Ideas Alive – Telling Tales: Narratives of Crime and Justice

Dr Sotirios-Ioannis Lekkas & Dr Anna Ventouratou - School of Law

9 November, 2025 at 18:00:00

In this special episode of the Law in Context series, Dr Sotirios-Ioannis Lekkas and Dr Anna Ventouratou, in conversation with Dr Ciara Molloy (Assistant Professor in Criminology, University College Dublin) and Dr Chloe Peacock (Lecturer in Criminology, University of Sheffield), explore how stories of crime and justice are told — in fiction, film, news, and political discourse — and what they reveal about our collective understanding of law, crime, and punishment. From the enduring mythology of Jack the Ripper to contemporary media portrayals of riots and unrest, our guests examine how words and storytelling shape public ideas of morality and justice, and, ultimately, how they influence law and policymaking.

Ideas Alive is a series of podcasts by academics from the University of Sheffield talking about their fascinating research. A podcast link will go live on the festival website on the date and time publicised. Once live the episode can be listened to anytime, with other episodes from the series, on the University of Sheffield Player