Transforming Society podcast

Danny Dorling and Jess Miles talk about his concept of peak injustice - that injustice and inequality are now so bad in the UK that it might just be that they can't get worse. In advance of 4 July, they talk about Keir Starmer and what the Labour party may offer, why higher taxes aren't a burden, how fear wrecks societies and the data that gives us hope that getting down from the top of the mountain of injustice might be possible.Danny Dorling is Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Peter’s College. He is a patron of RoadPeace, Comprehensive Future and Heeley City Farm. He has published over 50 books, including the best-selling Peak Inequality: Britain’s Ticking Timebomb (2018) and Injustice: Why Social Inequality Still Persists (2014). Follow him on Twitter: @dannydorling.Find out more about the book: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/peak-injusticeThe full transcript of the podcast is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2024/06/21/podcast-danny-dorling-on-the-uk-election-and-hope-for-change/Timestamps:01:39 - What are the signs things might be getting less unequal?5:33 - How far are the parties going to tackle injustice, and are there any standout policies?9:59 - Why are people afraid of tax rises?13:01 - What are individuals going to have to accept in order to move away from this peak injustice?20:57 - When discussing what the next government have to do to move us away from peak injustice you said they have to want to do it. What did you mean by that?28:40 - What is the important role the left have to play in this election?33:09 - What do you want people, including the new government, to take from your book, 'Peak Injustice'?Intro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_USFollow the Transforming Society blog to be told when new articles and podcasts publish: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/follow-the-blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Convict’s voices have traditionally been ignored and marginalised in scholarship and policy debates, but how can we improve if we don’t learn from these lived experiences? Richard Kemp speaks with Jeffrey Ian Ross, author of ‘Introduction to Convict Criminology’, about why listening to convicts is essential to positively impacting corrections, criminology, criminal justice, and policy making. They discuss the origins of convict criminology as a discipline, the importance, and difficulty, of receiving higher education during incarceration, and the policy decisions that are necessary to improve our criminal justice systems.Jeffrey Ian Ross is Professor in the School of Criminal Justice and Research Fellow with the Center for International and Comparative Law and the Schaefer Center for Public Policy at the University of Baltimore. Follow him on Twitter: @jeffreyianross.Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/introduction-to-convict-criminologyThe full transcript of the podcast is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2024/06/14/podcast-how-listening-to-convicts-can-transform-justice/ Timestamps:1:41 - What was the literature on prisons before convict criminology, and what does convict criminology do differently?4:08 - What is prison life like and why is it important for us to understand it?7:08 - Was convict criminology 'rocking the boat' when it came to be?9:31 - Education in prisons is important, so how did it end up in the state it's in?15:56 - What's the financial support for inmates doing education?18:56 - How achievable is it for educated inmates to write academically about their experiences?25:30 - What do you say to people who disagree with inmates being educated?28:35 - What are the impacts of race, gender and class, and what are the dangers of activism?32:22 - How does convict criminology want to influence policy? Intro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Follow the Transforming Society blog to be told when new articles and podcasts publish: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/follow-the-blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lurking, or reading the comments in an online group without writing a comment, is a common practice. But what does it mean to be a lurker?In this podcast host Jess Miles speaks with Gina Sipley, Associate Professor of English at SUNY Nassau Community College and author of Just Here for the Comments. Gina challenges our assumptions about lurking, revealing it to be a complex and valuable form of online engagement.They talk about the psychology of online behaviour, how lurking can be a form of resistance and social activism and the surprising value lurking brings to the world.Gina Sipley is Associate Professor of English at SUNY Nassau Community College. Sipley is a first-generation college graduate. Follow her on Twitter: @GSipley.Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/just-here-for-the-commentsThe full transcript of the podcast is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2024/05/22/podcast-how-lurkers-influence-the-online-world/ Timestamps:1:09 - Where did the title, 'Just Here for the Comments', come from?2:19 - Who did you study, and on what platforms?8:30 - Why does lurking have such a bad rep?11:35 - What grassroot actions are lurkers taking, and how does it challenge traditional ideas of online participation and activism?17:56 - Lurking as a privileged act20:11 - What value does lurking bring?23:36 - Who would you like to read the book, and what impact do you hope it will have? Intro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Follow the Transforming Society blog to be told when new articles and podcasts publish: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/follow-the-blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

