Best Bristol University Press Podcasts (2024)

1
Viral masculinity and the far right: Karen Lee Ashcraft on gender in the US Election 58:45

22h ago58:45

58:45

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 wh…

1
What can business learn from the Moomins? 39:04

8d ago39:04

39:04

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 Moo…

1
The Black PhD experience 54:14

21d ago54:14

54:14

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 …

1
Critical race theory and the search for truth 54:37

2M ago54:37

54:37

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 d…

1
Modern Slavery in Society 30:00

2M ago30:00

30:00

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.…

1
What diplomacy means in the real world 40:13

3M ago40:13

40:13

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…

1
‘The Olympics are political through and through’ 32:12

3M ago32:12

32:12

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…

1
‘Museums without visitors are just elaborate storage’ 38:17

4M ago38:17

38:17

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…

1
The psychology behind philanthropy 24:02

4M ago24:02

24:02

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 philanthr…

1
Scoring the General Election promises on poverty 31:56

4M ago31:56

31:56

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 m…

1
Veganism: imagining a world beyond contemporary food systems 37:50

5M ago37:50

37:50

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?' he…

1
Danny Dorling on the UK election and hope for change 36:32

5M ago36:32

36:32

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…

1
How listening to convicts can transform justice 39:17

5M ago39:17

39:17

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, crim…

1
How lurkers influence the online world 28:15

6M ago28:15

28:15

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, r…

1
Why history needs to be rewritten 46:29

6M ago46:29

46:29

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…

1
Can the law deliver racial justice? 51:13

7M ago51:13

51:13

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 …

1
Should we be aiming to improve prisons, or abolish them? 31:25

7M ago31:25

31:25

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 th…

1
Class inequality and denied ambition in our schools 54:26

8M ago54:26

54:26

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. J…

1
Emotions and the ‘truths’ of contentious politics 40:50

8M ago40:50

40:50

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 y…

1
Have research universities lost their way? 38:35

9M ago38:35

38:35

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 thriv…

1
The myth of post-racial Britain 40:16

9M ago40:16

40:16

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 mean…

1
Why do people take performance enhancing drugs? 43:43

10M ago43:43

43:43

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 sup…

1
Experiencing the menopause at work 38:07

10M ago38:07

38:07

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 Transi…

1
Has the university experience failed millennials? 48:54

11M ago48:54

48:54

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…

1
The dangerous growth of governmental power 43:56

12M ago43:56

43:56

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…

1
What can you do to combat child poverty? 44:18

12M ago44:18

44:18

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 de…

1
Towards plantification by normalising less meat-intensive diets 46:19

1y ago46:19

46:19

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 pre…

1
Welcome to the Transforming Society podcast 0:45

1y ago0:45

0:45

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 | @yoitrax Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Hosted on Acas…

1
Open access at a mission-led university press 26:15

1y ago26:15

26:15

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 …

1
What rights do we owe animals? 36:08

1y ago36:08

36:08

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 critic…

1
How can torture be tackled more effectively? 40:08

1y ago40:08

40:08

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, …

1
Why high earners should care about inequality 44:17

1y ago44:17

44:17

Jess Miles speaks with Gerry Mitchell and Marcos González Hernando, authors of ‘Uncomfortably off: Why the top 10% of earners should care about inequality’. Wealth no longer guarantees security. Gerry and Marcos explain why it's time for higher earners to reset their attitudes towards the lives of others and reexamine their relationship with the pr…

1
Who gets left behind in the race for renewables? 43:59

1+ y ago43:59

43:59

In this episode of the Transforming Society podcast, Richard Kemp speaks with Ed Atkins, author of 'A Just Energy Transition: Getting Decarbonisation Right in a Time of Crisis', about what is needed for an energy transition to be just. They discuss the need to ensure decarbonisation doesn't come at the expense of already marginalised communities, t…

1
Is Universal Basic Income the answer? 45:03

1+ y ago45:03

45:03

In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks to people from both sides of the Universal Basic Income (UBI) debate from a recent issue of the Journal of Poverty and Social Justice. Howard Robert Reed and Matthew Thomas Johnson argue that UBI is affordable and feasible, whereas Donald Hirsch believes the necessary funds for UBI could be used to cut poverty i…

1
The constantly evolving role of technology in war 18:11

1+ y ago18:11

18:11

In this final short conversation with Jack McDonald, author of 'What is War for?', we turn to the part played by technology in war. There’s long been a technological aspect to war, not just in the development of ever more deadly weapons, but also in the way civilian technology, such as railway networks and the telegraph, have shaped the conduct of …

1
Challenging the MacAlister Review of children’s social care 49:18

1+ y ago49:18

49:18

Robin Sen and Christian Kerr, authors of 'The Future of Children’s Care', speak to Jess Miles about the recent 'once in a generation' MacAlister Review of Childrens Social Care in England. They discuss the problem of how reviews are commissioned and carried out, omissions in the report and the need for co-production and the need for dissent to stan…

