Are domestic violence and terrorism linked? This is the question we explore in this episode of The Ideas Hour. Co-hosts David Cameron and Suzanne Zeedyk are delighted to welcome author and journalist Joan Smith to talk about her 2019 book, ‘Home Grown: How domestic violence turns men into terrorists’. It is full of challenging ideas, which are the kind we like best in this series.

The interview was originally recorded for the 2021-2022 series of The Ideas Hour, first broadcast on Teacher Hug Radio. We are pleased to make it available in this format, in January 2024, because terrorism is going anywhere. If we are to tackle it, then we need to understand its origins. Joan Smith says we aren’t doing a good job of that. Her book ‘Home Grown’ traces the links between childhood trauma and male violence. In particular, she says that terrorism begins in childhood experiences of violence in the home, thereby linking it to misogyny and patriarchy. She believes this link is missed because we have tended to frame terrorism as a religious or political act. Joan Smith argues we need to look elsewhere if we really want to understand its origins. This is a fascinating, important conversation with a thinker who is not afraid to be controversial.

The box set of interviews included in the original broadcasts of The Ideas Hour can be also found in the archives of Teacher Hug Radio, on www.teacherhug.co.uk .

Hosts David Cameron and Suzanne Zeedyk can be reached on the following addresses: therealdavidcameron @ gmail.com and suzanne @ suzannezeedyk.com .