Sheffield was once the steel-making capital of the world. During the First Industrial Revolution, almost half of the steel used in Europe was produced in Sheffield; and during both World Wars, the city became a bombing target because of the central role it played in arming the British military.

This rich steel-making tradition began to decline under Margaret Thatcher. In the 1980s, market forces caused several of Sheffield’s steel works to close and the British steel industry was ultimately privatised. Sheffield – once known as the Steel City – has never fully recovered; and

South Yorkshire is now the poorest region in England. South Yorkshire is not an isolated case. In middle-income countries across the world, time and resources are being invested into capital cities and regions around them, at the expense of rural and coastal regions located further away from the capital. These left behind regions are in dire need of development.

Hamza King sits down with Sir Paul Collier to discuss economics for neglected places. Paul is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, and author of Left Behind: A New Economics for Neglected Places (2024). Paul has authored several other book, including The Bottom Billion: Why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it (2007) and The Future of Capitalism: Facing the New Anxieties (2018).

➡️ Left Behind: A New Economics for Neglected Places (2024): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Left-Behind-Economics-Neglected-Places/dp/024127916X

➡️Paul Collier: https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/people/paul-collier

The phrase ‘glass ceiling’ was coined by the American writer and management consultant, Marilyn Loden, to describe the barriers preventing women from progressing to senior positions in their careers. The sociologists Sam Friedman and Daniel Laurison have introduced the phrase ‘class ceiling’ to describe the barriers preventing those from working-class backgrounds from progressing in their careers. In their book, The Class Ceiling: Why it pays to be privileged, Friedman and Laurison have found that even when those from working-class backgrounds making it into prestigious jobs, they earn around 16% less than their colleagues from more privileged backgrounds. So why is this the case? And what can be done to shatter the glass ceiling?

Hamza King sits down with Sam Friedman to discuss social class. Sam is a Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and author of 'The Class Ceiling: Why it pays to be privileged' (2019). Sam has a new book coming out in September with Aaron Reeves called ‘Born to Rule: The Making and Remaking of the British Elite?’ (2024).

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➡️The Phlexible Philosophy Podcast

A protection gap exists under international law for those displacement by the impacts of climate change. The 1951 Refugee Convention and 1988 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement offer no protection to those facing famine in Ethiopia, flooding in Pakistan, or the threat of ‘state extinction’ in Tuvalu. The idea of a climate refugee treaty has been suggested as a way of filling this protection gap, by outlining a set of rights for those displaced by the impacts of climate change. But is a climate refugee treaty the best way to manage those displaced by the impacts of climate change?

Hamza King sits down with Jamie Draper to discuss climate displacement. Jamie is an Assistant Professor of Political Philosophy at Utrecht University and author of ‘Climate Displacement’ (2023).

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➡️The Phlexible Philosophy Podcast.