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Episodes
Ep. 14 Regulating out of Crisis: Capital Market Regulation in the EU
If one examines the history of financial crises whether in the late 90s in Asia or the global financial crisis of 07-08 you might wonder what role - if any - government agencies or intergovernmental agencies can play in alleviating the possibilities of economic crash. In this episode, Professor Floris de Witte engages with the rich work of Professor Niamh Moloney to examine how capital market regulation works in the European Union. Can we regulate our way out of financial crisis? Professor Moloney shares some skepticism and offers critical insight into how capital market regulation can look like in the European Union.
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Ep. 13 Who Shapes Possibilities? Authority and Order in International Law
In this episode of Ratio, Professor Floris de Witte interviews Dr Marie Petersmann and Dr Dimitri Vandermeerssche on the work they have done curating their lecture series, conference and podcast: "Underworlds – Sites and Struggles of Global Dis/Ordering." In their conversation with Floris, Marie and Dimitri discuss the ways in which conceptions of authority and order shape how international law operates in upholding certain practices while inhibiting the imagination of novel ways of engaging with our planet, its natural resources, and the politics that dot the international system.
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Ep. 12 It's Not Just a Sport: EU Law and the Regulation of Football
In episode 12, Professor Floris de Witte and Dr Jan Zglinski discuss the regulation of sport through European Union law. Various points of contention may arise between sports governing bodies and the legal structures they interact with. While sports teams are interested in not being at a competitive disadvantage with other teams, the European Court of Justice has to ensure that the rules of sport are not in contravention of Union law principles. How is this balance struck? Listen to find out!
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Ep. 11 Death by Infected Blood: Examining the Infected Blood Inquiry
In May 2024, the Infected Blood Inquiry report was published (accessible here: https://www.infectedbloodinquiry.org.uk/reports/inquiry-report). The report detailed the systemic issues that led to the infected blood scandal, which saw the deaths of over 3000 people who received infected blood whilst undergoing different medical treatments. Hannah Gibbs, an assistant professor at the LSE, sat down with Professor Nicola Lacey to discuss the Infected Blood Inquiry. Hannah represented 300 core participants in the Inquiry and in this episode articulated what she learned about the nature of public inquiries more generally. What role do public inquiries play within the legal system? Do they provide sufficient vindication for the victims of tragedies like the infected blood scandal? Nicola Lacey and Hannah Gibbs consider these questions and much more.
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Ep. 10 - The Right to Security in the Criminal Law
Is there a right to security in the criminal law? Professor Peter Ramsay's 2012 book The Insecurity State Vulnerable Autonomy and the Right to Security in the Criminal Law, explained how such a right is apparent when one examines the different instruments employed by the state to guarantee precautionary justice. In this episode of Ratio, Professor Nicola Lacey speaks with Peter to unpack the implications that a right to security presents. What do precautionary laws, i.e., laws that seek to reassure one's aversion from another's risky behaviour towards them, tell us about the nature of criminalisation? Nicola and Peter discuss this and much more.
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Ep. 09 - Constitutionalism, Rights, and Protecting Courts from Political Capture
How should judges combat accusations of the politicisation of their courts? What happens when courts fall victim to political capture? Professor Nicola Lacey and Professor Susanne Baer discuss the nature of constitutionalism and the way in which courts around the world are engaged in conversation with one another to inform the way justice is globally conceived. The episode delves into Professor Baer’s rich history of legal practice as a Justice in the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany and how this experience alongside her extensive academic background informs her conceptions on democratic constitutionalism.
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Ep. 08 - Regulating the Financial Services
In honour of the years of academic service to the LSE, this episode of Ratio examines some of the contribution of Professor Julia Black in enriching the LSE and academia at large. In conversation with Julia, Professor Niamh Moloney also discusses the theoretical framework introduced by Julia in her book Rules and Regulators, which helped to outline how power is distributed in society through rules and regulations.
