University of Cambridge: Recent Episodes
University of Cambridge
How do people come to feel represented or unrepresented in politics? What role do place, inequality, and everyday experiences play in shaping political attitudes? And what can the rise of populism tell us about trust in democracy today? To explore these issues, Richard Westcott (host) talks to Davide Luca from the University of Cambridge and Laurenz Guenther from the Toulouse School of Economics.In this episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott (host) talks to Davide Luca from the University of Cambridge and Laurenz Guenther from the Toulouse School of Economics about what lies behind the rise of populism.They explore why populism is not only about elections or political leaders, but also about how people experience representation, inequality, place and trust in democracy.The conversation examines how spatial inequality, economic anxiety, cultural attitudes and social media shape political behaviour, why some voters feel unheard by mainstream parties, and what democratic systems can do to rebuild stronger connections with citizens.Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform Season 5 Episode 8 transcript: MS Word / PDFFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on Linkedin and Bluesky.
Discover how Gates Cambridge scholars Usama Mirza and Ana Rojo Fierro redefine hope in today's world. Learn actionable strategies for fostering hope amidst adversity. In a world that often feels overwhelmed by challenges—environmentally, socially, politically, and financially—how do we maintain hope? This question is at the heart of discussions among thought leaders and scholars dedicated to making a difference. In this episode, we delve into insights shared by Gates Cambridge scholars Usama Mirza and Ana Rojo Fierro, who explore the essence of hope as a survival trait and its crucial role in social action. As we navigate these trying times, the insights from Usama and Ana remind us that hope is not just a passive feeling but an active practice that requires engagement and commitment. By fostering hope—through education, personal responsibility, and collective action—we can create a better future even in the face of adversity.Key Takeaways- Hope is essential for social action and change.- Balancing personal responsibilities with global awareness is critical for sustainable hope.- Education and representation can empower individuals and communities, fostering a sense of agency and optimism.-Hope as a survival trait and its importance in challenging times-The role of community and collective action in fostering hope-Personal stories of resilience and hope from Gaza, Mexico, and PakistanChapters00:00 Introduction to Hope in Trying Times01:54 Personal Journeys: Balancing Family and Global Issues05:32 The Case for Hope: A Foundation for Action10:53 Cultural Perspectives on Hope and Responsibility14:31 Hope in Community Actions: Lessons from Mexico19:14 Navigating Personal Limits in Activism23:58 The Palestine Educational Opportunity Initiative: A Collective Effort27:39 Mentorship and Human Connection: Building Hope30:26 The Cost of Hope: Embracing Vulnerability34:23 Common Threads in Collective Action Across Cultures40:37 Closing Thoughts: Small Actions, Big Impact
In this episode of Crossing Channels, host Richard Westcott talks with Rachel Adams (University of Cambridge) and Tiziana Assenza (Toulouse School of Economics) about who we can trust online, how AI, platform algorithms, and human psychology shape the spread of misinformation, and what institutions can do to safeguard democracy and build a healthier digital environment.They explore why misinformation is not only about false content, but also about the systems that decide what people see, when they see it, and at what scale.The conversation examines how people often overestimate their own ability to spot misinformation, why emotional and identity-based reactions make false information spread, and how AI can deepen inequalities between countries with very different levels of regulation, digital literacy and platform accountability.They also discuss the risks for democracy, children and public debate, the economic consequences of technology-related misinformation, and what governments, platforms, schools and independent institutions can do to build a healthier and more trustworthy online information environment.Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformSeason 5 Episode 7 transcriptFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on Linkedin and Bluesky.
Can digital currencies create a more inclusive financial system, or will they deepen existing inequalities? In this episode of Crossing Channels, Sumedha Deshmukh and Bruno Biais join Richard Westcott to explore the promises, risks and policy challenges shaping the future of money.In this episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott talks to Sumedha Deshmukh and Bruno Biais about whether the future of money can be truly inclusive. They explore the promise and limits of cryptocurrency, asking whether it offers a genuine alternative to existing financial systems or risks reproducing the same forms of exclusion, volatility and mistrust. The conversation examines why crypto may be useful in places where monetary and banking institutions are weak, but also why it can expose less informed users to new risks. They also discuss stablecoins, digital public infrastructure, regulation, trust and governance, and what policymakers need to consider if digital finance is to serve people’s real needs rather than simply benefiting those who are already better connected and better informed.Season 5 Episode 6 transcriptListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on Linkedin and Bluesky.With thanks to:Audio production by Alice WhaleyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Pauline Alves
This episode features scholars Stephen Lezak and Ben Weissenbach discussing their work on climate change storytelling, the evolving media landscape, and how to effectively communicate environmental issues. They explore long-form journalism, the importance of trust and moral authority in media, and practices to reconnect with nature amidst a fast-changing world.Key topicsThe role of storytelling in climate change communicationChallenges and opportunities in long-form journalismThe importance of trust and moral authority in mediaPractices for reconnecting with nature and grounding storiesThe impact of media environment on climate storytellingChapters00:00Navigating the Modern Media Landscape02:49Personal Stories and Climate Change05:57The Shift in Storytelling08:53The Need for Diverse Narratives11:59Challenges in Long-Form Journalism15:14The Role of Technology in Storytelling17:54Finding Authenticity in Media21:07Reconnecting with Nature24:11The Importance of Craft in Storytelling26:54The Future of Journalism30:06Voices of Trust in Media33:01Ground Truth and Connection36:13Celebrating Beauty in Storytelling
Can everything be bought? Anna Alexandrova and Léo Fitouchi talk to Richard Westcott about the limits of markets and why not everything of value can be priced.In this episode of Crossing Channels, Anna Alexandrova and Léo Fitouchi talk to Richard Westcott about the limits of markets and what happens when economic reasoning meets moral values. They explore why some things – such as dignity, fairness and trust – sit uneasily with prices, and how attempts to measure wellbeing can reshape what societies consider valuable. The conversation also examines how monetary incentives sometimes crowd out moral motivations, why people react strongly to the idea that certain goods should be for sale, and what this means for policymakers trying to design fair and legitimate institutions in a world where not everything that matters can be priced.Season 5 Episode 5 transcript: Word / PDFListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/With thanks to:Audio production by Alice WhaleyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Pauline Alves
Chapters00:00 Introduction to Alternative Leadership Styles06:39 Leading Diverse Groups of Leaders12:38 The Role of Care in Leadership15:30 Navigating Power Dynamics in Policy19:00 The Disconnect Between Leadership and Public Desire21:41 Lessons from Historical Leadership Movements26:03 Gendered Leadership Dynamics32:29 Grassroots Leadership and Community Organizing35:01 The Importance of Knowing When to Step Back41:35 Concluding Thoughts on Compassionate LeadershipResourcesJennifer Piscopo's Book: The Women's Rights EraClaudia Scheinbaum's Leadership Style AnalysisHamnet Movie by Chloe ZhaoJustin Wei's PhD Research on Black and Asian SolidarityGuest linksTwitterTwitter
In this episode of So Now What, host Catherine Galloway engages with Gates Cambridge scholars Halliki Voolma and Seetha Tan to explore the complexities of leadership in a rapidly changing world. They discuss the importance of gender equality policies, the role of storytelling in leadership, and the necessity of balancing short-term responses with long-term goals. The conversation emphasises the power of words, the significance of cultural change, and the value of collective leadership and community action. Both guests share personal insights into their leadership journeys, highlighting the importance of openness, listening, and staying true to one's values amidst chaos.TakeawaysThe only constant in life is change.Effective leadership requires a long-term vision amidst chaos.Policymaking and storytelling share similar skills.Contradiction is a key aspect of leadership.Words and language have significant power in policy.Crisis management often overshadows long-term goals.Cultural change is essential for policy progress.Collective leadership fosters community resilience.Personal stories shape leadership identity.Staying true to values is crucial in turbulent times.Chapters00:00 Navigating Change in a Chaotic World02:48 Gender Equality and Policy Initiatives06:07 Contradictions in Leadership09:04 The Role of Storytelling in Leadership11:51 Balancing Short-term and Long-term Goals15:02 The Power of Words and Language18:08 Crisis Management and Gender-Based Violence20:59 Cultural Change and Policy Progress23:50 Collective Leadership and Community Action27:02 Personal Stories and Leadership Identity29:52 Openness and Listening in Leadership32:57 The Importance of Values in Leadership36:02 Final Thoughts on Leadership and Action
In this episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott talks to Dr Alessio Terzi from the Bennett School of Public Policy, and Prof Christian Gollier from the Toulouse School of Economics, about what a “fair” climate transition could look like when the costs are local, the benefits are global, and the politics are hard.They explore why decarbonisation is a whole-economy transformation, what it means for jobs and places, and why the narrative matters as much as the technology. The conversation also looks at carbon pricing and redistribution, the credibility problem of long-term policy, and what kinds of institutions and policies can keep people on board in the years ahead.Transcript: MS Word / PDFListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformWith thanks to:Audio production by Alice WhaleyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Pauline Alves
