Culture & Inequality Podcast

We’re speaking at a time of historic economic inequality, with current debates marked by a surge in public attention to elite power, influence, and visibility. As wealth gaps reach levels not seen since World War II, we ask: how are today’s elites responding? Are they expressing status and superiority in the same ways as before, or has their mindset evolved in a world that claims to be more democratic and meritocratic? We’ll also explore elite culture through institutions like classical music, and examine how major cultural organizations are navigating calls for greater diversity and inclusivity. Our discussion draws on two recent books by our guest Kristina Kolbe and Aaron Reeves (co-authored with Sam Friedman). Aaron Reeves a Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, focusing on the causes and consequences of social inequality, particularly in the areas of public health, welfare reform, and elite formation. He recently published th is the co-authored book Born to Rule: The Making and Remaking of the British Elite (with Sam Friedman). Our second guest is Kristina Kolbe, an Assistant Professor of Sociology of Arts and Culture at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Her research examines how inequalities of class, race, and gender are reconfigured through cultural production. She just published her book The sound of difference: Race, class and the politics of ' Diversity ' in classical music. Bryan Boyle is the host of this episode an a Lecturer and Doctoral Researcher in Sociology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where he specializes in the intersection of labor, culture, and elite studies. His ethnographic research includes immersive fieldwork as a butler to explore how service labor sustains elite lifestyles. - Kolbe, K. (2024). The sound of difference: Race, class and the politics of ' diversity ' in classical music. Manchester University Press. - Kolbe, K. (2021). Playing the system: ’ Race ’- making and elitism in diversity projects in Germany's classical music sector. Poetics, 87, 101532. - Reeves, A., & Friedman, S. (2024). Born to rule: The making and remaking of the British elite. Harvard University Press. - Reeves, A. (2019). How class identities shape highbrow consumption: A cross-national analysis of 30 European countries and regions. Poetics, 76, 101361. Podcast editors of this season: Luuc Brans, Kobe De Keere, Sanne Pieters & Geert Veuskens This podcast is co-financed from the BINQ project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Grant No. 101052649. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. This podcast is also kindly supported by the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) at the University of Amsterdam.

In this episode we’ll be discussing the climate crisis through the lens of risk, loss and the role of sociology. For a long time, environmental issues sat on the margins of the discipline, rarely appearing in core journals or debates. That’s starting to change, with climate change gaining more attention in recent sociological research—but given the urgency of the crisis, we might still ask: are sociologists doing enough? Another key point is how sociological knowledge is valued outside the discipline. Climate science has long been dominated by the natural sciences, with institutions like the IPCC reflecting that imbalance. Yet as the need for societal transformation becomes more pressing, sociology’s insights into behavior, systems, and power could be more relevant than ever. As guests we have Catherine Mei Ling Wong, an Assistant Professor of Cultural Sociology at the University of Amsterdam, specializing in environmental sociology, risk governance, and sustainability transitions. Her research explores how cultural, institutional, and epistemological factors shape perceptions of risk in areas like nuclear energy, climate policy, and green finane. She joined by Rebecca Elliott, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, specializing in the intersections of climate change, risk governance, and the moral economy. Her research examines how environmental risks, particularly flooding, are managed through institutions like insurance, and how these mechanisms influence societal responses to climate change. Thijs van Dooremalen is the host of this episode an Assistant Professor at Leiden University's Institute of Security and Global Affairs, specializing in the sociology of crises and public discourse. His research focuses on how major events—such as 9/11, elections, and extreme weather—transform national public spheres, employing mixed methods to analyze cultural and political shifts across media, politics, and policymaking. Further reading for this episode - Wong, C. M. L., & Lockie, S. (2020). Climate policy and industry elite perceptions of risk and uncertainty: a cross-national study. Society & Natural Resources, 33(11), 1399-1418. - Wong, C. M. L. (2018). Energy, Risk and Governance. Palgrave Macmillan. - Wong, C. M. L. (2015). The mutable nature of risk and acceptability: A hybrid risk governance framework. Risk analysis, 35(11), 1969-1982. - Elliott, R. (2024). The sociology of property value in a climate-changed United States. Social Problems, spae074. - Elliott, R. (2021). Underwater: Loss, flood insurance, and the moral economy of climate change in the United States. Columbia University Press. - Elliott, R. (2018). The sociology of climate change as a sociology of loss. European Journal of Sociology/Archives Européennes de Sociologie, 59(3), 301-337. Podcast editors of this season: Luuc Brans, Kobe De Keere, Sanne Pieters & Geert Veuskens This podcast is co-financed from the BINQ project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Grant No. 101052649. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. This podcast is also kindly supported by the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) at the University of Amsterdam.

