We Can Work It Out

In this episode of the We Can Work It Out podcast, Dr Jonathan Lord is joined by labour historian John Mann to explore one of the most significant yet overlooked industrial disputes in British labour history: the Bliss Mill Strike of 1913–14. Based on years of archival research, local history and family records, John reconstructs the story of a strike that transformed the Oxfordshire market town o...

In this episode of the We Can Work It Out podcast , Dr Jonathan Lord is joined by historian, journalist and political writer David Torrance to discuss his new book The Edge of Revolution: The General Strike that Shook Britain . Together, they explore one of the most dramatic moments in modern British history and ask whether Britain in May 1926 really stood on the brink of constitutional crisis and...

A hundred years after the General Strike of 1926, the questions it raised still refuse to disappear. What happens when millions of workers decide they have had enough? How does the state respond when key industries stop functioning? Is industrial action simply an economic dispute, or does it become something much larger, a challenge to authority, legitimacy and political power itself? These are th...

For nine days in May 1926, Britain stopped. Trains stood still, factories fell silent, newspapers disappeared and millions of workers walked out in what remains the only truly national general strike in British history. Nearly a century later, the General Strike still raises difficult questions about power, solidarity, democracy and the limits of collective action. In this episode of the We Can Wo...

In this episode of the We Can Work It Out podcast , I speak with Professor Gregor Gall , one of the most influential scholars of industrial relations in the UK, to move beyond the media image and examine the deeper story behind Mick Lynch , not as a caricature or a headline figure, but as someone shaped by a particular set of historical, social and political experiences that matter just as much as...

In this episode of We Can Work It Out , we are joined by leading scholars Professor Rebecca Zahn and Professor Miriam Kullmann. We explore how exile, gender, and the hidden labour of academia shaped not only one career, but the foundations of British labour law itself. We uncover the overlooked story of Liesel Kahn Freund, a woman whose life and work sat at the heart of one of labour law’s most in...

In this powerful episode of We Can Work It Out , we mark four years since the mass dismissal of 786 seafarers by P&O Ferries—an event that continues to reverberate across the maritime sector and beyond. Drawing on the launch of a major new research report, this episode brings together firsthand testimony, academic analysis, and policy insight to examine what really happened on 17 March 2022—an...

In the newest episode of the  We Can Work It Out  podcast takes us to the picket line at the  National Coal Mining Museum for England , where workers supported by  UNISON  have been engaged in a prolonged industrial dispute. This episode is different from the usual studio discussions. It was recorded on location, speaking directly to the workers who keep the museum running and preserve the history...

This episode’s guests are Iftikhar Ahmad and Asghar Jameel, authors of the ‘Islamic Labour Code’, a groundbreaking framework that seeks to reconcile Qur’anic principles with contemporary employment law. Iftikhar Ahmad is an international labour-law scholar, policy advisor, and the founder of the Centre for Labour Research. He also works as the Global Lead – Labour Law at the WageIndicator Foundati...

This episode’s guest is John Lansdown, one of 786 seafarers dismissed by P&O Ferries on 17th March 2022, one of the most shocking corporate acts in modern British employment history. After over 15 years of loyal service, he and his colleagues were abruptly fired via pre-recorded video, a move designed to replace experienced British crews with low-paid agency workers, many earning below the UK...

In this episode of We Can Work It Out , we explore the history of the UK employment tribunal system and ask a deceptively simple question: how did Britain move from collective dispute resolution rooted in trade unions to an increasingly individualised, legalistic model of workplace justice? My guest is Professor Susan Corby, Emeritus Professor of Employment Relations at the University of Greenwich...

In Episode 4 of We Can Work It Out , I was joined by Professor Douglas Brodie, one of the UK’s leading scholars of labour and employment law, to explore the long and contested history of British labour law from 1867 to 1945. Drawing on his seminal book A History of British Labour Law, 1867–1945 , our conversation traced how the legal regulation of work emerged, how it was shaped by social struggle...

In this episode of We Can Work It Out , Dr Jonathan Lord is joined by Professor Richard Hyman, one of the most influential figures in the study of industrial and employment relations. Across a wide-ranging and reflective conversation, Richard draws on more than five decades of scholarship to examine why questions of power, control and resistance remain central to working life, even as the forms of...

In this episode of We Can Work It Out , Dr. Jonathan Lord speaks with Paul Embery—trade unionist, writer, firefighter, and author of Despised: Why the Left Loathes the Working Class . Drawing on decades of frontline experience in the Fire Brigades Union and a lifetime rooted in East London’s working-class communities, Paul examines the growing cultural and political divide between the modern left...

Episode 2 of the We Can Work It Out podcast is out tomorrow. Here's another preview with Paul Embery discussing how Trade Unions need to get back to face to face dialogue in the workplace and explain to workers as to why unions are so relevant to their lives. Enjoy the discussion in full on 12/12/25.

In this episode of We Can Work It Out , Dr. Jonathan Lord speaks with Paul Embery—trade unionist, writer, firefighter, and author of Despised: Why the Left Loathes the Working Class . Drawing on decades of frontline experience in the Fire Brigades Union and a lifetime rooted in East London’s working-class communities, Paul examines the growing cultural and political divide between the modern left...

In this episode of We Can Work It Out , Dr. Jonathan Lord speaks with Paul Embery—trade unionist, writer, firefighter, and author of Despised: Why the Left Loathes the Working Class . Drawing on decades of frontline experience in the Fire Brigades Union and a lifetime rooted in East London’s working-class communities, Paul examines the growing cultural and political divide between the modern left...

In this maiden episode of 'We Can Work It Out,' Dr Jonathan Lord interviews Professor Ralph Darlington, a leading scholar in industrial relations and labor history. They explore the significant labor activism that occurred in Britain from 1910 to 1914, a period marked by unprecedented strikes and collective action among workers. Darlington discusses the role of key industries, the tensions between...

In this episode of 'We Can Work It Out,' Dr. Jonathan Lord interviews Professor Ralph Darlington, a leading scholar in industrial relations and labor history. They explore the significant labor activism that occurred in Britain from 1910 to 1914, a period marked by unprecedented strikes and collective action among workers. Darlington discusses the role of key industries, the tensions between grass...

In this maiden episode of 'We Can Work It Out,' Dr. Jonathan Lord interviews Professor Ralph Darlington, a leading scholar in industrial relations and labor history. They explore the significant labor activism that occurred in Britain from 1910 to 1914, a period marked by unprecedented strikes and collective action among workers. Darlington discusses the role of key industries, the tensions betwee...

In this episode of 'We Can Work It Out,' Dr. Jonathan Lord interviews Professor Ralph Darlington, a leading scholar in industrial relations and labor history. They explore the significant labor activism that occurred in Britain from 1910 to 1914, a period marked by unprecedented strikes and collective action among workers. Darlington discusses the role of key industries, the tensions between grass...

In this episode of 'We Can Work It Out,' Dr. Jonathan Lord interviews Professor Ralph Darlington, a leading scholar in industrial relations and labor history. They explore the significant labor activism that occurred in Britain from 1910 to 1914, a period marked by unprecedented strikes and collective action among workers. Darlington discusses the role of key industries, the tensions between grass...