deputy Head of the European Institute and Professor of Politics at the European Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science. My research focuses on de…

Conor Gearty, Professor of Human Rights Law at LSE, argues for a more nuanced approach to free speech. About Conor Gearty "I'm a professor of Human Rights Law at the London School of Economics, as well as a barrister at Matrix Chambers. My books and articles are in the field of terrorism, but also civil liberties and human rights. These are my main…

Antoine Vauchez, Research Professor at the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, discusses the future role citizens must play in their democracies. About Antoine Vauchez "I’m a research professor at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. My work relates particularly to the intersection between markets, states and democracy, and I look at that…

Lea Ypi, Professor of Political Theory at the London School of Economics, discusses how the concept of citizenship has evolved. About Lea Ypi "I am Professor in Political Theory at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I am interested in the history of political thought, justice, democratic theory, critiques of capitalism and the in…

Lyndsey Stonebridge, Professor of Humanities and Human Rights at the University of Birmingham, explores Hannah Arendt’s use of irony. About Lyndsey Stonebridge "I am Professor of Humanities and Human Rights at the University of Birmingham, in the UK. I work on the intellectual history and literature of the 20th century, and I’ve written books on wa…

Peter Pomerantsev, Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics, explores how democracy might face the information crisis. About Peter Pomerantsev "I’m a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Global Affairs of the London School of Economics and at the University of Johns Hopkins. I research disinformation, hate speech and polarisation to tr…

One of the chief assumptions of liberalism, at least a certain strand of liberalism and democratic theory, is the hope that the public sphere would be governed by reason: specifically, deliberative reason. About Eva Illouz "I’m a sociologist and I teach in Paris at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences. My work is about the sociolo…

Samuel Moyn, Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University, looks at the triumph (or failure) of human rights. About Samuel Moyn "I am Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. I’m a historian of morality; at least, that’s how I think of myself. I’ve studied where ideas about morality come from and the philo…

A core idea in political philosophy since at least the 17th century, if not since antiquity, is that violence is quintessential to the definition of politics and to the State. About Hannah Dawson "I teach the History of Ideas at King's College London. I work on early modern philosophy, especially moral and political thought, and also the history of…

David Runciman, Professor of Politics at Cambridge University, explores the idea of what we call democracy. About David Runciman "I’m a Professor of Politics at Cambridge University and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. I explore the history of politics and political ideas, and democracy. My interest is in the history of politics and polit…

Patrick Weil, Professor at Yale Law School and Senior Research Fellow at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, discusses migration. About Patrick Weil "I’m a Research Professor at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne and a visiting scholar in law at Yale Law School. In my work I have often explored the issues of citizenship and…

Patrick Weil, Professor at Yale Law School and Senior Research Fellow at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, explores citizenship. About Patrick Weil "I’m a Research Professor at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne and a visiting scholar in law at Yale Law School. In my work I have often explored the issues of citizenship an…

There are over 70 million displaced people in the world today, and the number is growing. This is roughly the size of the population of the 21st largest country in the world. About Homi K. Bhabha "I’m the Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University. I work on questions of race and representation. I work on the politics of a…

I started thinking about the term “unprepared” because it’s a term that is not often reflected upon yet is popularly used in the public discourse. About Homi K. Bhabha "I’m the Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University. I work on questions of race and representation. I work on the politics of affiliation, the literature a…

To feel at home in today’s world is a very big demand because the sense of homelessness has always been a place of feeling at home and not feeling at home. About Homi K. Bhabha "I’m the Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University. I work on questions of race and representation. I work on the politics of affiliation, the lit…

The Higgs boson is so important to our understanding of particle physics that it was hyperbolically referred to as the “God Particle”. About Harry Cliff "I am a particle physicist at the University of Cambridge, a populariser of science and a science writer. I work on an experiment called LHCb, which is a giant particle detector on the Large Hadron…

Keith Moffat, Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge, addresses magnetic field generation. About Keith Moffatt "I’m Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. My research field is fluid mechanics in all its aspects, ranging from the micro s…

When I think of an Earth-like exoplanet, I think of a planet with oceans, continents and a friendly atmosphere. In short, a planet like Earth orbiting a star like our own sun. About Sara Seager "I’m an astrophysicist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, 2024. My research focuses on exoplanets, …

We hope that understanding how planets form and the kinds of planets will help us better understand Earth, our solar system and our role here. About Sara Seager "I’m an astrophysicist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, 2024. My research focuses on exoplanets, planets which orbit stars other t…

The most straightforward problem to explain is the mystery of dark matter. About Harry Cliff "I am a particle physicist at the University of Cambridge, a populariser of science and a science writer. I work on an experiment called LHCb, which is a giant particle detector on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, where we study elementary particles – the…

With hundreds of billions of stars in a galaxy and hundreds of billions of galaxies, there are just untold numbers of planets out there. The vastness of space is truly incomprehensible. About Sara Seager "I’m an astrophysicist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, 2024. My research focuses on ex…

Looking at the history of particle physics is a good way to understand what we currently know about the basic building blocks of our universe. About Harry Cliff "I am a particle physicist at the University of Cambridge, a populariser of science and a science writer. I work on an experiment called LHCb, which is a giant particle detector on the Larg…

Lauren Kassell, Chair in History of Science at the European University Institute, discusses the evolution of astrology. About Lauren Kassell "I am Professor of History of Science and Medicine at the University of Cambridge and Chair of the History of Science at the European University Institute. My expertise is in the history of science and medicin…

