About Conversations with Iris: Podcast series on migration, diversity and displacement
“Conversations with Iris” is a podcast series on migration, diversity and displacement hosted by the Institute for Research into Superdiversity at the University of Birmingham, UK. In our Conversations, we dialogue with researchers, teachers, writers, migrants, refugees, activists, community organisers, artists and policymakers on issues related to migration and diversity. The series is edited and produced by Stefano Piemontese and Nando Sigona and is also available as Zoomcast on www.youtube.com/ConversationswithIris
The figure of the migrant: Conversation with Nandita Sharma
Nando Sigona speaks to Nandita Sharma, professor of Sociology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Nandita's work examines the historical and political production of migration, borders, and national belonging, with a particular focus on how distinctions between “natives” and “migrants” are created and sustained. In her work, she challenges the “figure of the migrant” as a taken-for-granted category and invites us to rethink how we understand migration governance and the politics of belonging today.This episode, filmed by Sam Liebmann, was recorded at the British Academy-sponsored workshop "Writing for Change: Slavery, Violence and Exploitation" in Praia do Forte, Bahia, Brazil on 16 April 2026.
Additional readings/viewings:
Natives with Nandita Sharma, Uncommon Sense, S1 E9 (2022): https://thesociologicalreview.org/podcasts/uncommon-sense/natives-with-nandita-sharma/
Palestine, Nationalism, and the Statehood Illusion with Nandita Sharma, Dilemma Podcast (with Jay Shapiro): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skwRJ1Ghykk
2 Mar 2026
Unwelcome to Denmark: Asylum on Probation with Michelle Pace
We begin Series 6 of Conversations with Iris with an interview with Professor Michelle Pace, author of Un-welcome toDenmark, a critical examination of Denmark’s restrictive turn in asylum and migration policy, published in December 2025. We are recording this episode a week after the UK Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/mar/01/shabana-mahmood-denmark-uk-immigration), confirmed her firm intention to draw on the Danish model for the reform of the asylum system during a highly choreographed two-day visit to a returns centre on the outskirts of Copenhagen.
To find out more about Michelle's book: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526175311/ (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526175311/__;!!CF15FET90Tp8!DtbrY4p5ltFXHSw9FAUMuNJTaHScZHNAnOdK4PEJOMgQTrD436_zjTtPK_xDW41x2Fc3on-aP_KMlgMnefjUq7slHB2-$)
Additional readings:
Border controls in Europe undermine the Schengen Area and the EU itself (6 Sept 2025): https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/09/border-controls-europe-undermine-schengen-area-and-eu-itself (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.chathamhouse.org/2025/09/border-controls-europe-undermine-schengen-area-and-eu-itself__;!!CF15FET90Tp8!DtbrY4p5ltFXHSw9FAUMuNJTaHScZHNAnOdK4PEJOMgQTrD436_zjTtPK_xDW41x2Fc3on-aP_KMlgMnefjUq_mHRopC$)
German election: Far-right firewall weakens as immigration concerns take centre stage (20 Feb 2025): https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/02/german-election-far-right-firewall-weakens-immigration-concerns-take-centre-stage (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.chathamhouse.org/2025/02/german-election-far-right-firewall-weakens-immigration-concerns-take-centre-stage__;!!CF15FET90Tp8!DtbrY4p5ltFXHSw9FAUMuNJTaHScZHNAnOdK4PEJOMgQTrD436_zjTtPK_xDW41x2Fc3on-aP_KMlgMnefjUqxrOV1Z_$)
23 Mar 2024
Exploitable by design: migrant workers in the UK immigration system
Is the UK immigration system really 'fairer' as the government claims? Fairer to whom? Nando Sigona asks Luke Piper, Head of Immigration at the Work Rights Centre. In this episode of Conversations with IRIS we examine the production of exploitable and precarious migrant workers at the intersection of the immigration and labour regime in post-Brexit Britain. We explore the structural factors that contribute to producing vulnerable migrants impacting not only on migrant workers but also on their families.
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