When working in frontline practice having the time for, and access to, current research can be difficult. Join Dr Sarah Lonbay and Dr Lesley Deacon as they interview researchers about how their work can be used to inform and develop social work practice. The show is for anyone who is interested in social work and for anyone who wants to keep up to date with the latest research and use this to inform their practice. The Portal Podcast explores the work of a different social sciences researcher in each episode and aims to support people to access, understand, and make use of research.

In this episode, Sarah and Lesley speak with Dr. Rick Bowler about his paper ‘Whiteness, Britishness and the Racist Reality of Brexit’ (you can read this paper and Rick's other work via the University of Sunderland SURE research repository). Rick has retired since we recorded this interview, but at the time of the conversation Rick was working at the University of Sunderland as a Senior Lecturer. Rick has a background in a range of professional fields, including mental health, youth justice, substance misuse, youth work and community development.

Rick’s paper (and this podcast episode) focuses on the ongoing reality of British Racism and explores this within the context of Brexit. Rick challenges the racial frictions that are woven into the Brexit debate and offers insights into how to “trouble” and push back against a privileging social system of whiteness. This conversation is a must listen for social workers within which we talked to Rick about racism, the power of words and meaning, and the role of the critical practitioner as a social educator to retain an ethical commitment to anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice.

The music is called “Together We’re Stronger” by All Music Seven (All7 Studios). Production and editing by PaperGhosts.

The Portal Podcast is funded by the University of Sunderland.