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Ep. 07 - Larry Kramer's vision for the LSE
In this episode of Ratio, Dr Sarah Trotter has a conversation with the LSE's President and Vice Chancellor, Professor Larry Kramer. Amongst the many interesting topics discussed, this episode delves into the importance of interdisciplinary work as a way to produce meaningful scholarship. Professor Kramer also offers his vision for the LSE as he begins his position of President and Vice Chancellor.
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Ep. 06 - Journeys to the End of the Earth: Ecology and the Posthuman
Does the environment possess rights? Perhaps it does, but according to Dr Marie Petersmann, such a claim reinforces a conception of rights centred on the human experience. In this episode of Ratio, Professor Gerry Simpson explores this argument put forth by Dr Petersmann. In doing so, we are asked to confront the shortcoming s that arise when one asserts that 'nature' has rights. Is environmental law undermined by our current framework of rights that extolls the human rather than -- and perhaps at the expense of -- the environment?
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Ep. 05 - Homeland Insecurity: On the Rise and Rise of Anti-Terrorism Laws
What is terrorism, and can we legislate against it? In episode 5 of the Ratio podcast, Professor Gerry Simpson speaks to Professor Conor Gearty KC on his 2024 book "Homeland Insecurity: The Rise and Rise of Global Anti-Terrorism Law." Professor Gearty challenges us to grapple with how 'terrorism' is politicised as a label. When did states begin to legislate against terrorism? What use - if any - does the 'terrorism' label serve in creating legislation to prevent political violence? This episode explores the racialised employment of terrorism in our contemporary world, and how anti-terrorism laws have impacted our perception of international conflict.
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Ep. 04 - Minority Report: Against Constitutionalism
Is the contemporary form of constitutionalism fit for purpose to address the social, political, and economic discontents around the world? What is the difference between a constitution and constitutionalism? In this episode Professor Gerry Simpson and Professor Martin Loughlin analyse the nature of constitutionalism today. Given the rise of populism in recent years, can constitutional principles be relied upon to meet the demands of the electorate? Martin Loughlin provides a fascinating insight into the changing meaning of constitutionalism from its early iteration in the 18th and 19th centuries to practices of constitutionalism in the post-1989 world.
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Ep. 03 - Catch me if you Can: Taxing Fairly
The impact of tax policies is complex, but how do taxes influence perceptions of the very rich in society? How do the highest earners respond to tax policies? By analysing UK tax records and the way the wealthy and top earners in the UK respond to tax policies, Professor Gerry Simpson sits down with Dr Andy Summers in this episode of Ratio to provide a quantitative and qualitative assessment of recent tax policies. By exploring the relationship between tax and wealth inequality, Dr Summers demystifies some of the characteristics of the richest members of society. In doing so, this episode explores the possibilities and limitations of utilising tax to rectify certain inequalities.
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Ep. 02 - Shakespeare in Law: Text, Performance, Jurisprudence
The relationship between copyright law and works of theatre poses interesting legal and social questions. Given the derivative nature of some productions, what does it mean for one to ‘own’ a piece of theatrical work? How does copyright law interact with the peculiar ways art is produced? In this episode of the Ratio podcast, Professor Gerry Simpson sits down with Dr Luke McDonagh to analyse the relationship between legal norms that undergird copyright law and ‘theatrical conventions’ that govern how playwrights view themselves and their peers within the world of theatre. Theatrical practice is often guided by social norms that operate as an alternative to employing the law in resolving copyright disputes. What do these informal means of justice indicate about the limitations of litigation and contractual relationships in theatre and the arts more broadly?
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Ep. 01 - Everything, Everywhere, all at once: On the Universality of International Law
Does justice look different domestically than internationally? How does the international community address issues of impunity exhibited by states and individuals in an affront to international law? In this episode, “Everything, Everywhere, all at once: On the Universality of International Law,” Professor Gerry Simpson speaks with Dr Devika Hovell on the history of international criminal prosecution. This episode explores how international criminal law functions to examine the normative weight of international crimes as offences against humanity as a whole rather than against one nation-state in particular. How does this difference in conception impact the appearance of justice?
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