Home Podcasts KickBack - The Global Anticorruption Podcast
KickBack - The Global Anticorruption Podcast

KickBack - The Global Anticorruption Podcast

KickBack 148 Episodes Jul 2, 2026

This podcast series features in-depth interviews with a wide range of corruption experts, exploring questions such as what we have learned from over 20 years of anti-corruption research, why and how power corrupts, which theories help make sense of corruption, what can be done to manage corruption, and how to recover stolen assets.

Episodes

151. Bonnie Palifka on Measuring Progress in Anti-Corruption and Its Evolving Challenges Jul 2, 2026 00:36:04 In this episode of KickBack, host Robert Barrington is joined by Professor Bonnie Palifka, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Tecnológico de Monterrey, to discuss corruption research, measurement, and the evolving challenges facing anti-corruption efforts. The conversation explores Palifka’s journey into the field of corruption studies, from her early personal experience with b
150. Matthew Stephenson and Liz David-Barrett on Trends in Corruption and Anti-Corruption Jun 18, 2026 00:55:57 In this episode of KickBack, host Robert Barrington is joined by Professor Matthew Stephenson, one of the podcast’s original founders, and Professor Liz David-Barrett, Professor of Governance and Integrity and Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, to take a wide-ranging look at trends in corruption and anti-corruption. The conversation explores key thinke
149. David Jackson on Anti-Corruption in a Discordant World Jun 11, 2026 00:21:45 In this episode of KickBack, host Rebecca Dobson-Phillips is joined by David Jackson, Principal Adviser at the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, to explore the changing landscape of anti-corruption and the key themes of the new book Anti-Corruption in a Discordant World. Reflecting on three decades of progress in the anti-corruption field, the conversation examines how contemporary political tu
148. Alanna Markle & Thom Townsend on measuring the impact of Beneficial Ownership Transparency Apr 30, 2026 00:35:19 In this episode of Kickback, host Tom Shipley sits down with Thom Townsend, the executive director of Open Ownership, and Alanna Markle, the senior manager for policy and research at Open Ownership, to map out the global research agenda for Beneficial Ownership Transparency (BOT). Highlighting cutting-edge research from a recent symposium of 150 global experts, the conversation explores how BOT
147. Marina Nistotskaya on merit-based bureaucracies Mar 27, 2026 00:36:40 In this episode of Kickback, host Elizabeth David-Barrett is joined by Marina Nistotskaya, Professor at the Department of Political Science and researcher at the Quality of Government Institute, University of Gothenburg. The conversation explores the role of merit-based recruitment in shaping effective and impartial bureaucracies. Marina discusses how hiring processes influence both competence a
146. Diana Bociga on the network architecture of anti-money laundering Mar 12, 2026 00:31:48 The UK's anti-money laundering system involves 88 organizations across policy, supervision, and enforcement, but does this complex network actually work? In this episode, host Robert Barrington speaks with Diana Bociga about her research using social network analysis to map how these organizations collaborate. Diana's findings reveal a system operating across two disconnected dimensions, strategic
145. Maria Nizzero on the kleptocratic enterprise Feb 26, 2026 00:29:51 Despite significant volumes of illicit finance flowing through the UK, asset recovery from kleptocratic networks remains limited. In this episode, regular KB host Robert Barrington speaks with Maria Nizzero, the Head of Sanctions Policy at UK Finance and Honorary Research Fellow at Exeter University, about her recent research that proposes reconceptualizing kleptocracy as a transnational criminal
144. Peter Hain on liberation and corruption Feb 9, 2026 00:34:47 Why do liberation movements that fight for freedom so often succumb to corruption once in power? In this episode, Liz David-Barrett speaks with Lord Peter Hain about his new book Liberation and Corruption: Why Freedom Movements Fail. Drawing on his personal connection to South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle and examining cases from Nicaragua to India, Peter explores how movements that come to po
143. Rachel Davies and Tom Shipley on the UK's new anticorruption strategy Jan 22, 2026 00:34:56 After a three-year gap, the UK finally has a new anti-corruption strategy. To discuss, Robert Barrington is joined by Rachel Davies from Transparency International UK and Tom Shipley from the Centre for the Study of Corruption. They assess what the December 2025 strategy gets right, where it falls short, and whether it will actually make a difference. The discussion examines the strategy's streng
142. Anna Persson on systemic corruption and political will Jan 8, 2026 00:39:00 For our first episode of 2026, regular host Liz David-Barrett is joined by Anna Persson, associate professor and senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg. Anna draws on extensive field research to challenge simplistic understandings of political will, and explore systemic corruption as a complex collective action problem. Anna examines how moral hazard and
141. Naomi Roht-Arriaza on grand corruption & human rights Dec 11, 2025 00:43:40 Liz David-Barrett speaks with human rights and international law expert Naomi Roht-Arriaza, about the intersection of grand corruption and human rights. Naomi shares how her decades of work on transitional justice led her to confront the blocking of post-conflict progress by state capture, often involving alliances between organized crime, political elites, and economic interests. The discussion
140. Emily Elia on gender and electoral accountability in Latin America Nov 14, 2025 00:38:29 Why do voters sometimes support corrupt politicians? And can putting forward women candidates help parties recover from corruption scandals? In this episode, regular host Liz David-Barrett speaks with Emily Elia about her experimental research on voter behaviour and corruption in Latin American democracies. The conversation delves into the "feminization strategy", examining the level to which depl

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