In episode one of season three of So, now what? two Gates Cambridge Scholars debate how to lead ethically in unethical times.Reham and Amy explore with host Catherine Galloway the challenges and opportunities presented by AI and social media, emphasising the importance of community empowerment, ethical practices and the role of creatives in shaping a better future. The conversation, the first in a series of five episodes focused on leadership, highlights the need for transparency, human dignity and the potential for technology to serve the underrepresented, while also addressing the complexities of moderation and resistance in digital spaces.Amy Zhang [2011] and Reham Hosny [also known as Reham Aboud - 2025] debate ethical leadership in the context of rapidly evolving technology and argue that we must prioritise human dignity and rights in technology development, including exploring alternative social media platforms.TakeawaysEthical leadership is crucial in today's global disorder.AI can empower underrepresented communities.Community engagement is essential for ethical moderation.Social media platforms are evolving with new opportunities.Creatives play a vital role in envisioning a better future.We must prioritize human dignity and transparency in technology.Resistance can take many forms, including creative expression.We have agency in our use of social media platforms.Supporting ethical leaders is necessary for positive change.The future of technology depends on inclusive and ethical practices.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Ethical Leadership05:53 Defining Ethical Leadership in Technology12:07 AI as a Tool for Empowerment18:10 Social Media: Opportunities and Challenges24:01 Moderation and Community Engagement30:11 The Role of Creatives in Ethical Leadership34:00 Conclusion and Call to Action
Richard Westcott chats with Jack Newman, Angélique Acquatella and Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg about what really drives inequality — from technology and trade to health and local policy — and how institutions can bridge the gap between national goals and everyday realities.In this podcast episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott talks to Jack Newman, Angélique Acquatella and Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg about the forces that shape inequality today. Drawing on economics, politics and public policy, our guests examine why gaps persist, look at the roles of technology and trade, explore evidence on health inequalities in the UK, and discuss the delivery gap between national ambitions and local capacity. They share examples of when place-based approaches can work, what gets in the way, and how institutions can support more inclusive growth.Season 5 Episode 2 transcript: MS Word / PDFListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform: For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.With thanks to:Audio production by Alice WhaleyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Pauline Alves
IAST) share different perspectives rooted in public policy, psychology, and economics.They examine how AI is reshaping the way universities teach, conduct research, and connect with government, business, and civil society. They look into how generative tools are changing learning and assessment, how students and academics can build trust in AI systems, and what the rise of these technologies means for the skills and values that universities aim to foster.Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformSeason 5 Episode 1 transcript: Word / PDFTo find out more about the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites: https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/Follow us on Linkedin and BlueskyWith thanks to:Audio production by Alice WhaleyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde Selvi, Bennett School of Public PolicyVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Pauline Alves, IAST, TSE
This episode of 'So Now What' explores the multifaceted challenges of gender equality, focusing on personal stories, the impact of climate change, and the implications of technology on women's rights. The conversation highlights the ongoing struggles for reproductive freedom, the importance of storytelling, and the need for proactive engagement from men in the fight for gender equality. The guests share their insights on the current backlash against women's rights and the necessity of protecting spaces for dialogue and dissent.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Gender Equality Challenges04:08 Personal Stories and Experiences08:07 The Impact of Roe v. Wade Overturn12:18 Climate Change and Early Marriage16:43 Backlash Against Gender Equality19:59 Engaging Men in Gender Equality24:13 The Role of Technology in Gender Issues28:55 Understanding the Danger for Women and Girls34:06 Confronting and Comforting in Conversations37:18 Final Thoughts and Calls to Action
In this commission for Cambridge Timeline Choir, composer Hannah Conway and librettist Hazel Gould reinterpret an Anglo-Norman treatise on menstruation, Sicom Aristotele nous dit, found in a manuscript at Trinity College, Cambridge, MS O.2.5, ff. 123r–124v. Performed by Cambridge Timeline Choir and recorded for Cambridge University Library, July 2025
In this commission for Cambridge Timeline Choir, composer Charlotte Baskerville invokes the power of saints to drive out vermin (from a manuscript at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, MS 457/395, f. 1v, ). Performed by Cambridge Timeline Choir and recorded for Cambridge University Library, July 2025
Wendy Ayres-Bennett and Benjamin Pitt join Richard Westcott to explore how speaking multiple languages shapes our identity, thinking, relationships, and boosts economic opportunities.In this episode, Richard Westcott is joined by Wendy Ayres-Bennett and Benjamin Pitt to explore a big, everyday question: what is the value of speaking other languages? The conversation looks at how the languages we speak shape our sense of identity, influence how we think and reason, and affect how we relate to others. We explore how multilingualism can foster social cohesion, support cognitive flexibility, and even boost economic opportunities.Our guests discuss why language is never just a tool for communication and why recognising its deeper value matters for how we design education, shape public policy, and navigate life in an increasingly interconnected world.This episode is hosted by Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus), and features experts Benjamin Pitt (IAST) and Wendy Ayres-Bennett (Cambridge University). Season 4 Episode 9 transcript Word / PDFListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and iast.fr/Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and XWith thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel
Guests Catherine Barnard and Emmanuelle Auriol discuss how migration affects labour markets, legal protections and social cohesion, how economic incentives and border regimes shape who migrates and why, and what smarter, fairer migration policies could look like in the years ahead.In this final episode of season 4, Richard Westcott is joined by Catherine Barnard (University of Cambridge) and Emmanuelle Auriol (Toulouse School of Economics) to unpack the economic, legal, and social dimensions of migration.Drawing on insights from law and economics, the conversation explores how migration affects labour markets, legal protections, and social cohesion, from post-Brexit realities in Great Yarmouth to global questions of fairness and opportunity. The episode examines who moves and why, the limits of current border regimes, and what more effective and ethical migration policies could look like.Season 4 Episode 10 transcript – Word / PDFListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on social media.With thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore CarbonnelMore information about our host and guests:
In this episode of So Now What, host Catherine Galloway engages with Gates Cambridge scholars Julie Pham, Chris Tooley, and Robin Scott to explore the nuances of leadership in turbulent times. The conversation delves into the importance of moral leadership, the opportunities presented by crises like COVID-19, and the significance of self-leadership and community building. The guests share their experiences and insights on how to lead effectively, emphasising curiosity, respect, and the power of local action.TakeawaysLeadership is about bringing people with you, not telling them what to do.Curiosity can transform workplace dynamics and leadership styles.Crisis often creates opportunities for innovation and transformation.Moral leadership is crucial in times of flux and uncertainty.Local leadership is essential for meaningful change.Self-leadership involves being open to learning from others.Community building can counteract polarization and division.Radical honesty in leadership fosters trust and collaboration.Cultural forms of leadership can have transformative potential.Leadership should be shaped by lived experience and engagement.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Leadership in Turbulent Times09:50 The Role of Moral Leadership20:05 Crisis as Opportunity: Leadership During COVID-1930:09 Self-Leadership and Community Building
In this episode of So, Now What host Catherine Galloway engages with Gates Cambridge scholars Paulo Savaget Nascimento, Sandile Mtetwa, and Uche Ogechukwu to explore innovative business models that address wicked problems such as energy poverty and community empowerment. The conversation emphasizes the importance of unconventional approaches, allyship, co-creation, and interdisciplinary thinking in fostering sustainable solutions for the common good. The guests share their experiences and insights on how to leverage existing resources, engage marginalized communities, and promote inclusivity in entrepreneurship.TakeawaysWe are living in complex times with pressing problems.Innovative approaches can address energy poverty effectively.Allyship involves co-creating solutions with communities.Workarounds can provide unconventional solutions to challenges.Inclusivity is crucial in energy solutions for marginalized groups.Interdisciplinary thinking enhances social enterprise effectiveness.Diversity and adaptation are essential for tackling wicked problems.Community ownership leads to sustainable outcomes.Starting small and scrappy can lead to significant impact.Humanizing innovation is key to successful implementation.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Wicked Problems and New Business Models05:00 Innovative Approaches to Energy and Community Empowerment09:56 The Role of Allyship and Co-Creation in Sustainable Solutions14:54 Workarounds: Unconventional Solutions to Complex Problems19:54 The Importance of Inclusivity in Energy Solutions24:59 Interdisciplinary Thinking and Its Impact on Social Enterprise29:51 So, Now What: Scaling for the Common Good
In this episode, Richard Westcott is joined by Simone Schnall, Catherine Molho, and Maximilian Müller to explore a big, everyday question: why do we make the choices we do? From decisions about money and morality to careers and relationships, the conversation digs into what really drives us—whether it’s emotions, social pressure, or the stories we tell ourselves after the fact.The conversation explores how physical experiences and emotions like fear or anger can shape our judgement, and how gossip and social norms influence who we trust and how we act. Our experts also discuss how we reshape memories to fit our choices, and how identity can shape what we believe or invest in. It’s a fascinating look at what really drives human behaviour—and what that means for how we design policies, technology, the systems we live in, and the role AI might play in shaping our decisions.This episode is hosted by Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus), and features experts Catherine Molho (IAST), Maximilian Müller (TSE) and Simone Schnall (Cambridge University). Download Season 4 Episode 8 transcript: PDF / WordListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X. With thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel
In this episode of So Now What, host Catherine Galloway engages with Gates Cambridge scholars Luis Welbanks, Rebecca Charbonneau, and Yinuo Han to discuss the current state of astronomy, the search for extraterrestrial life, and the implications of commercial interests in space exploration. The conversation explores themes of hope and concern in the scientific community, the importance of historical context in understanding current challenges, and the role of narratives in shaping public perception of science. The scholars share their insights on the future of astronomy and the need for collaboration in addressing the wicked problems facing humanity.takeawaysSpace exploration is entering a new era with significant discoveries.Hope and concern coexist in the current state of science.The search for extraterrestrial life is more promising than ever.Historical context can inform our understanding of current challenges.Astronomy has a social role in shaping public discourse.Commercial interests in space raise questions about future conflicts.Public narratives about science influence funding and support.Collaboration is essential for success in space exploration.The emotional journey of scientists is part of the discovery process.Engaging with science is crucial for future generations.Chapters00:00Exploring the Cosmos: A New Era of Discovery04:16Hope and Concerns in Astronomy10:46The Search for Extraterrestrial Life11:45Lessons from the Past: The Space Race14:29The Importance of Astronomy in Society18:57The Role of Narratives in Science24:34Commercial Interests and Space Warfare28:06Future Aspirations in Astronomy30:47A Call to Action: Engaging with Science
In this episode of So Now What, host Catherine Galloway engages with Gates Cambridge scholars to discuss the pressing issues surrounding biodiversity and conservation. The conversation highlights the interconnectedness of ecosystems, the challenges posed by climate change, and the innovative solutions being implemented to promote sustainability. The guests share their experiences and insights on policy-making, community engagement, and the importance of maintaining optimism in the face of overwhelming environmental challenges. They emphasize the need for evidence-based strategies and practical steps that individuals can take to contribute to conservation efforts.takeaways· Biodiversity loss is a critical issue that affects all life on Earth.· The 30 by 30 initiative aims to protect 30% of the planet for nature by 2030.· Innovative solutions are needed to balance economic development and conservation.· Community engagement is essential for effective conservation strategies.· Monitoring and research are crucial for understanding biodiversity and its challenges.· Optimism and collaboration among diverse stakeholders can drive positive change.· Trade-offs in conservation require careful consideration of ecological and social factors.· Conscious consumerism can significantly impact biodiversity preservation.· Small actions, like creating space for nature in our gardens, can lead to larger ecological benefits.· Evidence-based approaches are necessary for effective conservation policies.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Biodiversity and Conservation Challenges03:53 Innovative Solutions for Biodiversity10:03 The Role of Policy and Research in Conservation18:47 Maintaining Optimism in Conservation Efforts30:00 Making Trade-offs in Conservation35:27 Practical Steps for Immediate Impact
Richard Westcott talks to Jonathan Stieglitz, IAST, and Martin White, University of Cambridge, about the global health challenges related to diet and nutrition, and the respective roles of public health policies, cultural practices, and lifestyle changes, while creating sustainable food systems that ensure access to healthy food for all and maintain economic viability.In this episode, Richard Westcott talks to Martin White and Jonathan Stieglitz about a big question: how can we create food systems that are good for our health, our communities, the planet, and the economy? Drawing on research from both modern cities and small-scale societies, they explore what shapes our diets today—from global food companies and convenience culture to physical activity and traditional ways of living.Our experts take a closer look at the contrast between ultra-processed foods and traditional diets and what that tells us about modern health challenges. They discuss the impact of sugar taxes, why simply educating people isn’t enough, and how government policy and industry action could help shift the system. They also reflect on the rise of weight-loss drugs—whether they are are helpful solutions or a distraction from the root problems. This episode is hosted by Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus), and features experts Jonathan Stieglitz (IAST) and Martin White (Bennett Institute for Public Policy and Cambridge University) . Season 4 Episode 7 transcriptListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X. With thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel
In this second episode, Lainy Malkani and Jack Ashby head to the storerooms of the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge to take a closer look at one of the world’s finest collections of thylacine skins. They explore how what was done to thylacines and what was done to Tasmanian Aboriginal people was part of the same historical process. As populations of both were diminished, demand for their remains in western museums rocketed. The man who sent the skins to Cambridge was Morton Allport. Recent research has revealed an uncomfortable truth about how Allport built his reputation as a leading “man of science”, by both stoking that demand, and working to fulfil it.Listeners should be aware that we will be discussing events that involved racial violence in Tasmania.
Today, natural history museums are starting to research the deeper histories of how their collections were built, and this is revealing some surprising and troubling stories. Thylacines, or Tasmanian tigers, are icons of extinction, and some of the world’s best-preserved specimens are in University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge. This series explores new research there, uncovering an uncomfortable truth about how the history of the extinction of the thylacine had strong parallels with the violent events that took place in Tasmania in the nineteenth century. Join zoologist and author Jack Ashby (University of Cambridge), journalist and academic Lainy Malkani (University of the Arts London), and Elder uncle Hank Horton, a Pakana man from Trooloolway mob, lutruwita, Tasmania, for a conversation about thylacines, museum collecting, and why it’s important to tell these difficult stories. The series is part of a unique art/science collaboration between the Sonic Screen Lab, UAL (Lainy Malkani, Professor Shreepali Patel & Julia Schauerman), Hank Horton, and the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge (Jack Ashby).Listeners should be aware that we will be discussing events that involved racial violence in Tasmania.
In this final episode, the spotlight falls on the Museum itself as Jack Ashby and Lainy Malkani ask what is to be gained from uncovering the hidden human stories behind natural history collections. A far greater diversity of people were involved in building these scientifically invaluable collections than has traditionally been told. By telling these histories more completely, museums can only increase their relevance. Can these new ways of seeing collections in museums can help to bring about a shift in colonial thinking in the museum sector, one that ensures that the human story behind the collections continues to be told?
Richard Westcott talks to Diane Coyle, Jacques Crémer, and Paul Seabright about Europe’s position in competing with the US in technology. They explore the factors shaping Europe’s place in the global tech race—how data, policy, investment, competition and culture influence its potential to compete with the US.Our experts unpack the challenges and opportunities for Europe’s tech ecosystem. They consider whether Europe should aim to catch up with the US or focus on carving out its own path, questioning what success in innovation really looks like. Along the way, they discuss the role of data, risk-taking, the challenges of scaling up new ideas, and the structural and policy changes needed to support innovation in Europe.This episode is hosted by Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus), and features experts Diane Coyle (Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge), Jacques Crémer (IAST), Paul Seabright (IAST)Season 4 Episode 6 transcriptListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X. With thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel
In this episode of 'So Now What', host Catherine Galloway engages with Gates Cambridge scholars Jakub Szomalec, Raggenhilde Fregdaler, and Jansu Karabiak to explore how creative methods can address wicked problems in society. The conversation delves into the importance of arts in academia, the role of entertainment in cultural activism, and the power of personal stories in engaging audiences. The guests share their unique experiences and insights on how to effectively communicate complex issues in an increasingly noisy world, emphasizing the need for emotional connection and community engagement.TakeawaysCreative methods can effectively address wicked problems.Arts and academia should be funded for their impact.Comedy can relay serious messages in engaging ways.Stories are essential for activating empathy.Entertainment can serve as a platform for activism.Immersive experiences can change audience perceptions.Adapting messaging is crucial for short attention spans.Understanding technology is a parental responsibility.Engaging with diverse communities enriches perspectives.Real conversations foster better understanding and connection.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Wicked Problems and Creative Solutions05:25 The Role of Arts in Academia10:05 Entertainment as a Tool for Cultural Activism13:30 Personal Stories and Vulnerability in Creative Work18:38 Engaging Audiences Through Immersive Experiences22:25 Adapting Messaging for Short Attention Spans28:13 The Responsibility of Understanding Technology32:23 Takeaways for Action and EngagementCansu Karabiyik received her PhD in medical science in 2021. Since then she has spent her days as a neuroscientist developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and her evenings as a standup comedian performing in clubs in New York City. Jakub Szamalek award winning novelist and video game writer, who co-created international bestsellers such as "The Witcher 3" and "Cyberpunk 2077", currently Narrative Director at Rebel Wolves, a game development studio he co-founded. Doctor of classical archaeology educated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and a Cambridge Gates Scholar. His most recent book, "Inner Space", will come out in English in July 2025.Ragnhild Freng Dale is a social anthropologist and senior researcher at the Western Norway Research Institute. Her research interests include energy imaginaries, justice in climate transitions and impacts of energy infrastructure on local and indigenous communities. She thrives working on projects that are multimodal and experimental, especially in collaboration with the performing arts field.
