Conversations in Social Justice

In honour of Disability Pride Month, Josh Mackenzie, this year’s intern at the Institute for Social Justice, breaks down neurodiverse inclusion in education and the workplace: how far we’ve come, and how much further we must go. Josh is joined by Michael Brown, a social entrepreneur championing neurodiverse groups, later-life work inequalities, and ‘dignity-first’ employment. Together, they explor...

This podcast features a conversation recorded at York St John University’s The Only Way is Ethics Conference in 2025. Dr Owen Powell speaks with Dr Charlotte Haines Lyon and Professor Helen Julia Minors about navigating ethical challenges in participatory research. What are the ethical knots we encounter? How can we address concerns raised by Ethics Committees? And how might committees and univers...

In this episode research fellow Jo Gibson talks to Emmanuel ‘Manny Loveankh’ Ebokosia, Regina Binzari and Joshua Eyakware from True Cadence , a music social enterprise in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. They talk about meeting through an ISJ community research grant and continuing to work together through a new music network called Beats and Boroughs . Their discussion highlights the i...

In this episode Dr Amy Skinner, Ruth Lambley and Bryony Boyle discuss a collaboration between Up for Yorkshire, an infrastructure organisation based in Selby, and the Converge Evaluation and Research Team - a group of researchers at York St John University with lived experience of mental health challenges.   The project addressed the question: How do we better listen to, capture and represent the...

In this episode, Jess Dancer, this year’s intern at the Institute for Social Justice, discusses the challenges faced by young carers, particularly those transitioning into higher education. Jess explores how caring responsibilities can impact this journey and why it's important to talk openly about these experiences, which are too often overlooked.  Alongside Jess is Ellie Rowley from UCAS, who of...

This episode is about I’m Me which uses creative methods to explore artists with learning disabilities and autism’s understanding of identity, representation and voice. In this podcast Alison from Mind the Gap talks to Amy and Victoria from Hijinx about co facilitation and representation. 

This episode is about I’m Me which uses creative methods to explore artists with learning disabilities and autism’s understanding of identity, representation and voice. In this podcast Daniel from Mind the Gap talks to Liz and Jack from Under the Stars about using music to explore identity, representation and voice.  

This episode is about I’m Me, which uses creative methods to explore artists with learning disabilities and autism’s understanding of identity, representation and voice. In this podcast Alison from Mind the Gap talks to Mel and Luke from Open Theatre about using non-verbal theatre to explore identity, representation and voic

This episode is about I’m Me, which uses creative methods to explore artists with learning disabilities and autism’s understanding of identity, representation and voice. In this episode, Ryan and Gavin from Lung-ha and JoAnne and Jess from Mind the Gap chat about inclusive facilitation.

In this episode Amy Hodgson talks to Maisie Wilson about a YSJ gardening project that aims to deliver social change.

In this episode YSJ Environment and Social Justice MA student Pax Butchart discusses climate change activism on campus with Maisie Wilson.

In this episode ISJ Psychology student Hayden Costello describes bringing sustainable food systems on to campus by setting up a garden cafe.

In the third conversation about I’m Me, research assistant Daniel Foulds talks to Laura Walne and Jess MacKenzie from About Face Theatre and Alison Colburne and Jess Boyes from Mind the Gap. They talk about making performance that has something to say and has the power to upset people.  

In the second podcast on I’m Me, project lead Matthew Reason talks to Alison Colburne, an artist at Mind the Gap, and Jess Boyes, a producer at Mind the Gap. They explore the reasons why researchers might be reluctant to ask people with learning disabilities difficult questions in research, why asking those questions is important, and how to explore issues sensitively.  

In this first conversation about the I’m Me project, post-doctoral researcher Kelsie Acton talks to Zara Mallinson and Daniel Foulds from Mind the Gap. They talk about Zara and Daniel’s role as research assistants on the project and the challenges and rewards of including people with learning disabilities in inclusive research.  

In this conversation Dr Gary Shepherd and Sam Watling discuss a new research project to provide York-based men's social wellbeing group Menfulness with information on the attitudes, opinions and insights of their service users.

In this second podcast about the NSPCC and York St John University theatre department partnership, Rachel Conlon and Jules Dorey Richmond discuss the It’s Not Love project with Helen Westerman. They consider how the arts can challenge domestic abuse and send positive messages to young people about healthy relationships.

In this podcast, senior theatre lecturers Rachel Conlon and Jules Dorey Richmond are joined by Helen Westerman, head of local campaigns at the NSPCC. In this episode, they explore the long-standing partnership between the NSPCC and York St John University’s theatre department and how their creative and collaborative projects have resonated with audiences of young people nationwide, exploring issue...

York Central is one of the largest developments on Brownfield land in the UK. Located near to York’s railway station, this 45 hectare mixed use site, will change the future of the city. In this podcast, Dr Tom Ratcliffe is joined by Dr Helen Graham and Phil Bixby from York Central Co-owned (YoCo). The discussion explores how  YoCo , a community organisation, are putting in place a democratically c...

In this podcast Dr Everett Ndlovu of York St John University will discuss media, democracy and social justice in Zimbabwe with activist and academic Busi Bhebhe-Ndlovu and journalist and academic Bheki Ncube.

In this podcast Dr Alexandra Dales of York St John University and Dr Rory Padfield, Lecturer in Sustainability and Business at the University of Leeds discuss the role of the creative sector in communicating sustainability and climate change stories.

In this episode Dr Steve Rawle and Dr Martin Hall of York St John University discuss the making of Cost of Living, a timely short film, curated from more than half a century of archive footage, that reflects on the pandemic cycles of economic boom and bust that continue to affect society.

In this podcast York St John MA Media Production student Mpho Dintwa talks to Everett Ndlovu, Lecturer in Journalism. Mpho discusses the making of his award-winning documentary Ties that Bind. The film, which received one of the top prizes at the Sotambe International Film Festival, tells the tale of Michael Dingake, a political activist and writer who was a fellow prisoner of Nelson Mandela in th...

In this podcast, York St John University PhD student Jack Hunter talks to Sophia Parker, director of Emerging Futures at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). They discuss the relationship between the imagination and social action, whether we are experiencing a crisis of imagination, and discuss examples of inspiring activism that are trying to foster radical new ways of imagining the world. Podca...

In this final podcast about the Prison Partnership Project, we hear from two former York St John theatre students – Jordan Towers and Maia McConnell – about how the Prison Partnership Project creates the perfect landscape for students to transition confidently into employment and professional industry roles not only with exceptional experience but also with knowledge and skills in good practice. T...