The Society Column

Megan talks to Politics and International Relations Lecturer Leah Owen. Leah specialises in the study of mass violence (genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity), and gender politics. In this conversation, Leah and Megan talk about the intersection of these two fields of study to create a poignant discourse on the topic, with the aim of informing both the violence and peace trans people face as well as the broader field of genocide.We hope you enjoy this episode!

Gideon talks to Senior Lecturer at Swansea University, Dr Mengwei Tu. As a lecturer in sociology, criminology, sociology and social policy, Mengwei has developed her research on international migration into two streams, international students from China and to China, the latter is what Gideon is asking about in this episode. They discuss the place of these international students in Chinese society and their trajectory post-graduation.We hope you enjoy the conversation!

Megan talks with Dr Luca Trenta, an Associate Professor at Swansea University specialising in and researching US involvement in the assassinations of foreign officials from the Cold War to present day. He has also won many academic awards, among which is the 2017 British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award for his project: ‘Out of the Shadows: understanding, researching and teaching covert action. Megan asks about how he got into his area of research and how he thinks it can help is in the future of International Relations. We hope you enjoy the conversation!

Gideon has a conversation with Swansea University's Dr Annie Tubadji, a Senior Lecturer in Economics. Annie studies the effect of cultural bias in economic choice and Gideon asks about how her research led her to pioneer the Culture Based Development paradigm, which has been used all over the world in international and regional development. Annie also talks about her current research inequality and digital inclusion. We hope you enjoy the podcast!

Megan talks with Dr Dawn Bolger, a lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Swansea University, specialising in race, racism and migration. Their conversation focuses on Dawn's research in border politics and refugees, specifically the development of the concept of racial capitalism, with narratives from Dawn's home of Australia. We hope you enjoy the podcast!

Gideon has a conversation with Dr Joe Whittaker, a Lecturer in Cyber Threats, Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy at Swansea University. They talk about the trajectory of Joe's PhD work on the online behaviours of Islamic State terrorists in the US leading to his current research on how social media platforms’ recommendation systems promote and amplify extreme far-right content, as well as publishing on topics such as counter-narratives.We hope you enjoy the conversation!