In this episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott is joined by Dimitri Zenghelis, Ulrich Hege, and Mathias Reynaert to explore how green finance can support the clean transition. They discuss the shifting role of financial markets, the balance between public and private investment, and the policies needed to drive long-term change.
In this episode of So Now What, host Catherine Galloway talks to Gates Cambridge scholars Kevin Beckford, Emma Soneson, and Blanca Piera Pi Sunyer to discuss the pressing issues facing today's youth. The conversation explores the importance of empowering young people, the role of community and culture in their development, and the need for systemic change in education and mental health support. The scholars share their insights on how to harness the energy of young people to create a brighter future, emphasizing the significance of supportive environments and the necessity of listening to youth voices in shaping policies that affect them.TakeawaysYoung people are powerful agents of change.Community support is crucial for youth development.Mental health should be prioritized in education.Adversity can have cumulative negative effects on health.Empowering youth requires systemic change in institutions.Resilience should be reframed to focus on support, not just endurance.Education should promote exploration and self-discovery.Youth voices must be included in decision-making processes.Creating supportive environments can buffer against adversity.A visionary approach is needed to reimagine society for young people.00:00Introduction to youth empowerment and impact02:58Harnessing the energy of young people06:07The role of community and culture in youth development08:54Exploring opportunities for young people12:03The importance of mental health in education15:04Creating supportive environments for adolescents18:12Reimagining education for young people20:58The need for systemic change23:55Resilience vs. hustling: a new perspective27:01Global perspectives on youth challenges29:56Visioning a better future for young peopleKevin Beckford [2011] is the co-founder and a board member of The Hustlers Guild, a non-profit that uses hip hop to expand access and opportunity to Black and Latinx youth in the innovation space. He is also Senior Associate, Parnerships and Engagement at the Pretrial Justice Institute. From 2020 to 2022 he was an Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity from 2020 to 2022 and from 2014-2016, Kevin worked in the White House Presidential Correspondence Office. He also served as a special advisor to Secretary Julian Castro at the US Department of Housing and Development. Blanca Piera Pi-Sunyer [2021] is a final year PhD student at the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge working on social inequalities and socioemotional difficulties during adolescence. Emma Soneson [2018] is a Senior Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry. She maintains a broad research profile within the field of child and adolescent mental health but is especially interested in the intersections between mental health and education.
Gina Neff, Jeni Tennison and Jean-François Bonnefon discuss how algorithms and data influence our work, lives, and interactions, and the governance frameworks required for accountability and public good.Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus) talks to Gina Neff (Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy), Jeni Tennison (Connected by Data), and Jean-François Bonnefon (IAST) about how data and algorithms are shaping our lives. They explore how these technologies impact work, public services, and decision-making, while raising questions about ethics, fairness, and governance.Season 4 Episode 4 transcriptFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X. With thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel
Our experts discuss the definition of democracy and why statistics say it's in worldwide decline.In this episode, Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus) talks to David Runciman (University of Cambridge), Kristin Michelitch (IAST) and Ahmed Mohamed (IAST) about the decline in democracy indexes worldwide, the cultural, technological, and institutional factors driving these trends, and whether they can be reversed.Our experts explore the meaning of democracy and the reasons behind the decline of democracy indexes. They examine the impact of technology, media, culture, and religion on reshaping politics and shaping the future of democratic systems. Season 4 Episode 3 transcriptListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X. With thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel
In this episode, Richard Westcott talks to Gordon Harold, Anna Moore, and Olympia Campbell about the growing rates of mental health issues among young people. They discuss the key determinants and the most effective ways to support young people's mental health.Our experts examine whether mental health among young people is truly worsening or if we’re simply getting better at identifying it. They unpack the key factors shaping mental health today, delve into the role of the digital world, and discuss how policies can evolve to expand support and access to services for young people.This episode is hosted by Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus), and features experts Prof Gordon Harold (University of Cambridge), Dr Anna Moore (University of Cambridge) and Dr Olympia Campbell (IAST). Season 4 Episode 2 transcriptListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X. With thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel
To kickstart Season Four of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott talks to Alison Liebling, Nicola Padfield and Arnaud Philippe about the growing prison population, the prison experience, and the most effective ways to rehabilitate ex-offenders.Our experts discuss why the prison population is growing and the similarities and differences across European countries. They share their expertise on the impact of the prison environment and the privatisation of prisons for rehabilitation. They also identify best practices for effectively rehabilitating and reintegrating ex-offenders into society.This episode is hosted by Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus), and features guest experts Prof Alison Liebling (University of Cambridge), Prof Nicola Padfield (University of Cambridge) and Prof Arnaud Philippe (University of Bristol, former IAST fellow).Season 4 Episode 1 transcript: https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/S04E01_Transcript.docx.pdfListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform: https://pod.fo/e/2716d2For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST (Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse) visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X.With thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Stella Erker and Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore CarbonnelMore information about our host and guests:Richard Westcott is an award-winning journalist who spent 27 years at the BBC as a correspondent/producer/presenter covering global stories for the flagship Six and Ten o’clock TV news as well as the Today programme. His last role was as a science correspondent covering the covid outbreak, but prior to that he was the transport correspondent reporting on new technologies such as driverless cars, major accidents and large infrastructure projects including HS2 and the expansion of Heathrow. Over the decades he also reported on the Iraq War and 9/11 as well as numerous UK general elections. Last year, Richard left the corporation and he is now the communications director for Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, both organisations that are working to support life sciences and healthcare across the city. @BBCwestcottRelevant linksAuty, K. M., & Liebling, A. (2024). What is a ‘good enough’ prison? An empirical analysis of key thresholds using prison moral quality data. European Journal of Criminology, 21(5), 725-753. https://doi.org/10.1177/14773708241227693Chen, D. L., Cingl, L., Philippe, A., & Šoltés, M. (2024). Exploring inmates’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors: Implications for theories of crime. Working Paper Series, 779. ISSN 2788-0443. https://www.cerge-ei.cz/pdf/wp/Wp779.pdf
The conversation explores the role of culture in peacebuilding and the need to challenge narratives of conflict and division. The guests discuss their experiences in conflict-affected regions and the importance of empathy, healing, and resilience in creating cultures of peace. They highlight the need for education systems to promote peace and inclusion, and the importance of dismantling oppressive narratives and amplifying the voices of marginalised communities. The conversation concludes with a call to action to reform education, support cultural workers, and create spaces for dialogue and understanding.TakeawaysCulture plays a crucial role in peacebuilding and can challenge narratives of conflict and division.Empathy, healing, and resilience are essential in creating cultures of peace.Education systems should promote peace, inclusion, and critical thinking to challenge oppressive narratives.It is important to amplify the voices of marginalised communities and provide spaces for dialogue and understanding.Dismantling oppressive narratives and supporting cultural workers are key steps in creating a more peaceful world.Chapters00:00 Introduction08:17 The impact of conflict on culture11:31 Witnessing violence and building peace16:39 Challenging conflict-based worldviews20:59 Weaponisation of culture and fighting back24:47 Erasure of culture and missing voices27:14 Measuring success in peacebuilding31:28 Creating cultures of empathy and Ubuntu36:39 Reforming education for peace and inclusion38:55 Dismantling oppressive narratives41:43 Amplifying marginalised voices44:32 Supporting cultural workers45:27 Conclusion
The podcast episode explores the concept of tolerance and how to create a more tolerant world. The guests discuss the importance of face-to-face interactions, trust, and cooperation in building tolerance. They also examine the role of technology and social media in promoting or hindering tolerance. The guests share their perspectives on using music, arts, and creativity as tools for fostering tolerance and empathy. The episode concludes with the call to volunteer, challenge personal narratives, and imagine a better future.TakeawaysTolerance requires face-to-face interactions, trust, and cooperation.Technology and social media can both promote and hinder tolerance.Music, arts, and creativity can be used as tools for fostering tolerance and empathy.Volunteering, challenging personal narratives, and imagining a better future are ways to promote tolerance.Chapters00:00 Introduction and background06:06 Building tolerance: face-to-face interactions and cooperation10:25 The role of technology in promoting tolerance13:13 Using music and arts to foster tolerance and empathy25:12 Conclusion and call to action
In this episode of Crossing Channels, Rory Cellan-Jones discusses with Diane Coyle, Ruth Mace, and Paul Seabright the impact of age on leadership, the consequences of having older leaders for society, and the case for implementing a compulsory retirement age.Leading experts discuss the trade-off between experience, expertise, skill and judgment as society’s leaders age. They draw on evolutionary as well as current examples to evaluate the case for implementing a compulsory retirement age for leaders. Finally, they consider alternative mechanisms – such as reducing voting ages, term limits and cognitive testing – to improve democratic responsiveness. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Professor Dame Diane Coyle (Bennett Institute for Public Policy), Professor Ruth Mace (UCL/IAST) and Professor Paul Seabright (IAST). Season 3 Episode 10 transcriptListen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.With thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Stella ErkerVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Kevin Sortino More information about our host and guests:Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and his latest “Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC” which was published in 2023. @ruskin147Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. Diane co-directs the Bennett Institute where she heads research under the themes of progress and productivity. Diane is also a Director of the Productivity Institute, a Fellow of the Office for National Statistics, an expert adviser to the National Infrastructure Commission, and Senior Independent Member of the ESRC Council. Her latest book is ‘Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be‘ on how economics needs to change to keep pace with the twenty-first century and the digital economy. Diane was awarded a DBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2023 for her invaluable contributions to economic policy and practice, as well as her unwavering commitment to public service. @DianeCoyle1859Ruth Mace is Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at University College London (UCL) and a long-term visitor at the Institute of Advanced Study at Toulouse (IAST). She trained as an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford, and then moved into evolutionary anthropology. Her research has covered a wide range of questions in human life history evolution and behavioural and cultural evolution. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal Evolutionary Human Sciences. @tavitonstPaul Seabright is a professor of economics at the Toulouse School of Economics. He was Director from 2012 to 2021 of the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse. Paul did his undergraduate and doctoral studies at the University of Oxford, where he was a Fellow of All Souls College. Paul’s current research lies in three areas of microeconomics: industrial organisation and competition policy; the economics of networks and the digital society; and behavioural economics. His new book The Divine Economy: How Religions Compete for Wealth, Power and People, was published by Princeton University Press in May 2024.
The episode explores the topic of political legitimacy in a polarized world. The guests discuss the psychological and cognitive components of political beliefs, the impact of polarization on journalism, and the importance of understanding the perspectives of people on the ground. They emphasize the need for flexible thinking, reevaluating our own dogmas, and engaging in meaningful conversations with others. Practical actions include supporting reliable news organizations, encountering different cultures through literature and media, and rethinking our own biases.TakeawaysPolitical legitimacy is not just a sociological or political issue, but also has psychological and cognitive components.Polarization poses challenges to journalism, and it is important to support news organizations that provide reliable information.Engaging with people on the ground and encountering different perspectives can lead to a better understanding of political legitimacy.Flexible thinking is crucial in navigating a polarized world and reevaluating our own dogmas.Practical actions include supporting reliable news organizations, encountering different cultures through literature and media, and rethinking our own biases.Chapters00:00Introduction: The Challenge of Political Legitimacy in a Polarized World05:04Understanding the Psychological and Cognitive Components of Political Legitimacy11:16The Impact of Polarization on Journalism and the Media Environment15:59Engaging with People on the Ground to Understand Political Legitimacy29:48Practical Actions to Strengthen Political Legitimacy
In this episode of Crossing Channels, Rory Cellan-Jones talks to experts, Dr Stephanie Diepeveen and Prof Jordanna Matlon about the enduring legacies of colonialism on global economic inequalities, the climate crisis, and the digital space.Dr Stephanie Diepeveen and Prof Jordanna Matlon share tangible examples and critical insights into a nuanced understanding of how colonial legacies continue to shape global power relations. The two experts debate actionable perspectives on how policymakers can address these challenges and the ongoing effects of colonialism. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Dr Stephanie Diepeveen (Bennett Institute for Public Policy) and Prof Jordanna Matlon (IAST).With thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Stella ErkerVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Kevin Sortino More information about our host and guests:Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and his latest “Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC” which was published in 2023. @ruskin147Stephanie Diepeveen is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge and a Senior Research Fellow (Digital) in the Politics and Governance Team at ODI (formerly the Overseas Development Institute). With an interdisciplinary background in politics, digital media and monitoring and evaluation, her research is focused on how digital technologies and the use of data transform democratic politics, inclusion and inequalities. Stephanie’s work brings a global perspective, having explored the nature and effects of digitalisation across diverse political and linguistic contexts, including around pressing issues of mis/disinformation, algorithmic bias and harmful content. Her book Searching for a New Kenya: Politics and Social Media on the Streets of Mombasa (CUP, 2021) looks in-depth into the politics and possibilities of discussion in the streets and online. @sdiepJordanna Matlon is an urban sociologist interested in questions of race and belonging in Africa and the African diaspor. She looks at the ways “Blackness” operates as a signifier, intersects with gender norms, manifests in popular culture, and illuminates our understanding of political economy. Her multiple award-winning book, A Man among Other Men: The Crisis of Black Masculinity in Racial Capitalism (Cornell University Press) investigates the relationship between masculinity, coloniality, and work in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Her new book, Blackness as Being: Black Survival in the Age of Climate Catastrophe (under contract, Polity Press), bridges literatures on surplus populations, climate change, and racial capitalism to theorize the possibilities and precariousness of species survival in the anthropocene. It offers Blackness as an analytic to think with the paradox of precarious possibility – of past and present modalities of survival and of futures alternatively devastating or laboratory.
The conversation delves into the urgency of addressing concerns about artificial intelligence, the impact of AI on society, and the need for ethical considerations. We explore the challenges of bias, misinformation, and the environmental impact of AI. The guests discuss the role of academia, big tech, and the public in shaping the future of AI. They also highlight the importance of transparency, regulation, and public awareness in navigating the complexities of AI.Keywordsartificial intelligence, AI ethics, bias, misinformation, environmental impact, academia, big tech, public awareness, transparency, regulationTakeaways· The urgency of addressing concerns about artificial intelligence and the need for ethical considerations· Challenges of bias, misinformation, and the environmental impact of AI· The role of academia, big tech, and the public in shaping the future of AI· Importance of transparency, regulation, and public awareness in navigating the complexities of AIChapters00:00 The Urgency of AI Ethics10:13 Challenges and Considerations in AI Development30:30 Transparency, Regulation, and Public Awareness in AI
This is the third interview with Mrs Charity (Cherry) Hopkins, Life Fellow of Girton College, University of Cambridge. Mrs Hopkins was interviewed for the third time on 14 February 2024 in the Squire Law Library.For more information, see the Squire Law Library website at:http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
This is the second interview with Mrs Charity (Cherry) Hopkins, Life Fellow of Girton College, University of Cambridge. Mrs Hopkins was interviewed for the second time on 16 October 2023 in the Squire Law Library.For more information, see the Squire Law Library website at:http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Why is the world protesting so much? How has protesting changed over the years? And what impact are mass protest movements having on policymaking? To explore these questions, Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Dr Felix Dwinger (IAST), Dr Giacomo Lemoli (IAST) and Dr Lauren Wilcox (University of Cambridge).Dr Lauren Wilcox, Dr Felix Dwinger, and Dr Giacomo Lemoli talk to Rory Cellan-Jones about why the world is protesting so much, how protesting has changed over time, and what impact protest movements are having on policymaking.This podcast episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Lauren Wilcox (University of Cambridge), Felix Dwinger (IAST) and Giacomo Lemoli (IAST).Season 3 Episode 8 transcript: https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.u...Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform: https://pod.fo/e/2390ecFor more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouseWith thanks to: Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Stella ErkerVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Kevin SortinoMore information about our host and guests:Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and his latest “Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC” which was published in 2023. @ruskin147Dr Felix Dwinger is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study in Toulouse. His research focuses on autocratic politics and democratic backsliding using game theory and causal inference from observational data. He holds a PhD from the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. While pursuing his PhD, he was a Visiting Assistant Researcher at Yale and a Guest Doctoral Researcher at the University of Konstanz, Germany. @DwingerFelixDr Giacomo Lemoli is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse. He holds a PhD in Politics from New York University and a MSc in Economic and Social Sciences from Bocconi University. His research studies the construction and change of group identities, and their implications for political competition, mobilization, and development in contemporary societies. He is particularly interested in how political elites and mass media shape the salience of ethnic and linguistic boundaries, and in how collective memories affect behavior. He uses econometric tools for causal inference on contemporary and archival data, as well as original surveys. His research has been funded by UNU-WIDER and the Institute for Humane Studies. @giacomolem
Verity Harding, Gina Neff and Lawrence Rothenberg talk to Rory Cellan-Jones about whether nations competing for AI supremacy can really collaborate to slow down dangerous developments and what are the tradeoffs.In this episode, Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC) chats with Verity Harding (Bennett Institute for Public Policy), Gina Neff (Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy), and Lawrence Rothenberg (IAST and University of Rochester), about artificial intelligence (AI) and the fine balance between innovation and regulation. Together, they explore what makes ‘good’ regulation and the crucial role of global collaboration in shaping the future of AI.They share the latest developments of AI regulation in the UK, US and EU, emphasising the need for effective regulation to address the risks of AI. They also discuss what regulators can learn from past tech revolutions, like in vitro fertilisation, and highlight the critical importance of collaboration to ensure AI improves people’s living and working conditions. Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform Season 3 Episode 7 transcriptFor more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouseWith thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Stella ErkerVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Kevin Sortino More information about our host and guests:Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and his latest Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC which was published in 2023.Verity Harding is a globally recognised expert in AI, technology and public policy. She is currently Director of the AI and Geopolitics Project (AIxGEO) at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy. She is also Founder of Formation Advisory Ltd, a tech consultancy firm. Her debut book is AI Needs You: How we can change AI’s future and save our own (Princeton University Press 2024).Professor Gina Neff is the executive director of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on the effects of the rapid expansion of our digital information environment on workers, workplaces, and our everyday lives. Her books include Venture Labor (MIT Press 2012), Self-Tracking (MIT Press 2016) and Human-Centered Data Science (MIT Press 2022).Lawrence Rothenberg is a member of the Scientific Council of the IAST and has been a member of the faculty at the University of Rochester for roughly three decades (1989-2002, 2005-present). He began his career in the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences at Cal Tech, and from 2002-2005 was the Max McGraw Distinguished Professor of Environmental Management in the Department of Management and Strategy and the Co-Director of the Ford Center for Global Citizenship at the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University.
The episode explores the topic of extreme weather and its impact on communities and asks: What does extreme weather mean for us?The speakers highlight the importance of connecting research to real-world impacts and the need for collective action. They discuss the devastating losses of climate disasters, the challenges of adaptation and the power of nature. They also emphasise the importance of empowering marginalised communities and amplifying their voices in climate action. In addition, the episode explores innovations in policy, including capacity building, local action and storytelling - getting local communities affected by climate change to tell their stories. We conclude by encouraging listeners to ask questions, take climate action, and connect to local initiatives.TakeawaysExtreme weather events have devastating consequences, including the loss of traditions, cultures, and intangible heritage.Collective action and collective intelligence are crucial in addressing climate change and its impacts.Youth empowerment and inner well-being are essential for building resilience and creating a sustainable future.Data, responsible AI, and storytelling play a significant role in tackling misinformation and driving climate action.Innovations in climate policy include capacity building, community empowerment, and inclusive decision-making.Chapters00:00Introduction and Climate Reality01:19Experiences in Extreme Environments04:01Impact of Extreme Weather Events05:56Bringing People and Voices into Climate Action06:26Unseen Consequences of Extreme Weather09:49Loss of Traditions and Indigenous Knowledge10:12Finding Balance and Adapting to Extreme Weather12:36Challenges in Super Tanker Countries13:31Proving the Urgency of Collective Action14:59Leveraging Data and Responsible AI16:27Innovation in Climate Policy20:33Recognizing the Importance of Nature22:46Inner Development Goals and Wisdom25:11Tackling Misinformation and Polarization27:31Innovation in Policy and Climate Action32:46Taking Action and Asking Questions
Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Emmanuelle Auriol, Nina Jörden and Francesca Barigozzi about the underrepresentation of women in certain sectors, the persistence of the motherhood wage gap, and the impact of flexible work arrangement on women’s careers.This episode asks why are women disadvantaged in the workplace? Experts explore why women are underrepresented in certain professions. Why is the motherhood wage gap so persistent? How does flexible work impact women's careers? And what does policy need to do to reduce gender inequalities in the workplace?Podcast host, Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), discusses these issues with leading academics Emmanuelle Auriol (IAST), Nina Jörden (Bennett Institute for Public Policy) and Francesca Barigozzi (University of Bologna). Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformSeason 3 Episode 6 transcriptFor more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Stella ErkerVisuals by Tiffany NaylorMore about our host and guests:Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and his latest “Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC” which was published in 2023. @ruskin147Emmanuelle Auriol is a full professor at Toulouse School of Economics. Her work, which combines theoretical and empirical approaches, focuses on industrial organization and development economics. She studies market failures, whether they are caused by the rent-seeking behavior of agents with market power, or by cognitive biases such as intrinsic motivations, religious beliefs, or discriminatory social norms, especially against women.Francesca Barigozzi is a Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics of the University of Bologna. She is an applied microtheorist, and her fields of research include family economics, public economics, information economics, health economics, and behavioral economics. She holds a PhD in Economics from Toulouse School of Economics. She has been a visiting professor at Ecole Centrale Marseille, Boston University, and Toulouse School of Economics. Her current research activity focuses mainly on family economics, gender issues, and personnel economics. Nina Jörden is a research associate at the Bennett Institute. Her work focuses on questions around the future of work: What do employees need to be resilient and productive? What will “good work” look like in the future? How can work be meaningful and meet societal needs? Nina addresses these questions in both the private and public sectors. Nina holds a PhD in Organisational Studies from Loughborough University, an MSc in Human Resource Management from Loughborough University and a BA in Psychology and Management from the International School of Management, Germany. @jorden_nina
This podcast, hosted by Gaia Dratwinska, looks at Nicholas Ong’s research into the life and music of Russian composer, Valentia Serova (1846-1925), the creator of the first opera by a woman to be performed at the Bolshoi theatre in Moscow. Produced by Claire Watt.
In this episode, Iona Warne interviews Dr Jo, of Dr Jo Science, to investigate some surprising facts about the human body, as well as looking into how science can best be communicated to children. Facebook.com/DrJoScienceProduced by Claire Watt.
In this podcast, Soraya Shakibi talks to Clare Wilkes about her work with temperature scarves, exploring this unique blend of crafts and environmental consciousness.Produced by Claire Watt.
In this episode, Catalina Taylor chats with Dr Brian Ferguson, an immunologist and Associate Professor of Immunology at the University of Cambridge, about how vaccines work and why we need them. Produced by Claire Watt.
This episode sees Joanne Yau get to grips with the basics of nuclear energy, as well as taking a good look at their green potential. Featuring PhD researchers from the Nuclear Energy Futures CDT (Hannah Tipping, Martin Gillet, Will Thomas, Jason Lee and Parth Kulkarni). Produced by Claire Watt.
In this podcast, Claire Watt talks to Chris Wakefield, one of the archaeologists working on Must Farm, a Bronze Age settlement near Peterborough which has been described as ‘Britain’s Pompei’. Produced by Claire Watt.
Best-selling author Tara Westover, researcher Aliya Khalid and Thabo Msibi Deputy Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, tackle the issue of what education should be for. They stress the idea that small actions can have a significant impact on making a difference in the world and emphasise the power of individuals to create change within their own sphere of influence. We explore their own perspectives and discuss their own powerful personal stories, highlighting the importance of diverse stories in education, the impact of education on women and gender and the power of education to challenge norms and beliefs. They also emphasise the role of education as a journey of self-discovery and unlearning, as well as a tool for social justice and empowerment. In addition, the episode discusses the need for curriculum reform and inclusivity, the role of technology in education and personal stories of overcoming educational challenges. TakeawaysEducation as a lifelong journey of learning and personal growth.Education has the power to empower individuals, promote social justice, and transform communities.Listening to and learning from communities is crucial in developing effective educational practices.Small acts of support and encouragement can make a significant difference in education.Chapters00:00 Introduction00:31 The purpose of education01:13 Guest introductions05:24 Education and gender06:24 Education as empowerment08:21 The value of questioning and doubt in education10:10 Education as a tool for social justice12:56 Education in disadvantaged communities15:17 The importance of listening and learning from communities19:19 Personal teachable moments20:14 Motivation for education23:05 The transformative power of education25:59 Unlearning and overcoming challenges in education29:30 Curriculum reform and empowerment31:40 Moving forward: Taking action in education37:12 So, now what? BiosTara Westover @tarawestover is a memoirist and historian. Her first book, Educated (2018), debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and was a finalist for a number of awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award, the LA Times Book Prize, and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. The American Booksellers Association named it the Nonfiction Book of the Year, and to date, the book has been translated into 47 languages. For her staggering impact, TIME magazine named Westover one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2019, and in 2023, she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden. Thabo Msibi is the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning and a professor of Curriculum Studies in the School of Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Msibi has published research in South African and international journals and books and is author of the book Hidden sexualities of South African Teachers: Black male educators and same-sex desire. He has also co-edited a book entitled Gender, Sexuality and Violence in South African Educational Spaces, with Deevia Bhana and Shakila Singh. Aliya Khalid @khalidaliya1 is a Lecturer in Comparative and International Education in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, UK. She works on issues of educational equity with a focus on gender. Her areas of interest include the capability approach, negative capability, epistemic paradoxicality and justice, Southern epistemologies, politics of representation and knowledge production.
Matthew Agarwala, Stefan Lamp and Alessio Terzi talk to Rory Cellan-Jones about the trade-offs between economic growth and environmental protection, the policies and legislations needed to achieve green growth, and the challenges associated with implementing such measures.This episode unpacks the possibility of green growth. Leading experts discuss the unsustainability of current growth paths, the need for a new economic model and measures of wealth, and the types of policies needed to deliver both economic growth and environmental protection. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Matthew Agarwala (Bennett Institute), Stefan Lamp (TSE) and Alessio Terzi (Bennett Institute). Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformSeason 3 Episode 5 transcriptFor more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouseWith thanks to:•Audio production by Steve Hankey•Associate production by Stella Erker•Visuals by Tiffany NaylorRelevant links •Alessio Terzi (2022) ‘Growth for Good: Reshaping Capitalism to Save Humanity from Climate Catastrophe’ (Harvard University Press)•Coyle, D., Zenghelis, D., Agarwala, M., Wdowin, J., Lu, S. and Felici, M. (2019) ‘Measuring wealth, delivering prosperity: The Wealth Economy Project on Natural and Social Capital, Interim Report to LetterOne’ (Bennett Institute for Public Policy) •Agarwala, M., Cinamon Nair, Y., Cordonier Segger, M.C., Coyle, D., Felici, M., Goodair, B., Leam, R., Lu, S., Manley, A., Wdowin, J., Zenghelis, D. (2020). ‘Building Forward: Investing in a Resilient Recovery. Wealth Economy Report to LetterOne’ (Bennett Institute for Public Policy) •Diane Coyle ‘GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History’, March 2014, Princeton University Press, revised edition 2015More information about our host and guests:Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and his latest “Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC” which was published in 2023. @ruskin147Matthew Agarwala is an economist interested in measuring and delivering sustainability, wellbeing, and productivity. His research is motivated by the belief that 21st century progress cannot be described by 20th century statistics. Matthew leads the Bennett Institute’s Wealth Economy project, which seeks to transform economic measurement to better reflect sustainability, inequality, and human wellbeing. @MatthewAgarwalaStefan Lamp is a Research Fellow at the Toulouse School of Economics. His research focuses mainly on the ongoing energy transition from a fossil-fuel economy towards renewable energy sources. Stefan is interested in three broad topics. First, the impact of climate change policies on individuals and firms. Second, the diffusion and adoption of new green technologies, such as solar photovoltaic panels. Third, the impact of the energy transition on electricity markets.Alessio Terzi is an Assistant Professor in Public Policy at the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Growth for Good (Harvard University Press, 2022). He is also an Economist at DG ECFIN of the European Commission, and an Adjunct Professor at Sciences Po and at HEC Paris. Prior to this, he was Affiliate Fellow at Bruegel, the leading European economics think-tank, and Fulbright Scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School. @terzibus
In this episode, we explore how we can build back better after a crisis. What are the challenges and opportunities of addressing the climate crisis, including the need for climate justice, the costs of inaction, and the importance of green innovation. We consider the roles of governments, multilateral institutions, and grassroots movements play in driving change. And we conclude with a call to action, So, now what? Where we emphasise the need for coordinated international efforts and a just and equitable transition to a sustainable future.TakeawaysBuilding back better after a crisis requires addressing climate justice and the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable communities.The costs of climate change, both economic and social, are substantial and require urgent action.Investment in clean energy and good jobs can drive economic growth and reduce carbon emissions.Leveraging people power and social media can help raise awareness and drive change.Green innovation and regulation are key to building a sustainable and equitable society.Chapters00:00 Introduction04:21 Expertise and perspectives06:50 The challenge of building back better10:10 Understanding the costs and risks of climate change14:25 Building back better in the United States17:15 Building back better in Africa19:25 The Need for collaboration and connectivity. Who needs to be in the same room?25:45 Leveraging people power and innovation. How can we talk about green innovation and change the narrative? What does a better society look like?31:00. So, now what? Moving Forward: Political will and financing.BiosKamiar Mohaddes @KamiarMohaddes is an Associate Professor in Economics & Policy at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. His main areas of research include climate change, economics of the Middle East, energy economics and applied macroeconomics. He is currently a consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank and has previously served as a Departmental Special Advisor at the Bank of Canada, a consultant at the United Nations, a consultant at the Asian Development Bank and a regular visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund to name a few. Todd N. Tucker @toddntucker is a political scientist and director of Industrial Policy and Trade at the Roosevelt Institute, where he helps lead research on global governance, democracy, and the administrative state. A recognised expert on trade and political economy, Dr Tucker has testified before legislatures and expert committees around the world. He is author of Judge Knot: Politics and Development in International Investment Law (Anthem Press, 2018). He has authored over 70 major reports, including Fixing the Senate: Equitable and Full Representation for the 21st Century and Industrial Policy and Planning: What It Is and How to Do It Better.Queen Chinyere Quinn is a Co-Founder and Partner at Kupanda Capital, an investment platform established to create, capitalise and scale pan-African companies. In this capacity, Queen has worked to provide tailored advice and support to entrepreneurs, project developers, fund managers and corporations operating in Africa. She has worked on deals in various sectors across Africa, including those in media, consumer and energy; and leads the platform on issues related to impact investing. Queen has helped to found several new companies and ventures, including Fraym, a geospatial data company and Nithio, an AI powered energy finance platform for the off-grid solar sector in Africa.
So, now what? the new podcast from Gates Cambridge, a leading scholarship programme for outstanding international postgraduates at the University of Cambridge. Our guests are the scholars themselves - big thinkers from a range of different backgrounds and disciplines - who are out there finding solutions to some of our most wicked problems from the global economy and the environment, to technology, politics and universal healthcare. They'll share their optimism and their experience, and give us a peek at their 'to do' lists too. But they'll also be inviting the rest of us to join them - sharing 'So, now what?' actions that we can all apply today. Join me, Catherine Galloway, and a panel of Gates Cambridge scholars for conversations that lead to positive change. So, now what? with Gates Cambridge. Available monthly on all your favourite podcast platforms.
Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Jean-Paul Azam, Diane Coyle and Andy Westwood about the potential of universal basic income to tackle regional inequalities, boost economic growth in ‘left behind’ and growing places, and rebuilding democracy. This episode unpacks why current policies are failing to tackle regional inequalities and how a universal basic infrastructure might boost productivity across all places. Leading experts examine the value of infrastructure in different country contexts and how different levels of various departments and government could work together to deliver a universal basic infrastructure in all places. Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform Season 3 Episode 4 transcriptFor more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and www.iast.fr Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouseWith thanks to: Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Stella ErkerVisuals by Tiffany NaylorRelevant links:Townscapes: A Universal Basic Infrastructure for the UK by Coyle, D., Erker, S. and Westwood, A. Bennett Institute (2023).A Universal Basic Infrastructure in the UK by Coyle, D., Erker, S. and Westwood, A. Bennett Institute (2023). To Fight Populism, Invest in Left-Behind Communities by Coyle, D. Project Syndicate (2023).Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform https://pod.fo/e/20fb17Season 3 Episode 4 transcript https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CC-S3E4-Transcript.docx.pdfMore information about our host and guests:Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and his latest “Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC” which was published in 2023. @ruskin147Jean-Paul Azam is a professor of economics Emeritus at the Toulouse School of Economics, University of Toulouse and a member of IAST. After publishing mainly on the macroeconomics of Africa, he has focused since the mid-1990s on explaining violent conflict and its prevention, with application to foreign aid, civil war, and transnational terrorism.Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. Diane co-directs the Bennett Institute where she heads research under the themes of progress and productivity. Her latest book is ‘Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be‘ on how economics needs to change to keep pace with the twenty-first century and the digital economy. Diane is also a Director of the Productivity Institute, a Fellow of the Office for National Statistics, an expert adviser to the National Infrastructure Commission, and Senior Independent Member of the ESRC Council. She was awarded a DBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2023 for her invaluable contributions to economic policy and practice, as well as her unwavering commitment to public service. @DianeCoyle1859Andy Westwood is Professor of Government Practice at the University of Manchester and a Director of the ESRC funded Productivity Institute. He has worked as an expert adviser to the EU, the OECD and the IMF, as well as a specialist adviser to the Select Committees on Economic Affairs and Digital Skills in the House of Lords. Andy was previously a special adviser in the last Labour Government on Further and Higher Education, Science and Local Government. @AndyWWestwood
The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill seeks to circumvent the UK Supreme Court's recent judgment holding the Government's Rwanda policy, concerning the removal of certain asylum-seekers, to Rwanda. The Bill contemplates placing the UK in breach of its international obligations, including under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Refugee Convention, while forming part of a policy that relies upon Rwanda's adherence to its own international obligations. The Bill is thus at once hypocritical and parochial, given that domestic legislation cannot free the UK of its legal obligations on the international plane.In this short recording Professor Mark Elliott explores the legal and constitutional implications of the Bill.Mark Elliott is Professor of Public Law and Chair of the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge. From 2015 to 2019, he served as Legal Adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution, providing advice to the Committee on a range of legislative and other matters. Mark co-founded the international biennial Public Law Conference series and co-convened the first two conferences. He is the recipient of a University of Cambridge Pilkington Prize for excellence in teaching and is the author of a widely read blog http://publiclawforeveryone.com/ that is aimed at public law scholars, current and prospective law students, policy-makers, and others who are interested in the subject.For more information about Professor Elliott, you can also refer to his profile at: https://www.law.cam.ac.uk/people/academic/mc-elliott/25Law in Focus is a collection of short recordings featuring academics from the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law, addressing legal issues in current affairs and the news. These issues are examples of the many which challenge researchers and students studying undergraduate and postgraduate law at the Faculty.
