Mile End Institute Podcast

In this episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, Professor Tim Bale speaks to the President of the Liberal Democrats, Dr Mark Pack, about his new book, Polling UnPacked: The History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls (Reaktion Books, 2022), which was released earlier this month. They discuss how opinion polls work, whether they can be trusted, and how polling methods have been abused in the past. 

Anne Longfield CBE is the former Children's Commissioner for England. In this podcast, she discusses her vision for 'building back better' after the pandemic, and the work she is doing through her independent commission on how to protect children and young people from crime, violence and gangs. 

In this episode, Dr Lyndsey Jenkins (QMUL) and Dr Alexandra Hughes-Johnson (Oxford) discuss their recent book The Politics of Women's Suffrage: Local, National and International Dimensions in collaboration with Dr Kate Connelly (Arcadia). Interviewed by Dr Anna Muggeridge (Worcester), they discuss their respective contributions to suffrage historiography, especially in London, reflect on the legacy of 2018, and look forward to 2028.

In her recent book, ‘Race, Rights and Reform: Black Activism in the French Empire and the United States from World War 1 to the Cold War’, Sarah C. Dunstan (Glasgow) discusses African American and Francophone black activist struggles for rights and citizenship in their differing contexts, tracing their transatlantic collaborations as well as their contrasting attitudes to race, empire, and republicanism. Hosted by MEI Visiting Fellow Daniel Frost, in this podcast Sarah brings her work into dialogue with that of Ngozi Edeagu (Bayreuth), whose research focuses on non-elite groups’ use of print media in colonial Nigeria and highlights transatlantic and transimperial connections in the decolonisation process.

Gavin Barwell has done just about every job in the Conservative Party that it's possible for anyone to do: he's been a grassroots activist, worked on campaigns at CCHQ, become an MP and a minister, entered Number Ten as Chief of Staff to the PM and is now a Tory peer.  Here he talks about what made him a Conservative, about what's happened to the Party in recent years, and of course about his turbulent time in Downing Street with Theresa May - the subject of his recent, and highly praised memoir.

In this episode MEI Deputy Director, Dr Karl Pike, speaks to Professor Lea Ypi, author of the new book 'Free: Coming of Age at the End of History' - a memoir of childhood at a time of political change in the 1980s and 1990s. In the podcast, Professor Ypi talks about writing, the story of 'Free', and the philosophical theme of the book.

Dr Lyndsey Jenkins, Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute is joined by Visiting Fellow Freya Marshall-Payne, Professor Sasha Roseneil from UCL, and Rebecca Morden, one of the driving forces behind the oral history project Greenham Women Everywhere, to discuss Rebecca's new book, written in collaboration with Kate Kerrow, Out of the Darkness: Greenham Voices 1981-2000'. 

The book reunites the trailblazing women from the Greenham Peace Camp and charts their recollections of camp life, including how they organised and the ways in which they challenged the military, police and other cultural forces.

This week on the MEI Podcast, Deputy Director Colm Murphy was joined by two editors of the newly released book ‘The Neoliberal Age?’, Aled Davies and Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite. They discuss the contested meaning of the term 'neoliberalism' and its relevance for understanding Britain since the 1970s.

This week, MEI Director, Patrick Diamond was joined by Paul Cairney and Emily St. Denny, authors of Why isn’t Government Policy More Preventative?

They discuss the dichotomy between policy aspiration and policy delivery, and the challenges that governments have faced in both defining ‘prevention’ and implementing preventative policies. The authors also offer their reflections on whether the Covid-19 pandemic will serve as a critical juncture in deepening the commitment to prevention-focused public policies. 

In this episode, MEI Deputy Director, Dr Colm Murphy, was joined by Professor Helen Thompson and the economist, author, and journalist Duncan Weldon. They discuss what inflation is, why it has returned to the centre of political debate, whether it is a governing priority or a red herring, and its implications for politics and wider society.

In this episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, Tim Bale was joined by Adrian Wooldridge and Emma Barrett to discuss Adrian's book, ‘The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World’.

They explore the historical origins of meritocracy and discuss how such a revolutionary concept, that had transformational effects on societies, has become corrupted and subject to attack from all sides of the political spectrum.

In the final episode of the series, Clive Gabay (QMUL), was joined by Camilla Schofield (UEA), and Bill Schwarz (QMUL), to discuss the edited collection of essays, Global white nationalism: From apartheid to Trump.

They discuss how white nationalism has long been a global phenomenon in reaction to the forces of civil rights, anti-colonial movements, and international institutions, and has been magnified in the context of the presidency of Donald Trump and the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, and their respective aftermaths.

This week, MEI Deputy Director, Lyndney Jenkins, was joined by Alana Harris (KCL) and David Geiringer (QMUL) to discuss his book, 'The Pope and the Pill: Sex, Catholicism, and Women in Post-war England'.

They consider the importance of oral history in shedding light on the often-hidden lives and experiences of Catholic women in post-war England, a time when the demands of spirituality and sexuality seemed at odds with each other.

The ability to properly get to grips with numbers has never been more vital, not least in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this episode, Tim Bale is joined by Tom Chivers and Sonia Sodha to discuss the importance of understanding the numbers we're presented with in the news and in our own lives. They discuss what journalists - and the sources they rely on - get right and wrong, and what we can all do to ensure we better understand the data we're exposed to in media each and every day.

In this episode, Co-Director, Colm Murphy is joined by Marc Stears (University of Sydney) and Emily Robinson (University of Sussex) to discuss Marc’s recent book ‘Out of The Ordinary: How Everyday Life Inspired a Nation and How It Can Again'.

They consider whether contemporary politics can learn from ordinary people, as it did in the 1920s to 1950s, in an age of ever-increasing polarisation. 

This week MEI Deputy Director, Karl Pike, and Madeleine Davis (QMUL) were joined by the Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham, Jon Cruddas, to discuss his new book, The Dignity of Labour.

Jon offers his perspective on what he sees as intersecting crises that are consuming society and politics: the crisis of social democracy, the rise of authoritarian populism, and flatlining productivity. He also offers his thoughts on electoral challenges for Labour and the debates around work itself. Is it something that gives life purpose? Or is it a necessity that will eventually be abolished by technology and automation?

This feature-length episode launches the final part of the trilogy, 'Irish Political Prisoners from 1848 to 2000', by QMUL’s Professor Seán McConville.

This week, Tim Bale was joined by Antony Mullen (Director, The Thatcher Network) and Emily Stacey (Associate Lecturer, Oxford Brookes University) to discuss the social and cultural legacies of Margaret Thatcher. They consider how ‘Thatcherism’ manifests itself today and the ideological impact it has had not only on the Conservative Party, but across the UK more widely.

In this episode, MEI Director Patrick Diamond examines the public policy challenges that will be faced by the Mayor of London during his second term of office. He is joined by guests Tony Travers (Director, LSE London), Claire Harding (Research Director, Centre for London), and Jason Strelitz (Director of Public Health, Newham), who in turn discuss the future of London as a global city, and the challenges and opportunities the capital will face as a result of economic, social and political change.

In this episode, the MEI’s Karl Pike and Farah Hussain were joined by Ben Jackson, Associate Professor of Modern History at University College Oxford.

They discuss the history of Scottish nationalist political thought in the 20th century, how it has been affected by political turbulence in the UK more broadly, and the prospects for an independent Scotland in the wake of recent elections to Holyrood and in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this episode of the MEI podcast, Farah Hussain (Queen Mary University of London), was joined by Sadiya Akram (Manchester Metropolitan University), and Shardia Briscoe-Palmer (De Montford University), to discuss the controversial report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.

The conversation places the report in a historical context, looks at the use and usefulness of ‘BAME’ and assesses what the findings and narrative of the report might mean for future discussions about race and racism in the UK.

In this episode Matthew d’Ancona, author of Identity, Ignorance, Innovation: Why the Old Politics is Useless - and what to Do about it, joins Tim Bale to discuss what we should make of identity politics, what we need to teach in our schools and universities, and what the digital future holds for all of us.

