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Contributor(s): Professor Leslie Willcocks, Dr Guy Michaels, Professor David Graeber, Dr Aleks Krotoski | Welcome to LSE IQ, a new monthly podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science. This is the podcast where we ask some of the leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer intelligent questions about economics, politics or society. In this episode Sue Windebank asks whether predictions about robots automating us out of our jobs are true and how technology is going to change the way we work. Tackling the question, 'What's the future of work', are: Professor David Graeber of LSE's Department of Anthropology; Dr Aleks Krotoski, social psychologist, technology journalist and former visiting fellow in LSE's Media and Communications Department ; Dr Guy Michaels, LSE Associate Professor of Economics; and Leslie Willcocks , Professor of Technology, Work and Globalisation at LSE. For further information about the podcast visit lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ.

Contributor(s): Professor David Graeber | This episode is dedicated to David Graeber, LSE professor of Anthropology, who died unexpectedly in September this year. David was a public intellectual, a best-selling author, an influential activist and anarchist.
He took aim at the pointless bureaucracy of modern life, memorably coining the term 'bullshit jobs'. And his book 'Debt: The First 5000 years' was turned into a radio series by the BBC.
But David started his academic career studying Madagascar. Anthropology interested him, he said, because he was interested in human possibilities - including the potential of societies to organise themselves without the need for a state - as he had seen in his own research.
He was also a well-known anti-globalisation activist and a leading figure in the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
David was generous enough to do an interview for us in 2016 when LSE iQ was in its infancy. That episode asked, 'What's the future of work?' and in his interview he reflected on the disappointments of technology, pointless jobs and caring labour.
David was such an interesting speaker that we would have liked to use more of it at the time, but we didn't have the space. Now, it feels right to bring you a lightly edited version of the interview.

Contributors
David Graeber

Research

The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy, published by Melville House.

'On the Phenomenon of Bullshit jobs: A work rant', STRIKE! Magazine

Bullshit Jobs: A theory, published by Allen Lane