Each January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists adjusts the hands of its Doomsday Clock to signal how close humanity stands to catastrophe. At the end of the Cold War, the clock was set at 17 minutes to midnight. Today, it is at just 89 seconds – its closest-ever setting.

In this episode of the podcast, George Miller speaks to Patricia Shamai, Principal Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Portsmouth and author of What Are Nuclear Weapons For? They discuss why nuclear weapons have drifted from public consciousness since the 1990s, even as thousands of warheads remain in existence, major powers modernise their arsenals, and new technologies make the strategic picture yet more complex.

The conversation also touches on Vladimir Putin’s nuclear posture during the war in Ukraine, the challenges posed by strategic ambiguity, and whether – despite all this – there are any grounds for cautious optimism.

Patricia Shamai is Principal Lecturer in International Relations and Associate Head of School in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Portsmouth.

Find out more about the book at: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/trade/what-are-nuclear-weapons-for

The transcript is available here:

Timestamps:

02:33 - What prompted you to write the book?

08:33 - Did reading testimonies of people who experienced the detonations in Japan in 1945 enhance your understanding or change your perception?

14:01 - Why is the nuclear weapon picture always changing?

23:41 - What is the current climate among nuclear powers more broadly?

28:52 - Are there any signs of hope that we can begin to pull that second hand back from midnight?

Intro music:

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Whether we like to admit it or not, we’re all growing older. However, the experience of growing older at work remains surprisingly overlooked and under theorised in management and organisation studies.

In this Transforming Business podcast, Martin Parker speaks with Kathleen Riach, author of ‘Working through Ageing’, about her groundbreaking 10-year longitudinal study that offers fresh theoretical and empirical insights into how ageing is experienced in the workplace.

They discuss how this fascinating study grew from a conversation in a pub, the way ageing is both universal and unique, and the importance of providing, if not answers then, alternative paths when presenting research.

Kathleen Riach is Professor of Organizational Studies at University of Glasgow and Visiting Professor at the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation at Monash University.

Find out more about the book at: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/working-through-ageing

The transcript is available here:

Timestamps:

00:33 - Why are you interested in ageing and work?

03:03 - Do you think ageing at work is a more important topic than it used to be?

08:14 - Can you talk about your study and how it came about?

14:08 - Can you talk about how ageing is universal, but also unique?

16:17 - What is the relationship between your work, Simone de Beauvoir and the idea of phenomenology?

20:36 - Did this research make you think differently about your own ageing?

23:13 - What effect does talking about bodies at work have on policies in organisations?

27:55 - Is it difficult to move from critique into a place of action?

30:29 - What are your plans next?

Intro music:

Cold by yoitrax | @yoitrax

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True crime is a huge cultural industry, yet behind its stories lies real victims and uncomfortable ethical implications.

In this podcast, Richard Kemp speaks with Ian Cummins and Martin King, two of the authors of ‘True Crime: Key Themes and Perspectives’, about the impact true crime has on society.

They discuss Serial, the groundbreaking podcast, and how it sparked the industry anew, the media’s reaction to the Lucy Letby case, and the wider issue of using crime stories to push sales and clicks.

Ian Cummins is Senior Lecturer in the School of Health and Society at the University of Salford. Martin King is an independent scholar and author.

Find out more about the book at: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/true-crime

The transcript is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2025/12/04/podcast-how-true-crime-stories-shape-society/

Timestamps:

00:01:55 - Why does true crime fascinate us?

00:08:27 - What is the importance of 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote?

00:11:14 - What effects does the interplay between fact and fiction in true crime have?

00:19:10 - What is the relationship between the Central Park Five and true crime media?

00:28:25 - What does the reverence of famous serial killers tell us about our culture's values?

00:42:59 - What ethical issues do podcasts like Serial have?

00:53:34 - What do cases like Sutcliffe tell us about our collective attitude towards violence against women?

00:57:31 - What does the media coverage of the Lucy Letby case tell us about our media landscape?

01:08:33 - Does our celebritisation of criminals pose issues, and how could we change things going forward?

Intro music:

Cold by yoitrax | @yoitrax

Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.