Rachel O’Dwyer, a media scholar and digital payments expert, teams up with Ashley Mears, a cultural sociology professor, to unravel our digital economic lives. They discuss the rise of digital payments and tokens, exploring how these tools reshape economic interactions. With insights into platform labor and the commodification of personal interactions, they highlight the social implications of the creator economy. The conversation also touches on the evolution of the internet, pondering whether technology fosters equality or perpetuates inequality.

Michèle Lamont, professor of Sociology at Harvard, discusses the role of recognition and dignity in countering inequality. They unpack new narratives of hope, inclusivity strategies, healing divided societies, and the successes and failures of recognition chains. They also explore the convergence of disciplines and the importance of mentoring programs and inclusive environments for increasing diversity.

***This is a rerecording, updated, and better version of our very first episode, which we originally recorded in 2020. We hope you will enjoy this new version! *** In this first pilot episode, we discuss the core themes of the course: how do culture and inequality relate? This meeting will discuss why and how this has become such a central theme in sociology and other disciplines (notably cultural studies, anthropology), how this relation this been theorized in various theoretical traditions (notable Bourdieu's field theory, British cultural studies inspired by Stuart Hall , and American cultural sociology in the vein of Michele Lamont); and how has this been empirically analyzed? Moreover, we will offer a first exploration of the continued relevance of these insights on culture and inequality for contemporary societies, and for the everyday life of (young) people today. --- This week's readings: Bourdieu, P. (1994). Social space and symbolic space. In Calhoun, Craig et al. (eds.) Contemporary Sociologi-cal Theory, 345-358. Bourdieu, P. (1986) The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.) Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, 241-258. New York: Greenwood. Hall, S. (1980). Encoding/decoding. In Stuart Hall, Dorothy Hobson, Andrew Love, and Paul Willis (eds.), Culture, Media, Language, pp. 128–38. London: Hutchinson. Link: https://we.riseup.net/as-sets/102142/appadurai.pdf#page=202 Lamont, M. (1992). Implications, contributions and unanswered questions. In Money, Morals and Manners, 174-192. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Kuipers, G. (2006). Television and taste hierarchy: The case of Dutch television comedy. Media, Culture & Society 28(3): 359-378. Additional materials Video: Carle, Pierre (2002). La sociologie est un sport de combat. Pierre Bourdieu. Documentary. https://vimeo.com/92709274 Video: Hall, Stuart (1997). Representation and media. Open University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGh64E_XiVM Video: Lamont, Michele (2016). Doing sociology. American Sociological Association. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIR1mYsy510 Presentation: Giselinde Kuipers & Luuc Brans Audio production edit: Luuc Brans Theme music by Timothy Dowd We are grateful for the generous support from European Centre for the Study of Culture and Inequality

