The We Society
Episodes
S10 Ep3: Using virtual reality to build a more inclusive NHS with Stephani Hatch
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Stephani Hatch has dedicated her career to making workplaces - especially the NHS - more inclusive by reducing discriminatory practices. Sh...
S10 Ep2: What does it mean to be grown up today? with Bobby Duffy and Carey Oppenheim
11 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the We Society with Will Hutton, we are joined by two esteemed academics placing journeys to adulthood under a Social Science micr...
S10 Ep1: 'I’m not psychic, just very lucky!' With Professor Richard Wiseman
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the first episode of Season 10, we are joined by Professor Richard Wiseman who has spent his career studying the intangible ways humans communicat...
The We Society Season 10 Trailer
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Will Hutton for Season 10 of the We Society from next week to hear some of the best ideas to shape the way we live.Launching Wednesday 4th ...
S9 Ep8: US and China: behind the rhetoric with Rana Mitter
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
S9 Ep7: Investing in the Early Years: Can policy catch up with evidence? with Eleanor Ireland
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Almost a third of five-year-olds in Britain enter primary school without the essential language, communication, and literacy skills they need to thriv...
S9 Ep6: Can language convict a criminal? with Tim Grant
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Tim Grant is one of the world's most experienced forensic linguistic practitioners who specialises in the analysis of abusive and threatenin...
S9 Ep5: Evidence for change: rethinking child poverty policy with Alex Beer
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
S9 Ep4: Inoculating the mind: protecting against misinformation with Sander van der Linden
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Sander van der Linden explores the impact of misinformation and how to prevent its spread within the general public. His work as Professor o...
S9 Ep3: Our Love Affair with Travel with journalist Simon Calder
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Simon Calder is the man with the answers when it comes to any travel related questions. Having started as a travel journalist at the Independent newsp...
S9 Ep2: Saving the 86 bus and designing better cities for the old and young with Tine Buffell and Julia King
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How can cities be better designed for the older generation and girls? These are the tough questions tackled in this episode of The We Society with Pro...
S9 Ep1: Emergency planning is more about tea than being James Bond with Lucy Easthope
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Lucy Easthope is a leading authority on recovering from disaster and she joins our host Will Hutton in the first episode of Season 9 of the ...
S8 Ep9: The We Society Season 9 Trailer
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Will Hutton for Season 9 of the We Society from next week to hear some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Launching October 1 with...
S8 Ep8: Solving the Productivity Puzzle with Ed Balls, Anna Stansbury and Dan Turner
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the final episode of Season 8 of the We Society, our host Will Hutton is joined by economist and former Labour politician Ed Balls, Dr. Anna Stansb...
S8 Ep7: The Social Life of Pain with Tom Shakespeare
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the UK alone, around one in four adults are experiencing chronic pain. And nearly a quarter of the population live with some form of disability. Ye...
S8 Ep6: Borders, Brexit, and Fault Lines with Katy Hayward
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Borders contain nations, act as fault lines, but are also meeting points, where different cultures, people, and ideologies come into contact. Nowhere...
S8 Ep5: Care or Incarceration? How some of the UK’s most vulnerable children are being failed with Lisa Harker
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We speak with Lisa Harker, the Director of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, who gives us an insight into the alarming rise in the use of Depri...
S8 Ep4: Taking entrepreneurship beyond business with Eleanor Shaw
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is the link between social science and entrepreneurship? To give us the answer, Will Hutton speaks to Professor Eleanor Shaw OBE, an academic spe...
S8 Ep3: Population, Data & Destiny with Andy Tatem
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Andy Tatem talks to us about WorldPop, the research programme he heads that is based in the School of Geography and Environmental Science, U...
S8 Ep2: Morality in UK prisons with Alison Liebling
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We probe the UK prison system with Professor Alison Liebling, a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Cambridge and the D...
S8 Ep1: How to get work working for everyone with Gavin Kelly
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Gavin Kelly is the Chief Executive of the Nuffield Foundation and has spent the past 30 years of his career putting Britain’s economic inactivity pr...
S7 Ep7: Keep Calm and Chill with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As US President Donald Trump threatens trade tariffs, the We Society invited the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okon...
S7 Ep6: Improving social mobility through education and language with Lee Elliot Major
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Lee Elliot Major, who is Britain's first professor of Social Mobility based at the University of Exeter, is our guest in this penultimate ep...
S7 Ep5: Tracking and stopping domestic abuse with Jane Monckton Smith
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Around one in four women have experienced domestic abuse, according to the Crime Survey of England and Wales. But abuse is not usually a one off ev...
S7 Ep4: Should the 9 to 5 be a thing of the past? with Clare Kelliher and Brendan Burchell
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
'Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest' was the rallying cry of Robert Owen, a Welsh textile manufacturer turned labour reformer...
