Katie Bales speaks to anthropologist James Suzman about the future of work and his new book, 'Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time'.

Futures of Work

Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time

This edition of the Futures of Work podcast is brought to you in conjunction with the journal Political Quarterly, Bristol Festival of Ideas, University of Bristol’s Thinking Futures programme and the Economic & Social Research Council's Festival of Social Science 2020. The world has faced two major crises in 12 years. The aftershocks of the 2008 financial crisis are still being felt and the consequences of COVID-19 for economy and society will be with us for a long time. A series of utopian and dystopian visions of the futures of work and capitalism have sprung up alongside these crises, seeking to make sense of an age defined by technological shifts, populist upheaval, digital authoritarianism and global pandemic. Following a recent special issue on “Postcapitalism and the Politics of Work”, Political Quarterly sponsored an event picking through these futures and debate their political implications on both the national and international stage. In the immediate wake of the US presidential election, we were joined by Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham and author of The Dignity of Labour (forthcoming, Polity); Lisa Nandy, MP for Wigan and Shadow Foreign Secretary; and Paul Mason, commentator and author of How to Stop Fascism (forthcoming, Penguin). The event was chaired by Futures of Work co-editor Harry Pitts.

Futures in Crisis

Maud Perrier, Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol, talks to Susan Ferguson about her book 'Women and Work: Feminism, Labour, and Social Reproduction'.

Women and work

Harry Pitts speaks to Tim Strangleman, author of 'Voices of Guinness: An Oral History of the Park Royal Brewery'.

Voices of Guinness

Harry Pitts speaks with Charles Umney, Associate Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Leeds, about his book, Class Matters: Inequality and Exploitation in 21st Century Britain.

Class Matters

Harry Pitts speaks to Lynne Pettinger about her book, 'What’s Wrong with Work?', published by Policy Press.

What's Wrong with Work?

Huw Thomas speaks to Humphrey Lloyd, owner of Edible Futures, an urban farm in Bristol. They discuss organising a new economy, food sovereignty and what the future of work means to the food sector.

Futures of food

Huw Thomas and Katie Bales speak to Rod Earle, Senior Lecturer at the Open University, to talk about his experiences of being in prison, the foundations of convict criminology and what he sees as the futures of prison labour in the UK.

Futures of prison labour

Harry Pitts speaks to David (Danny) Blanchflower to discuss his new book, Not Working: Where Have All the Good Jobs Gone. This episode was recorded live at the Bristol Festival of Ideas.

David Blanchflower - Futures Of Jobs

Huw Thomas talks with Katherine Trebeck, co-author of The Economics of Arrival, about how most developed countries have arrived, and instead of enlarging the economy they should focus on improving it.

Katherine Trebeck - Futures Of Economics

Imagine a company was founded without any investors.  From day one, the owner shared the power of decision-making with the employees, the suppliers and the customers.  There were no written contracts, no fixed working hours, no bonuses, no offices, no advertising and no profits. Nearly 17 years later, the company still exists and still resolutely sticks to these rules. And yet, they sell to 200 cities, grow 10 per cent per year and sell 1.5 million bottles per year.  Uwe Lübbermann (main moderator at Premium Cola) joins Huw Thomas in the studio to discuss the ‘impossible company’ and whether it is possible to transfer some of these ideas to other industries.

Uwe Lubbermann - Futures Of Organisation

Joo-Cheong Tham - Futures of Labour Migration by Futures of Work

Joo-Cheong Tham - Futures of Labour Migration

In this edition of the Futures of Work podcast, Harry Pitts is joined by Barry Eichengreen, Professor of Economics and Political Science at Berkeley, University of California, and author of The Populist Temptation: Economic Grievance and Political Action in the Modern Era. This episode was recorded live at the Bristol Festival of Ideas.

Barry Eichengreen - Futures Of Populism And Economics

If we want to respond to the major challenges facing the world of work should we start by bulldozing all business schools? That is the focus of this futures of work podcast where Huw Thomas was joined by Martin Parker, author of a new book entitled Shut Down the Business School. His argument: get rid of all business schools and from their foundations establish a new school of organising, one where alternatives to the future can be built.