Surviving Society

Stigma machines: Imogen talks us through the way the state continues to use stigmatisation to justify harmful policies like austerity. Go to the Sociological Review website to read more about Imogen's work on stigma: https://www.thesociologicalreview.com/blog/from-stigma-power-to-black-power-a-graphic-essay.html Special thanks to Aaron Winter, Nasar Meer and the BSA for the support and funding that made our trip to Glasgow possible!

Justice for Sheku: Smina talks us through what we know (and don't know) about the death of Sheku Bayo in police custody and the justice campaign that continues to take on the Scottish state.  Special thanks to Aaron Winter, Nasar Meer and the BSA for the support and funding that made our trip to Glasgow possible!

The Racial politics of cultural capital: Derron recalls his journey through academia and what it was like being Black and from a working class background at University of Cambridge. We discuss Derron's reflections and research on Bourdieu and the racial politics of cultural capital. You can read more on this in his latest publication here - https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/C4PMMSQZSV7CCWVPUTUA/full Special thanks to Aaron Winter, Nasar Meer and the BSA for the support and funding that made our trip to Glasgow possible!

Researching the far right: Aaron joins us to discuss the mainstream nature of far right politics in the UK and beyond. Special thanks to Aaron Winter, Nasar Meer and the BSA for the support and funding that made our trip to Glasgow possible!

Mixedness in Birmingham: Karis Campion joined us to discuss her PhD on mixed race identities which sort to situate place, space and time as integral to our analysis of mixedness in the U.K. Special thanks to Aaron Winter, Nasar Meer and the BSA for the support and funding that made our trip to Glasgow possible!

Darts & line dancing: Mark Ball tells us about his PhD research focused on the sociology of darts and line dancing in Stoke-on-Trent. Special thanks to Aaron Winter, Nasar Meer and the BSA for the support and funding that made our trip to Glasgow possible!

Long-term Caribbean migrants: Elsa Oommen discusses her current research on long-term Caribbean migrants, citizenship and state violence. Special thanks to Aaron Winter, Nasar Meer and the BSA for the support and funding that made our trip to Glasgow possible!

Racism in Scotland: Nasar Meer talks us through new quantitative research on experiences of racism for Black and minority ethnic populations living in Scotland. Special thanks to Aaron Winter, Nasar Meer and the BSA for the support and funding that made our trip to Glasgow possible!

Marcus Garvey, Rastafarianism and the United Negro Improvement Association: in the first of our conversations at the British Sociological Association (BSA) Annual Conference in Glasgow, we talk to the wonderful Shey Fyffe about her research on histories of Black thought. Special thanks to Aaron Winter, Nasar Meer and the BSA for the support and funding that made our trip to Glasgow possible!

In this bonus episode we are joined by Jason Arday to relay our experiences of growing up Black in the 1990s, our relationships with popular culture and contemplate whether much has changed in terms of racialisation and racism in the UK. We share some cultural analysis through music, raving, gigging and finish with a little bit of academic fashion tips!

What are the links between ecological crisis, capitalism and racism? How has racism in the UK changed since the '70s? And why do celebrities suddenly feel they need to come out as TERFs*? Chantelle and Saskia revel in a bit of Marxism with Gargi Bhattacharyya, who talks to us about her new book Rethinking Racial Capitalism, and we have a think about why the idea of racial capitalism offers more questions than answers. The usual disclaimers about ranting, swearing and laughing apply ;) *Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist Buy Gargi's book here: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Gargi-Bhattacharyya/Rethinking-Racial-Capitalism--Questions-of-Reproduction-and-Survival/18427089

We talk to Adam Elliott-Cooper about why we should abolish the police, the long history of criminalising Black music, and why we may as well vote Labour. Ranting, swearing and laughter abound.

Welcome to Season 3 of Surviving Society! This week we talk about what we've been reading; how our sociological imagination has changed since beginning the podcast and we discuss how we are individually coming to terms/coping with the current political mess. Expect the usual laughter and swearing throughout.

In this episode we are lucky enough to be talking to Professor Ben Rogaly, human geographer at the University of Sussex, activist, and one of Saskia's PhD supervisors. Ben tells us about his work with residents of Peterborough, what 'gangmastering' is, and why Peterborough is an important place when it comes to thinking about Englishness, migration and racisms. As well as talking about whiteness in rural England, we ask Ben to help us out in thinking about the debate around anti-semitism in the Labour party - why is it such a big political issue? Why is it so complicated to talk about? And what is Zionism? Along the way, Saskia gets to whip out her 16th Century History A Level knowledge, Tissot contributes his info from the Daily Stormer, and Chantelle brings in her insider view on the Midlands. Thank you so much Ben for coming on the pod and for helping us to survive society! You can find out more about Ben's work on Peterborough here: http://placesforall.co.uk/

This week we are back with an Alternative to Woman's Hour featuring actor and activist Rebecca Scroggs! Rebecca shares her experiences in the acting world as a mixed-race Black woman, we talk #MeToo, #TimesUp and #ShutUp (disclaimer: not a real movement…yet), and we have a think about how complicated social class can be. The chair of a housing cooperative, we also talk to Rebecca about the current political climate in relation to social housing, and why squatting is a radical act. Expect lots of laughs, strong language and some digestible academic thinking

This week we travel to Sussex to speak to Dr Joe Kennedy of the University of Gothenburg about his new book Authentocrats and as per we get SUPER POLITICAL. Discussing the policies and legacies of centre-ground political parties, Joe explains how he wants to show that Labour is just as guilty as the Tories and UKIP when it comes to using the 'authentic' views of stereotypical small-town voters as an excuse for racist policies. In a conversation that ranges from crime dramas to Game of Thrones to Lord Byron, we ponder why the way in which we talk about places matters, whether a more precise politics is possible, and whether Joe will oblige us by defining neoliberalism. Thank you so much Joe for taking the time to talk to us! The passage Joe reads at the beginning of the episode is from pp202-203 of Authentocrats. Read a longer extract from Joe's book here: https://repeaterbooks.com/extract-authentocrats-by-joe-kennedy/ Warning: This episode contains some academic jargon. We recorded the episode in a cafe so

What's with all these BME/BAME acronyms, and are they actually useful? Is white genocide a thing? And how can the government claim austerity is over if they aren't increasing public spending? In this episode we grapple with how to talk about people who are racialised, far-right ideals of racial purity, and the deceptions of our government, with a little help from our friends Avtar Brah and Kalwant Bhopal. We get ranty, we get sweary, and we have a wry chuckle about all the nonsense that the world throws at us as we attempt to survive society.

This week we are super excited to be joined by one of our favourite sociologists and teachers Professor Les Back to talk about his latest book, Migrant City, which he has co-written with Dr Shamser Sinha. After an introduction from Les and Charlynne Bryan, who contributed to Migrant City, Les tells us about the ten-year project in which he and Shamser have followed the lives of 30 migrants, some of whom are refugees and asylum seekers, as they seek to establish their lives in London in the face of brutal UK immigration policies. As well as discussing the racism and colonialism that continues to shape British social, economic and political life, the four of us think together about sociable sociology in a time of division and political unrest, the potential of everyday conviviality as an alternative to racism, and how as sociologists we can attempt to contribute to the humanity and dignity of people who bear the brunt of anti-migrant politics. Huge thanks to Les for taking the time to talk to us, and also to Le

When Saskia started her PhD in the Geography Department at Royal Holloway, one of the first things she noticed was the absence of people of colour in her research group. Given the numbers of students of colour at undergraduate level in the UK, why are the academic staff and PhD students she works with almost all white? Along with special guest Dom Jackson-Cole from the University of East London, Chantelle and Tissot visited Saskia's research group to talk about the ways in which universities exclude and profit from postgraduate students of colour, how it feels to be a racialised outsider in higher education, and why histories and realities of racism are relevant to everyone, not just students of colour. Many thanks to Sasha Engleman and Landscape Surgery for inviting us along.

Welcome to another *live* episode of Surviving Society! In our third and final collaboration with The Sociological Review, our #1 fan Dr Michaela Benson interviews Saskia, Chantelle and Tissot about podcasting, public sociology, and how we've helped each other to survive our PhDs. With our lovely audience of fellow PhD students and early career researchers, we discuss why we see sociology as an activist discipline, and the importance of harnessing your rage when you're doing social research. Thank you so much to everyone in the audience for coming along and being so engaged, and an extra big thank you to Michaela for all her help and support! As always, we're angry, we're sweary, we're laughing, and we're super grateful to everyone who has made this panel, the podcast and our studies possible. Edited by Art of Podcast Recorded in Gateshead at The Sociological Review conference, June 2018 Special thanks to Michaela Benson and everyone at The Sociological Review