The We Society

AcSS

Beyond the politics, beyond our geography are the intangible connections that hold us together - The We Society. The We Society podcast is here to tell you about the thousands of ways the Social Sciences can help us understand and enhance this complicated and fascinating human network. What can we do to fix the NHS? How can we better manage climate change? How do we end the cost of living crisis? Brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences, this podcast tackles the big questions through a social science lens and brings you some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Join acclaimed journalist and Academy president Will Hutton, as he invites guests from the world of Social Science to explore the stories behind the news and hear their solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the show on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/thewesocietypod Brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences: https://acss.org.uk  (https://acss.org.uk%20%20) read less
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Episodes

S7 Ep4: Should the 9 to 5 be a thing of the past? with Clare Kelliher and Brendan Burchell
6d ago
S7 Ep4: Should the 9 to 5 be a thing of the past? with Clare Kelliher and Brendan Burchell
'Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest' was the rallying cry of Robert Owen, a Welsh textile manufacturer turned labour reformer in the early 19th century.   For those toiling in factories, Owen’s slogan was a socialist dream that only became commonplace in the early 20th century.  But, the 9 to 5 is still standard while technology has moved on - we have Artificial intelligence, automation, intuitive software at our fingertips. Shouldn’t we be more productive while spending fewer hours at work?  To give us an insight into alternative models of working is Professor Brendan Burchell, a professor at the Faculty of Human, Social and Political science at the University of Cambridge and fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge who has been focusing on the effects of a 4 day working week for employers and employees. And also joining us is Professor Clare Kelliher from the Cranfield School of Management who has been spearheading research into flexible working.  Season 7 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences continues to tackle the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on X https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk
S7 Ep2: Anxiety, Artificial Intelligence and work with Anthony Elliott
Jan 22 2025
S7 Ep2: Anxiety, Artificial Intelligence and work with Anthony Elliott
Pick, Pack, Post, Repeat….warehouses around the world are now using Artificial Intelligence to fulfil customer orders. So, are workers on their way out?  As the speed of innovation when it comes to artificial intelligence accelerates, power sits firmly in the hands of Silicon Valley and big tech companies.  Governments and the public are on the side-lines. How should we be feeling about this? To tell us is Anthony Elliott - Professor of Sociology at the University of South Australia who has just published a book, 'Algorithms of Anxiety, Fear in the Digital Age'. Season 7 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences continues to tackle the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on X https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences This is the second episode of Season 7, and there will be episodes released every week so be sure to subscribe and rate the podcast. Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk
S7 Ep1: The future of liberal democracy with Anand Menon
Jan 15 2025
S7 Ep1: The future of liberal democracy with Anand Menon
It's now 80 years since the end of the Second World War and the creation of the liberal world order:  free trade, globally managed finance, and a commitment to liberal democracy. But these ideas seems to be in retreat with the re-election of Donald Trump, and the accompanying dramatic increase of right-wing populist nationalism almost everywhere, including Europe. Can liberal democracy survive? With us to discuss this and more is political scientist Professor Anand Menon, the director of the UK in a Changing Europe. He is a dedicated social scientist, an approach that defines the think tank he leads, that provides impartial evidence-based analysis and commentary across the gamut of issues that we face at home and abroad. Season 7 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences continues to tackle the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on X https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences This is the first episode of Season 7, and there will be episodes released every week so be sure to subscribe and rate the podcast.  Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk
S6 Ep7: Stopping hate crime with Matthew Williams and Neil Chakraborti
Aug 21 2024
S6 Ep7: Stopping hate crime with Matthew Williams and Neil Chakraborti
The recent riots in Britain, which emerged following the Southport stabbings, demonstrate how hate is bubbling just under the surface of our society, ready to erupt at any moment. Behind the violence and destruction are statistics. Between 2012 and 2023, hate crimes in England and Wales rose by 252%, according to research undertaken by the Home Office. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Professor Neil Chakraborti and Professor Matthew Williams join host Will Hutton to discuss the impact of hate crimes on the victims, their communities and wider British society. And what can be done to lower the incidences of hate crime.  Professor Chakraborti has been studying the impact of hate crimes on victims for the past two decades and is Director of the Centre for Hate Studies and the Director of the Institute for Policy at the University of Leicester.   Professor Matthew Williams is a Professor of Criminology in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. He leads the HateLab there, a global hub for data and insight into hate speech and crime.  He's the author of the popular science book, The Science of Hate, which was published by Faber and Faber in 2021. Season 6 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences continues to tackle the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on X https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences This is the final episode of Season 6, see you in the Autumn!  Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk
S6 Ep6: Why the war on drugs has failed with Alex Stevens
Aug 14 2024
S6 Ep6: Why the war on drugs has failed with Alex Stevens
No war has been more of a failure than the war on drugs. Despite all the crackdowns, prison sentences and moral posturing, drug use in Britain is on an epic scale. Yet, drug debate and policy are full of moral declarations, with evidence often being made to take a backseat. Why is this? Alex Stevens is a professor of Criminology at the University of Sheffield (having recently moved from the University of Kent). He was a member of the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs from 2014 to 2019, and President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy from 2015 to 2019.  And he’s just published a book, Drug Policy Constellations: The Role of Power and Morality in the Making of Drug Policy in the UK. Season 6 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences continues to tackle the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on X https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk
S6 Ep5: Improving adult education with  Anna Vignoles
Aug 7 2024
S6 Ep5: Improving adult education with Anna Vignoles
One in six people are said to have ‘very poor literacy skills’ according to the National Literacy Trust. As a country, we value Literature, high quality research skills and further education, yet our values are not reaching all sections of our society. Looking to challenge this is Professor Anna Vignoles, her past research focused on issues of equity and value in education, particularly the relationship between educational achievement and social mobility, and the role played by education and skills attainment in the economy and society.   She was Professor of Education and Fellow of Jesus College at the University of Cambridge, Professor of Economics of Education at the UCL Institute of Education and Research Fellow at the London School of Economics Centre for Economic Performance. But now, Professor Vignoles is the Director of the Leverhulme Trust, one of the UK's most prestigious grant-making organisations.  Season 6 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences continues to tackle the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on X https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk
S6 Ep3: How to make housing fair with Vicky Spratt and Auriol Miller
Jul 24 2024
S6 Ep3: How to make housing fair with Vicky Spratt and Auriol Miller
Housing is one of the most pressing problems this new Government must fix. Will Hutton is joined by Vicky Spratt, the inewspaper's housing correspondent, and Auriol Miller, the CEO of Cynon Taf Community Housing Group, a major not-for-profit organisation providing affordable homes in Wales. Housing is an issue that has thwarted a long line of Governments, and it feels like we are no closer to solving the crisis. Latest figures show that almost 1.3 million people in England are on social housing waiting lists with a combined wait for council housing of 1844 years. Vicky's book Tenants, which examines the UK rental crisis, was named one of the best books of 2022 by the Times.  Prior to joining Cynon Taf Community Housing Group, Auriol was Director of the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA), Wales’ leading think tank, where she focused on opening up the organisation beyond its traditional reach. Season 6 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences continues to tackle the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on X https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk
S6 Ep1: Election 24 special with Will Hutton
Jul 10 2024
S6 Ep1: Election 24 special with Will Hutton
Host Will Hutton hears from four leading social scientists on how the new UK government should tackle the country's most pressing challenges. In this special episode marking the end of the general election and the start of Season 6, we apply a social science lens to issues concerning the stagnating economy, the climate crisis, adult social care, and universities. We speak to Professor Jagjit S. Chadha, an economist who is the Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, Jo Johnson, who is chairman of FutureLearn and a former Conservative party minister, Catherine Needham who is Professor of Public Policy and Public Management at the Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham, and Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh, the Director of the  UK Centre for Climate Change & Social Transformations (CAST), University of Bath. In the run-up to the UK election, the Academy of Social Sciences gathered over 100 social scientists to showcase their ideas on the policies the new government should prioritise based on robust evidence for our Academy of Social Sciences Campaign for Social Science Election 24 project. In this special episode of the We Society, we bring you just a few ideas from this project, which covered key policy areas, including the cost of living crisis, immigration, and healthcare, to name just a few. To learn more about the project and the Academy, visit our website, www.acss.org.uk. Season 6 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences continues to tackle the big questions through a social science lens.  Hosted by Academy president and acclaimed journalist Will Hutton, you'll hear some of the best ideas to shape the way we live.  Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform, and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on X https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences
S5 Ep5: Protecting local councils with Andy Pike
Apr 10 2024
S5 Ep5: Protecting local councils with Andy Pike
Professor Andy Pike has placed local authorities under his microscope for us, trying to figure out how to solve the crisis, as Sir Henry Daysh Chair of Regional Development Studies at Newcastle University. He’s even written a book about the very topic called "Financialisation and Local Statecraft". When it was revealed in 2022 that Thurrock council in Essex faced a half-a-billion-pound black hole in its finances, it was assumed it was something that other local authorities couldn’t repeat.  But since then, five other local authorities, including Nottingham, Birmingham, and Croydon, have fallen like dominoes, declaring bankruptcies and one in five local authorities in England is now projected to be insolvent by next year. Something is clearly going very wrong. And it’s not just bin collections at stake but adult and child social care, schooling, libraries—the list goes on. Speak to anyone working in frontline council services, and they will tell you that any further cuts will decimate how we look after society’s most vulnerable.  Season 5 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on X https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk
S5 Ep4: Is geography destiny? with Rosie McEachan
Apr 3 2024
S5 Ep4: Is geography destiny? with Rosie McEachan
Professor Rosie McEachan is leading one of the most exciting research projects in Britain - the Born In Bradford study. It's one of the largest research studies in the world, tracking the lives of over 30,000 Bradfordians to discover what factors most influence health and well-being.  In particular, they are focussing on how genetic, nutritional, environmental, behavioural and social factors impact health and development during childhood and, subsequently, adult life. Thanks to the study, Bradford has already seen the creation of Clean Air Zones, areas with limited traffic, and investment in green spaces. Professor McEachan is the Director of the Born in Bradford Research programme. She is an experienced behavioural scientist with particular expertise in developing and evaluating complex interventions. Season 5 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on X https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk
S5 Ep2: How society disables us with Anna Lawson and Shani Dhanda
Mar 20 2024
S5 Ep2: How society disables us with Anna Lawson and Shani Dhanda
Professor Anna Lawson and Dr Shani Dhanda believe that the Social Sciences can improve the world for disabled people.  Dr Shani Danda may be our first guest on the We Society podcast who has also been featured in Vogue magazine for her work. An entrepreneur and disability activist, she is at the start of her social science career but has already achieved so much. Professor Anna Lawson is a Professor of Law at the University of Leeds. Throughout her academic career, she has worked with disabled people and researchers to tackle the exclusion that disabled people face worldwide. She's also acted as an expert advisor within Parliament and the Council of Europe.   Season 5 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on X https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences  Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk
S5 Ep1: Should governments care about wellbeing? with Professor Richard Layard
Mar 13 2024
S5 Ep1: Should governments care about wellbeing? with Professor Richard Layard
Professor Lord Richard Layard is one of the first economists to look at happiness as a metric that Governments worldwide should strive to improve in their population. He was the founder-director of LSE's Centre for Economic Performance and is now the director of the Centre's Wellbeing programme. In 2005, he wrote Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, which was published in 20 languages. We all quest for happiness, but how do we measure a happy life? Is it linked to wealth, relationships or absence of pain? Professor Richard Layard doesn't believe that the Gross Domestic Product of a country tells us much about the well-being of its people. On the eve of his 90th birthday in March 2024, Professor Lord Layard joins host Will Hutton to discuss the need to take well-being and happiness more seriously.  Season 5 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on twitter  https://twitter.com/thewesocietypod Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk