Contributor(s): Professor John Hills, Professor Lucinda Platt, Dr Malcolm Torry | Welcome to LSE IQ, a monthly podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where we ask leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer an intelligent question about economics, politics or society. The welfare state is constantly under debate, whether it is the underfunding of the NHS or the amount we spend on benefits. With over 50% of the country's budget spent on the welfare state and an ever-changing political, technological and cultural landscape, its purpose, size and utility dominate public discourse. In this episode of LSE IQ, James Rattee looks at the research and asks, 'What's the future of the welfare state?'. This episode features: John Hills, Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy, LSE Department of Social Policy; Lucinda Platt, Professor of Social Policy and Sociology, LSE Department of Social Policy and; Dr Malcolm Torry, Visiting Senior Fellow, LSE Department of Social Policy. For further information about the podcast and all the related links visit http://lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ. You may also be interested in the LSE Festival: Beveridge 2.0, 19 - 24 February 2018 http://www.lse.ac.uk/Events/LSE-Festival and the LSE Library exhibition 'A Time for Revolutions: Making the Welfare State', 8 January to 13 April 2018, http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/exhibitions