AntiSocial

When Mark Zuckerberg appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast last week he said that the corporate world has moved away from masculine energy and is “pretty culturally neutered.” A culture that "celebrates aggression" can be positive, he claimed. Does the workplace need more masculine energy? Do businesses need aggression and competitiveness to succeed? Presenter: Adam Fleming Producers: Josephine Casserly...

One of the central themes in the conversation around multiculturalism in Britain is religion. Within that is another debate, one about how to define Islamophobia. Adam Fleming speaks to Lizzie Dearden, journalist and specialist in extremism to learn more about why the term is disputed.

In the row about child sexual exploitation by gangs - particularly those made up of Pakistani heritage men - some people have begun to question the value of multiculturalism. Shadow Justice Secretary, Robert Jenrick, suggested the law had been applied selectively against grooming gangs "to sustain the myth that diversity is our strength." So what do we mean when we talk about multiculturalism in m...

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.

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 to encourage...

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

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 be normalised. Her criti...

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.

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 child is said...

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.

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 inside - that they are...

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.

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 that it’s just a fairyt...

What happened when the Nazis banned smoking and what were the effects? On this week's AntiSocial, we looked at proposals to ban smoking in some outdoor spaces. It led to some people on social media bringing up the Nazis, who launched the first and most broadly reaching anti-smoking campaign in history. In this mini-guide, Adam Fleming speaks to Professor George Davey Smith, a clinical epidemiologi...

Is banning smoking outdoors good for our health or state overreach? The Prime Minister has confirmed he's thinking about extending the indoor smoking ban to include outdoor areas restaurant terraces and pub gardens. This, in addition, to plans to progressively increase the age at which you can buy cigarettes so a whole generation never even starts smoking. It's sparked a social media discussion on...

There is one accent that is often rated as the most prestigious - Received Pronunciation. But what is RP and how did it come about? Lynda Mugglestone is a Professor of the History of English at the University of Oxford and author of '‘Talking Proper: The Rise of Accent as Social Symbol'. She says the idea of one national accent for all first started to emerge in the late 1700s with the creation of...

Is it classist to stop Geordies using the term of endearment 'pet'? After the University of Newcastle sent out guidance to researchers advising they avoid using the word 'pet' as it might feel patronising or sexist to women, people took to social media to claim this was a classist move. It sparked a wider discussion about accents and class. Others claimed accents shouldn't be used as a marker of i...

What kind of online content could be considered 'extreme misogyny' and who's promoting it? Dr Joe Whittaker, lecturer in Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy at Swansea University has been researching the ‘manopshere’, where content that might be considered ‘extreme misogyny’ is published and shared. Much of this activity takes place in forums that promote the ‘incel’ ideology, made up of men...

Should some forms of misogyny be classed as extremism? After the Government announced it would look at ‘extreme misogyny’ in a review of its counter-extremism strategy, a fierce row kicked off on social media. Would creating a category of ‘extreme misogyny’ be a long-overdue move, or dangerous overreach that risks labelling young men and boys as radical? We look at the kind of misogynist content t...

The so-called ‘Battle of Cable Street’ in 1936 is often held up by counter-protesters as a model of how to defeat fascism - but it failed to stop antisemitic violence and actually led to a recruitment boost for the British Union of Fascists. Professor Nigel Copsey separates the history and the myth for us.

Are counter-protests important for sending a message or can they make confrontation or violence more likely? Is marching in the street a vital expression or is it the wrong place to tackle serious issues? After riots took place outside hotels housing refugees and migrants, counter-protests were swiftly assembled in cities around the UK. They were largely peaceful, but some counter-protesters were...

The greenhouse gas emissions caused by meat, dairy, and plant-based alternatives. Sarah Bridle, professor of food, climate, and society at the University of York, digests the data.

Should meat and dairy be taken off menus to help save the planet from climate change? A university is accused of “going woke” after reports it is transitioning to 100% plant-based catering by 2027. Climate activists are calling on universities and other public bodies like councils to ditch animal food products to help tackle the climate crisis. But what did the university in question actually deci...

The term “Anglo-Saxon” has become controversial, but where does it come from? As people argue online about whether the term is tainted by racism, history professor Joanna Story tells its origin story.

Should the term “Anglo-Saxon” be dropped because it’s been adopted by racists? People online are angry because a history journal has dropped “Anglo-Saxon” from its title. Critics say it is pandering to American academics who are unduly worried about the term being used by white supremacists. The journal says that’s got nothing to do with it. It’s part of an ongoing debate about whether “Anglo Saxo...