{"podcast":{"title":"New Books in Critical Theory","slug":"new-books-in-critical-theory-962622","podcast_index_feed_id":962622,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LIT8251633117","website_url":"https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/politics-society/critical-theory/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/2bb9f934-ef86-11e8-8d0f-63a25e571335/image/abfb67777e548da6b9f81c74ecfb67a9.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"New Books Network","episode_count":2340,"summary":"This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetwork Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory","last_synced_at":"2026-09-15T16:20:49.073825+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-critical-theory-962622"},"episode":{"title":"Paul Johnson, \"Challenging Inequalities: How We Got Stuck and Where We Go Next\" (Princeton UP, 2026)","slug":"paul-johnson-challenging-inequalities-how-we-got-stuck-and-where-we-go-next-princeton-up-2026","published_at":"2026-08-26T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-critical-theory-962622/paul-johnson-challenging-inequalities-how-we-got-stuck-and-where-we-go-next-princeton-up-2026","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-critical-theory-962622","url":"https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK5634989353.mp3","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK5634989353.mp3","summary":"There is a widespread sense throughout the developed world that progress towards a better society has stalled. Many countries, including the UK, have experienced persistent economic stagnation accompanied by declining trust in institutions. Governments are struggling to respond not only to traditional economic problems but also to newer challenges posed by climate change, migration and technological change. Challenging Inequalities: How We Got Stuck and Where We Go Next (Princeton University Press, 2026), written by Paul Johnson and coauthors, drawing on the findings of the six-year IFS Deaton Review, connects these conditions to inequality—inequality not just of income and wealth but of health, political participation and opportunity. It not only offers a detailed analysis of the different forms of inequalities but also an in-depth consideration of why inequalities matter, how they have changed and what can, or should, be done about them. The book explains the enduring effects of early life experiences and education and examines the trends in employment and earnings over recent decades. It argues that economic stagnation since the financial crises of 2008–2009 has exposed inequalities originating in the 1980s. Not only have incomes stagnated, but so has progress towards reducing health inequalities and dealing with inequalities across gender, ethnicity, geography, age and educational level. The combination of earnings inequality and economic stagnation has led to the growing importance of wealth, the increasing concentration of economic power in an older generation and a decline in social mobility. Economic inequalities have also resulted directly in dangerous differences between regions and in political power across groups. The need to address inequality has nev…","meta_description":"There is a widespread sense throughout the developed world that progress towards a better society has stalled. Many countries, including the UK, have expe…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3051,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-in-critical-theory-962622/episodes/paul-johnson-challenging-inequalities-how-we-got-stuck-and-where-we-go-next-princeton-up-2026/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-critical-theory-962622/paul-johnson-challenging-inequalities-how-we-got-stuck-and-where-we-go-next-princeton-up-2026.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}