S7 Ep3: Making a responsible budget with Sir Robert Chote
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Institute for Fiscal Studies - or IFS - has become the nation’s go to institution for judgements about tax, spending and borrowing. And the Of...
S7 Ep2: Anxiety, Artificial Intelligence and work with Anthony Elliott
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pick, Pack, Post, Repeat….warehouses around the world are now using Artificial Intelligence to fulfil customer orders. So, are workers on their way ...
S7 Ep1: The future of liberal democracy with Anand Menon
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's now 80 years since the end of the Second World War and the creation of the liberal world order: free trade, globally managed finance, and a com...
S7 Ep1: The We Society Season 7 Trailer
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Will Hutton for Season 7 of the We Society from next week to hear some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. Launching January 15th ...
S6 Ep7: Stopping hate crime with Matthew Williams and Neil Chakraborti
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The recent riots in Britain, which emerged following the Southport stabbings, demonstrate how hate is bubbling just under the surface of our society, ...
S6 Ep6: Why the war on drugs has failed with Alex Stevens
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
S6 Ep5: Improving adult education with Anna Vignoles
07 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One in six people are said to have ‘very poor literacy skills’ according to the National Literacy Trust. As a country, we value Literature, high q...
S6 Ep4: The hidden army of young carers with Saul Becker
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Saul Becker has studied the hidden world of young carers for 30 years. Nearly 1 million children in the UK find themselves – some as young...
S6 Ep3: How to make housing fair with Vicky Spratt and Auriol Miller
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Housing is one of the most pressing problems this new Government must fix. Will Hutton is joined by Vicky Spratt, the inewspaper's housing corresponde...
S6 Ep2: Separating emotion from Brexit with Professor Sarah Hall
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Sarah Hall’s job is to approach the emotive topic of Brexit with a cool head and focus only on the evidence. She is the 1931 Chair in G...
S6 Ep1: Election 24 special with Will Hutton
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Host Will Hutton hears from four leading social scientists on how the new UK government should tackle the country's most pressing challenges. In this...
S5 Ep7: A life of public service with Lord Chris Patten
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lord Chris Patten is one of Britain’s big political beasts – not only as a commentator, thinker and writer, but he has had a formidable career whe...
S5 Ep6: Exposing the underbelly of Britain with Ella Cockbain
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Ella Cockbain is not afraid to delve into topics that may make others uncomfortable, whether that's labour exploitation or child sexual abuse. As...
S5 Ep5: Protecting local councils with Andy Pike
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Andy Pike has placed local authorities under his microscope for us, trying to figure out how to solve the crisis, as Sir Henry Daysh Chair o...
S5 Ep4: Is geography destiny? with Rosie McEachan
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 resea...
S5 Ep3: We can't let our high streets fail with Ed Jones
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
S5 Ep2: How society disables us with Anna Lawson and Shani Dhanda
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 fir...
S5 Ep1: Should governments care about wellbeing? with Professor Richard Layard
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
S4 Ep9: The We Society Season 5 trailer
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 h...
S4 Ep8: Levelling up isn't a pick n mix with Andy Haldane
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Soci...
S4 Ep7: Helping children in a time of crisis with Lucie Cluver
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
S4 Ep6: Food for thought with Minette Batters
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Minette Batters, President of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, represents an estimated 55,000 farmers and farm workers. She has c...
S4 Ep5: The case for public consumption with Sir Andrew Dilnot
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Andrew Dilnot is an economist who believes that statistics hold a key role in lessening inequality and making Britain fairer. He is now the w...
S4 Ep4: Cancelling the Global South's debt with Ann Pettifor
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ann Pettifor is an economist who is perhaps most famous for predicting the Global Financial Crisis two years before it happened. But Ann is not just ...
S4 Ep3: Reframing the climate crisis narrative with Neil Adger
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Neil Adger, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Exeter, examines human movement as a strategy and adaptation to climate change. From t...
S4 Ep2: Will Artificial Intelligence see us lose our jobs? with Daniel Susskind
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Economist Daniel Susskind has been studying the nature of work and automation for years, long before ChatGPT entered the chat. But Daniel's work has ...
S4 Ep1: Do we value universities enough in Britain? with Vivienne Stern
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vivienne Stern is the chief executive of Universities UK, a membership organisation that represents 140 UK universities. In this role, she's had to we...
S3 Ep7: The We Society returns for Season 4
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The We Society returns on Wednesday (4 October) for Season 4. Expect to hear more conversations on ideas that shape the world we live from the world o...
7: Summer Recap: Hillary Clinton, Ai Weiwei, Gary Younge
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our host, Will Hutton, chooses some 'must listen' moments from the past three seasons featuring Hillary Clinton, Ai Weiwei, Mariana Mazzuccato, Gary Y...
