The We Society – Details, episodes & analysis

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The We Society

AcSS

Science

News

Education

Frequency: 1 episode/17d. Total Eps: 91

Beyond the politics, beyond our geography are the intangible connections that hold us together – The We Society.

The We Society podcast is here to tell you about the thousands of ways the Social Sciences can help us understand and enhance this complicated and fascinating human network.

What can we do to fix the NHS? How can we better manage climate change? How do we end the cost of living crisis?

Brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and Leverhulme Trust, this podcast tackles the big questions through a social science lens and 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.

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.

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Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - socialSciences
19/08/2026
#6
🇬🇧 Great Britain - science
19/08/2026
#52
🇬🇧 Great Britain - socialSciences
18/08/2026
#6
🇬🇧 Great Britain - science
18/08/2026
#60
🇬🇧 Great Britain - socialSciences
17/08/2026
#6
🇬🇧 Great Britain - science
17/08/2026
#64
🇬🇧 Great Britain - socialSciences
16/08/2026
#8
🇬🇧 Great Britain - science
16/08/2026
#83
🇬🇧 Great Britain - socialSciences
15/08/2026
#6
🇬🇧 Great Britain - science
15/08/2026
#55

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences
39 shares
https://twitter.com/thewesocietypod
32 shares
https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences%20
1 share

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RSS feed quality

Good

Score global : 79%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

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Latest published episodes

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S6 Ep7: Stopping hate crime with Matthew Williams and Neil Chakraborti

Season 6 · Episode 7

Wednesday, August 21, 2024 • Duration 38:23

The recent riots in Britain, which emerged following the Southport stabbings, demonstrate how hate is bubbling just under the surface of our society, ready to erupt at any moment. Behind the violence and destruction are statistics. Between 2012 and 2023, hate crimes in England and Wales rose by 252%, according to research undertaken by the Home Office. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Professor Neil Chakraborti and Professor Matthew Williams join host Will Hutton to discuss the impact of hate crimes on the victims, their communities and wider British society. And what can be done to lower the incidences of hate crime.

Professor Chakraborti has been studying the impact of hate crimes on victims for the past two decades and is Director of the Centre for Hate Studies and the Director of the Institute for Policy at the University of Leicester.

Professor Matthew Williams is a Professor of Criminology in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. He leads the HateLab there, a global hub for data and insight into hate speech and crime. He's the author of the popular science book, The Science of Hate, which was published by Faber and Faber in 2021.

Season 6 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

This is the final episode of Season 6, see you in the Autumn!

Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk

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S6 Ep6: Why the war on drugs has failed with Alex Stevens

Season 6 · Episode 6

Wednesday, August 14, 2024 • Duration 30:25

No war has been more of a failure than the war on drugs. Despite all the crackdowns, prison sentences and moral posturing, drug use in Britain is on an epic scale. Yet, drug debate and policy are full of moral declarations, with evidence often being made to take a backseat. Why is this?

Alex Stevens is a professor of Criminology at the University of Sheffield (having recently moved from the University of Kent). He was a member of the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs from 2014 to 2019, and President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy from 2015 to 2019. And he’s just published a book, Drug Policy Constellations: The Role of Power and Morality in the Making of Drug Policy in the UK.

Season 6 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

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S5 Ep4: Is geography destiny? with Rosie McEachan

Season 5 · Episode 4

Wednesday, April 3, 2024 • Duration 33:19

Professor Rosie McEachan is leading one of the most exciting research projects in Britain - the Born In Bradford study.

It's one of the largest research studies in the world, tracking the lives of over 30,000 Bradfordians to discover what factors most influence health and well-being. In particular, they are focussing on how genetic, nutritional, environmental, behavioural and social factors impact health and development during childhood and, subsequently, adult life.

Thanks to the study, Bradford has already seen the creation of Clean Air Zones, areas with limited traffic, and investment in green spaces.

Professor McEachan is the Director of the Born in Bradford Research programme. She is an experienced behavioural scientist with particular expertise in developing and evaluating complex interventions.

Season 5 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles 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

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S5 Ep3: We can't let our high streets fail with Ed Jones

Season 5 · Episode 3

Wednesday, March 27, 2024 • Duration 29:55

Dr Ed Jones is working to turn around Britain's ailing high streets. He is a financial economist at Bangor University who doesn’t consider himself a conventional academic.

The British High Street once was the heart of our cities, towns and villages, but no more. The High Street is increasingly lifeless – the preserve of too many empty shops and countless charity shops that don’t have to pay burdensome business rates. A former centre of our communities is wilting before our eyes.

Season 5 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles 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 twitter https://twitter.com/AcadSocSciences
Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk

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S5 Ep2: How society disables us with Anna Lawson and Shani Dhanda

Season 5 · Episode 2

Wednesday, March 20, 2024 • Duration 42:03

Professor Anna Lawson and Dr Shani Dhanda believe that the Social Sciences can improve the world for disabled people.

