The We Society

• S9 Ep8: US and China: behind the rhetoric with Rana Mitter

  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 [email protected] 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 

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• S9 Ep7: Investing in the Early Years: Can policy catch up with evidence? with Eleanor Ireland

  Almost a third of five-year-olds in Britain enter primary school without the essential language, communication, and literacy skills they need to thrive. Eleanor Ireland, our guest today, looks at the critical importance of early childhood development and the widening disadvantage gap as inequality deepens in Britain. Eleanor is one of the Programme Heads for Education at the Nuffield Foundation, which tackles the UK’s biggest social challenges by funding research, generating evidence, and guiding decision-makers to implement solutions that improve people’s lives.  In her conversation with Will, they look at how support systems for parents and children have changed over the years, and the potential impact of the new UK Government policy of providing 30 hours of free childcare a week for working parents with under 5s. 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 [email protected] 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 

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• S9 Ep6: Can language convict a criminal? with Tim Grant

  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 [email protected] 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 

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• S9 Ep5: Evidence for change: rethinking child poverty policy with Alex Beer

  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 [email protected] 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 

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• S9 Ep4: Inoculating the mind: protecting against misinformation with Sander van der Linden

  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 [email protected] 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 

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