Single episodes
What does the characterisation of those from Europe’s east as migrants by politicians and in some corners of the media make visible about the politics of migration? What is distinctive about the ways in which they are migratised and racialised? And what does this offer to understandings of racism and racialisation? We’re joined by Aleks Lewicki …
East-West inequalities and the remaking of unequal Europeans Read More »
There is nothing politically neutral about classifying and categorising people as migrants. This is a process through which certain individuals and populations are defined as migrants, whether they have crossed borders or not. It has political consequences and impacts for those who find themselves labelled as such. In this episode we turn to this always-political …
All eyes have been on Qatar because of the World Cup. And with it, attention to the poor working conditions and treatment of migrant construction workers. We go beyond the headlines with İdil Akıncı-Pérez (University of Edinburgh) to explore the back story to these issues. We look in depth at how the Gulf States approach …
Who is unquestionably European? From Brexit to the war in Ukraine, this question has come to the fore as people of colour have found themselves disproportionately questioned as they try to exercise their rights as European citizens. We’re joined by Bolaji Balogun (University of Sheffield) and Marius Turda (Oxford Brookes) to discuss the longer history …
European Identities from the Aliens Act 1905 to Brexit Read More »
In July 2022 the news broke that Sir Mo Farah, four times Olympian for Team GB, had been trafficked to the UK as a child. The headlines enhanced public understandings of trafficking. They brought into the frame the children forced into domestic servitude and the circumstances which mean that their situations may not come to …
Who do we think we are? In the early 2000s, with the beginning of the New Labour government, journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown asked this question, calling for a radical reimagining of who was considered as British and outlining her hopes for a new Britain. In this special episode, she joins Michaela Benson in conversation to consider …
For many people, migration is about escaping persecution and state violence. But in the context increasingly criminalisation of migration, state violence may characterise the lives of immigrants. Hosts Ala Sirriyeh and Michaela Benson are joined by Professor Cecilia Menjívar to discuss her work with Central American migrants in the US. She highlights how those taking …
As people find themselves queueing up at border controls in EU member states, as their passports are stamped, there have been questions about why these things are happening. It’s all because of Brexit, and more specifically, the end of free movement between the UK and EU which means that British citizens are no longer EU …
What can we learn about what British and EU citizenship from Brexit? Read More »
With a new UK cabinet comes a new Home Secretary, Suella Braverman MP former Attorney General. While there has been a lot of focus on her politics, what does this mean for the Home Office and in particular its approach to immigration? Hosts Ala Sirriyeh and Michaela Benson are joined by Colin Yeo, Barrister at …
You start a relationship with someone living abroad. As the relationship gets serious, you decide to take the next steps and live together. But there’s a border in the way. We’re joined by Ala Sirriyeh, senior lecturer in sociology at Lancaster University to how borders disrupt and remake families, why as a British citizen your …
What do family migration rules reveal about British citizenship today? Read More »
