The Policy Plug

This week's episode marks the Policy Plug's first episode for the new semester, and its second ever Policy Centre-led episode, spearheaded by the Defence and Diplomacy Centre at King's Think Tank. Anne Debie, a Working Group Researcher in the D&D PC, interviews Dr Ben Jones, a Teaching Fellow in European Foreign Policy at King's College London. The interview focuses on Dr Jones' research work regarding defence cooperation and security issues that confront the European Union, in light of recent international developments such as the AUKUS deal. 

This week's episode marks the Policy Plug's first ever Policy Centre-led episode, and is spearheaded by the Energy and Environment Centre at King's Think Tank. Lucas D'Alva Duchrow, Editor at the E&E PC, interviews Dr Majed Akhter, a BBC New Generation Thinker and Senior Lecturer in Environment and Society at King's College London. The interview focuses on Dr Akhter's pioneering policy work, examining the political ramifications of natural resources management. The episode concludes with a brief plenary on the process behind the intervew, as well as on the broader work being undertaken by the E&E PC at King's Think Tank

This week's episode focuses on opportunities for student participation in the development and implementation of education policy at King's College London. Joseph Wiltshire, Pasha Wilson and Myra Chauhan, three students currently spearheading the 'Keep it Real' campaign at KCL, join us to discuss the motivation behind the movement; the policy issues at the heart of online and 'blended' face-to-face learning; the experiences of university students and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on equality in and access to education. 

This week's episode focuses on the UK Government's New Plan for Immigration and proposed Nationality and Borders Bill. Dr Leonie Ansems de Vries, a Reader in International Politics and Chair of the Migration Research Group at King's College London, joins us to discuss the implications of this legislation and its broader policy framework on current routes of asylum and on broader integration processes in the country. The episode touches on a variety of issues, including the legacies of Hostile Environment; representations of migrants and refugees in mainstream media, as well as existing and developing avenues for oversight, activism and reform.

This week commemorates the podcast's first double feature, containing two episodes spotlighting the policy work undertaken by our current Policy Centre Directors and their teams. This episode, in particular, focuses on the geopolitical implications of the AUKUS security pact through a conversation with Alainah Amer, Natalia Vasnier and Noah Trowbridge. This is followed by an interview with Anais Julin and Noemi Amelynck from The Econogy Project, an NGO based in France specializing in sustainable economic development. The interview formally introduces a collaborative project between The Econogy Project and King's Think Tank, and explores various issues related to the enforcement of sustainable development objectives in developing countries.

This week commemorates the podcast's first double feature, containing two episodes spotlighting the policy work undertaken by our current Policy Centre Directors and their teams. This episode, in particular, focuses on the role of education in facilitating environmental awareness, and on the interface between global health, technology and innovation. Participants include Coralie Belair, Justin Choo, Irene Perez Beltran and Josh Ewell. 

This week marks the re-introduction of the Policy Plug under a new-host, Udit Mahalingam, vice-president of the King's Think Tank for the upcoming academic year. The epsiode begins with a brief synopsis of the KTT's activities during summer before transitioning into an interview with current president, Juliette Aikman, discussing the core values associated with the policy institute and the current avenues availale to students who are interested in participating in the society.

This week we look back at the past year by interviewing the outgoing president, Matias Salo, on his highlights and impressions from being in the leadership of Europe's largest student-led policy institute. The incoming president and vice-president, Juliette Aikman and Udit Mahalingam, are also interviewed and introduced. Concluding is a brief reflection from all policy centre directors, head editors, communication officer, and social secretary on their favourite moments of KTT in the past year.

This week we discuss the politics of commemoration by questioning how history can be contested, what are the importance of statues, and what does it mean to decolonise a landscape. We interview Dr Simon Sleight, KCL Reader in Urban History, Historical Youth Cultures and Australian History, to provide some answers. Lauren Fernandes, President of the Decolonise KCL Society at King's College London, is also interviewed to explain what it means to decolonise an institution.

This week we introduce the policy centre Technology and Innovation and discuss the NHS Track and Trace app with Dr. Rachael Kent, KCL lecturer in Digital Economy and Society Education. The interview revolves around data accumulation, the app's efficacy and future, and the role of the individual in public health policy. Commencing the episode is a brief interview with two of the policy centre members, Aneta Swianiewicz and Medina Putri.

With the transition period over, this week we talk about the official Brexit deal brokered on 24.12.2020. Professor Anand Menon, KCL Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs and Director of the think tank UK in a Changing Europe, discusses how the deal compares to promises made in the 2016 referendum, the future of UK-EU relations and UK trade policy, and how the deal affects devolution within the United Kingdom.

We introduce the policy centre Education through a brief interview with the Policy Centre Director Andoni Hormaza Nunes who will explain the work his policy centre has been conducting this past semester and where the focus will lie in 2021. Followed by an interview by Udit Mahalingam with Dr William Morris, Secretary-General of Next Century Foundation, a think-tank dedicated to peace-building in conflict zones.

In this episode we discuss the 2020 US elections. First, Rachel Grand, a grassroots campaigner for the Biden-Harris ticket in Washington D.C., discusses the lack of a Blue Wave, the reliability of polls, and the polarisation of US society. Then Dr. Christine Mathias, Lecturer in Modern Latin American History at King's College London, discusses the importance of the Latinx community in the US electorate, and how the Latinx vote related to Trump's campaign. Finally, we discuss the potential future of American foreign policy under a Biden presidency with Carly Greenfield, who is currently working on borders in the Americas focussing on law enforcement and immigration.

This week focuses on sustainability around consumption trends. The Policy Centre Energy and Environment is introduced through a discussion with working group member, Irene Perez Beltran. Co-Founder of Carbon Tag and KCL student Leonardo Vizioli is interviewed on the potential of carbon tracing and providing consumers with their products' carbon emission data. Jeanne Begon-Lours, Co-Founder of UNV and KCL student, discusses the problems behind the fast fashion industry and how she is trying to tackle that with UNV.

This episode discusses the UK's Internal Markets Bill and introduces King's Think Tank's policy centre European Affairs. There is a brief interview with the policy centre director of European Affairs, Jonas Decker, who talks about the first event King's Think Tank hosted this year and what research areas his policy centre will be focusing on. This is followed by an interview with Dr. Andrew Blick, the Head of the Department of Political Economy at King's College London, where we discuss the UK's recent Internal Markets Bill, how the UK broke international law, and how the Northern Ireland Protocol is involved.

The premier episode of King's Think Tank's official podcast: The Policy Plug. Vice-President and host of the podcast, Katharina Fletcher, interviews KTT's President for the upcoming academic year. They discuss King's Think Tank generally and offer their perspectives on the student experience in the context of covid-19.