Urban Radar
Urban Radar is a podcast series brought to you by Professors Tom Goodfellow and Beth Perry, which reflects on current events and emerging trends through the lens of cities and urban life. Drawing on the unique range of urban expertise in the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester, we place urban dynamics at the centre of contemporary global affairs.
Feedback:
Email: urbanradarpod@gmail.com
Instagram: @urbanradarpodcast
Credits:
Podcast production, presentation & editing: Tom Goodfellow & Beth Perry
Post-production editing & marketing: Polly Clifton
Production support: Jack Clayton
Distribution, promotion & marketing: Vicky Simpson
Music: Horizon (music by Tom Goodfellow, produced by Alan Thomson); Falling Down (music by Tom Goodfellow, performed by the Dice, produced by Alan Thomson); Ghosts (music by the Dice; produced by Alan Thompson); Kilimanjaro (music by Tom Goodfellow, produced by Alan Thompson).
Supported by the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester.
Urban Radar
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 process of making Urban Radar. We start with our monthly radar for December, dipping into three current stories each as usual.
Following this we offer some quick-fire thoughts on a number of issues and themes that have resurfaced repeatedly throughout the year and remain prominent as it draws to a close. Finally, we consider some of the highlights of podcasting itself, before unveiling a surprise in store for Series 2…
On our monthly radar for December:
- Care work and the city - from the UK’s current ‘carers scandal’ to Bogota’s care blocks
- Urban ‘brandalism’, ZAP games and ‘subtervising’ (confused? Head to 9:15 to find out…)
- The decline of trial by jury in the UK and what this might mean for urban justice and efforts to overcome spatial, class and linguistic bias
- America’s new National Security Strategy and how this connects to Trump’s war on urban diversity
- The Australian social media ban and its potentially different ramifications in urban vs rural areas
- Syrian cities one year after the fall of Assad
On our rapid fire ‘radar of radars’, we consider:
- Military coups and their urban implications
- Technology and public space
- Flag urbanism and the branding of the city
- The UK-Denmark anti-migration love-in
- Solidarity, belonging and ‘urban lawfare’
- The entanglements of local infrastructure and global finance
- Urban warfare, critical minerals and strongman diplomacy
Read More
Caring Cities: Towards a Public Urban Culture of Care?
Dismantling the advertising city: Subvertising and the urban commons to come
Hosts:
Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441)
Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)
Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com
You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast
Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast.