S1 E12 | The current state of social cohesion with Dr. James O’Donnell

In the final episode of the first series of the Voices of Australia podcast, Dr. James O'Donnell shares his insights on the current state of social cohesion in Australia. A lecturer at the Australian National University, Dr. O'Donnell is the author of the 2022 Mapping Social Cohesion Report. In this episode, we chat with James about:

• Why he transitioned from working as a labour market economist to a career studying social cohesion.
• What the key findings from 2022 mapping social cohesion report tell us about Australia today.
• The key trends that make James optimistic about the future of social cohesion in Australia.
• What we as a society should pay attention to in 2023.

Voices of Australia is a Scanlon Foundation Research Institute podcast exploring all things interesting in the world of social cohesion. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Want to contribute to the conversation? Send us your reflections and comments to: [e-mail] You can also Tweet us @Scanlon_Inst

 

Meet our guest: Dr James O'Donnell

Dr. James O’Donnell is a Lecturer at Australian National University’s School of Demography within the College of Arts and Social Science.

James is currently working on the School of Demography’s ANU Social Cohesion project. This project involves researchers from disciplines across the University working to measure and analyse social cohesion within neighbourhoods and communities across Australia.

James is the winner of The Australian Population Association’s 2014 WD Borrie Prize and was awarded a PhD in Demography in 2019.

He was recently the author of the 2022 Mapping Social Cohesion Report published by the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute.