Transforming Society podcast

Updated: 22 Jul 2025 • 139 episodes
bristoluniversitypress.co.uk

Brought to you by Bristol University Press and Policy Press, the Transforming Society podcast brings you conversations with our authors around social justice and global social challenges.We get to grips with the story their research tells, with a focus on the specific ways in which it could transform society for the better. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Despite claims that we now live in a post-racial society, race continues to disadvantage those from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds. In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with Kalwant Bhopal, author of the second edition of ‘White Privilege: The myth of a post-racial society’, about why those from black and minori

41 min
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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

48 min
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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 real

39 min
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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 commitm

46 min
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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

59 min
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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

43 min
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