Ever since 9/11 many are obsessed with terrorism and have disproportionate fear of more events of this nature. Is this a healthy attitude?
Phil Gurski talks to Canadian sociologist Frank Furedi on these and other matters.
If the ins and outs of terrorism, extremism, national security and public safety are of interest to you, subscribe to receive free content by former Canadian intelligence analyst and author Phil Gurski on these issues.
About my guest Frank Furedi
Frank Furedi is a Hungarian-Canadian academic and emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent. He is well known for his work on sociology of fear, education, therapy culture, paranoid parenting and sociology of knowledge.
A public intellectual and commentator greatly in demand, he is the author of a number of acclaimed books including The Culture of Fear, The Politics of Fear, Where Have All the Intellectuals Gone? and Paranoid Parenting.
About the host Phil Gurski
Phil Gurski is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Economics and Technology (SET) hub at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute (PDI). He worked as a senior strategic analyst at CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) from 2001-2015, specializing in violent Islamist-inspired homegrown terrorism and radicalisation.
From 1983 to 2001 he was employed as a senior multilingual analyst at Communications Security Establishment (CSE – Canada’s signals intelligence agency), specialising in the Middle East.
How Fear Works: Culture of Fear in the Twenty-First Century
In 1997, Frank Furedi published a book called Culture of Fear. It was widely acclaimed as perceptive and prophetic. Now Furedi returns to his original theme, as most of what he predicted has come true. In How Fear Works, Furedi seeks to explain two interrelated themes: why has fear acquired such a morally commanding status in society today and how has the way we fear today changed from the way that it was experienced in the past?
Listen to more episodes:
What to do with the children of violent extremists?
What should we do with the children of violent extremists: should they be taken from their parents?
Canada is underperforming badly on the global scene
Why has Canada abandoned its international reputation and commitments and what does it need to do to regain them?
Writing the great Canadian spy novel, from a SIGINT perspective
Writing a good fiction should probably require some experience to inform a good plot. This is especially true for spy fiction.
One reply on “Frank Furedi – Are we living in a culture of fear?”
Brilliant podcast, thank you!
I think we should teach, challenge and promote STEM to toddlers and pre-school kiddies. Also, introduce linguistics to much younger students.
Raise the bar and NOT strive for mediocrity.