Global social challenges
There are multiple interlocking crises currently gripping the planet. Significant threats and dangers lie ahead of us, but so do opportunities, as new ways of being, thinking, and doing emerge.
This stream of Transforming Society is a space for exploring the complexities of the global social challenges across disciplines and fields. It seeks to build and share the knowledge needed to shape a fairer world, across and for the global south and north, hoping to foster dialogue between academics, practitioners, policy makers and the wider public.
In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with Kalwant Bhopal about why those from black and minority ethnic communities continue to be marginalised.…Read more
Rajat Mitra, Pankaj Singh, and Nidhi Mitra explore the collective, existential fear of extinction among Bangladeshi minorities, driven by historical trauma, rising persecution, and the struggle to preserve identity.…Read more
Rikke Sigmer Nielsen explores how eco-guilt and eco-shame, though emotionally complex and sometimes exploited, can drive meaningful personal and collective action when grounded in genuine concern and paired with a call for systemic change…Read more
In this episode, George Miller talks to Professor Paul Spicker about some of the historical roots, moral foundations, and practical workings of different welfare systems.…Read more
Janos Mark Szakolczai, author of 'Onlife Criminology' shows how the Onlife blurs digital and physical boundaries, creating a hyperconnected world where surveillance, control, and resistance define everyday life and its hidden harms.…Read more
Daniel Briggs, author of 'Sheltering Strangers', reflects that the word "refugee" brings to mind a decade of witnessing the profound, often lifelong trauma faced by displaced children—and the sobering realisation that while empathy is essential, it alone cannot heal their suffering.…Read more
In this episode, Richard Kemp talks with Howard Reed and Elliott Johnson about the reality of basic income.…Read more
Maaike Matelski, author of 'Contested Civil Society in Myanmar', discusses how Myanmar’s military has politicised earthquake aid—blocking relief and repressing activists—while local responders act alone amid fading global support.…Read more
What does a humanist feel when they gaze up at the stars? In this episode, George Miller speaks to philosopher Richard Norman about wonder, meaning and morality in a world without God.…Read more
Timothy Kuhn, author of 'What Do Corporations Want?', argues that to truly understand corporations, we must see their purpose as multiple and evolving—shaped by everyday practices and shared authority, not just profit.…Read more