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About Dave O'Brien

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

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

NBN Episodes hosted by Dave:

Critical Theory September 26, 2022

The Quantified Scholar

How Research Evaluations Transformed the British Social Sciences

Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
How do metrics and quantification shape social science? In The Quantified Scholar: How Research Evaluations Transformed the British Social Sciences (Columbia UP, 2022), Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra, an Associate Professor in …
Critical Theory September 22, 2022

Creating Worlds Otherwise

Art, Collective Action, And (Post)Extractivism

Paula Serafini

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
How are art and social justice intertwined? In Creating Worlds Otherwise: Art, Collective Action, and (Post)Extractivism Paula Serafini, a Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries at Queen Mary University of …
Critical Theory September 13, 2022

True Story

What Reality TV Says About Us

Danielle J. Lindemann

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Why is reality TV important? In True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us (FSG, 2022), Danielle J. Lindemann, an Associate Professor of Sociology at Lehigh University, uses a sociological …
Critical Theory August 18, 2022

Access, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Cultural Organizations

Insights from the Careers of Executive Opera Managers of Color in the US

Antonio C. Cuyler

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Where are the success stories for people of color in opera? In Access, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Cultural Organizations: Insights from the Careers of Executive Opera Managers of Color …
Critical Theory August 8, 2022

The Cruel Optimism of Racial Justice

Nasar Meer

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Why are societies still not offering racial equality? In The Cruel Optimism of Racial Justice (Policy Press, 2022), Nasar Meer, a professor of Race, Identity and Citizenship in the School of …
Critical Theory August 1, 2022

Producing Politics

Inside the Exclusive Campaign World Where the Privileged Few Shape Politics for All of Us

Daniel Laurison

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Who runs American politics? In Producing Politics: Inside the Exclusive Campaign World Where the Privileged Few Shape Politics for All of Us (Beacon Press, 2022), Daniel Laurison, an associate professor …
Critical Theory July 26, 2022

The Flexibility Paradox

Why Flexible Working Leads To (Self-)Exploitation

Heejung Chung

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Why are we working harder? In The Flexibility Paradox: Why Flexible Working Leads To (Self-)Exploitation (Polity Press, 2022), Heejung Chung, a professor of sociology and social policy at the University of …
Critical Theory July 19, 2022

Movie Workers

The Women Who Made British Cinema

Melanie Bell

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Where are the women in the history of British cinema? In Movie Workers: The Women Who Made British Cinema (U Illinois Press, 2021), Melanie Bell, a Professor of Film History …
Critical Theory July 11, 2022

Gender in an Era of Post-truth Populism

Pedagogies, Challenges and Strategies

Penny Jane Burke, Julia Coffey, Rosiland Gill, and Akane Kanai

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Why does gender matter in our troubled global times? In Gender in an Era of Post-truth Populism: Pedagogies, Challenges and Strategies (Bloomsbury, 2022), the editors Penny Jane Burke, Rosalind Gill …
Critical Theory June 24, 2022

The Club on the Edge of Town

A Pandemic Memoir

Alan Lane

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What happened to arts organisations during the pandemic? In The Club on the Edge of Town: A Pandemic Memoir (Salamander Street, 2022), Alan Lane, Artistic Director of SlungLow, a theatre company …
Critical Theory June 2, 2022

Running the Family Firm

How the Monarchy Manages Its Image and Our Money

Laura Clancy

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Why does the monarchy matter? In Running the Family Firm: How the Monarchy Manages Its Image and Our Money (Manchester UP, 2021),  Laura Clancy, a Lecturer in Media and Lancaster …
Critical Theory May 27, 2022

Heritage and Nationalism

Understanding Populism through Big Data

Chiara Bonacchi

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What are the connections between the past and modern politics? In Heritage and Nationalism: Understanding Populism through Big Data (UCL Press, 2022), Chiara Bonacchi, a Chancellor's Fellow in Heritage, Text …
Critical Theory May 25, 2022

British Black and Asian Shakespeareans, 1966-2018

Integrating Shakespeare

Jami Rogers

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What is the hidden history of performers of colour in in British theatre? In British Black and Asian Shakespeareans: Integrating Shakespeare, 1966–2018 (Arden Shakespeare, 2022), Jami Rogers, an honorary fellow at Department …
Critical Theory May 18, 2022

Held in Contempt

What's Wrong with the House of Commons?

Hannah White

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What is the future for the House of Commons? In Held in Contempt: What’s Wrong with the House of Commons? (Manchester UP, 2022), Hannah White, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government …
Critical Theory May 12, 2022

Proxies

The Cultural Work of Standing In

Dylan Mulvin

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What are the hidden histories of how the modern world functions? In Proxies: The Cultural Work of Standing In (MIT Press, 2021), Dylan Mulvin, Assistant Professor in the Department of …
Critical Theory April 19, 2022

Black Culture, Inc.

How Ethnic Community Support Pays for Corporate America

Patricia A. Banks

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Why do corporations fund cultural organisations and events? In Black Culture, Inc.: How Ethnic Community Support Pays for Corporate America (Stanford UP, 2022), Patricia Banks, Professor of Sociology at Mount …
Critical Theory April 4, 2022

Hedged Out

Inequality and Insecurity on Wall Street

Megan Tobias Neely

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Is the finance industry fair? In Hedged Out: Inequality and Insecurity on Wall Street (University of California Press, 2022) Megan Tobias Neely, an assistant professor in the Department of Organisation at …
Critical Theory March 28, 2022

The Welfare State Generation

Women, Agency and Class in Britain Since 1945

Eve Worth

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
How should we understand the history of post-war Britain? In The Welfare State Generation Women, Agency and Class in Britain since 1945 (Bloomsbury, 2022), Eve Worth, a Research Fellow on the …
Critical Theory March 22, 2022

How to Measure a World?

A Philosophy of Judaism

Martin Shuster

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What can the history of Jewish philosophy teach us about modern life? In How to Measure a World?: A Philosophy of Judaism (Indiana UP, 2021), Martin Shuster, an Associate Professor of …
Critical Theory March 16, 2022

Their Own Best Creations

Women Writers in Postwar Television

Annie Berke

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What is the hidden history of women in the television industry? In Their Own Best Creations: Women Writers in Postwar Television (U California Press, 2022), Annie Berke, film editor at …
Critical Theory March 4, 2022

Understanding Well-being Data

Improving Social and Cultural Policy, Practice and Research

Susan Oman

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
How can we understand well-being? In Understanding Well-being Data: Improving Social and Cultural Policy, Practice and Research (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021), Susan Oman, a Lecturer in Data, AI and Society at the …
Critical Theory February 11, 2022

The Early Foucault

Stuart Elden

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What were the key ideas and influences on Michel Foucault’s early career? In The Early Foucault (Polity Press, 2021), Stuart Elden, Professor of Political Theory and Geography at the University …
Critical Theory January 18, 2022

On Living with Television

Amy Holdsworth

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
How should we understand the role of television in everyday life? In On Living with Television (Duke UP, 2021), Amy Holdsworth, a Senior Lecturer in Theatre, Film & Television Studies …
Critical Theory January 11, 2022

Reimagining the Creative Industries

Youth Creative Work, Communities of Care

Miranda Campbell

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
How can we make creative industries fair and inclusive? In Reimagining the Creative Industries: Youth Creative Work, Communities of Care (Routledge, 2021), Miranda Campbell, an associate professor in the School …