The We Society

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 where he has put ideas into action.

He has been a British cabinet minister, chair of the Conservative party, European Commissioner for External Relations, Governor of Hong Kong, Chair of the BBC and most recently Chancellor of Oxford University...

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 an associate professor in the Department of Security and Crime Science at UCL, she leads the research group on human trafficking and exploitation. In recognition of her impactful work, she received the prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prize last year along with 29 other exceptional researchers...

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 of Regional Development Studies at Newcastle University. He’s even written a book about the very topic called "Financialisation and Local Statecraft"...

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 research studies in the world, tracking the lives of over 30,000 Bradfordians to discover what factors most influence health and well-being.  In particular, they are focussing on how genetic, nutritional, environmental, behavioural and social factors impact health and development during childhood and, subsequently, adult life...

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 conventional academic.

The British High Street once was the heart of our cities, towns and villages, but no more. The High Street is increasingly lifeless  – the preserve of too many empty shops and countless charity shops that don’t have to pay burdensome business rates. A former centre of our communities is wilting before our eyes...

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 first guest on the We Society podcast, and she has also been featured in Vogue magazine for her work. An entrepreneur and disability activist, she is at the start of her social science career but has already achieved so much.

Professor Anna Lawson is a Professor of Law at the University of Leeds...

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 their population.

He was the founder-director of LSE's Centre for Economic Performance and is now the director of the Centre's Wellbeing programme. In 2005, he wrote Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, which was published in 20 languages...

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 hear interviews from social scientists, business leaders and public figures to hear their solutions to society's most pressing issues.   

Tell us who we should be speaking to or what questions we should be asking by emailing wesociety@acss.org...

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 Social Sciences who brings you this podcast, Andy is in the middle of an illustrious career, from chief economist of the Bank of England to chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts. He has put Social Science in motion throughout his whole career...

Professor Lucie Cluver has spent her career improving the lot of children, especially during times of crisis...