History is a key battleground in our increasingly bitter contemporary culture wars. In the polarized debates over who we are, the cry of ‘You can’t rewrite history’ regularly goes up. And is regularly met with the counterclaim that history needs to be rewritten.Virtually the only thing both sides can agree on is that the past matters. But why, and in what ways? And is there a route out of our current impasse? These are some of the questions tackled in this episode of the podcast, in which George Miller talks to Robert Gildea, emeritus professor of modern history at Oxford University, about his new book, What is History For?Along the way, Robert also reflects on his own career as a historian and what it has taught him about the role of history in our present political reality. Robert Gildea is Professor Emeritus of Modern History at the University of Oxford, and a specialist on French and European history in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2003 he won the Wolfson Prize for History. Follow him on Twitter: @RobertGildea.Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/what-is-history-forThe full transcript of the podcast is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2024/05/16/podcast-why-history-needs-to-be-rewritten/ Timestamps:1:51 - Robert's attempts to convince his father that he was cut out for a career as a historian6:18 - What drew you to history?13:37 - What do historians actually do?18:38 - What is the trajectory that historians normally follow?22:40 - Why is history more complicated than a settled body of knowledge?30:55 - Why history matters, and is still significant in the world today42:17 - Is it possible to have a truly successful reckoning with the past? Intro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Follow the Transforming Society blog to be told when new articles and podcasts publish: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/follow-the-blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Racial justice is never far from the headlines, but, although the ideals of the legal system such as fairness and equality seem allied to the struggle, campaigners have been all too often let down by the system. In this episode Jess Miles and Bharat Malkani, author of ‘Racial Justice and the Limits of the Law’, talk through cases like those of the Colston Four and Shamima Begum, to explore this paradox and establish where change is possible. Bharat Malkani is Reader in Law at Cardiff University. His research connects human rights with criminal justice, with a particular focus on racism, miscarriages of justice and the death penalty. Follow him on Twitter: @bharatmalkani.Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/racial-justice-and-the-limits-of-lawThe full transcript of the podcast is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2024/04/22/podcast-can-the-law-deliver-racial-justice/ Timestamps:01:11 - How does the Colston Four case illustrate the relationship, and the paradox, between racial justice and the law?04:31 - How do six concepts from critical race theory explain the ways the law is limiting when it comes to racial justice?36:43 - What is anti-racist lawyering and is it possible within the system?42:16 - There are structural limits everywhere, not just in law. How does EDI relate to this and what should we think about?46:40 - If we are concluding that the law is too limited to achieve racial justice, what is there to learn and where can change be made? Intro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Follow the Transforming Society blog to be told when new articles and podcasts publish: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/follow-the-blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, George Miller talks to the author of What are Prisons for?, prison inspector and visiting professor of law at Oxford Hindpal Singh Bhui, about why we lock so many people up. Prison populations have increased hugely in the past fifty years and vast sums of money are spent to keep over 11.5 million people behind bars, so you might think there is overwhelming evidence that prison ‘works’.However, hard evidence for this claim is lacking. ‘If we are to understand more about the purpose of prisons,’ Hindpal Singh Bhui argues, ‘we need to look much further and deeper than official statements and dominant narratives.’Dr Hindpal Singh Bhui OBE is an Inspection Team Leader at HM Inspectorate of Prisons and a Visiting Law Professor at the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford. The full transcript of the podcast is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2024/04/10/podcast-should-we-be-aiming-to-improve-prisons-or-abolish-them/ Timestamps:1:50 - What was your earliest impressions of prisons?4:34 - What is your current role?5:51 - What are prisons for day in and day out? 11:43 - Who gets sent to prison and why they get sent to prison?16:15 - Do you think that the abolitionist position helps take the debate forward? 