Conversations

My guest in this episode is Professor Haroon Akram-Lodhi. Haroon is a professor of economics and international development studies at Trent University. His research focuses on issues related to global food regime and agrarian change in developing countries. We discussed why the current global food system is bad for producers of food, consumers of food, and the planet. We also discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the global food regime and alternatives to this system including smallholder production.

My guest in this episode is Professor Diego Sánchez-Ancochea. Diego is a Professor of Political Economy of Development at the Department of International Development at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the issue of income inequality with a regional focus on Latin America. We discussed COVID-19 and inequality, trends in inequality, and political and social implications of inequality. We also discussed his latest (2020) book, The Costs of Inequality in Latin America: Lessons and Warnings for the Rest of the World

My guest in this episode is Dr. Yahia Baiza who is a research associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London. Yahia works on the intersection of history and education in Afghanistan. We discussed the history of Afghanistan, issues around identity and state formation, the Cold War and its implications in Afghanistan and how those shifts were reflected in the education system in the country.

Alan is a professor of Leisure Studies at the University of Brighton in the UK. He is one of the important contributors to the sociology and history of sports and is particularly interested in large sports events such as the Olympics and the football World Cup. We discussed the history of the Olympics, the evolution of the games over the decades, and a range of related issues.

My guest in this episode is Professor Kate O’Neil. Kate is a professor in global environmental governance and global waste politics at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California in Berkeley. We discussed the governance of waste, the impact of COVID-19 on waste, the circular economy, and right to repair, and her latest (2019) book Waste.