Show Notes
Professor Phil Scraton (Professor Emeritus, School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast) discusses the responsibility of academic researchers and human rights advocates to proclaim and represent the ‘view from below’ – voices of those silenced by powerful institutions in securing truth, justice and acknowledgement.
Drawing on three decades of research with and within communities – investigating the Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath, the inhumanities of incarceration and the systemic denial of prisoners’ rights, and the disappearances of babies from mother and baby institutions – he addresses the political, ethical and personal challenges to bearing witness to the ‘pain of others’. He explores the proposition that critical voices are the foundation of hope, resistance and redress in their commitment to truth recovery, social justice and political transformation.
This IPR/Centre for the Study of Violence event took place on 19 June 2025.
More from Public lecture podcasts
Between 1997 and 2007, New Labour sought to reshape Britain into a more cohesive and forward-thinking society. The decade saw the rise of socially liberal attitudes and flourishing public services under a government committed to rebuilding and investing in them. Yet New Labour's track record was far from flawless and its legacy remains complicated and contested. Glen O'Hara, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Oxford Brookes University, examines both the intentions behind New Labour's policies and their real-world effects, and traces the lasting impact of the Blair years.
Authoritarian populists now govern one-quarter of the world's democracies. But is this peak populism, or the populists' tipping point? Liam Byrne exposes the forces propelling the populist surge and reveals how to stop it. He outlines populism's five tribes and shows which voters can still be won back. He traces the millions of pounds flowing into Britain's populist media-political complex, and maps the rhetoric that populists use. He explains why simply shouting louder from the political mainstream never works and instead makes the case for rebuilding a confident, values-driven radical centre – one that tackles inequality head-on, restores economic dignity and reconnects with communities who feel unseen.
Liberalism has long shaped political life across the modern West. But in recent years, post-liberalism has become one of the most talked-about ideas on the ‘New Right’, attracting supporters including American Vice-President JD Vance.
Millions of people throughout the UK provide unpaid care for family members and friends who are disabled, older, or who have a chronic health condition and need support. While the economic value of this care exceeds £180 billion a year, it often comes at a significant personal cost, particularly when adequate support is lacking.
While Big Tech promotes AI as a frictionless technology that will bring wealth and prosperity, James Muldoon exposes a different reality hidden beneath this surface: a precarious global workforce of millions that make AI possible. He examines the power structures that govern digital work and explains what we need to do to build a more just digital future.