1
State harms: solidarity, denunciation and resistance 27:16

1+ y ago27:16

27:16

What are state harms? What are the formal and informal ways they are enacted? How can solidarity, denunciation and resistance challenge state harm and what opportunities and openings for change exist? Federica Rossi and Chris Magill are guest editors of a themed section on state harms in the latest issue of 'Justice, Power and Resistance'. In this …

1
Cybersecurity is political 15:11

1+ y ago15:11

15:11

Cybersecurity is about identifying something you want to protect and exercising power in order to preserve it, Tim Stevens says in this, the last of three short conversations about his new book, 'What is Cybersecurity for?'. In this episode, we focus on cybersecurity’s political dimensions, including interstate competition that could manifest as cy…

1
What should we do about tainted donations? 14:31

1+ y ago14:31

14:31

So-called tainted donations have become a very real problem for many charities and organizations: when is it wrong to accept a donation because of how the money was made? What if the money was made in the distant past, when different ethical values prevailed? And if a donor uses their money to whitewash a dubious reputation, is that just something …

1
What counts as war and why does it matter? 15:34

1+ y ago15:34

15:34

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Vladimir Putin very deliberately referred to it as a ‘special military operation’, not an act of war. He’s far from unique in refusing to call a war by its name; calling a conflict a war has consequences. And over the course of history, very different types of conflict have had the label applied to, or …

1
Learning from an unequal pandemic 44:47

1+ y ago44:47

44:47

In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with Lucy Easthope and Kandida Purnell, two of the co-editors of 'When This Is Over', about the pandemic and its long lasting impact. They discuss why it was important to have different perspectives and content beyond academic essays, the effect increasingly strict immigration laws had on asylum seekers during t…

1
Cybersecurity is about people 10:35

1+ y ago10:35

10:35

While it’s easy to become fixated on cybersecurity’s technological aspects, one of the central ideas in Tim Stevens’ 'What is Cybersecurity for?' is the importance of remembering it’s primarily about and for people. In this, the second of three short conversations, Tim expands on this idea and responds to the question of whether, given the power of…

1
It's not where you live, it's how you live 44:20

1+ y ago44:20

44:20

John Bissett is a community worker, activist and author of 'It’s Not Where You Live, It’s How You Live', a ground-breaking and compelling book that takes us deep into the world of a public housing estate in Dublin. Aiming to change perspectives on public housing, John talks about what life is like for the people who live on the estate and how it is…

1
Is philanthropy charity’s more rational cousin? 15:01

1+ y ago15:01

15:01

In the second of three short conversations with Rhodri Davies, author of 'What is Philanthropy For?', George Miller asks Rhodri about the difference between philanthropy and charity. The tension between them is sometimes characterised as a head versus heart conflict, with philanthropy the more rational and systemic of the two, while charity is more…

1
Defunding the police is the best route forward 26:21

1+ y ago26:21

26:21

In this episode, Chris Cunneen, author of 'Defund the Police: An International Insurrection', speaks to Rebecca Megson-Smith about the broad need to defund the police. They discuss why defunding is the best route forward instead of further investment and reform, what viable alternatives there might be and what we would need in order to make this vi…

1
On writing about war in an era of conflict 11:43

1+ y ago11:43

11:43

In this episode, George Miller speaks to Jack McDonald, author of 'What is War for?', one of the first titles to be published in Bristol University Press’s new What Is It For? series. In the first of three short conversations, Jack explains why he chose to focus on war’s twenty-first century character rather than its ancient origins, and talks abou…

1
Cybersecurity, beyond the 1s and 0s 12:55

1+ y ago12:55

12:55

In this episode, George Miller speaks to Tim Stevens, author of 'What is Cybersecurity for?', one of the first titles to be published in Bristol University Press’s new What Is It For? series. In the first of three short conversations, Tim explains what got him interested in cybersecurity in the first place and why it’s too important to treat it as …

1
Dismantling the construct of finance 32:23

1+ y ago32:23

32:23

We take the existence of the all-powerful stock market for granted, but we should engage with it because it affects us as individuals and wider society in very deep ways. Philip Roscoe's new book 'How to Build a Stock Exchange' enables us to do this. In the episode, he speaks to Jess Miles about this darkly comedic secret world, prompting us to dem…

1
What is philanthropy and why does it matter? 13:02

1+ y ago13:02

13:02

In this episode, George Miller speaks to Rhodri Davies, author of 'What is Philanthropy for?', one of the first titles to be published in Bristol University Press’s new What Is It For? series. In the first of three short conversations, Rhodri explains why he thinks this is a good time to ask questions about the purpose of philanthropy, and its rela…

1
The lure of dark destinations 41:03

1+ y ago41:03

41:03

From the Alcatraz East Crime Museum and Jack the Ripper guided tours to the Phnom Penh killing fields, ‘dark tourism’ is now a multi-million-pound global industry. What is the attraction and where is the line between acceptable and problematic dark tourism drawn? In this episode, Becky Taylor speaks with Adam Lynes, Craig Kelly and James Treadwell,…

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