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About Dave O'Brien

Dave O'Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, at the University of Manchester

Dave O'Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, at the University of Manchester.

NBN Episodes hosted by Dave:

Critical Theory November 25, 2023

The Moral Foundations of Public Funding for the Arts

Michael Rushton

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Should governments fund the arts? In The Moral Foundations of Public Funding for the Arts (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023), Michael Rushton, Co-Director of the Center for Cultural Affairs and a Professor at the …
Critical Theory November 23, 2023

The Accidental Equalizer

How Luck Determines Pay After College

Jessi Streib

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Are jobs fair? In The Accidental Equalizer: How Luck Determines Pay after College (U Chicago Press, 2023), Jessi Streib, an associate Professor of Sociology at Duke University, uncovers the remarkable story …
Critical Theory October 30, 2023

The Value of Art Education

Cultural Engagements at the Swedish Folk High Schools

Henrik Fürst and Erik Nylander

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
Is art education worthwhile? In The Value of Art Education: Cultural Engagements at the Swedish Folk High Schools (Palgrave MacMillan, 2023), Henrik Fürst, Associate Professor in the Department of Education at Stockholm …
Critical Theory October 29, 2023

Coloniality and Meritocracy in Unequal EU Migrations

Intersecting Inequalities in Post-2008 Italian Migration

Simone Varriale

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
How do migrants make sense of migration? In Coloniality and Meritocracy in unequal EU migrations: Intersecting Inequalities in Post-2008 Italian Migration (Bristol UP, 2023), Simone Varriale, Lecturer in Sociology at Loughborough University, explores …
Critical Theory October 28, 2023

Schools and Cultural Citizenship

Arts Education for Life

Pat Thomson and Christine Hall

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Why study the arts in school? In Schools and Cultural Citizenship: Arts Education for Life (Routledge, 2023), Pat Thomson, Professor of Education at the University of Nottingham and Christine Hall, Emeritus …
Critical Theory October 1, 2023

A Taste of Honey

Melanie Williams

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What makes a film a classic? In A Taste of Honey (Bloomsbury, 2023), published as part of the BFI Film Classics series, Melanie Williams, a Professor of Film and Television Studies …
Critical Theory September 15, 2023

Imperial Island

An Alternative History of the British Empire

Charlotte Lydia Riley

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
Can Britain escape from being a nation trapped in its past? In Imperial Island: A History of Empire in Modern Britain (Penguin, 2023), Charlotte Lydia Riley, an Associate Professor of History in …
Critical Theory September 13, 2023

Seeing Others

How to Redefine Worth in a Divided World

Michèle Lamont

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
How can we challenge and change inequalities? In Seeing Others: How Recognition Works— and How It Can Heal a Divided World (Atria, 2023), Michele Lamont, Professor of Sociology and African and African …
Critical Theory September 8, 2023

Moral Minefields

How Sociologists Debate Good Science

Shai M. Dromi and Samuel D. Stabler

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
Where does morality fit into contemporary social science? In Moral Minefields: How Sociologists Debate Good Science (U Chicago Press, 2023), Shai Dromi, an Associate Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology …
Critical Theory August 9, 2023

Crap

A History of Cheap Stuff in America

Wendy A. Woloson

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
Why are our lives filled with so much stuff? In Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America (U Chicago Press, 2023), Wendy Woloson, Professor and Chair in the Department of History at …
Critical Theory August 7, 2023

How to Build a Stock Exchange

The Past, Present and Future of Finance

Philip Roscoe

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
Why does the financial sector matter? In How to Build a Stock Exchange: The Past, Present and Future of Finance (Bristol UP, 2023), Philip Roscoe, a Professor of Management at the University …
Critical Theory July 31, 2023

Lifestyle Revolution

How Taste Changed Class in Late 20th-Century Britain

Ben Highmore

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
How did the rise of consumerism impact Britain? In Lifestyle Revolution: How Taste Changed Class in Late 20th-Century Britain (Manchester UP, 2023), Ben Highmore, a Professor of Cultural Studies in …
Critical Theory July 13, 2023

