School of Criminology launches new podcast to tackle hate crime

A new podcast series created by the University of Leicester’s Centre for Hate Studies takes a deep dive into the causes behind hate online and offline and how they can be tackled.

‘Hidden Hate’ is a series of four podcasts hosted by expert University of Leicester criminologists, Professor Neil Chakraborti and Dr Amy Clarke.

The series brings together a diverse range of voices that include practitioners, activists and academics to share their expertise and experiences of hate.

In each episode, Neil and Amy speak to two experts to gain a better understanding of hate against specific groups in society and explore solutions.

The first episode of ‘Hidden Hate’ was released on 1 September 2022 and is titled Hate in the Digital World.

Professor Matt Williams (Cardiff University), director of HateLab, joins Dr Ashton Kingdon (University of Southampton) to discuss cyberhate and online extremism.

Hating Immigrants features Gurpreet Kaur, the founder of BLM in the Stix, and expert on extremism and Islamophobia Dr Chris Allen (University of Leicester).

In Hating Disability, University of Leicester’s Dr David Wilkin and Dr Erin Pritchard (Liverpool Hope University) talk about their experiences as victims, activists and academics.

The final episode, Hating Women, features former Nottinghamshire Chief Constable, Sue Fish, who has championed making misogyny a hate crime, and Gina Martin, known for her campaign to criminalise upskirting in the UK.

Host Professor Chakraborti, Director of the Centre for Hate Studies at the University of Leicester, said, “This series shines a light on themes which have become all too urgent within a climate of increasing hostility, division and instability.

“As well as giving us the opportunity to probe difficult and topical questions about ‘hidden hate’, each episode features leading voices whose ideas provide a sense of hope and inspiration for a better future.”

Host, Dr Amy Clarke added, “We created this podcast for anyone who wants to learn more about issues of hate, and who perhaps wants to make a positive difference by being a good ally and bystander.

“There are so many themes we could have, and wanted to cover in this series but we hope we’ve chosen topics that resonate with our audience in a variety of ways.”

The podcast is being produced by Chaos Created and will be available via the Hidden Hate Podcast website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.