Free Thinking

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." The words of Samuel Beckett from a 1983 short story Worstward Ho inspire a Free Thinking conversation about failure chaired by...

13 Kesä 202556min

Personal Identity is at the heart of contemporary culture. Political philosophies are built around it and family history is a hobby undertaken by hundreds of thousands. Understanding where you came fr...

6 Kesä 202556min

What do we mean by 'common sense'? In 1925 the philosopher GE Moore wrote a Defence of Common Sense which argued against philosophical idealism, on the grounds that it seemed to deny a set of proposit...

4 Kesä 202556min

Political power can take many forms, from the top-down model of the Roman Empire, to operating in the democratic politics of today, to the possibilities offered by new technologies for more horizontal...

4 Kesä 202557min

Wolves were once hunted and persecuted to the point of near extinction but are now enjoying a come back across Europe, if not the UK. What can explain the way they've been targeted, and even demonised...

23 Touko 202556min

What is the role of vision in politics? Must politicians have a vision of what kind of society they’re working towards, ultimately? What kind of role does this vision play in the day-to-day practice o...

16 Touko 202556min

On the 8th May 1945, the Allies declared victory over Nazi Germany. How has war and the threat of war shaped society in the intervening years? Do 'war' and 'peace' mean the same things, 80 years on? M...

9 Touko 202556min

Post local elections and pre VE day anniversary events across the UK, Shahidha Bari explores ideas about community. Mike Savage, Professor of Sociology at the LSE, explains how social capital enables ...

2 Touko 202556min