Wood for the Trees
A podcast about the messy questions. Hosted by Cait Macleod. In each episode, Cait explores a controversial contemporary issue by interviewing guests with opposing opinions. https://www.cantseethewood.com/
S1 E9 · Fri, July 14, 2023
Kill the Bill with Kevin Blowe
In early 2021, the UK government introduced a wide-ranging crime and policing bill that included a number of measures related to protests. In response, thousands of people marched on cities across the country, demanding that parliament kill the bill. Their view was that the proposed laws would give police too much power to shut down protests. That bill is now law. Cait speaks to Kevin Blowe from The Network for Police Monitoring about the impact of the new law. Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
S1 E8 · Fri, June 16, 2023
Protest policing in South Africa with Busisiwe Zasekhaya
South Africa has been called 'the protest capital of the world' but it has also been the site of brutal protest policing - both pre and post the advent of democracy. I spoke to Busisiwe Zasekhaya, formerly of Right2Protest, to understand the state of protest policing in the country. Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
S1 E7 · Tue, May 16, 2023
How to police a protest with Edward Maguire
The police have a duty to protect our right to protest while maintaining public safety. Too often they get the balance wrong. Edward Maguire is a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Arizona State University and the author of a guidebook on policing protests safely. He talks to Cait about crowd psychology, the history of protest policing, and his advice for police who take on these challenging events. Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
Bonus · Wed, May 03, 2023
Prison Reform: An African Perspective with Prof Lukas Muntingh
Prof Muntingh is the Director of the Dullah Omar Institute, a human rights organisation based in Cape Town, South Africa. He's been involved in criminal justice reform for three decades. We spoke about: Wins and fails in African criminal justice The cheapest way to cut crime Tackling torture in prisons And even why a man was imprisoned for burying his cat. Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
S1 E5 · Tue, April 18, 2023
The Compassionate Prosecutor
Professor Mark Osler used to push for heavy sentences for narcotics trafficking as a federal prosecutor. Now he helps prisoners petition for clemency. How's that for a plot twist? In this episode we discuss: - Whether the justice system can have an impact on drug use - Why narcotics should be treated more like white collar crime - The notion of compassionate prosecution. Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
S1 E4 · Mon, March 27, 2023
The Abolitionist and The Prison Warden
Prison is supposed to protect, deter, and rehabilitate. But what if isn't a very effective way of doing those things? My guests offer two different visions of how the prison system could be re-imagined - including a glimpse of a Norwegian prison that looks nicer than most college dorms. Featuring Dr David Scott - abolitionism activist and scholar from the Open University Are Hoidal - former warden of Halden Prison in Norway Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
Trailer · Thu, March 23, 2023
Trailer Episode 4: The Abolitionist and The Prison Warden
Prisons don't do what we want them to do. Should we ditch them? Or perhaps reimagine them? Cait speaks to abolitionist and criminologist David Scott about why he hopes for a world without prisons. Then she interviews Are Hoidal, former warden of Halden Prison in Norway, about a different approach to imprisonment that seems to yield better results. Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
Bonus · Thu, March 02, 2023
Bonus episode: Can psychedelic therapy eradicate depression?
