director of the academic think-tank UK in a Changing Europe, and a regular voice in Britain's public debate.He is a social media star and a traditional media star.He's even made some very watchable TikTok videos.As director of UK in a Changing Europe, he has done three remarkable things.First, he explains the issues around Brexit with clarity, pizzazz, and humour.He's made complex political, economic, and, dare I say it, even legal issues accessible, clear, and engaging.As one admirer of his work says, he doesn't shout or posture or moralise, but he does insist on facts, on fairness, and on precision.And, most of all, on usefulness.His work is a public service; he writes to help people see things they might otherwise miss, to name dynamics, to name power, and to name consequences.Second, he's shown academia that there is a different way of engaging with the public.He has given 'impact' , such a buzz word in our circles, a new meaning.He's shown how it's possible to translate academic literature which might be read by a few dozen people into a 1,000-word blog which is accessible and read by many thousands.He's shown, too, how, in the vexed terrain of Brexit and beyond, it's possible to take an impartial stand and present facts.In the run-up to the referendum, I think I spent more time with Anand than I did with my own family, doing town halls up and down the country.I never knew which way Anand was going to vote.He's engaged with hundreds of politicians, civil servants, and thousands of members of the public.This engagement may be seen through his writing and his appearances on Question Time and even on Radio 4's The News Quiz.Third, he's given a new meaning to interdisciplinarity.He's shown how political scientists, economists, geographers, and lawyers can all work together, not in a tokenistic way but where the whole is more than the sum of its parts.He's also incredibly generous.He's shown generations of academics how to bring his magic to their work.He's also brave, taking on some of the worst on social media and calling it out.I'm very proud to call him my friend.I've learnt a great deal from him, and I fully expect to learn a lot more from this lecture.
Anand Menon (Wed,) studied this question.