The Human Risk Podcast19 Mar 2022

Jessie Singer on Why There Are No Accidents

Why might an innocuous-sounding word we all use, result in a social injustice? The answer is: when that word is ‘accident’. It’s something we hear all the time. “Sorry, it was just an accident” or “there’s been a traffic accident’.

But have you ever stopped to think about the impact the word has? I hadn’t until I read the book by my guest journalist Jessie Singer. In ‘There Are No Accidents’, she explains that the vast majority of mishaps are not random but predictable and preventable. What’s more, the term “accident” also changes how we look at things that go wrong. Perhaps surprisingly, the word protects those in power and leaves the most vulnerable in harm’s way, preventing investigations, pushing off debts, blaming the victims, diluting anger, and even sparking empathy for the perpetrators.

 During our discussion, Jessie explains how the death of a close friend prompted her to write the book and what she’s learned from studying a wide range of accidents and why we need to think differently about accidents if we want to save lives and build a more just society.

To find out more about Jessie’s book There Are No Accidents: The Deadly Rise of Injury and Disaster — Who Profits and Who Pays the Price visit https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/There-Are-No-Accidents/Jessie-Singer/9781982129668

To find out more about Jessie, visit her website - http://jessiesinger.com/

During our discussion, we talk about:

The concepts of Jay Driving — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay-driver and the more common Jay Walking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking

Hugh Dehaven, the pilot who pioneered crash injury research - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_DeHaven

The Grenfell Tower Fire — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire

Grenfell was also covered in an episode of this show, in a two-part discussion with Gill Kernick. Find part one here: 👉 https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/gill-kernick-on-the-grenfell-tower-disaster-part-one/

Grenfell also features on this show, in a two-part discussion with Gill Kernick. Part One here: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/gill-kernick-on-the-grenfell-tower-disaster-part-one/

The Electric Hummer - https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a39270970/hummer-ev-proves-were-making-all-the-same-mistakes-again/

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(368)

Will Tarrant on Service: Closing the gap between brand promise and reality

What makes great service? It’s one of those things we instantly recognise when we experience it, but struggle to define. And while organisations spend huge amounts of time trying to design seamless cu...

8 Mai 1h

Dr Carissa Véliz on Prophecy

What if prediction isn’t about knowing the future, but controlling it? On this episode, I'm joined by a leading thinker on digital ethics, privacy and technology to explore the idea of prophecy.Episo...

25 Apr 1h 2min

Dr C Thi Nguyen on How to stop playing someone else's game

We like to think we choose what matters. But what if the goals we’re chasing… aren’t actually ours?Episode Summary My guest on this episode is Dr. C. Thi Nguyen, philosopher and author of The Score: H...

12 Apr 1h 8min

Phil Dobson on Cognitive Leadership

We tend to assume that if we’re working hard, we’re working well. But what if that isn’t true?Episode SummaryMy guest on this episode is Phil Dobson, author of The Brain Book and founder of Brain Work...

4 Apr 1h 9min

Professor Mark Stoyle on The Western Rising of 1549

What lessons does a religious protest that led to an uprising in 1549 have to do with human risk?At first glance, not very much. It’s easy to see it as a distant historical event — something about re...

22 Mar 1h 4min

Jeffrey Ludlow on What A Sign Is...

What exactly is a sign? At first glance, that might sound like a strange question. Signs are everywhere: telling us where to go, what to do, what not to do, and sometimes what might happen if we igno...

14 Mar 1h 4min

Marc Ross on The Art of The Negroni

What Can a Cocktail Teach Us About Curiosity and Creativity? At first glance, documenting Negronis around the world might sound like a frivolous hobby. But could a simple cocktail become a vehicle for...

7 Mar 45min

Tom & Sue Hardin On Wired On Wall Street

What’s the difference between a mistake… and a bad decision? My guest knows this only too well. Tom Hardin has been on the show several times before. As Tipper X, he wore a wire for the FBI and helped...

28 Feb 1h 15min