Joining Will Hutton for the final episode of Season 9 is Professor Rana Mitter, an authority on contemporary China and U.S relations. He is the ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School.  In the conversation, Professor Mitter argues that we should look past the often prevailing sense of doom regarding U.S.-China relations to explore the realities - both nations have distinct aspirations that do not lead automatically to conflict. He argues that the tendency of apocalyptic framing oversimplifies reality. Professor Mitter puts forward his view that rather than a clash of liberalism versus authoritarianism, today’s geopolitics is defined by competing antiliberal views. They talk about China’s booming economy, especially now that the green energy market is open to investment following America’s renewed focus on fossil fuels.  In the We Society, 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.   The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust.  Producer: Emily Uchida Finch Assistant Producer: Emily Gilbert A Whistledown Production

Professor Tim Grant is one of the world's most experienced forensic linguistic practitioners who specialises in the analysis of abusive and threatening communications.  He is an academic practitioner in the field of forensic linguistics - teaching and leading research as a professor at Aston University. As the former director of the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics at Aston University he spearheaded the Institute’s expansion between 2013 and 2024.   Tim joins Will Hutton and explains how forensic linguistics is used to improve the delivery of justice across various contexts from police interviews with vulnerable witnesses to providing evidence in court cases. He introduces us to the concept of "identity performance" within language use, which allows linguists to profile gender and education levels based on the linguistic style of the texts. They also delve into the impact AI is having on Forensic Linguistics noting its tendency to lack a distinct style and personality.  In the We Society, 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. The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust.  Producer: Emily Uchida Finch Assistant Producer: Emily Gilbert A Whistledown Production

Our guest today, Alex Beer, joins us at a critical time as the UK Government prepares to publish its child poverty strategy this autumn. According to official numbers, there are 4.5 million children living in poverty in the UK and 1.1m children are in families that have used a food bank in the past year.  The Nuffield Foundation launched a major new Strategic Review earlier this summer committing £30 million annually over the next five years to fund research and innovation that addresses some of the UK's most urgent social and economic challenges. Read more about it here (https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/news/nuffield-foundation-announces-150-million-funding-commitment-to-tackle-uks-biggest-social-challenges)  As Assistant Director of Strategy at the Nuffield Foundation, Alex's role is to develop and deliver programmes of work that deliver the strategy and improve social wellbeing in the UK. In this conversation with Will, Alex shares some evidence-backed policy suggestions for alleviating child poverty, which includes changes to the two-child limit and the benefit cap, but also emphasises the importance of taking a holistic approach.  In the We Society, 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. The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust.  Producer: Emily Uchida Finch Assistant Producer: Emily Gilbert A Whistledown Production

Professor Sander van der Linden explores the impact of misinformation and how to prevent its spread within the general public. His work as Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Cambridge and Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab focuses on the origins of "fake news" and its role in societal divisions.  In this conversation with Will Hutton, he discusses his research into proactive strategies like "pre-bunking" to build defences against manipulation through misinformation. His lab has created a game called Get Bad News aimed at building psychological resistance against online misinformation. You can play his game and learn more about it here (https://www.sdmlab.psychol.cam.ac.uk/research/bad-news-game).  The conversation also addresses the responsibilities of social media companies and the need for stronger regulation when it comes to countering online misinformation.  In the We Society, 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. The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust.  Producer: Emily Uchida Finch Assistant Producer: Emily Gilbert A Whistledown Production

Simon Calder is the man with the answers when it comes to any travel related questions. Having started as a travel journalist at the Independent newspaper in 1994, Simon has decades of knowledge and insight when it comes to the travel industry. He joins our host Will Hutton to impart some of his expertise and they tackle topics from the pros and cons of budget airlines to his love of train travel. There might even be a couple of holiday destination recommendations peppered in! In the We Society, 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. The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust.  Producer: Emily Uchida Finch Assistant Producer: Emily Gilbert A Whistledown Production

How can cities be better designed for the older generation and girls? These are the tough questions tackled in this episode of The We Society with Professor Tine Buffel and Dr. Julia King, prominent academics in urban sociology and architecture. In the conversation, Professor Tine Buffel highlights the barriers older individuals face in urban spaces. Dr. Julia King addresses the decline of youth spaces and safety concerns for young women. Both guests stress the need for participatory design, which involves genuine community collaboration. Professor Tine Buffel is a Professor of Sociology and Social Gerontology at the University of Manchester, where she directs the Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group. In 2021, she was awarded a Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Award. Her five-year project examines how urban environments can adapt to meet the needs of a growing and increasingly diverse ageing population, drawing upon an interdisciplinary and mixed-methods approach involving fieldwork in seven cities across the world. Dr. Julia King worked for a decade at LSE Cities, London School of Economics and Political Science, a centre that investigates the complexities of the contemporary city. In 2024 she started her own practice, Social Place, to focus on brief-development, community engagement and participatory design. In the We Society, 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.  The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust.  Producer: Emily Uchida Finch Assistant Producer: Emily Gilbert A Whistledown Production

As US President Donald Trump threatens trade tariffs, the We Society invited the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to share her thoughts during this period of uncertainty. The first woman and the first African to serve as Director General of the WTO, Dr Okonjo-Iweala also gives her perspectives on women in leadership positions and her history of fighting corruption in Nigeria that led to the kidnapping of her elderly mother. This is the final interview in Season 7 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences  which tackles the big questions through a social science lens. On this podcast, 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

Professor Lee Elliot Major, who is Britain's first professor of Social Mobility based at the University of Exeter, is our guest in this penultimate episode of Season 7. In his latest book, Equity in Education, he argues for a new approach and language to improve upward mobility. In his book, children are not disadvantaged instead they are under resourced.  Does language matter? 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 podcast, you'll hear 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

Around one in four women have experienced domestic abuse, according to the Crime Survey of England and Wales.  But abuse is not usually a one off event, it’s part of a protracted pattern, and by studying the timeline, perhaps this shocking statistic and may change. Prof Jane Monckton-Smith has dedicated the majority of her career to studying this pattern and is Professor Of Public Protection at the University of Gloucestershire. She researched and created the Homicide Timeline, a tool for police officers and criminal justice professionals to understand the pattern of domestic abuse that leads to the murder of a woman. Her argument - Domestic homicide is not a crime of passion.    Now a respected forensic criminologist, Jane started her career on the front line as a police officer.  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

Join host Will Hutton for Season 10 of the We Society from next week to hear some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Launching Wednesday 4th March with an array of great guests starting with Richard Wiseman who is going to talk to us about the psychology of luck and magic.  But we also wanted to celebrate this milestone - ten seasons!  Through this journey, our host Will Hutton has met some incredible individuals whose work has changed the course of history. From the former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to social scientists like Tom Shakespeare whose critical research focuses on improving the way disabled people are treated in the UK. In the next  series, you will continue to hear interviews from social scientists, business leaders and public figures to hear their solutions to society's most pressing issues.    Please subscribe, rate and share with your friends.  This podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust.