Season 11 of the Academy’s chart-topping podcast, The We Society, produced in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust, has begun today.
Hosted by acclaimed author, journalist and the Academy’s President, Will Hutton, The We Society – a social sciences podcast – invites leading experts, academics and public figures to share their evidence-led insights and explore the many ways social science can help us understand and enhance our complicated and fascinating human world. And with The We Society having recently been longlisted in the Education category of the British Podcast Awards, season 11 builds on the success of the previous ten seasons.
Will said, “I’m delighted to be hosting season 11 of The We Society podcast – another season of fascinating conversations with leading experts on how the ideas and practice of social science can make our lives better. Its rewarding listenability has been recognised by the British Podcast Awards, which makes the start of this season even more exciting - including episodes on how to create wealth from Britain’s leading venture capitalist, the challenges of special needs education, what worries us and why – and even how Ukraine is beginning to succeed on the battlefield. I couldn’t be happier to help showcase the power of the social sciences in this way.”
In the first episode, released today, Helen Miller, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and world-renowned economist Professor Sir Richard Blundell FAcSS, to unpack the recently published Deaton Review. Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the Review is the most ambitious study of its kind exploring inequalities in the UK and the underlying forces that create them. Drawing on economics, sociology, public health, philosophy and policy studies the Review argues that Britain’s inequalities extend far beyond income alone and presents a framework for how social policy makers should address their response.
When asked about people’s views on inequalities in the UK, Helen said, “If you poll people and you ask them what’s the form of inequality that you’re most worried about, it’s regional inequality. It’s the fact that the UK has a big city in London but regional cities that are a long way behind. And it’s not just that they’re a long way behind in income, they are behind in health, in education, and all sorts of other things. There’s lots of inequalities and they come together and people really care about them.”
Throughout the episode, Richard also points to low growth and productivity as being a factor in the rise in inequalities in the UK. He said, “We’ve had many years now of low growth, this by the way exacerbates the concerns of inequality. Low growth, even with the high levels of inequality, just make them much more salient, much more evident. And we can point that out over time. Inheritance has become much more valuable than income and that’s changing the nature of society.”
Other topics this season offer expert insights into the war in Ukraine, whether we are really experiencing more crises, the forces shaping women’s healthcare globally, how to support the UK’s innovation economy, what we Google and more.
Our other guests this season include Professor Danny Dorling FAcSS (University of Oxford), Professor Sophie Harman (Queen Mary University of London), venture capitalist Saul Klein, leading expert on the Russia-Ukraine war Michael Kofman, Alice Reeves (Nuffield Foundation), Simon Rogers (Google) and Professor Adam Smith (University of Oxford).
New episodes will be released every Wednesday and listeners are encouraged to subscribe to the podcast on their preferred platform so they don’t miss an episode. All episodes of the past ten seasons, featuring guests including Hillary Clinton, Ai Weiwei, Professor Mariana Mazzuccato FAcSS, Professor Gary Younge FAcSS, and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala are available to listen now.