Between the Lines – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast we look at an ‘accompanied’ approach to sustaining poverty reduction through long-term research. It focuses on work undertaken by the IDS-hosted Chronic Poverty Advisory Network (CPAN) in Zambia, and draws on insights from the project’s funder – the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and partners from the World Bank and researchers in Zambia.

Leading the podcast is Vidya Diwakar, Deputy Director of the Chronic Poverty Advisory Network. In the podcast she talks to:

• Joseph Simbaya, a Research Fellow and Director of the Institute of Economic and Social Research at the University of Zambia who talks about the project research findings and what was the problem this piece of research was trying to solve.
• Makda Abebe, Senior social protection specialist at the World Bank about her earlier work with FCDO especially in Ethiopia and Zambia. Makda talks on what makes this type of long-term collaboration around poverty reduction evidence and policy engagement worth it and how can it best be replicated, if it is sufficiently valuable?
• Leah Gaffney, Social Development Advisor, FCDO. Leah talks on what she values most in this research and how can this knowledge about poverty dynamics be used to shape development thinking?

The three speakers all offer a different slant on the benefits of being with a project for a long period of time, speaking from their point of view as either a researcher, project partner or funder. This podcast is essential listening on how we can learn from long-term research funding for creating a more sustainable and equitable world.

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In this episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast IDS Research Officer Catherine Grant from the IDS-led Pandemic Preparedness project talks to Paul Richards an anthropologist with over forty-five years' experience of living and working in West Africa and author of the book Ebola: How a People’s Science Helped End an Epidemic. 

In the podcast and drawing on extensive first-hand experiences in Sierra Leone, Paul and Catherine discuss that the international community’s panicky response failed to take account of local expertise and common sense.

Crucially, they discuss that the humanitarian response to the disease was most effective in those areas where it supported these initiatives and that it hampered recovery when it ignored or disregarded local knowledge.

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In this special episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast, IDS Research Fellow Stephen Thompson and IDS Research Officer Mariah Cannon interview pioneering Researcher Robert Chambers.

For years, international development has traditionally been dominated by ‘experts’ in the global North telling ‘poor people’ in the global South how their lives could be improved. Robert’s writing and thinking, however revolutionised the discipline, inspiring both participatory processes and a more inclusive practice.

This podcast is released to coincide with publication of the recent archive collection of the IDS Bulletin which a celebration of Robert’s contribution to the journal over the last five decades.

In the interview Robert talks about the importance of workshops and talking to people to further research ideas; How his work has changed from focusing on rural development to more urban development. He also talks about his early time in Kenya in the late 1950’s and going back four years ago to see how much has changed with regards to technology and connectivity.

This interview is a fascinating insight into Robert’s career, his publishing legacy with the IDS Bulletin and a history lesson on how development research has evolved over the last 50 years.

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In this special episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast, Jigyasa Agarwal – a journalist, development practitioner and current master's student at IDS – interviews IDS Alumni Naimat Zafary.

In this personal and powerful account, Naimat, talks about his journey to becoming a Master’s Student at IDS after he – along with his family – was evacuated from Kabul Airport on the 24 August 2021 when the Taliban took over.

Naimat talks about being offered a Chevening Scholarships to study at IDS, his journey to get out of Kabul Airport through chaotic scenes, and his time at IDS and his new home in the United Kingdom here in Sussex.

Finally, Naimat talks about how education is key for Afghanistan and his hopes for the future.

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In this episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast, IDS Fellow Lars Otto Naess interviews Dr Neil McCulloch about his new book: Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies: The politics of saving the planet.

In the podcast Neil discuss that fossil fuel subsidies are killing both people and the planet, because they encourage the excessive consumption of fossil fuels – which exacerbate pollution and climate change and waste huge sums that could be used far better.

Neil lays out a new agenda for action on fossil fuel subsidies, showing how a better understanding of the underlying political incentives can lead to more effective approaches to tackling this major global problem.

This podcast is essential listening for all studying and researching climate change, green transformations and climate justice.

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Digital deception is the new face of information warfare. Social media has been weaponised by states and commercial entities alike, as bots and trolls proliferate and users are left to navigate an info-demic of fake news and disinformation.

In this episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast, IDS Fellow Tony Roberts interviews Marc Jones, Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at Hamad bin Khalifa University, Qatar. Marc is author of the book: ­­Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Deception, Disinformation and Social Media.

The book looks to unpick a global web of shadowy actors in the service of digital rights in the Middle East.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Between the Lines, Priya Raghavan, Post-Doctoral Researcher in the IDS Governance Cluster, interviews Nicky Falkof, Associate Professor of Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. Priya is part of the IDS project Sustaining Power for Women’s Rights, which works with women’s movements in South Asia to study and help develop strategies against backlash.

Nicky is co-editor of the book: Intimacy and injury: In the wake of #MeToo in India and South Africa.

Through the lens of the #MeToo moment, this book and podcast tracks histories of feminist’s organising in both countries, while also revealing how newer strategies extended or limited these struggles. Intimacy and injury is a timely mapping of a shifting political field around gender-based violence in the global south.

This book and podcast is essential reading and listening for all studying and researching gender issues, especially in relation to questions of gendered violence.

https://shows.acast.com/between-the-lines

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In this episode of Between the Lines, IDS Fellows, Dominic Glover and Lidia Cabral interview Glenn Davies Stone, Research Professor of Environmental Science at Sweet Briar College, Virginia.

Glenn is author of the book: The Agricultural Dilemma: How Not to Feed the World.

In the book and podcast, the author questions everything we think we know about the current state of agriculture and how to, or perhaps more importantly how not to, feed a world with a growing population.

This podcast and book is essential listening for all studying and researching food production and agriculture.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.