The We Society

Despite decades of campaigning, women's healthcare is an issue repeatedly neglected,  with systemic issues in UK healthcare and on the international stage leading to women disproportionally affected in healthcare emergencies.
In this episode of the We Society with Will Hutton, Will speaks to Professor Sophie Harman, who is Professor of International Politics at Queen Mary University of London and one of the world's leading authorities on global health politics. Her research examines the political forces that shape women's health, UK healthcare systems and the global governance that determines health outcomes. A recipient of a prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2018 in recognition of her research achievements, she advises governments and international bodies such as the UN on global health policies.
Beyond ‘traditional’ academic research, she co-produced the BAFTA-nominated feature film Pili, made in collaboration with women living with HIV in rural Tanzania. This film demonstrates the innovative ways of presenting Social Science research, and the film’s profits returning to the women involved shows the power of social science in action. 
She talks to Will Hutton about her acclaimed book, Sick of It: The Global Fight for Women's Health (2024), where Sophie argues that while women's health has received growing public attention in recent years, it is still not receiving the right kind of attention. Collective action is needed to rebalance the prejudices and assumptions in women’s healthcare, backed by strong social policy and research.
This episode is ideal for listeners interested in topical issues, UK healthcare, women’s health and the social policy needed to level healthcare inequalities. 
In the We Society, join acclaimed journalist and Academy of Social Sciences president Will Hutton, as he invites guests from the world of social science to explore the stories behind the news and hear their solutions to society’s most pressing problems. In this series social science calls on aspects of business, education, economics, geopolitics, healthcare, human geography and more, exploring their impact on society and the social policy they can inspire. The We Society is for those interested in how social science impacts their world, and how evidence backed research can improve it.
Don’t want to miss an episode? Follow the show on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to. 
The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust. 
Producer: Emily Uchida Finch
Assistant Producer: Emily Gilbert
A Whistledown Production for the Academy of Social Sciences

The UK is experiencing a crisis of inequality: core tenets like our education and UK healthcare system are geographically unequal and suffering, but what are the expert social policy solutions to these issues, and can we dare to be optimistic for the future?
In this episode of the We Society with Will Hutton, join Institute for Fiscal Studies Director Helen Miller and economist Sir Richard Blundell who talk us through the findings of one of the most comprehensive studies ever undertaken on inequality in the UK called the Deaton Review. 
This was a major six year review of inequalities in the UK, chaired by Nobel Prize-winning economist Sir Angus Deaton, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Drawing on research from economics, sociology, public health, philosophy and political science, the Review argues that Britain's inequalities extend far beyond income alone and presents a framework for how social policy makers should address their response.  
But what can be done about it? Helen, Sir Richard and podcast host Will Hutton come together to discuss the evidence and the potential solutions in local government funding and long-term social policy. 
Professor Sir Richard Blundell is a Co-Director of the ESRC Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy (CPP) and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Helen Miller is the Director of Institute for Fiscal Studies, the UK's leading independent economics research institute. Find out more about the IFS Deaton Review here: https://ifs.org.uk/inequality 
This episode is ideal for listeners interested in topical issues, social policy, UK healthcare, inequality and local government funding solutions.
In the We Society, join acclaimed journalist and Academy of Social Sciences president Will Hutton, as he invites guests from the world of social science to explore the stories behind the news and hear their solutions to society’s most pressing problems. In this series social science calls on aspects of business, education, economics, geopolitics, healthcare, human geography and more, exploring their impact on society and the social policy they can inspire. The We Society is for those interested in how social science impacts their world, and how evidence backed research can improve it.
Don’t want to miss an episode? Follow the show on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to. 
The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust. 
Producer: Emily Uchida Finch
Assistant Producer: Emily Gilbert
A Whistledown Production for the Academy of Social Sciences

The We Society returns for its 11th season on Wednesday, so join acclaimed journalist and Academy of Social Sciences president Will Hutton, as he invites guests from the world of social science to explore the stories behind the news and hear their solutions to society’s most pressing problems.
In this series social science calls on aspects of business, education, economics, geopolitics, healthcare, human geography and more, exploring their impact on society and the social policy they can inspire. The We Society is for those interested in how social science impacts their world, and how evidence backed research can improve it.

We end Season 10 with an intimate interview between the Nobel Prize winning economist Philippe Aghion and Will Hutton. 
They delve into the concept of "creative destruction," a term coined by economist Joseph Schumpeter, which highlights the dual nature of innovation in driving economic growth while simultaneously rendering older methods and certain industries and jobs obsolete. Aghion believes that for an economy to thrive creative destruction is key. They talk about certain countries such as Finland where creative destruction is allowed and supported to thrive by the Government. 
Aghion is Professor of Economics at the LSE. In the We Society podcast, join acclaimed journalist and Academy president Will Hutton, as he invites guests from the world of social science to explore the stories behind the news and hear their solutions to society’s most pressing problems.
Don’t want to miss an episode? Follow the show on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to. 
The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust. 
Producer: Emily Uchida Finch
Assistant Producer: Emily Gilbert
A Whistledown Production for the Academy of Social Sciences

Professor Carissa Véliz is a philosopher who is examining the threats and possibilities of today’s digital world. She is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford – and fellow at Hertford College. She currently holds a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship and her work has been featured by the Ada Lovelace Institute. 
In her first landmark book, Privacy is Power (2020), she discussed the vital necessity of protecting our data as a precondition of sustaining our freedom. But the algorithms constructed by AI and data don’t just stop there; they have born a new era of data based predictions masquerading as objective. Like all predictions, they are shaped by human choices, assumptions, and incentives. In her latest book, Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI (Out 21st April) Carissa Véliz challenges us to see predictions not as neutral forecasts, but as power over others. 
In the We Society, join acclaimed journalist and Academy president Will Hutton, as he invites guests from the world of social science to explore the stories behind the news and hear their solutions to society’s most pressing problems.
Don’t want to miss an episode? Follow the show on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to. 
The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust. 
Producer: Emily Uchida Finch
Assistant Producer: Emily Gilbert
A Whistledown Production for the Academy of Social Sciences