This episode is about conspiracy theories and their relation to inequality. We talk about this with Elisa Sobo and Jaron Harambam, two scholars who have studied contemporary conspiracy theories in a range of domains, from vaccines, Covid-19 and Big Pharma, to theories that claim the moon is an abandoned spaceship brought here by reptilians who control our world leaders. Both, moreover, have argued -- somewhat controversially -- that “we need to move beyond the positivistic reflex to debunk conspiracy theories as unfounded and irrational”. The arguments they offer for taking conspiracy theories seriously – though maybe not literally—are strongly connected with inequality: inclusivity, democracy, and social justice. Today, therefore, we ask: how are conspiracy connected with inequalities, and how can – or should -- this connection with inequality inform our stance towards conspiracy theories? Guests: - Elisa Sobo, professor and chair of Anthropology, San Diego State University - Jaron Harambam, assistant professor of participatory AI, VU University Amsterdam Hosted by Giselinde Kuipers, professor of cultural sociology at KU Leuven Readings and materials: 1. Grodzicka, Elżbieta Drążkiewicz, and Jaron Harambam. "What should academics do about conspiracy theories? Moving beyond debunking to better deal with conspiratorial movements, misinformation and post-truth." Journal for Cultural Research 25.1 (2021): 1-11. 2. Harambam, Jaron, and Stef Aupers. "Contesting epistemic authority: Conspiracy theories on the boundaries of science." Public understanding of science 24.4 (2015): 466-480. 3. Harambam, Jaron. "Against modernist illusions: why we need more democratic and constructivist alternatives to debunking conspiracy theories." Journal for Cultural Research 25.1 (2021): 104-122. 4. Sobo, Elisa J. "Conspiracy theories in political-economic context: lessons from parents with vaccine and other pharmaceutical concerns." Journal for Cultural Research 25.1 (2021): 51-68. 5. Sobo, Elisa. “What Does the American Dream Have to do With the COVID-19 Vaccine?” Sapiens.org, 25 February 2021. https://www.sapiens.org/culture/covid-19-vaccine-protestors/

Migration has been a characteristic of societies for centuries. Humans have always migrated to either escape harsh lives, search for better ones, or both. Continuing immigration flows and increasing diversity in many societies have led to more complex processes of belonging and integration, as well as the emergence of cross-border engagements of migrants, organizations and institutions. In this episode, we focus on the role played by media and communication in the different aspects of migration, ranging from media representations of migrants to the mediated communication exchanges conducted in digital spaces, from interactions between relevant stakeholders in the different levels of migration governance through the political and economic side of migrants’ lives to the role played by hands-on intercultural mediation and digital solidarity projects. To talk about these topics, Amanda Paz Alencar (Dept of Media and Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam) invited Myria Georgiou (Dept of Media and Communications, LSE) and Earvin Cabalquinto (School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University) – experts on the topic of media and migration.

Migration special 2: Football, Race and Racism by Culture & Inequality Podcast

In this first episode of the special Culture & Inequality x IMISCOE The Migration Podcast trilogy, we discuss the linkages between migration and music. For centuries, music has been a powerful source of individual and social well-being, something which studies from psychology to sociology to medicine continue to demonstrate. As people migrated, music migrated with them – causing the rapid and continuing spread of hundreds of music genres in countries across the globe. Since digitalization, music has become more mobile than ever before, as people can connect with their favorite music as long as they have an internet connection. This leads us to ask: How do migrants in the 21st century use music during processes of migration? To talk about this, Julian Schaap (Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands) has invited Daniela Jaramillo Dent (Universidad de Huelva, Spain and Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands) and Marco Martiniello (Université de Liège, Belgium). This a special crossover episode between the Migration Podcast and the Culture and Inequality Podcast. The first in a series of three, this episode investigates how Music and Social Media matter in Migration (and vice-versa). Head over to The Migration Podcast to learn more about migration: https://www.imiscoe.org/news-and-blog/podcast?msclkid=47f01fb5d06a11ec8cee483d0b0b504f

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we will be hosting a series of special episodes on the cultural aspects of war. New events like war crequire meaning making, new icons, symbols, ideas to make sense of what is going on in life. But war also suppresse culture as some things cannot be said anymore or have dangerous consequences. We dive into these and related topics over the next weeks with scholars from Ukraine, Russia, and across the world. This week, we talk with Anastasiya Fiadotova* and Ksenia** about the humour emerging during the current war. How do people joke and why do people do so? We talk about the functions of humor are in war and its limits. Rooted in Estonia, Belarus and Russia, our guests are close to this war and provide a candid assessment of the war’s cultural implications. * Anastasiya (Nastya) Fiadotova is a research fellow in the department of Folkloristics at the Estonian Literary Museum in Tartu, Estonia. **last name and institutional affiliation withheld for personal security reasons. Presentation by prof. dr. Giselinde Kuipers (Sociology, KU Leuven) Editing by Luuc Brans