AntiSocial

Oct 15 2024 96 ep. 948

AntiSocial Podcast artwork

Peace talks for the culture wars. In an era of polarisation, propaganda and pile-ons, AntiSocial offers an alternative: understanding, facts, and respect. Each week, Adam Fleming takes on a topic that's generating conflict on social media, blogs, talk shows and phone-ins and helps you work out what the arguments are really about.

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What is ‘The Great Replacement’ theory?

Oct 15 2024 7 mins

In debates about the declining birth rate and immigration numbers, some people bring up ‘The Great Replacement’ theory. It’s especially popular with white supremacists and the far right. What do they mean, and where did the conspiracy theory come from? Adam Fleming speaks to Professor Matthew Feldman - a specialist in right wing extremism.

Breeding for Britain

Oct 11 2024 53 mins

Deaths have outnumbered births in the UK for the first time in nearly 50 years, new figures show. Should we encourage people to have more babies?With an ageing population and not enough babies born to fully replace the older generations, some people are warning of population collapse. It was a hot subject at this year’s Conservative Party Conference - one fringe meeting discussed

How pop stars make money

Oct 07 2024 6 mins

The business of music has been radically transformed in recent decades. Anthony Hamer-Hodges, principal of the London College of Contemporary Music, explains how.

Pop stars, boundaries and toxic fandom

Oct 04 2024 53 mins

Music artists are cancelling gigs to protect their mental health but what do they owe their fans?American singer Chappell Roan pulled out of two appearances at short notice - not for the first time - saying she needed a few days to prioritise her health. Earlier in the summer, she called out fans’ “creepy behaviour” and said abuse and harassment of famous people shouldn’t b

What are “furries”?

Sep 30 2024 6 mins

Sharon Roberts, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada, who co-founded the International Anthropomorphic Research Project - aka FurScience - explains furry fandom, “fursonas”, and the people who identify with animal characters.

Claims children are identifying as animals

Sep 27 2024 53 mins

Are the claims true? What are “furries”? And is it all really about gender identity?Reports that a school child in Scotland identifies as a wolf have gone viral on social media. Some say stories like it are whipped up to attack trans gender identity; others that they are a sign of gender ideology running rampant in the education system. What do we know about the latest example?

The origins of racial terms like “coconut”

Sep 23 2024 6 mins

Jonathan Rosa, an associate professor at Stanford University who researches language and race, talks through the evolution of words and phrases used to claim people are being ethnically inauthentic.

Coconuts, race and hate speech

Sep 20 2024 53 mins

Is it racist for a person of colour to call someone a coconut? Should it be a crime?A teacher was put on trial after she was pictured at a pro-Palestinian march holding a placard that showed then prime minister Rishi Sunak and then home secretary Suella Braverman as coconuts. The term “coconut” can be used to suggest that someone who is brown on the outside is white on the insi

What is dwarfism?

Sep 16 2024 7 mins

Disney’s upcoming Snow White remake has sparked a debate about representations of people with dwarfism. But what does that term actually mean? Dr Melita Irving gives a medical perspective.

Snow White and the dwarfism debate

Sep 13 2024 53 mins

Are the seven dwarfs perpetuating dangerous stereotypes or harmless fantasy figures?Disney is remaking its 1937 classic Snow White as a live action film - but this time there’s no mention of dwarfs in the title. Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism, has questioned whether the story should be retold at all, calling it “backward”. But others argue th