Poverty Unpacked podcast

Hidden and invisible, the wastepickers of the trash mountains outside of Mumbai in India build their livelihoods by collecting glass, sorting cloth scraps and hunting for hospital waste. They are lives marred by precarity and danger, but also love and laughter.

In this episode we are joined by Saumya Roy. author of Castaway Mountain - a non-fiction on the lives of people turning trash into treasure.

Read more about this episode on our website here: https://poverty-unpacked.org/?p=536

Having access to life's essentials is a universal need shared by all. The Social Guarantee aims to ensure that this need is met so that everyone can flourish and thrive. But how does it work?

In this episode, we speak with Maeve Cohen from The Social Guarantee.

Secure employment and affordable housing are among the most desired goals of millennials in the UK, but out of reach for many. Social mobility is held up as the answer, yet punitive welfare place emphasis on individual responsibility rather than structural support.

In this episode, researcher Thomas Rochow discusses young people's work and life experiences, how they shape their aspirations, and what this means for social mobility.

More information about this episode on our website: https://poverty-unpacked.org/?p=512

Aspirations can inspire positive action towards a better life, but poverty can hamper expectations for the future. What can policies do to increase aspirations and reduce poverty? And what are the risks of a focus on aspirations?

In this episode, we discuss the link between aspirations and poverty with two scholars - Katrina Kosec and Cecilia Mo.

Find more information about this episode on www.poverty-unpacked.org

Interfaith collaboration has enormous potential to mobilise community resources, foster a shared sense of humanity, and to tackle poverty.

In this episode, we are joined by representatives from three faith-based organisations - Arigatou International, Shanti Ashram, and Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) to discuss the role of community-based work and interfaith cooperation in addressing child poverty.

Find out more about this episode on our website: www.poverty-unpacked.org.

The myth that Japan is a place where you can work your way out of poverty has been a pull for Nigerian migrants for several decades, only to be met with a hostile immigration system, dirty and difficult work and strong social hierarchies.

In this episode, Dreux Richard speaks about his new book 'Every Human Intention' - an in-depth exploration of post-Fukushima Japan, including its Nigerian community.

You can find more information about the episode on our website: www.poverty-unpacked.org

Social services around the world are rapidly being digitised. But benefits of digitisation are highly unequal. This episode delves into the issue of digital exclusion, what causes it, and how to address it.

Together with Christiaan van Veen of the Digital Welfare State and Human Rights Project, New York University School of Law and Becky Faith at the Institute of Development Studies, we talk about the impact of digital technology on marginalised communities across the world.

Find more information about this episode on our website: https://poverty-unpacked.org

Child poverty has life-long adverse consequences, undermines children’s psychosocial wellbeing, and ultimately hurts all of us. Investing in the early years is crucial to ensure that children live healthy and fulfilling lives, both during childhood and as they grow older.

In this episode, I speak with David Stewart from UNICEF, Yolande Wright from Save the Children International and Joan Nyanyuki from the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) to discuss the importance of focusing on child poverty and how to tackle it.

Working-class writers or from those with disadvantaged backgrounds are underrepresented in the publishing world. In this episode, two working-class writers share their insights on the importance of greater representation of working class writers, barriers that they face in getting published and exciting initiatives to change that around.

Politics and media are dominated by the narrative of a zero-sum game in which those most vulnerable inevitably draw the short straw. But it doesn't have to be like that.

In this episode, Tabitha Morton, deputy leader of the Women's Equality Party in the UK, talks about the need to work together to reduce poverty and implement policies that work for everyone.

More information can be found on our website: https://poverty-unpacked.org/2021/01/13/episode-11-poverty-politics-and-activism