Dr Shani Danda may be our first guest on the We Society podcast who has also been featured in Vogue magazine for her work. An entrepreneur and disability activist, she is at the start of her social science career but has already achieved so much.

Professor Anna Lawson is a Professor of Law at the University of Leeds. Throughout her academic career, she has worked with disabled people and researchers to tackle the exclusion that disabled people face worldwide. She's also acted as an expert advisor within Parliament and the Council of Europe.

Season 5 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles 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

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S5 Ep1: Should governments care about wellbeing? with Professor Richard Layard

Season 5 · Episode 1

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 • Duration 33:50

Professor Lord Richard Layard is one of the first economists to look at happiness as a metric that Governments worldwide should strive to improve in their population.

He was the founder-director of LSE's Centre for Economic Performance and is now the director of the Centre's Wellbeing programme. In 2005, he wrote Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, which was published in 20 languages.

We all quest for happiness, but how do we measure a happy life? Is it linked to wealth, relationships or absence of pain? Professor Richard Layard doesn't believe that the Gross Domestic Product of a country tells us much about the well-being of its people.

On the eve of his 90th birthday in March 2024, Professor Lord Layard joins host Will Hutton to discuss the need to take well-being and happiness more seriously.

Season 5 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles 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 twitter https://twitter.com/thewesocietypod

Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk

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S4 Ep9: The We Society Season 5 trailer

Season 4 · Episode 9

Thursday, February 1, 2024 • Duration 02:54

Join host Will Hutton for Season 5 of the We Society from March to hear more ideas that shape the world we live.

In this podcast series, you will hear interviews from social scientists, business leaders and public figures to hear their solutions to society's most pressing issues.

Tell us who we should be speaking to or what questions we should be asking by emailing wesociety@acss.org.uk

This podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences.

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S4 Ep8: Levelling up isn't a pick n mix with Andy Haldane

Season 4 · Episode 8

Wednesday, November 22, 2023 • Duration 37:36

For the final episode of Season 4, we have one of the chief architects of Britain's Levelling Up agenda: Andy Haldane. A fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences who brings you this podcast, Andy is in the middle of an illustrious career, from chief economist of the Bank of England to chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts. He has put Social Science in motion throughout his whole career.

In this episode, Andy speaks to host Will Hutton about his involvement in the Government's Levelling Up agenda which seeks to send more investment to areas which were previously sidelined.

Season 4 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles 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 twitter https://twitter.com/thewesocietypod

Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://www.acss.org.uk

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S4 Ep7: Helping children in a time of crisis with Lucie Cluver

Season 4 · Episode 7

Wednesday, November 15, 2023 • Duration 28:09

Professor Lucie Cluver has spent her career improving the lot of children, especially during times of crisis.

Whether that's the AIDS pandemic or the Covid pandemic, Professor Cluver has been at the coalface and in this episode she talks about her time working as a social worker in South Africa all the way through to her work as Professor of Child and Family Social Work at the University of Oxford

From 2010 - 2012, she ran the Young Carers Study, which looked at the impact of being a 'young carer' on children's well-being in AIDS-affected families. Over 6000 children and 2500 caregivers were interviewed in the South African provinces making it the world’s largest study on children in AIDS-affected families.

In March 2020, when 1.9 billion children were in lockdown with their parents, she co-led the COVID-19 Emergency Parenting Response to develop evidence-based open-source resources. She worked with colleagues at international organisations including the World Bank with the knowledge that the numbers of child abuse victims rose when they sequestered with adults for long periods of time. These resources were translated into over 100 languages and disseminated to over 200 million people.

Season 4 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles 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 twitter https://twitter.com/thewesocietypod

Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://www.acss.org.uk

S4 Ep6: Food for thought with Minette Batters

Season 4 · Episode 6

Wednesday, November 8, 2023 • Duration 30:21

Minette Batters, President of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, represents an estimated 55,000 farmers and farm workers. She has changed the course of history as the first woman to become president of the NFU.

Every single person in the UK owes a debt to our farmers - they ensure food is on our tables every single day, but there appears to be a dissonance in our minds of what’s on our supermarket shelves, and the producers behind our food.

Outside of the NFU, Minette runs a tenanted family farm in Wiltshire. Her focus has always been to leave her farm in a better state than when she inherited it, and that’s what she’s aiming to do at the NFU too.

But there have been a handful of pretty tough hurdles in her way - Brexit, Covid, the recent energy crisis, and not mention the need to balance sustainability with farmer’s profit margins.

Season 4 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles 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 twitter https://twitter.com/thewesocietypod

Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://Acss.org.uk

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The We Society – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The We Society – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other33

Twitter3

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other33

Twitter3

Apple Podcasts

Spotify