We probe the UK prison system with Professor Alison Liebling, a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Cambridge and the Director of the Institute of Criminology’s Prisons Research Centre.

In this episode, she discusses the complexities surrounding prison officers, their often-underappreciated skills, and the critical role they play in maintaining order and humanity on the wings.   

Professor Liebling’s research on prisons spans over three decades with a particular interest in the moral landscapes of prison life. Her research has led to a prestigious Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship. This Fellowship allows well-established academics in the humanities and social sciences to focus for two or three years on a specific piece of significant, original research.

Join acclaimed journalist and Academy president Will Hutton, as he invites guests from the world of social science to explore the stories behind the news and hear their solutions to society’s most pressing problems.

Don’t want to miss an episode? Follow the show on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on [email protected] and tell us who we should be speaking to. 

The We Society podcast is brought to you by the Academy of Social Sciences in association with the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust. 

Producer: Emily Uchida Finch

Assistant Producer: Emily Gilbert

A Whistledown Production