The We Society Podcast
Tackling the big questions through a social science lens, the We Society Podcast 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. In this series social science calls on aspects of business, education, economics, geopolitics, healthcare, human geography and more, exploring their impact on society and the social policy they can inspire. The We Society is for those interested in how social science impacts their world, and how evidence backed research can improve it.
The We Society is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust.
The views expressed in the podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Academy.
Searching for a good life: Data analysis and Google with Simon Rogers
Google handles over 13 billion searches a day – and the data behind the searches say a lot about us. In the final episode of Season 11 of the We Society with Will Hutton, join Simon Rogers, Data Editor at Google, and author of What We Ask Google, as he talks about the two decades of data from the world’s biggest search engine and what these reveal about our societies and the world around us. The findings are uplifting, with less division and cynicism than you’d expect, and a lot more curiosity, confusion, and kindness.
Available to listen now
All season 11 episodes are listed below
- S11 Ep1: Social policy solutions to the UK’s inequality crisis with Helen Miller and Sir Richard Blundell
- S11 Ep2: Placing the Right Kind of Attention on Women’s Health with Professor Sophie Harman
- S11 Ep4: The crisis of constant crisis with Danny Dorling
- S11 Ep3: Why Britain should back more innovators with Saul Klein
- S11 Ep5: Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine: what does social science tell us? with Michael Kofman
- S11 Ep6: How can we fix the special needs system in England’s schools? with Alice Reeves
- S11 Ep7: The USA 250 years after Independence with Adam Smith
- S11 Ep8: Searching for a good life: Data analysis and Google with Simon Rogers
All season 10 episodes are listed below:
- S10 Ep1: 'I’m not psychic, just very lucky!' With Professor Richard Wiseman
- S10 Ep2: What does it mean to be grown up today? with Bobby Duffy and Carey Oppenheim
- S10 Ep3: Using virtual reality to build a more inclusive NHS with Stephani Hatch
- S10 Ep4: How happy is the world in 2026? With Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
- S10 Ep5: AI and the Future of Public Services with Imogen Parker
- S10 Ep6: Climate action: small human acts can make a big difference with Tim Lenton
- S10 Ep7: Whoever holds our data holds the power with Carissa Véliz
- S10 Ep8: Harnessing Creative Destruction with Philippe Aghion
All season 9 episodes listed below:
- S9 Ep8: US and China: behind the rhetoric with Rana Mitter
- S9 Ep7: Investing in the Early Years: Can policy catch up with evidence?
- S9 Ep6: Can language convict a criminal? with Tim Grant
- S9 Ep5: Evidence for change: rethinking child poverty policy with Alex Beer
- S9 Ep4: Inoculating the mind: protecting against misinformation with Sander van der Linden
- S9 Ep3: Our love affair with travel with journalist Simon Calder
- S9 Ep2: Saving the 86 bus and designing better cities for the old and young with Tine Buffell and Julia King
- S9 Ep1: Emergency planning is more about tea than being James Bond with Lucy Easthope
All season 8 episodes listed below:
- S8 Ep8: Solving the Productivity Puzzle with Ed Balls, Anna Stansbury and Dan Turner
- S8 Ep7: The Social Life of Pain with Tom Shakespeare
- S8 Ep6: Borders, Brexit, and Fault Lines with Katy Hayward
- S8 Ep5: Care or Incarceration? How some of the UK’s most vulnerable children are being failed with Lisa Harker
- S8 Ep4: Taking entrepreneurship beyond business with Eleanor Shaw
- S8 Ep3: Population, Data & Destiny with Andy Tatem
- S8 Ep2: Morality in UK prisons with Alison Liebling
- S8 Ep1: How to get work working for everyone with Gavin Kelly
All season 7 episodes listed below:
- S7 Ep7: Keep Calm and Chill with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
- S7 Ep6: Improving social mobility through education and language with Lee Elliot Major
- S7 Ep5: Tracking and stopping domestic abuse with Jane Monckton-Smith
- S7 Ep4: Should the 9 to 5 be a thing of the past? with Clare Kelliher and Brendan Burchell
- S7 Ep3: Making a responsible budget with Sir Robert Chote
- S7 Ep2: Anxiety, Artificial Intelligence and work with Anthony Elliott
- S7 Ep1: The future of liberal democracy with Anand Menon
All season 6 episodes listed below:
- S6 Ep7: Stopping hate crime with Matthew Williams and Neil Chakraborti
- S6 Ep6: Why the war on drugs has failed with Alex Stevens
- S6 Ep5: Improving adult education with Anna Vignoles
- S6 Ep4: The hidden army of young carers with Saul Becker
- S6 Ep3: How to make housing fair with Vicky Spratt and Auriol Miller
- S6 Ep2: Separating emotion from Brexit with Professor Sarah Hall
- S6 Ep1: Election 24 special with Will Hutton
All Season 5 episodes listed below:
- S5 Ep7: A life of public service with Lord Chris Patten
- S5 Ep6: Exposing the underbelly of Britain with Dr Ella Cockbain
- S5 Ep5: Protecting local councils with Professor Andy Pike
- S5 Ep4: Is geography destiny? with Professor Rosie McEachan
- S5 Ep3: We can't let our high streets fail with Dr Ed Jones
- S5 Ep2: How society disables us with Professor Anna Lawson and Dr Shani Dhanda
- S5 Ep1: Should governments care about wellbeing? with Professor Lord Richard Layard
All Season 4 episodes listed below:
- S4 Ep9: The We Society Season 5 trailer
- S4 Ep8: Levelling up isn't a pick n mix with Andy Haldane
- S4 Ep7: Helping children in a time of crisis with Lucie Cluver
- S4 Ep6: Food for thought with Minette Batters
- S4 Ep5: The case for public consumption with Sir Andrew Dilnot
- S4 Ep4: Cancelling the Global South's debt with Ann Pettifor
- S4 Ep3: Reframing the climate crisis narrative with Neil Adger
- S4 Ep2: Will Artificial Intelligence see us lose our jobs? with Daniel Susskind
- S4 Ep1: Do we value universities enough in Britain? with Vivienne Stern
All Season 3 episodes listed below:
- S3 Ep7: Summer recap with Hillary Clinton, Ai Weiwei and Gary Younge
- S3 Ep6: What does the future hold? With Ian McEwan
- S3 Ep5: The history of racism with Kenan Malik
- S3 Ep4: Artificial Intelligence and the next Industrial Revolution with Professor Nicholas Crafts
- S3 Ep3: Can sport change the wellbeing of the nation? With Professor Louise Mansfield
- S3 Ep2: Housing for living, not investment with Polly Neate
- S3 Ep1: Can migration drive development? With Professor Heaven Crawley
All Season 2 episodes listed below:
- S2 Ep8: Ai Weiwei: You're either protecting humanity or hurting it
- S2 Ep7: Becky Francis: Education, Education, Education
- S2 Ep6: Ann Phoenix: It takes a village to raise a child
- S2 Ep5: Torsten Bell: The UK is a stagnation nation
- S2 Ep4: Mike Berners-Lee: Market forces won’t solve climate change
- S2 Ep3: Greg Clark: Cities are our future
- S2 Ep2: Linda Bauld: We must do better for the next pandemic
- S2 Ep1: Sir Lawrence Freedman: Military defeat happens gradually then suddenly
All Season 1 episodes listed below:
- S1 Ep8: The We Society Season 1 Recap
- S1 Ep7: Michael Bradshaw: You Can't Build a Plan Around Armageddon
- S1 Ep6: Mariana Mazzucato: Going To The Moon and Back
- S1 Ep5: Gary Younge: You Have to Take A Stand For What's Right
- S1 Ep4: Kate Pickett: We Are Connected To Each Other In Important Ways
- S1 Ep3: Sir Ian Diamond: Every Citizen In The Country Should Have A Voice In Our Data
- S1 Ep2: Hillary Clinton: They're Stoking People's Fears Rather Than Providing Hope
- S1 Ep1: Sir Cary Cooper: It's Not About Bean Bags, Ping Pong and Sushi At Your Desk
“Only found this thanks to a suggestion from the ‘great algorithm in the sky’ well cloud, all the episodes I’ve listened to are informative, entertaining and generally positive, making listening to them a really enjoyable experience. Really good stuff.”
Apple podcast listener
“Intelligent, informative, and entertaining conversation about subjects that should be of interest to all who live in a society, which is everyone.”
Spotify listener
“Quickly became one of my favourite podcasts! I love learning about why we humans behave the way we do and love listening to smart people tell me why. This ticks all those boxes and more…”
Apple podcast listener
“A really great listen and find. Would recommend highly.”
Apple podcast listener
“My favourite podcast right now. I’m enjoying learning about the role of the social sciences. I studied Sociology at university in the late 80’s. I don’t think that I was ever told what it was really for or encouraged to turn my studies into a career. If only I could do it over! This will have to do. And it will do quite well. Thank you.”
Apple podcast listener
US and China: behind the rhetoric with Rana Mitter
Investing in the Early Years: Can policy catch up with evidence? with Eleanor Ireland
Can language convict a criminal? with Tim Grant
Evidence for change: rethinking child poverty policy with Alex Beer
Inoculating the mind: protecting against misinformation with Sander van der Linden
Our Love Affair with Travel with journalist Simon Calder
Saving the 86 bus & designing better cities for the old & young with Tine Buffel & Julia King
Emergency planning is more about tea than being James Bond with Lucy Easthope
Solving the Productivity Puzzle with Ed Balls, Anna Stansbury and Dan Turner
The Social Life of Pain with Tom Shakespeare
Borders, Brexit, and Fault Lines with Katy Hayward
Care or Incarceration? How some of the UK’s most vulnerable children are being failed
Taking entrepreneurship beyond business with Eleanor Shaw
Population, Data & Destiny with Andy Tatem
Morality in UK prisons with Alison Liebling
How to get work working for everyone with Gavin Kelly
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The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust.
