Crowds Thinking Allowed podcast

#Sociology #Science #BBC #BBC Radio 4 #Society #University Of London

46:39

“If we march into that village and we start trying to persecute people for using poison, something that's very illegal, nobody's going to talk to us. We're not going to find out where the poison came from. We're not going to be able to shut anything down. We should take the approach that people are using poison because they're desperate, because they see no other alternative.” – Andrew Stein Andrew Stein is a wildlife ecologist who spent the past 25 years studying human carnivore conflict from African wild dogs and lions in Kenya and Botswana to leopards and hyenas in Namibia. His work has long focused on finding ways for people and predators to coexist. He is the founder of CLAWS , an organization based in Botswana that's working at the intersection of cutting-edge wildlife research and community driven conservation. Since its start in 2014 and official launch as an NGO in 2020, CLAWS has been pioneering science-based, tech-forward strategies to reduce conflict between people and carnivores. By collaborating closely with local communities, especially traditional cattle herders, CLAWS supports both species conservation and rural livelihoods—making coexistence not just possible, but sustainable.…

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Crowds

about a year ago 27:58

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Laurie Taylor talks to the writer, Dan Hancox, about the part that crowds play in our lives and how they made the modern world. From Notting Hill carnival-goers and football matches to M25 raves and violent riots, what do we know about the madness of the multitude? Also, Lisa Mueller, Associate Professor of Political Science at Macalaster College, Minnesota, asks why protests succeed or fail. Examining data from 97 protests, she finds that more cohesive crowds are key. Drilling down into two British protests, Occupy London and Take Back Parliament, protesters who united around a common goal won more concessions than ones with multiple aims.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

575 episodes

Crowds

Thinking Allowed

5,365 subscribers

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

Producer: Jayne Egerton

575 episodes

#Sociology #Science #BBC #BBC Radio 4 #Society #University Of London

Wszystkie odcinki

1
Motherhood 29:11

22 days ago29:11

29:11

Laurie Taylor talks to Helen Charman, Fellow and Assistant College Lecturer in English at Clare College, University of Cambridge, about her study of mothers fighting for alternative futures for themselves and their children. Is motherhood an inherently political state, one that poses challenges to various status quos? Also, Caitlin Killian - Professor of Sociology, Drew University, Madison, New Jersey argues that US mums are held to ever higher standards and now subject to an expanding list of offences - from falling down the stairs while pregnant to letting a child spend time alone in a park - which were not seen as criminal behaviours a generation ago. Are mothers likelier to be held accountable than fathers? Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Smoking 28:20

29 days ago28:20

28:20

Laurie Taylor talks to Ivan Markovic, Lecturer in Human Geography at Durham University, about the unique social atmosphere surrounding tobacco use in modern Britain, from its encouragement as part of the Home Front ‘mood management’ during the Second World War to the impact of smoking on 1980s workplace regulations and the UK ban on its use in public places in 2007. Does smoking still play a significant part in the British cultural imagination? Also, Tricia Starks, Professor of History at the University of Arkansas, discusses cigarettes and the Soviet smoking habit. How did the USSR become the first mass smoking society whilst simultaneously opposing this quintessential capitalist product? Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Dress Culture 28:39

5 weeks ago28:39

28:39

Laurie Taylor talks to Fatima Rajina, Senior Legacy in Action Research Fellow at the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre, De Montfort University, Leicester, about changing perceptions of dress among British Bangladeshi Muslim men in London’s East End. Why has the thobe, a garment traditionally associated with the Arab States, come to signify a universal Muslim identity? And why have Muslim men's clothing choices attracted so little scrutiny, compared to Muslim women's? Also, Teleica Kirkland, Lecturer in the Cultural and Historical Studies Department at the London College of Fashion, explores the performative elegance of the Windrush generation, whose respectable presentation was a route to seeking dignity and respect in British society. What were the limitations of using fashion as a way to gain acceptance? Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
ECOLOGY 28:47

6 weeks ago28:47

28:47

Laurie Taylor talks to Vron Ware, Visiting Professor at the Gender Institute of the LSE, about the reality of living next to a huge army community in the UK. Talking to both sides of the divide, she explores the impact of the sprawling military presence on Salisbury Plain, an area of British countryside which is home to rare plants and wildlife. Is military occupation a positive asset in terms of conservation and ecology? Also, Sunaura Taylor, Assistant Professor in the Division of Society and Environment at UC Berkeley, describes environmental damage below the ground in Tucson Arizona and its ripple effects through the largely Mexican American community living above. Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Crowds 27:58

7 weeks ago27:58

27:58

1
Underwear 28:13

8 weeks ago28:13

28:13

Laurie Taylor talks to Nina Edwards, the author of a new study which unravels the intimate narratives woven into the fabric of our most personal garments. Is there a profound and surprising significance to the garments we wear beneath our outer clothing? Also, Shaun Cole, Associate Professor in Fashion at the University of Southampton, considers the enduring question aimed at men over the choice of boxers or briefs and explores the future direction of men’s undergarments. Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Wealth 28:12

9 weeks ago28:12

28:12

Wealth: Laurie Taylor talks to Brooke Harrington, Professor of Economic Sociology at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, about the world of offshore finance, how it works and its impact, globally. As part of her research, she earned her own wealth management certificate and spent nearly eight years interviewing other professionals in the field, as well as visiting the 18 most popular tax havens in the world—from Mauritius, off the southeast coast of Africa, to the Cook Islands in the middle of the South Pacific - observing and interviewing the experts who keep the secrets and protect the fortunes of the global ultra-rich. Does offshore finance have costs for all of us at a time when democracies seem under threat and deepening inequalities are destabilising the world? Also, Guido Alfani, Professor of Economic History at Bocconi University, Milan, explores a 1000-year history of the super-rich in the West from the medieval period to today. He finds that their position within society has long been fragile and precarious. How have the uber rich been viewed by society, over time, and are they ripe for a re-appraisal? Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Touch 29:13

10 weeks ago29:13

29:13

When, where, and who gets to touch and be touched, and who decides? How does touch bring us closer together or push us apart? These are urgent contemporary questions, but they have their origins in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Britain. Laurie Taylor talks to Simeon Koole, Senior Lecturer in Liberal Arts and History at the University of Bristol about his new study of the way in which the crowded city compelled new discussions about touch, as people crammed into subway cars, skirted criminals in London's dense fogs and visited tea shops, all the while negotiating the boundaries of personal space. How did these historical encounters shape and transform our understanding of physical contact into the present day? Also, digital touch. Carey Jewitt Professor of Technology at the Institute of Education, London, explores the way technology is transforming our experience of touch. Touch matters. It is fundamental to how we know ourselves and each other, and it is central to how we communicate. So how will the the digital touch embedded in many technologies, from wearable devices and gaming hardware to tactile robots and future technologies, change our sense of connection with each other. What would it be like if we could hug or touch digitally across distance? How might we establish trust or protect our privacy and safety? How might radically different forms of touch impact our relationships and the future? Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Crime Stories 28:14

11 weeks ago28:14

28:14

Laurie Taylor explores the fascination for true crime stories. He's joined by Jennifer Fleetwood, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at City, University of London, whose latest work considers the remarkable rise in the number of people who speak publicly about their experience of crime. Personal accounts used to be confined to the police station and the courtroom, but today bookshops heave with autobiographies by prisoners, criminals, police and barristers while streaming platforms host hours of interviews so how easy is it for the 'truth' to come out? Louise Wattis, Assistant Professor in the Department: Social Sciences ·at Northumbria University, Newcastle looks at the skyrocketing interest in true crime as a form of popular entertainment. What do we know about the appeal of 'Hardman' biographies of violent criminals, a hugely popular subgenre, particularly for male readers? Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Playgrounds 28:39

12 weeks ago28:39

28:39

After the Second World War, a vast experiment took place in which adventure playgrounds transformed bombsites and waste ground in the UK, creating opportunities for children, beyond the sanitised safety of more conventional play spaces with swings and see saws. Laurie Taylor talks to Ben Highmore, Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex about the range of people whose celebration of children's imaginative capacities re-invented the notion of play, from Northern Europe to North America. Designers, social reformers, and even anarchists, saw these sites of fun as the foundation for the creation of citizens and agents of social change. What remains of those post war playgrounds, in the here and now, and what can the astonishing ambition of those spaces tell us about the power of play in an age of risk aversion? Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Tech Workers 28:52

23 weeks ago28:52

28:52

Laurie Taylor lifts the lid on a sector of the economy associated with wealth, innovation & genius. Mark Graham, Professor of Internet Geography at the Oxford Internet Institute, uncovers the hidden human labour powering AI. His study, based on hundreds of interviews and thousands of hours of fieldwork, is the first to tell the stories of this army of underpaid and exploited workers. Beneath the promise of a frictionless technology that will bring riches to humanity, the interviews he has conducted reveal a grimmer reality involving a precarious global workforce of millions labouring under often appalling conditions. Also, Paula Bialski, Associate Professor for Digital Sociology at the University of St. Gallen in St. Gallen, Switzerland, discusses her research with software developers at a non-flashy, run-of-the-mill tech company. Beyond the awesome images of the Gods of Silicone Valley, she finds that technology breaks due to human-related issues and staff are often engaged in patch up and repair, rather than dreaming up the next killer app. Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Food Systems 28:14

24 weeks ago28:14

28:14

Laurie Taylor talks to Ann Murcott, Honorary Professorial Research Associate, at SOAS, University of London about the origins and development of food packaging, from tin cans and glass jars to bottles and plastic trays. How central is packaging to global food systems and should we be concerned about wasteful packaging ? Also, Anastacia Marx de Salcedo, offers a spirited defence of processed food from a feminist, economic, and public-health perspective. Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Meaning of Work 28:08

25 weeks ago28:08

28:08

Laurie Taylor talks to Jana Costas, Chair of People, Work & Management at the European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany about the unseen cleaners beyond the shiny surface of Potsdamer Platz, a designer micro-city within Berlin's city centre. Behind the scenes they pick up cigarette butts from pavements, scrape chewing gum from marble floors and scrub public toilets, long before white-collar workers, consumers and tourists enter the complex. How do they feel about work which some would stigmatise as degrading? How do they salvage a sense of personal dignity? Also, Katie Bailey, Professor of Work and Employment at Kings College, London unpacks her analysis of accounts related by nurses, creative artists and lawyers as to why they find their work meaningful. Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Sea Travelling 28:22

26 weeks ago28:22

28:22

Laurie Taylor talks to Helen Sampson, Professor in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, about her voyage into the lives and work of seafarers. 25 years of fieldwork on merchant cargo ships has given her an unusual insight into the changing realities of life onboard and the gap between romantic notions of sea travel and the harsher realities - from isolation from friends and family to the monotony of daily life, increasing regulation and surveillance. Also, Sara Caputo, Senior Research Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge, illuminates the way in which the history of mapping the oceans reflects the creation of the modern world as we know it, via centuries of trading, exploring and conquering. Producer: Jayne Egerton…

1
Gender and Radicalisation 28:12

27 weeks ago28:12