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Universities up and down the country have been shutting down as lecturers have walked out, arguing that the changes to their pension schemes could leave them thousands of pounds a year worse off in retirement.

If you don’t know the difference between your defined benefits and your defined contributions, getting your head round the issues can feel like doing an economics PhD before you’ve done your 101. So this week we’re breaking down what the university strikes are all about, and what they tell us about everyone else’s pensions too.

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith speaks to two striking lecturers: Nadine El-Enany, co-director of the Centre for Research on Race and Law at Birkbeck, and SOAS Senate chair Meera Sabaratnam. They are joined by writer and researcher Christine Berry, who is also a postgraduate student at Sheffield University.

Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF!

Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan.

Music: Podington Bear, licenced under Creative Commons.

The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

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Why are university lecturers on strike?

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The death of George Floyd three weeks ago at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked a fresh wave of Black Lives Matter protests across the world. In the US, calls to defund the police have won victories and across Europe leaders are taking down statues of slave traders and reviewing national school curricula. Here in the UK, hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets, despite government warnings and coronavirus restrictions. 

So, why has this explosion of protest happened now? Does this mark a new moment in our collective conversation on race, racism and the role of the police? And once this moment of the whirlwind passes, how can protestors make sure we achieve lasting change?

For this special one-off episode Ayeisha is joined by Gary Younge, writer, broadcaster, and professor of sociology at the University of Manchester.

Read Gary's piece in the New Statesman here: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/06/we-cant-breathe

Read Nadine El-Enay's piece in openDemocracy here:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/calls-to-make-britain-great-again-are-drawing-on-pseudo-intellectual-defences-of-/

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Researched by Margaret Welsh. Produced by Becky Malone.

Music by Chris Zabriskie, used under Creative Commons licence.

Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF!

The Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

Gary Younge on the global black liberation uprisings

Award-winning podcast about the economic forces shaping our world, with Ayeisha Thomas-Smith and guests. Brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the independent think tank and charity campaigning for a fairer, sustainable economy.

Gary Younge on the global black liberation uprisings

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