Urban Radar

33. CLEANING UP THE CITY: Waste-lands in Mumbai and Lagos (+moving capitals, +renaming cities, +urban running events and more)

In this month's episode, Beth and Tom reflect on UN World Clean-up Day, inviting Deji Akinpelu (Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development (CHSD) University of L

32. INDIGENOUS URBANISM AND YOUTH: fluid geographies in Latin America, +Ceuta, +cats and dogs, +marine heatwaves, +population surge and more

In this month's episode, Beth and Tom mark World Indigenous Peoples' Day and the International Day of Youth with Dr Philipp Horn, School of Geography and Planni

31. INSIDE URBAN STUDIES: Voices from RC21, +chokepoint cities, +Binface, +bar brawls, +polo clubs and more

In July's radar, we report back from one of the major urban studies conferences - RC21 - which is held every two years in different cities across the world. Bringing

30. URBAN CHARITY RETHOUGHT: A conversation with Nicola Banks

In this month's feature Tom and Beth are joined by Professor Nicola Banks from the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester to discuss One World Togeth

29. BREXIT, AUSTERITY AND YOUTH FUTURES: Ten years later, +unbounding zoos, +war with Russia, +street 'goons' in Kenya, +banned flags in Oxfordshire and more

In this episode Tom and Beth are joined by Professor Sarah Marie Hall from the University of Manchester to reflect on ten years since Brexit and specifically how austerit

28. RIVER/CITY: A conversation with Olivia Casagrande and Roberto Monte-Mór

High up in the Andes mountain range, two rivers begin their journeys. Starting in the El Plomo hill, one becomes the Mapocho river travelling though Chile into Santiago,

27. MAKING A PRIME MINISTER IN MAKERFIELD? Predicting election results, +Ebola in African cities, +domestic worker activism, +global sand crisis, +housing and the World Urban Forum and more

In this episode Beth and Tom are joined by Dr Lotte Hargrave from the University of Manchester to discuss whether psephology - the study of elections and voting behaviour

26. COMPARATIVE LEARNING THROUGH COMMUNITY EXCHANGE: A conversation with Jack Makau and Temilade Sesan

In this episode - recorded on location in Kampala, Uganda during an African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) workshop in late April - we delve into questions of how urba

25. ASYMMETRIC URBANISM: Pushback in Portland, +Palantir in Sheffield, +dunking in Trento, +adopting cities, +Pope vs Trump and more

In this episode, Beth and Tom are joined by Ryan Bellinson, researcher/civil servant living in Portland, Oregon, US, to discuss how residents and community groups can mob

24. CHAOS AND DESIRE IN THE CITY: A conversation with Tanya Zack and Tanzil Shafique

Come with us to Johannesburg and Dhaka in this month's feature. Visit the markets and stalls of Jeppe, in inner city Johannesburg, a dynamic ecosystem of informal tr

23. PROPERTY AND URBICIDE: Housing in Lebanon, +Nairobi floods, +Banksy, +scam centres, +Habermas and more

This month, Tom and Beth are joined by Hannah Sender, University of Sheffield, and Mariam Bazzi, Beirut Urban Lab to discuss how propertied families in small towns in Leb

22. CRISIS, PUBLIC HEALTH & THE CITY: A conversation with Cristina Temenos

In this episode Beth and Tom are joined by Cristina Temenos from the University of Manchester to discuss a wide range of issues from trust in medicine, responses to COVID

21. URBAN ROBOTICS BY STEALTH: Driverless vehicles, + Epstein, + Royals, + drug cartels, + immigration and more

In this episode Tom and Beth are joined by Professor Aidan While from the University of Sheffield to explore how robotic urban infrastructures are already reshaping every

20. SEEING THE CITY: A discussion with Junia Mortimer and Felipe Magalhaes

In this episode Tom and Beth are joined by visiting researchers to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester, Junia Mortimer and Felipe Magalhães.  They discuss: How

19. THE NEW URBAN GEOPOLITICS: Inside Caracas + urban Greenland, + embassies and disinformation in London, + neighbourhood governance and more

In this first episode of Series 2 of Urban Radar, Beth and Tom start to tackle some of the many ways in which the current moment of geopolitical turmoil is filtering down

Series 2 Urban Radar: Trailer

Urban Radar is a podcast series which reflects on current events and emerging trends through the lens of cities and urban life.   Launched in 2025, Urban Radar hit the U

18: WRAP UP, REFLECTION & REVEAL (+ Care and the city, +Aussie social media ban, +urban themes of the year and much more...)

This month, we (Beth and Tom) are podding alone, using the final episode of the year to reflect on some of the big themes we’ve discussed in 2025 as well as on the proces

17: CHILD LABOUR AND DISINFORMATION (+immigration policy, +COP30 in Belem, +ticket touts, +urban statistics and more…)

In this episode we are joined by Professor Julia Moses to consider the working lives and rights of children, and then Dr Dani Madrid-Morales to discuss disinformation and

16: CHINA, THE GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE RACE AND ITS URBAN IMPACTS - A panel with Jon Silver, Zhengli Huang and Linda Westman

In this feature, Tom and Beth discuss the Global Infrastructure Race with colleagues from the Urban Institute (UI), recorded live as part of the UI’s 10 year anniversary

15: GREEN RESURGENCE & GAZA RECONSTRUCTION (+Brexit, +rats, +Louvre heist, +AI Friend and more)

Released to coincide with World Cities Day on 31 October, this episode sees Beth and Tom first joined by Prof. Matthew Flinders (26:09) to discuss what the rise in fortun