The last 50 years of astronomy have been one of the real highlights of science. I’ve been privileged to be part of this huge cosmic exploration. About Martin Rees "I'm the UK's Astronomer Royal and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. My research is mainly on trying to understand our universe around us. A…

Sander van der Linden, Professor of Social Psychology in Society at Cambridge, explores how fake news damages all aspects of society. About Sander van der Linden "I am a Professor of Social Psychology and Director of the Social Decision-Making Lab at the University of Cambridge. I study the influence process, so I study how people are persuaded by …

David Spiegelhalter, Chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, University of Cambridge, addresses data-based claims and trust. About David Spiegelhalter "I'm a retired professor in the Statistical Laboratory at the University of Cambridge and Chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication. I'm a statistician, a…

One of the things that concerns me as an historian is the spread of conspiracy theories in the last 20 years or so. About Richard Evans "I'm Regius Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Cambridge. I'm the author of a number of books, particularly on Nazi Germany, such as The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power, The Thir…

Daniel Pick, psychoanalyst and Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London, talks to us about subtle and obscure power. About Daniel Pick "I’m a Psychoanalyst and Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. My research has explored various issues, questions and problems in modern history, politics, culture and…

David Runciman, Professor of Politics at the University of Cambridge, discusses whether the internet and social media help or harm democracy. About David Runciman "I’m a Professor of Politics at Cambridge University and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. I explore the history of politics and political ideas, and democracy. My interest is in…

Peter Pomerantsev, Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics, talks about how an abundance of information created a new reality. About Peter Pomerantsev "I’m a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Global Affairs of the London School of Economics and at the University of Johns Hopkins. I research disinformation, hate speech and polarisat…

Peter Pomerantsev, Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics, discusses the information war and how we could win it. About Peter Pomerantsev "I’m a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Global Affairs of the London School of Economics and at the University of Johns Hopkins. I research disinformation, hate speech and polarisation to try t…

Sander van der Linden, Professor of Social Psychology in Society at Cambridge, explains why people have been duped by misinformation. About Sander van der Linden "I am a Professor of Social Psychology and Director of the Social Decision-Making Lab at the University of Cambridge. I study the influence process, so I study how people are persuaded by …

Stephan Lewandowsky, Chair of Cognitive Psychology at University of Bristol, explains the post-truth crisis and its implications. About Stephan Lewandowsky "I’m the Chair of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Bristol, and I research why some people support misinformation over science. I am a cognitive scientist with an interest in computatio…

Barry Smith, Director of the Institute of Philosophy at the School of Advanced Study, explores the nature of explanation and human consciousness. About Barry Smith "I'm a professor of philosophy and Director of the Institute of Philosophy at the University of London School of Advanced Study. I'm a philosopher of mind and language, and I'm intereste…

Susan James, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, London, explores Spinoza’s philosophy of the embodied mind. About Susan James "I’m a professor of philosophy at Birkbeck College in London. Most of my work is about early modern philosophy, particularly the social and political aspects of philosophy in that period. My most recent book is cal…

The question of how consciousness happens is probably one of the biggest mysteries that still remain in science and in philosophy. About Anil Seth "I'm a professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex. My research is into the brain basis of consciousness, the nature of perception, and what it means to be a self." …

Bassem Hassan, Scientific Director and Deputy General Director at the Paris Brain Institute, examines what we all have in common: our individuality. About Bassem Hassan "I’m the Scientific Director of the Paris Brain Institute, and my research concerns how the brain develops. I am a neurobiologist and the Research Director at Inserm, a public scien…

Daniel Glaser, a neuroscientist affiliated with the University of London in the Institute of Philosophy, gives us a rundown on neurons. About Daniel Glaser "I’m a neuroscientist who has looked at visual perception in the brain and Head of Special Projects in public engagement at The Wellcome Trust. I work on making connections between science and p…

Stafford Lightman, Professor of Medicine at the University of Bristol, examines the hormonal patterns of our brain and their effects. About Stafford Lightman "I’m Professor of Medicine at the University of Bristol, and I research how the brain affects the body’s hormones, and vice versa. I am a neuroendocrinologist and the Director of the Henry Wel…

The gut is exposed to a great deal of internal information, such as nutrients and microbiota activity. About Irene Miguel-Aliaga "I am Professor of Genetics and Physiology at Imperial College London. I study how our internal organs change and affect us. I am a geneticist and I run the Miguel-Aliaga Laboratory at the Institute of Clinical Sciences a…

Sensory information that comes into the brain is necessarily ambiguous and noisy. In order to make sense of these signals, the brain has to combine its prior expectations about the causes of these signals. About Anil Seth "I'm a professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex. My research is into the brain basis of…

Bassem Hassan, Scientific Director and Deputy General Director at the Paris Brain Institute, explains the development of the human brain. About Bassem Hassan "I’m the Scientific Director of the Paris Brain Institute, and my research concerns how the brain develops. I am a neurobiologist and the Research Director at Inserm, a public scientific and t…

The reason affection is important is because a good life is an affectionate life, essentially. About Adam Phillips "I was trained as a child psychotherapist and I worked in the NHS for 17 years. I am currently a psychoanalyst and a writer. Since 2003 I have been the general editor of the new Penguin Modern Classics translations of Sigmund Freud. I …