LED Confidential

About LED Confidential

Podcast about local economic development and placemaking. Co-hosted by Mike Spicer of PolicyDepartment and David Marlow of Third Life Economics. Mike, David and guests address the divisive, often unspoken issues facing economic development professionals in 2020s Britain. Website: www.ledconfidential.co.uk

Publisher

LED Confidential

Category

government

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Apr 2022

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

105 of 142 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   8 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Universities under pressure: can their place-anchor role survive the sector's cash squeeze?

   Host David and Guest Professor Andrew Jones, Vice Chancellor and President of Brunel University London, explore how universities maintain their civic roles amidst financial pressures and evolving economic landscapes.

2. 

   1 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Civil Service secondments to Mayoral Strategic Authorities: the capacity building we need?

   David and Mike interview experts on whether Civil Service secondments to Mayoral Strategic Authorities truly build capacity or fall short of current needs.

3. 

   24 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   The return of onshore wind to England: can host communities reap the benefits?

   Host David and guest Mike explore how England's returning onshore wind industry can benefit host communities by examining Scotland's community wealth-building approach and ownership models.

Inside a recent episode

Universities under pressure: can their place-anchor role survive the sector's cash squeeze?

Published 8 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] So I think universities are very embedded in place, whether they like it or not, quite often. I get that they have, you know, there's a sort of sense of international and very strong multiple places that they may be present as a brand or an entity in. But it's almost an inevitable facet of universities that they, you know, campuses from the Italian world for a field. And they are, they become, as I said, they get into things, they get into places. And even some of the leading institutions, you can't sort of think about the economy of sort of North Boston without thinking about MIT and, you know, London's economy. […]

Who has been a guest on LED Confidential

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Andrew Jones
• David Waite
• Mark Sandford
• Adrian Johnston
• Glenn Athey

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

86

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

68

Contact LED Confidential

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about LED Confidential