The Wonk List for Thursday!

The Wonk List --  2 March 2017

Timely Lectures and Podcasts on the economic and social sciences

First, two podcasts from Russ Roberts Econ Talk

7:30 AM: Introduction -- John Case

7:40  Paul Bloom on Empathy:

Psychologist Paul Bloom of Yale University talks about his book Against Empathy with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Bloom argues that empathy--the ability to feel the emotions of others--is a bad guide to charitable giving and public policy. Bloom argues that reason combined with compassion is a better and more effective guide to making the world a better place.

8:48 London School of Economics: Growing Up Online: A digital revolution?

Speaker(s): Rachel Coldicutt, Emma Gannon, Deana Puccio | What are the benefits and risks for young people growing up in the digital space? Is now the time to learn lessons from the generation who came of age with the internet? And how can the internet work for everyone? Rachel Coldicutt (@rachelcoldicutt) is Chief Executive Officer of Doteveryone, a UK charity working to solve social and moral challenges that have arrived with the Internet. She has spent the last 20 years helping organisations adapt to the digital world. She has worked at the BBC, BT, V&A, Royal Opera House and as a consultant with large service organisations in finance, energy, healthcare and the third sector. She is also the founder of Culture Hack Day and co-founder of arts innovation agency Caper. Emma Gannon (@emmagannon) is a blogger, author and digital consultant. She has written for the likes of Stylist, Grazia, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and is the former social media editor at British GLAMOUR. Her debut book is CTRL ALT DELETE: How I Grew Up Online. Her podcast of the same name interviewing digital creatives hit number 16 in the iTunes charts on its first week of release. It has been recommended by The Times, ELLE UK, Marie Claire, The Pool and has hit half a million downloads to date. Emma has spoken on Sky News, hosted panels at Google HQ, is a regular guest lecturer at Condé Nast Fashion College and was a guest curator at Cheltenham Literary Festival in 2016. Deana Puccio is a former Senior Assistant District Attorney from New York City. She worked in the Sex Crimes/Special Victims Unit of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn. In 2013, she Co-Founded The RAP Project (@rapprojectuk), Raising Awareness and Prevention, which aims to help teenagers minimize the risk of becoming a victim of sexual attack or vulnerable to excessive social media pressures. The RAP Project is now working in over 100 schools around the UK. Through her work with The RAP Project Deana has appeared as an expert commentator on Sky News and on the BBC. She is the co-author of Sex, Likes & Social Media, Talking To Our Teens In The Digital Age. Ellen Helsper (@EllenHel) is Director of Graduate Studies and Associate Professor in the Media and Communications Department at the LSE. Her current research interests include new media audiences; digital inclusion; mediated interpersonal communication; and quantitative and qualitative methodological developments in media research. The Department of Media and Communications (@MediaLSE) undertakes outstanding and innovative research and provides excellent research-based graduate programmes for the study of media and communications. The Department was established in 2003 and in 2014 their research was ranked number 1 in the most recent UK research evaluation, with 91% of research outputs ranked world-leading or internationally excellent.

10:20 London School of Economics Festival: The future of humanity

Speaker(s): Luke Dormehl, Laurie Penny, Nick Srnicek | What kind of future do we want to create and why? This panel explores the philosophical implications of scientific advancements like artificial intelligence and human enhancement, which have the potential to revolutionize our world. Is fear overriding optimism in our approach to the future? Luke Dormehl (@lukedormehl) is a technology author and journalist, with a background in documentary film. He regularly contributes to Digital Trends, and has written for Fast Company, the Guardian, Sunday Times and other publications. His previous books include The Apple Revolution, The Formula and most recently Thinking Machines: The inside story of Artificial Intelligence and our race to build the future. Laurie Penny (@PennyRed) is a journalist and author, most recently of the novella Everything Belongs to the Future. She is a contributing editor and columnist for the New Statesman and a frequent writer on social justice, pop culture, gender issues, and digital politics for the Guardian, the New Inquiry, Salon, the Nation, Vice, the New York Times and many other publications. Her blog Penny Red was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize in 2010. In 2012, Britain’s Tatler magazine described her as one of the top “100 people who matter.” Her most recent nonfiction book is Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies, and Revolution. Nick Srnicek (@n_srnck) is a lecturer in International Political Economy at City, University of London. He is the author of Platform Capitalism and Inventing the Future (with Alex Williams). With Helen Hester he is currently writing After Work. Jason Alexander is Professor of Philosophy at LSE and the co-ordinator of the MSc Philosophy of the Social Sciences.

11:45: Richard Wolff's Economic Update: "Where Theories Crash?"

“Updates on the exploitation of adjuncts that weakens US higher education and on US’s extreme wealth inequality. Major discussion of the three main economic theories (neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian) clashing in today’s world.”