Alistair Fraser to bring his research to BBC Radio 3 as a New Generation Thinker

The SCCJR’s Alistair Fraser (University of Glasgow) has been confirmed as one of  this year’s BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinkers.

Dr Fraser, whose research focuses on issues of youth and crime in a global context, beat off competition from across the UK to be one of 10 early-career researchers selected for the scheme, which is run in association with the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

The aim is to bring fascinating research to a wider audience through BBC broadcasts, and the judges were wowed by Dr Fraser’s proposal for a radio programme exploring representations and realities of youth gangs in three very different cities: Glasgow, Chicago, and Hong Kong.

This is not the first time Dr Fraser’s work has been recognised by the BBC. Last year his book Urban Legends: Gang Identity in the Post-Industrial City was among six shortlisted for The Ethnography Award, which is presented by BBC Radio 4’s Thinking Allowed in association with the British Sociological Association. The same book shared last year’s British Society of Criminology book prize with a title by another SCCJR member, Beth Weaver (Offending and Desistance: The Importance of Social Relations).

He appeared alongside the other successful academics at the Free Thinking Festival in Gateshead in March, and on Free Thinking on April 4 (listen from 6min15). Watch this space for news of further broadcasts later in the year.