With polling suggesting that Labour is going to have an awful lot of trouble holding on to Hartlepool in the upcoming by-election, we look at what's gone wrong for the party in northern England and what it might do to put it right. Veteran Labour activist Sally Gimson joins Tim Bale to discuss the fall of the ‘Red Wall.’ And, drawing on her recent work on Bassetlaw, for which she was briefly the party's candidate, Sally offers practical suggestions for how Labour might win back the seats it lost in 2019.

In this special episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, guest host, Dr Peter Brett is joined by Dr Reuben Loffman, author of 'Church, State and Colonialism in Southeastern Congo, 1890–1962'.

This broad discussion outlines the pre-colonial history of southeastern Congo, how the Catholic Church began its encounters, and the relationship between Catholic missionaries and the colonial administration.

In this episode, MEI Deputy Director Dr Lyndsey Jenkins is joined by Professor Selina Todd, author of 'Snakes and Ladders: The great British social mobility myth'.

They discuss the concept of social mobility, how it became attractive politically, and the implications of living in a society where social mobility is touted as a political ‘good.’

In this episode, Tim Bale is joined by Jonathan Hopkin, author of Anti-System Politics: The Crisis of Market Liberalism in Rich Democracies. They discuss why politics, not only in the UK and US, but across much of Europe, seems to have turned upside down since the 2008 financial crisis, touching on austerity economics, instability in party politics, unexpected election (and referendum!) results, and the growth of populism on both the left and the right of the political spectrum.

Parliament is Britain's most important political institution, yet its workings and their impact, remain obscure to academics and the wider public alike. In this episode, Dr Emma Peplow and Dr Priscila Pivatto join the MEI’s Dr Lyndsey Jenkins to discuss the Parliament Trust's collection of oral history interviews with postwar British MPs, and their accompanying book, 'The Political Lives of Postwar British MPs'. 

They discuss the diverse personal and political experiences of Members of Parliament, including motivations for seeking election, navigating life as a new MP, and the challenges and opportunities presented by an ever-evolving institution. 

You can find out more about the Oral History Project here: https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/about/latest-research/oral-history-project  

Recorded interviews from the project can be found here: https://sounds.bl.uk/Oral-history/The-History-of-Parliament-Oral-History-Project 

In this episode, Tim Bale is joined by political economist and academic, Thomas Prosser, (Cardiff University) and columnist Rafael Behr (The Guardian). They discuss Tom’s book ‘What’s in it for me? Self-interest and political difference’, including the problems currently faced by social democratic parties at home and abroad, and the importance of recognising self-interest in an age of increasingly tribal politics.

In this episode, Dr Karl Pike (QMUL) is joined by Professor Anand Menon (UK in a Changing Europe, King’s College London) and Professor Eunice Goes (Richmond University). They discuss whether Brexit is, in fact, ‘done’ and what part the UK's ongoing relationship with the EU will play in future political strategies. They explore how some of the major political parties are grappling with Brexit, and the possible implications for the United Kingdom - including for the next general election, and for the future of the Union.

In this episode, Tim Bale is joined by Chris Clarke, author of 'The Dark Knight and the Puppet Master'. They discuss what he sees as the core myths of Corbynite Left populism and the damage those myths have done - and will continue to do - to the prospects for progressive politics in the UK.

To launch the third season of the Mile End Institute Podcast, Dr Richard Johnson (QMUL) hosts a discussion with special guests Professor Lisa Miller (Rutgers University) and Professor Sidney Milkis (University of Virginia). They explore the consequences of the US Presidential Election of 2020 and the prospects, priorities, and potential obstacles that may be faced by the new Biden administration.

To close the second season of the Mile End institute podcast, Co-Director Tim Bale is joined by the economist, journalist, broadcaster, and author, Tim Harford.

Using Tim Harford's new book as a jumping-off point, they discuss the use of statistics to explain and solve problems, the way that humans can (often wilfully) make mistakes, the importance of landmark numbers, and the issue of partisanship - why it matters, and how it influences how people form opinions and perceive the world.