S3 Ep6: What does the future hold? With Ian McEwan
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Novelist Ian McEwan is one of Britain's finest fiction writers whose canon of work has won him the Booker Prize amongst countless other awards and acc...
S3 Ep5: The history of racism with Kenan Malik
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kenan Malik is an Observer columnist, a political thinker, and a seasoned broadcaster whose work mainly focuses on moral ethics and racism. He join...
S3 Ep4: Artificial Intelligence and the next Industrial Revolution with Professor Nicholas Crafts
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Nicholas Crafts is an economic historian whose work engages with contemporary Britain. He joins host Will Hutton in a wide-ranging conversa...
S3 Ep3: Can sport change the wellbeing of the nation? With Professor Louise Mansfield
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Louise Mansfield has dedicated her working career to improving the physical and mental health of the nation through her research on sport an...
S3 Ep2: Housing for living, not investment with Polly Neate
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Polly Neate is the CEO of Shelter, a charity which champions housing and tenant rights in Britain. She joins Will Hutton in a conversation that tou...
S3 Ep1: Can migration drive development? With Professor Heaven Crawley
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Heaven Crawley has spent the past few decades leading the research on migration at some of the world’s top universities. She joins hos...
S2 Ep9: The We Society Season 3 Trailer
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Will Hutton for Season 3 of the We Society which launches in April to hear more ideas that shape the world we live. From how we can tackl...
S2 Ep8: Ai Weiwei: You're either protecting humanity or hurting it
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ai Weiwei is a father, an artist, and a dissident who refuses to be silenced. He has exhibited worldwide and has gained a reputation for creating fear...
S2 Ep7: Becky Francis: Education, Education, Education
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Francis has dedicated her life to improving education. She is the chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, an independent charity ...
S2 Ep6: Ann Phoenix: It takes a village to raise a child
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Ann Phoenix is a psychologist whose work at UCL Institute of Education focuses on psychosocial processes and social identities. She joins ho...
S2 Ep5: Torsten Bell: The UK is a stagnation nation
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Torsten Bell is the Chief Executive Officer of the Resolution Foundation, a think-tank whose aim is to improve the lot of the ordinary person in Brita...
S2 Ep4: Mike Berners-Lee: Market forces won’t solve climate change
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Mike Berners-Lee is an author and a Professor at the Institute for Social Futures at Lancaster University. His work for the past few decades...
S2 Ep3: Greg Clark: Cities are our future
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Greg Clark is an urbanist and author who has worked with more than 300 cities across the world. He talks to host Will Hutton about how citie...
S2 Ep2: Linda Bauld: We must do better for the next pandemic
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the second episode of season 2 of the We Society podcast, Professor Linda Bauld, public health specialist and advisor to the Scottish Government, j...
S2 Ep1: Sir Lawrence Freedman: Military defeat happens gradually then suddenly
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London joins us to talk about all things Ukraine. The We Society p...
S1 Ep9: We Society Season 2 Trailer
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The We Society podcast on ideas that shape the world we live in. From countering social inequality to rebooting public services, host Will Hutton and ...
S1 Ep8: The We Society Season 1 Recap
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We bring to you a short re-cap of Season 1 of the We Society, brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences before Season 2 is released in October....
S1 Ep7: Michael Bradshaw: You Can't Build a Plan Around Armageddon
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our final episode of the season, Professor Michael Bradshaw of Warwick University talks to Will Hutton about our faltering energy markets and what ...
S1 Ep6: Mariana Mazzucato: Going To The Moon and Back
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the penultimate episode of this season from the Academy of Social Sciences, economist Professor Mariana Mazzucato invites Will Hutton to her depa...
S1 Ep5: Gary Younge: You Have to Take A Stand For What's Right
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Gary Younge, a longstanding journalist at the Guardian and a Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, joins Will Hutton to ta...
S1 Ep4: Kate Pickett: We Are Connected To Each Other In Important Ways
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Kate Pickett, author of The Spirit Level and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of York, talks to Will Hutton about how unequal soc...
S1 Ep3: Sir Ian Diamond: Every Citizen In The Country Should Have A Voice In Our Data
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Ian Diamond, Head of the Office of National Statistics, talks to Will Hutton about how data helped fight Covid 19, and how, if we use them right, ...
S1 Ep2: Hillary Clinton: They're Stoking People's Fears Rather Than Providing Hope
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Former Secretary of State and 2016 Presidential Candidate, Hillary Clinton joins Will Hutton to talk about "performative" politics, controlling social...
S1 Ep1: Sir Cary Cooper: It's Not About Bean Bags, Ping Pong and Sushi At Your Desk
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the first of a new series from the Academy Of Social Sciences, psychologist Sir Cary Cooper talks to Will Hutton about the need for a new approach ...
Introducing The We Society
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas