Discussions about poverty are often marred by pervasive myths that lead us to blame impoverished individuals for their own circumstances. In this episode Juliette Marchant talks to Jeanette Kennett and Allan McCay about the corrosive effects of these poverty myths upon social policy, political discourse and the criminal justice system. Is there potential for reform in a political and legal system that is often criticised for its lack of empathy? Listen to this episode to find out!
About our guests:
Jeanette Kennett is a professor emerita in Philosophy at Macquarie University, Sydney. Her work addresses debates in moral psychology, ethics of friendship, and neuroethics. She joined Macquarie in 2009 as a CoRE joint appointment between the Philosophy Department and the Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science. After completing her PhD in 1994 she spent a further ten years in the Philosophy Department at Monash as Lecturer/Senior Lecturer. From 2004 – 2008 she was Principal Research Fellow in The Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the Australian National University and also at Charles Sturt University (2008-9).
Allan McCay is Co-director of The Sydney Institute of Criminology and an Academic Fellow at the University of Sydney Law School where he lectures in Criminal Law and coordinates the Legal Research units. He is President of the Institute of Neurotechnology and Law and was named by Australasian Lawyer as one of the most influential lawyers of 2021, 2023 and 2024 for his work on neurotechnology and the law.
