The welfare state is often talked about as a universal safety net, a system designed to catch anyone who falls. But does that image really capture how different countries understand and organise welfare around the world? In this episode, George Miller talks to Professor Paul Spicker, author of What Is the Welfare State For? , about some of the historical roots, moral foundations, and practical workings of different welfare systems. Drawing on examples ranging from 16th-century Flanders to modern...
Jul 01, 2025•48 min
As basic income trials take place around the world, the idea can no longer be dismissed as purely utopian. But can it truly reshape economies and societies? In this episode, Richard Kemp talks with Howard Reed and Elliott Johnson, two of the co-authors of Basic Income: The Policy That Changes Everything , about the reality of basic income. They explore various models of implementation, how such a system could be funded, how it differs from the current welfare framework, and the potential for bas...
Jun 10, 2025•39 min
What does a humanist feel when they gaze up at the stars? In this episode, George Miller speaks to philosopher Richard Norman, author of What Is Humanism For? , about wonder, meaning and morality in a world without God. Their conversation traces Norman’s intellectual journey, from religious upbringing to secular commitment, and explores how humanism answers some of life’s deepest questions — not through divine revelation, but through shared human experience. Along the way, they consider humanist...
May 30, 2025•47 min
Within the next 30 years the European workforce will be down by a quarter, upsetting the systems we have had in place for decades. In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with Giles Merritt, author of 'Timebomb: When Ageing Explodes', about this impending ageing crisis. They discuss the multiple factors that have led us here, as well as what needs to be done to defuse this bomb before it goes off and explodes the European economy. Since his 1978 arrival in the 'Capital of Europe' as a correspondent...
May 19, 2025•59 min
With the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles, Britain has entered a new era — and questions about the future of the monarchy have become more pressing. Does it have a long-term role to play in modern Britain, or is it an anachronism whose days are numbered? In this episode, George Miller talks to Laura Clancy, lecturer in media at Lancaster University and author of the new book What is the Monarchy For? , about the questions she think we should be asking about the monar...
May 02, 2025•44 min
There are many truisms about journalism. That it should speak truth to power. That it must be rooted in community. But what do these mean in practice, especially at a time when journalism is facing an unprecedented set of threats – financial, technological, and political? In this episode, George Miller talks to journalist and media commentator Jon Allsop about the challenges confronting journalism today and how he went about exploring them in his new book, What is Journalism For? Their conversat...
Apr 14, 2025•52 min
Billionaires represent a scourge of economic inequality, but how do they get away with it within our culture? In this episode of our Transforming Business podcast series with Martin Parker, Carl Rhodes, author of ‘Stinking Rich’, explains the dangerous and deceptive myths which portray billionaires as a ‘force for good’. They discuss the myths of the heroic, generous, meritorious and vigilante billionaire, and how their wealth and power is setting us back to old-fashioned feudalism and plutocrac...
Mar 26, 2025•28 min
Everybody wants to change the world, but can we actually make a difference? In the first episode of our Transforming Business podcast series with Martin Parker, Jane Holgate and John Page, authors of Changemakers: Radical Strategies for Social Movement Organising , discuss the power of activism and challenge the belief that change is impossible. They explore the distinction between mobilising and organising, the role of optimism in driving social change and how we can actively contribute to mean...
Mar 19, 2025•30 min
Social work exists in a constant tension between caring and protecting vulnerable people, and the control mechanisms within the broader context social workers operate in. Where are the lines drawn in its dual role as an instrument of the state and an advocate for social justice? In this episode Malcolm Carey and Gurnam Singh, guest editors of the Critical and Radical Social Work special issue on social work and social control, speak with Richard Kemp about this paradox of care and control. They ...
Mar 11, 2025•35 min
We’ve all blamed PMS on hormones but, despite popular belief, no direct causal link between female sex hormones and PMS has ever been proven. So why does the ‘hormonal woman’ stereotype persist? And how does it fuel outdated, sexist narratives about female health? In this episode, Jess Miles speaks to Sally King, a visiting fellow in menstrual physiology at King’s College London, about the myths and sexist tropes that blame the healthy reproductive body for the female-prevalence of emotional dis...
Feb 25, 2025•53 min
Alongside a growing interest in creative methods, researchers are increasingly exploring how to bring creativity into data analysis. But how do you strike the balance between innovation and maintaining a systematic, rigorous and ethical approach? Jess Miles talks to Helen Kara, Dawn Mannay, and Alastair Roy, editors of The Handbook of Creative Data Analysis, about the role of creativity in research, its benefits for analysis and communication, and the anxieties and difficulties people might expe...
Jan 14, 2025•44 min
Many of us have fond memories of going to the zoo as children, but zoo critics are vocal in their condemnation of keeping animals in captivity, believing there can be no such thing as a good zoo. Are the goals of entertainment, conservation, education and research more often in conflict than harmony? And are they ultimately irreconcilable with concern for animal welfare? In this episode, George Miller talks to Heather Browning and Walter Veit, co-authors of 'What are Zoos For?' about the ethics ...
Dec 10, 2024•34 min
Life expectancy is about more than just health – it’s about the kind of society we live in. In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with David Walsh and Gerry McCartney, co-authors of 'Social Murder?: Austerity and Life Expectancy in the UK', about the monumental impact austerity has had, and continues to have, on life expectancy. They discuss the real-life stories of people affected by austerity policies, the reasons austerity is often sidelined in official health reports and the steps that need t...
Dec 03, 2024•45 min
Modern economics often credits Adam Smith as its cornerstone, but another key figure, David Ricardo, has shaped our world in ways we rarely examine. Ricardo, the wealthiest stock trader of his day, developed the theory of comparative advantage, a concept that helped justify globalisation but concealed deeper ties to power, empire and slavery. In this episode, Jess Miles speaks to Nat Dyer, author of Ricardo's Dream: How Economists Forgot the Real World and Led Us Astray. They unpack Ricardo’s le...
Nov 19, 2024•50 min
The budget and resources that have been dedicated to combatting terrorism this century are staggering. But has it worked? In this episode, George Miller talks to Leonie B. Jackson, author of 'What is Counterterrorism for?', about the exceptional measures that states have taken in recent decades – such as detention without trial and targeted killing – in reaction to terrorist threats which they often portray as existential. When the terrorist spectacularly demonstrates that the state has failed t...
Nov 12, 2024•37 min
As the US election approaches, MSNBC notes that the question of “what it means to be a man” is now a defining theme. In this episode, Jess Miles and Karen Lee Ashcraft revisit Karen's concept of 'viral masculinity' — a powerful current of aggrieved manhood fuelling far-right ideologies worldwide. They explore the manosphere, the online ecosystem where this resentment takes root, analysing how figures like JD Vance and Andrew Tate tap into youthful discontent and guide it toward political extremi...
Oct 29, 2024•59 min
Generosity, rooted in love, courage and equality, shapes the Moomin ethos, underpinning not just the brand, but the business. In this episode, Jess Miles speaks with Paul Savage and Janne Tienari, co-authors of 'Moomin Management: Redefining Generosity', about what business can learn from Tove Jansson's beloved troll creatures. They discuss the Moomin principles for businesses around people management, strategic partnerships, digitisation and more, to create organisations that are kinder, curiou...
Oct 22, 2024•39 min
A compelling discussion on the challenges faced by Black PhD students in academia. Guests William Ackah and Madina Wane, co-editors of 'The Black PhD Experience', offer a nuanced exploration of the lived experiences of Black scholars. Through personal narratives the book examines systemic barriers, microaggressions, the psychological toll faced by Black students and the strategies they employ to persist. This episode offers valuable insights for educators, researchers and policymakers seeking to...
Oct 09, 2024•54 min
Critical race theory has been problematised and demonised over the years but it has great potential for societal change. In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with Rodney D. Coates, author of ' Critical Race Theory and the Search for Truth ', about what critical race theory is and why it has found itself in the crosshairs of white nationalists. They discuss the truths we often don't hear about the transatlantic slave trade, the discrepancy that was created between the Dominican Republic and Haiti...
Sep 24, 2024•55 min
Despite economic development, modern slavery persists all around the world. The issue is not only one of crime but the regulation of the economy, better welfare, and social protections. In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with Sylvia Walby and Karen Shire, authors of 'Trafficking Chains: Modern Slavery in Society', about this growing global issue. They discuss what trafficking chains are, how the forces of colonialism, capitalism and gender regimes affect modern slavery, and what changes are ne...
Sep 04, 2024•30 min
The life of a diplomat may seem far flung and unrelatable but, beyond the cocktails and canapes, there are ideas that can help us understand and work on social issues, such as increasing polarisation, and lessons to help us support ourselves. In this episode, Leigh Turner, author of 'Lessons in Diplomacy’ and former British ambassador who led posts in Ukraine, Turkey and Austria, talks about the lessons we all can learn from diplomacy. He divulges anecdotes from his career, looks at how diplomac...
Aug 20, 2024•40 min
In the late 19th century, a French aristocrat came up with the idea of reviving the sporting contests that took place at Olympia in ancient Greece, and so the modern Olympics were born. The games have gone on to become one of the greatest spectacles on earth, but have never been free of controversy. Our guest in this episode of the podcast is Jules Boykoff, a political scientist at Pacific University, Oregon (and avowed sports fan), who has spent years investigating the impact of the Olympics on...
Aug 01, 2024•32 min
Time was when museums were staid, dusty institutions. Those days are long gone. Now the focus is on making visiting a museum a positive, inclusive, meaningful experience for everyone who comes through the door – or visits online. It sounds good in principle, but how to do it in practice? That question is at the heart of the latest title to join the What Is It For series, 'What are Museums for?' by Jon Sleigh. Jon is an arts and heritage engagement consultant who specialises in connecting audienc...
Jul 19, 2024•38 min
In this episode, Rebecca Megson-Smith speaks with Jen Shang, co-author of ‘Meaningful Philanthropy: The Person Behind the Giving’, about the high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals behind philanthropic giving. Having had unparalleled access to some of the world’s most reflective and thoughtful philanthropists, Jen explains how philanthropists experience what they do and the psychological challenges they need to overcome. Jen Shang is Professor of Philanthropic Psychology and Co-Direc...
Jul 10, 2024•24 min
With the UK General Election on Thursday, Academics Stand Against Poverty have audited the manifestos to establish which parties are most likely to address poverty and enable British society to flourish. In this episode, Jess Miles speaks with Lee Gregory and Cat Tully about how the audit has been produced and why it matters. They discuss how the manifestos stack up, what all political parties can learn from the audit and what we should all be considering before voting. Cat Zuzarte Tully leads t...
Jun 30, 2024•32 min
If the way we eat now is bad for our health, bad for animal welfare and bad for the planet, is veganism the answer? That’s the key question that Catherine Oliver of Lancaster University pursues in the latest addition to the What is it for? series. In this episode of the podcast, Catherine tells George Miller why she hopes 'What is Veganism For?' helps reframe the often-polarized debate around veganism by showing the role it plays in wider justice movements, talks about how veganism has gone from...
Jun 25, 2024•38 min
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 ...
Jun 21, 2024•37 min
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 rece...
Jun 14, 2024•39 min
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 r...
May 22, 2024•28 min
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 Georg...
May 16, 2024•46 min
