Universal Podcast of Human Rights BPP Human Rights

In this episode, Lara Zand speaks with Professor Karen Pita Loor of Boston University, whose work focuses on protest policing and police violence. They discuss important developments in US state-enacted protest legislation, the wildly different interactions of left-leaning and right-leaning demonstrations with law enforcement and the implications of this year’s election for the future of collective action. 



Episode recorded: March 2024



Produced by Lara Zand and Johnley Videna

Research by Lara Zand

Edited by Lara Zand



All clips are from the US National Archives and are of presidential speeches.

In this episode, Lara Zand speaks with Dr Pauline Trouillard, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Rennes and affiliated fellow of Yale Law School. They discuss the relationship between police and protestor in recent demonstrations in France, compare protest culture in France and the US, and examine the future of ECHR rights in France. 

 

Episode recorded: February 2024

 

Produced by Lara Zand and Johnley Videna

Research by Lara Zand

Edited by Lara Zand

In this episode, Lara Zand speaks with Katy Watts, a human rights lawyer at Liberty, a civil liberties group in the UK. They discuss political attacks on protest, recent influential judgments that will be particularly significant for collective action in the UK going forward, and Liberty’s case against the Home Secretary, which Katy leads.  

 

Liberty has since been successful in their challenge against the Home Secretary, with the High Court ruling that the introduction of police powers to impose conditions on protests causing ‘more than minor’ disruption was unlawful.

 

Episode recorded: April 2024

 

Produced by Lara Zand and Johnley Videna

Research by Lara Zand

Edited by Lara Zand

In this episode, Lara Zand speaks with Professor David Mead, who teaches human rights at the University of East Anglia. They discuss the implications of new legislation targeting protest, recent changes in the ways that collective action is carried out in the UK and the influence of the media narrative on public perception of protest.

 

Episode recorded: March 2024

 

Produced by Lara Zand and Johnley Videna

Research by Lara Zand

Edited by Lara Zand

To raise awareness on Anti-Slavery Day, we are publishing this episode in which Emily Hobhouse speaks with Dr Júlia Tomás the Anti-Slavery Coordinator at The Passage, a homelessness charity based in Westminster fiercely fighting for the rights and livelihoods of survivors of modern slavery. Dr Tomas poignantly talks about the intersection between homelessness and modern slavery, the mechanisms in place to support victims of trafficking, and the changes the system desperately needs.

Episode recorded: April 2022

Produced by Emily Hobhouse

Research by Chloe L Marshall, Nikhil Sharma, Tinesha Renee Miller and Emily Hobhouse

Edited by Henry Green

Produced by students at BPP University, with the BPP Pro Bono Centre - Human Rights Unit

In this episode, Hannah Anson speaks with Professor Thom Brooks, an award winning author, policy adviser and columnist and the Dean of Durham Law School. They discuss the Life in the UK Citizenship Test and explore questions of “British” identity, nationalism and what it means to be a citizen.

Produced by Hannah Anson and Sam Grimley

Research by Reeya Gadhvana, Vanessa Gunn, Liisa Maria Julkunen and Hannah Anson

Music composed by Sam Grimley

Edited by Hannah Anson

Produced by students at BPP University, with the BPP Pro Bono Centre - Human Rights Unit