A conversation with Ronan Levy, industry pioneer and CEO of Field Trip Health, a company that offers psychedelic-enhanced psychotherapy. Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
Trailer · Thu, February 23, 2023
Trailer Episode 3: Getting to the Bottom of Drug Policy
Drugs kill hundreds of thousands of people a year. The war on drugs hasn't solved the problem. Could legalisation be the answer? Featuring: Dr Keith Scott - retired general practitioner and co-founder of the South African Drug Policy Initiative Jonathan Caulkins - professor of public policy at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College and co-director at RAND's Drug Policy Research Center Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
S1 E3 · Thu, February 23, 2023
Legalise? Decriminalise? Ban? Getting to the Bottom of Drug Policy
Drugs kill hundreds of thousands of people a year. The war on drugs hasn't solved the problem. Could legalisation be the answer? Featuring: Dr Keith Scott - retired general practitioner and co-founder of the South African Drug Policy Initiative Jonathan Caulkins - professor of public policy at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College and co-director at RAND's Drug Policy Research Center Music by: Lexin Music from Pixabay Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
S1 E2 · Thu, January 26, 2023
The Prevent Duty
The Prevent Duty is a legal obligation placed on authorities in the UK, including teachers, to identify and report signs of radicalisation. The goal is to stop people from being indoctrinated by terrorist ideologies. But activists argue that the policy infringes on civil liberties and intrudes on the lives of young people. Featuring: Professor Steven Greer - a scholar of human rights and counter-terrorism Professor John Holmwood - sociologist and co-chair of the People's Review of Prevent Artwork by Danielle Khoury Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
Trailer · Wed, January 25, 2023
Trailer Episode 2: The Prevent Duty
The Prevent Duty: Countering Terror or Terrorising the Innocent? Featuring human rights scholar and counter-terrorism expert Professor Steven Greer and Professor John Holmwood, sociologist and co-chair of the People's Review of Prevent. Available from 26 January 2023. Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
S1 E1 · Fri, January 06, 2023
Defund, Refund, Reform? The Unsolved Problem of Police Violence
After the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in 2020, the call from protestors was to defund the police. Since then, media coverage of this debate has waned but the problem of police violence hasn't gone anywhere. Cait interviews reformer Arthur Rizer and "defunder" Alex Vitale to unpack the arguments on both sides. Interviewees: Alex Vitale - Author of The End of Policing, professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, visiting professor at London South Bank University, coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project. Arthur Rizer - Conservative criminal justice consultant, adjunct professor at George Mason Law School, former soldier, police officer and federal prosecutor. Art by : Danielle Khoury Music by: Lexin Music from Pixabay Sources: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/prevalence-white-supremacists-law-enforcement-demands-drastic-change-2022-05-12/ https://www.economist.com/special-report/2022/09/12/the-public-wants-to-refund-not-defund-the-police https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-05-27/the-politics-of-policing https://www.npr.org/2021/11/02/1051617581/minneapolis-police-vote https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/us/orlando-6-year-old-arrested.html https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14624745211045652 Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
Trailer · Wed, January 04, 2023
Trailer Episode 1: Defund, Refund, Reform?
Defund, Refund or Reform? The Unsolved Problem of Police Violence. Featuring cop turned conservative policy expert Arthur Rizer and Alex Vitale, one of the leading voices in the movement to defund the police. Available from 11 January. Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
Fri, November 05, 2021
What can be done about South Africa's drinking problem?
This episode comes from a discontinued podcast called Debatable. When the South African government banned all sale of alcohol during lockdown, there were reports of blissfully empty emergency wards. Only 31% of South Africans over the age of 15 drink alcohol but the amount of alcohol consumed per drinker per day is over double the global average. Cait interviews Professor Charles Parry (Director of the Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council) to discuss the impact of binge drinking in South Africa, the role of the alcohol lobby and the tried-and-tested practical solutions available to policymakers. Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
Thu, October 14, 2021
The F Word
This episode comes from a discontinued podcast called Debatable. The relationship between fat and health is often presented as linear but there are activists and medical professionals who argue that things are far more complex. In this episode, Cait asks: Does being fat always mean you're unhealthy? Should fatness carry shame? Is 'curing' obesity as simple as changing your lifestyle? Should society change to accommodate bigger bodies? And how does fatness interact with other social justice issues like racism, disability and feminism? Guests include fat liberation activist Jackie Maris, journalist Lizzie Cernik (who wrote this Guardian article titled 'It's not fine to be fat) and the scientific director of Obesity Canada, Dr Arya Sharma. Support the show For background reading and a list of references, visit cantseethewood.com
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