Making Sense: Recent Episodes
Somnath Batabyal
Making Sense is a podcast about...well, Making Sense of our world. Through conversations with leading thinkers and academics at SOAS, at the University of London, we aim to reflect critically on the issues that affect us all. So, tune in, pause, and think.
The world wide web is the largest repository of human footprint; the amount of data that is generated each second was unimaginable even a couple of decades ago. But data by itself is meaningless unless analysed and, very importantly, contextualised. Anthropologists have been in the business of gathering and understanding data for centuries. So, how has the role of the anthropologist changed/evolved in a world where there is more data than ever before and readily available. On this and so much more, Prof Andrea Cornwall, Pro Director (research) at SOAS joins fellow anthropologist Somnath Batabyal.
Our guest is Mayur Suresh whose fascinating manuscript is a deep dive into courtroom procedures in India. Following cases of under trials, accused of terrorism against the state in a New Delhi courtroom, Mayur, through participant observation and interviews, sketches not only the lives of the accused, but also brings into question the larger truths about law and justice in modern day India.
Enjoy the episode
My guest this week is Scott Newton, Head of the School of Law, Gender and Media at SOAS, University of London. Scott is a true polymath and in this episode we talk about legal systems and philosophy, the unfairness of justice systems, Critical Race Theory, and the coming age of TransHumanism.
Please send your feedback to sb127@soas.ac.uk
Thank you for listening.
Somnath