20:12 - How do you begin to have a mature debate about change?24:36 - Are prisons a sort of epiphenomenon on top of deeper, wider social problems?27:28 - Were there any things that you discovered where you came upon something surprising or enlightening?30:10 - What is an example that you think is inspiring or points in a positive direction? Intro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Follow the Transforming Society blog to be told when new articles and podcasts publish: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/follow-the-blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jessie Abrahams' new book reveals the extent of class inequality in schools in the UK.By telling Jessie's story and that of one of the young people in her research, this episode untangles the role aspiration plays for young people in school and the significance of the different choices that are available to different pupils in different schools.Jessie puts forward ideas for changes that we can make, despite the limitations of what is a fundamentally unequal system.Jessie Abrahams is Lecturer in Education and Social Justice in the School of Education at the University of Bristol. Follow her on Twitter: @AbrahamsJJ. The full transcript of the podcast is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2024/03/20/podcast-class-inequality-and-denied-ambition-in-our-schools/ Resources:Find out more about the book: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/schooling-inequalityRead Jake's story for free: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/asset/12446/jacks-story-schooling-inequality-abrahams.pdfLearn more about the Paired Peers project: https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/projects/paired-peersExplore the Russel Group’s Informed Choices: https://www.informedchoices.ac.uk/Discover the facilitating subjects: https://successatschool.org/advice/subjects/what-are-facilitating-subjects/204 Timestamps:01:58 – Jessie’s story and how she came to write the book05:37 – It’s about resources given to schools, not individual teachers08:24 – Jake’s story22:04 – Aspiration and the surprising difference between working and middle-class children30:39 – Blocking and the GSCE/A Level options available at different schools40:19 – The missed chance to level the playing field during COVID45:12 – Where can change be made? Intro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Follow the Transforming Society blog to be told when new articles and podcasts publish: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/follow-the-blog/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with Anna Durnova, one of the guest editors for the Emotions and Society special issue on 'Emotions and the ‘Truths’ of Contentious Politics: Advances in Research on Emotions, Knowledge, and Contemporary Contentious Politics'.They discuss the weaponisation of truth, the important difference between being told you are safe and feeling you are safe and the need to bring the harnessing of emotions back to democracy.Read the special issue: https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/emsoc/5/3/emsoc.5.issue-3.xmlIntro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with Nigel Thrift, author of The Pursuit of Possibility: Redesigning Research Universities, about research universities and what makes them different.They discuss the importance of free speech at universities, the many threats research universities face and what can be done about these threats to ensure a thriving future for these essential institutions.Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-pursuit-of-possibilityIntro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we talk about postracialism and colourblind narratives with Paul Warmington, Visiting Professor at Coventry University, Visiting Research Fellow at Goldsmiths and author of ‘Permanent Racism’.Britain’s current postracial perspectives are facile so we need to reconceptualise critical race theory from a British standpoint. This means foregrounding the concept of ‘permanent racism’ and decolonising public debate and antiracism itself.Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/permanent-racismIntro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Jess Miles speaks with Nick Gibbs, author of ‘The Muscle Trade’, about the rise in the use of image and performance enhancing drugs, why people take them and how they get them.They talk about how the reasons for people taking these drugs goes beyond sporting skill and physical prowess, the difference between online and offline supply, avenues for future research and ways of reducing the harm caused.Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-muscle-tradeIntro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There has been a growing interest in talking about menopause over the last decade, but the impact is still rarely discussed in management and organisation studies, despite having profound implications in this area. In this episode of the Transforming Society podcast, Jess Miles speaks with Vanessa Beck and Jo Brewis, co-editors of ‘Menopause Transitions and the Workplace’. They discuss how the menopause can impact work, what support organisations and individuals can offer and the key areas that researchers need to investigate next.More information about Menopause Transitions and the Workplace edited by Vanessa Beck and Jo Brewis is available at https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/menopause-transitions-and-the-workplaceUseful resources and organisations mentioned in the episode:Henpicked Menopause in the Workplace https://menopauseintheworkplace.co.ukMIPO Menopause Information Pack for Organizations https://www.menopauseatwork.org/Menopause Friendly Accreditation https://menopausefriendly.co.uk/TUC Education online resources https://www.tuc.org.uk/menopause-workChartered Institute for Personnel development menopause resources https://www.cipd.org/uk/topics/menopause/Intro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Ann-Marie Bathmaker, co-author of The Degree Generation: The Making of Unequal Graduate Lives, talks about the transition to the graduate labour market, examined through the eyes of a cohort of middle-class and working-class young people.They discuss the changing nature of the graduate labour market, the promise of upward mobility that universities and governments failed to deliver on, how graduate life differs for working-class people when compared with their middle-class counterparts and the changes needed to allow future graduates from all backgrounds to benefit equally from the university experience.Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-degree-generationIntro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Transforming Society podcast, Jess Miles speaks with Alison Young, author of Unchecked Power, about the growth of governmental power and erosion of checks and balances over the last 4 years. They discuss the difference between constitution and law, how the ‘will of the people’ is being homogenised all over the world and how a lack of knowledge and understanding about the constitution helps the government get away with bad behaviour.Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/unchecked-powerIntro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Transforming Society podcast, Jess Miles speaks with Olivier De Schutter, Hugh Frazer, Anne-Catherine Guio and Eric Marlier, authors of The Escape From Poverty, about child poverty and intergenerational poverty and things we can do as individuals to make change.They talk about the evidence in the book, how poverty impacts developed and developing countries differently and programmes that are making a difference. Despite the fact that tackling child poverty is good for everyone, as the book shows, it can hard to get people to believe that change is possible and not necessarily complicated. What can we do to get them on board?The Escape from Poverty: Breaking the Vicious Cycles Perpetuating Disadvantage by Olivier De Schutter, Hugh Frazer, Anne-Catherine Guio and Eric Marlier is available to download free via open access from the Policy Press website: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-escape-from-povertyIntro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Transforming Society podcast, Rebecca Megson-Smith speaks to Arve Hansen, Ulrikke Wethal, Sophia Efstathiou and Johannes Volden, editors of the special issue of Consumption and Society called ‘Towards Less Meat-intensive Diets? Exploring Everyday Practices of Meat Consumption, Reduction and Substitution’. They discuss the pressing need for us to reconsider our relationship with meat, particularly in light of its significant impact on climate change. Whilst our attachment to a meat-centric plate is a relatively modern phenomenon it has quickly taken hold in culture and national identity. The editors share their insights on the need for policies and procedures to be put in place in order for people to feel plantification is achievable, both financially and in terms of cooking skills. As they discuss, the benefits to personal and global health in making these changes are however sizeable.Find out more about the special issue: https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/consoc/2/2/consoc.2.issue-2.xmlIntro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet the hosts of the Transforming Society podcast and discover more about the podcast.Browse Transforming Society: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/Intro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Transforming Society podcast, Jess Miles speaks with Julia Mortimer, Journals Director and Head of Open Access at Bristol University Press.They discuss recent developments in Open Access, including funder mandates, community-led models and the direction Bristol University Press are heading in. In addition, they offer advice for authors, and potential authors, for navigating this fast-moving publishing landscape.Find out more about Open Access: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/open-accessIntro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Transforming Society podcast, Steve Cooke, author of What Are Animal Rights For?, talks with George Miller about how the field of animal rights evolved – and continues to evolve as advances in the scientific understanding of animals’ lives expand the rights claims made on their behalf. Philosophy, Steve suggests, has a critical role to play in proposing what a good future for animals might look like, equipping us with the conceptual tools to imagine a world in which animals have many more rights than they do today. Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/what-are-animal-rights-forIntro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Transforming Society podcast, Jess Miles speaks with Malcolm Evans, former Chair of the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture and author of Tackling Torture: Prevention in Practice.They discuss the traps we fall into when talking about torture, including the disturbing normalisation of torture in television and film, why the distinction between torture and inhuman treatment is a sensitive area and what could be done to help prevent torture more effectively.Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/tackling-tortureIntro music:Cold by yoitrax | @yoitraxMusic promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.