Radical Hospitality

American Policy, Media, and Immigration

Nour Halabi

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
How should we understand contemporary migration policy? In Radical Hospitality: American Policy, Media, and Immigration (Rutgers UP, 2022), Nour Halabi, an Interdisciplinary Fellow at the University of Aberdeen, explores this question …
Critical Theory July 8, 2023

Uncomfortably Off

Why Higher-Income Earners Should Care about Inequality

Marcos González Hernando and Gerry Mitchell

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
How can we build a better social and political settlement? In Uncomfortably Off: Why the Top 10% of Earners Should Care about Inequality (Policy Press, 2023), Marcos González Hernando an Honorary …
Critical Theory July 6, 2023

Creative Hustling

Women Making and Distributing Films from Nairobi

Robin Steedman

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
What is the future of the global creative economy? In Creative Hustling: Women Making and Distributing Films from Nairobi (MIT Press, 2023), Robin Steedman, a postdoc in the Department of …
Critical Theory July 5, 2023

Believability

Sexual Violence, Media, and the Politics of Doubt

Sarah Banet-Weiser and Kathryn C. Higgins

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
Who is believed in our mediated world? In Believability: Sexual Violence, Media and the Politics of Doubt (Polity Press, 2023),  Sarah Banet-Weiser, Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg …
Critical Theory June 28, 2023

The Fall and Rise of the English Upper Class

Houses, Kinship and Capital Since 1945

Daniel R. Smith

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
Who are the English upper class? In The Fall and Rise of the English Upper Class: Houses, Kinship and Capital Since 1945 (Manchester UP, 2023) Daniel Smith, a lecturer in sociology …
Critical Theory June 24, 2023

Working-Class Queers

Time, Place and Politics

Yvette Taylor

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
What is the relationship between class and sexuality? In Working-Class Queers: Time, Place and Politics (Pluto Press, 2023), Yvette Taylor, Professor of Education at the University of Strathclyde, explores the lives …
Critical Theory June 16, 2023

Cultural Policy Beyond the Economy

Value, Work and the Social

Deborah Stevenson

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
What is the future for cultural policy? In Cultural Policy Beyond the Economy: Work, Value, and the Social (Edward Elgar, 2023),  Deborah Stevenson, Professor of Sociology and Urban Cultural Research in …
Critical Theory June 11, 2023

Sociology of the Arts in Action

New Perspectives on Creation, Production, and Reception

Arturo Rodríguez Morató and Alvaro Santana-Acuña

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
What are the latest developments in the sociology of the arts? In Sociology of the Arts in Action: New Perspectives on Creation, Production, and Reception (Palgrave MacMillan, 2023), Arturo Rodríguez …
Critical Theory June 4, 2023

Digital Futures for Learning

Speculative Methods and Pedagogies

Jen Ross

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Listen:
What is the future of education? In Digital Futures for Learning: Speculative Methods and Pedagogies (Routledge, 2022), Jen Ross, a senior lecturer in digital education at the University of Edinburgh, analyses …
Critical Theory May 28, 2023

The Cultural Sociology of Art and Music

New Directions and New Discoveries

Lisa McCormick

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
How can sociology help us understand art and music? In The Cultural Sociology of Art and Music: New Directions and New Discoveries (Palgrave MacMillan, 2022), the editor Lisa McCormick, a …
Critical Theory May 21, 2023

Contemporary Art from Nigeria in the Global Markets

Trending in the Margins

Jonathan Adeyemi

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
How does the art market work? In Contemporary Art from Nigeria in the Global Markets: Trending in the Margins (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), Jonathan Adeyemi, who holds a PhD from, and was formerly …
Critical Theory May 13, 2023

Secret Cinema and the Immersive Experience Industry

Sarah Atkinson and Helen W. Kennedy

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What is the future of media? In Secret Cinema and the Immersive Experience Industry (Manchester UP, 2022), Sarah Atkinson, a Professor of Screen Media at Kings College London, and Helen …