This is the first interview with Mrs Charity (Cherry) Hopkins, Life Fellow of Girton College, University of Cambridge. Mrs Hopkins was interviews for the first time on 13 September 2023 in the Squire Law Library.For more information, see the Squire Law Library website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
This is the fifteenth interview for the Eminent Scholars Archive with an incumbent of the Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science. Professor McLachlan is Professor of Law at Victoria University of Wellington.Professor McLachlan was interviewed on was interviewed on 19 June and 13 September 2023 in the Squire Law Library.For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-law-eminent-scholars-archive
Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Angelique Acquatella, Shan Morgan and Jennifer Dixon about the current status of digital technology adoption in healthcare services, why digital adoption is so slow, and the opportunities for medtech, individuals and the wider economy.In this episode, experts unpack the barriers and facilitators of digital healthcare. Rory, Angelique, Shan and Jennifer explore the impact of med tech on inequalities, and offer solutions to mitigate risks of digital exclusion in healthcare. Provided healthcare systems focus on long-term priorities and agenda, the speakers highlight that technologies could enhance the quality and effectiveness of care. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Angelique Acquatella (TSE), Shan Morgan (Bennett Institute), Jennifer Dixon (Health Foundation). Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformSeason 3 Episode 2 transcriptFor more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform - https://podfollow.com/1597966909/episode/ae7574b1f426a63bfc0eccaa49f987e12123f4bd/viewSeason 3 Episode 2 transcript - https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CC-S3E3-Transcript.docx.pdfOur thanks to:Audio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Stella ErkerVisuals by Tiffany Naylor
On the 15 November the UK Supreme Court decided that the United Kingdom's policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful.In this short recording Dr Kirsty Hughes explains the Court's reasoning, and considers the Government's response and possible next steps.Kirsty Hughes is an Associate Professor specialising in Human Rights Law. She is joint General Editor of the European Human Rights Law Review, Director of the Centre for Public Law, University of Cambridge, a member of Blackstone Chambers Academic Panel and Deputy Editor of Public Law. She is a co-convenor of the European Human Rights Law Conference.For more information about Dr Hughes, please refer to her profile at https://www.law.cam.ac.uk/people/academic/ke-hughes/2113Law in Focus is a collection of short recordings featuring academics from the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law, addressing legal issues in current affairs and the news. These issues are examples of the many which challenge researchers and students studying undergraduate and postgraduate law at the Faculty.
Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Ingela Alger (IAST) and Flavio Toxvaerd (University of Cambridge) about the drivers of research silos, the merits of conducting interdisciplinary research and how to overcome disciplinary divides.This episode takes a look at why academic research is trapped in research silos. Ingela Alger (IAST) and Flavio Toxvaerd (University of Cambridge) talk to Rory Cellan-Jones, about the challenges faced in conducting interdisciplinary research. They emphasize the significant benefits that interdisciplinarity can bring and share insight into how to foster an interdisciplinary research culture for better results. Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformSeason 3 Episode 2 transcriptFor more information about this podcast series and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.With thanks to:Audio production – Steve HankeyAssociate production – Stella ErkerVisuals – Tiffany NaylorMore about our host and guests:Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including his latest “Always On” which was published in 2021. @ruskin147Ingela Alger is a CNRS Senior Scientist (DR) in Economics, and the current Director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST) as well as the Chair of the Department in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Her research, which has been published in international peer-reviewed journals such as the American Economic Review, Econometrica, and PNAS, focuses on the evolutionary foundations of human preferences, when these are transmitted from generation to generation and are subject to selection. She is particularly interested in the evolutionary foundations of morality and distributional preferences, as well as preferences guiding family-related behaviors. She has been awarded numerous grants, notably ANR Chaire d’Excellence 2012-2017, and ERC Advanced Grant 2019-2023. In 2022 she was awarded the CNRS Silver Medal. @ingelaalger Flavio Toxvaerd is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Clare College and an Affiliated Researcher with the Bennett Institute for Public Policy. He serves as UKRI Policy Fellow in Competition and Productivity Economics with the Competition and Markets Authority. His research and teaching interests are in microeconomics and game theory with applications, including industrial organisation, competition policy and economic epidemiology. @toxvaerd1If you enjoyed this podcast then check out:Crossing Channels S2E5 featuring Sarah Dillon and Manvir Singh “Why are stories important for society?” Alger, I., Weibull, J. W., & Lehmann, L. (2020). Evolution of preferences in structured populations: genes, guns, and culture. Journal of Economic Theory, 185, 104951.Alger, I. (2023). Evolutionarily stable preferences. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 378(1876), 20210505.Alger, I., Dridi, S., Stieglitz, J., & Wilson, M. L. (2023). The evolution of early hominin food production and sharing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(25), e2218096120.Toxvaerd, F., & Rowthorn, R. (2022). On the management of population immunity. Journal of Economic Theory, 204, 105501.Toxvaerd, F. (2020). Herd immunity – crucial yet irrelevant. Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge.Bromham, L., Dinnage, R., & Hua, X. (2016). Interdisciplinary research has consistently lower funding success. Nature, 534(7609), 684-687.
This is the fifteenth interview for the Eminent Scholars Archive with an incumbent of the Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science. Professor McLachlan is Professor of Law at Victoria University of Wellington.Professor McLachlan was interviewed on was interviewed on 19 June and 13 September 2023 in the Squire Law Library.For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-law-eminent-scholars-archive
In this first episode of series 3, Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Dr Anne Degrave, Prof Dennis Grube and Halima Khan about the drivers of short-termism in government, the interplay between voter preferences and policy change and the mechanisms needed to embed longer-term decision-making.This episode unpacks why governments have been trapped in short-term thinking. Leading experts examine the impact of short-term decision-making on policy outcomes and explore the policy tools needed to instill longer-term decision-making. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Dr Anne Degrave (IAST), Prof Dennis Grube (Bennett Institute) and Halima Khan (Bennett Institute).
Mohamed El-Erian is the President of Queen’s College Cambridge, and his new book, Permacrisis: A Plan To Fix A Fractured World, is out now.Written with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Nobel Prize-winning economist Michael Spence, the book is an attempt to understand and explain our world has gone wrong, and presents a plan to better manage the future for the benefit of the many and not the few. This interview was produced by Amy Mollett for the University of Cambridge. Our interviewer was James Helm. Thanks to Mohamed El-Erian and the Queen’s College team, and the University of Cambridge’s Development and Alumni Relations team.
What is the future of religion?
Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Iza Hussin and Paul Seabright about recent trends in world religions, the interplay between politics and religion, and the economics of religion.
This episode unpacks the widespread belief that religion is in decline and explores why this view is mistaken. Leading experts discuss the intersection between religion and politics, the rivalry within and between religions, and how wider socioeconomic trends are both impacted by and impacting religious movements.
This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Iza Hussin (University of Cambridge) and Paul Seabright (IAST).
Season 2 Episode 10 transcript
For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.
Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse
Audio production by Steve Hankey
Associate production by Stella Erker
Visuals by Tiffany Naylor
Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Michael Kenny, Louis Baktash, and Mathieu Carpentier about the governance challenges in France and the United Kingdom, the impact of recent political protests, and whether devolution might be the answer to address these challenges.This podcast examines the constitutional challenges in France and the UK. Leading experts from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambridge, and Toulouse Capitole University, France, reflect on recent political protests and movements – including protests over Macron’s pension reforms, the gilets jaunes movement, and Brexit – and the impact these have on policy. The guests discuss how the structure of the UK and French government could be reformed, and whether devolution is the adequate response. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features experts Michael Kenny (Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambridge), Louis Baktash (Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambridge), and Mathieu Carpentier (Toulouse Capitole University).
Why don’t naked mole-rats feel some kinds of pain and what does this mean for human medicine? Simone Eizagirre Barker talks to Ewan St John about his work studying pain and the extraordinary biology of naked mole-rats which is helping us learn about all sorts of human diseases and uncover potential cures or forms of symptom management.Find out more about naked mole-rats and watch an animation about them here: https://www.phar.cam.ac.uk/research/NMRI Music by Coby O'BrienProduced by Rebekah King
What is a herbarium and why is it important? Gregory Miller visits Dr Lauren Gardiner and Dr Edwin Rose at the Cambridge University Herbarium to learn more about this fascinating library of plants, who collected them, and why they are so crucial to the study of more than just the natural world.Music by Coby O'Brien Produced by Rebekah King
How does nuclear energy work and is it the best way forward for powering out future? Beth King talks to Susannah Lea, Michael Salvini and Hugh Dorward, three members of the CDT PhD team behind the event ‘the Nuclear Energy Futures Fair: an Insight into the Energy of Tomorrow.’ Music by Coby O'BrienProduced by Rebekah King
When we say that money is power, what exactly do we mean? Anna Mahtani talks to numismatist and former curator of coins at the British Museum Joe Cribb about the past and future of money. From ancient Chinese coins to cryptocurrencies, what does the study of money tell us about our world and who has power within it? Music by Coby O'BrienProduced by Rebekah King
Leading experts from the Bennett Institute and IAST debate emerging technologies like generative AI tools and the metaverse; why there is so much interest, whether we should be excited or worried, and what are the associated policy implications.Sam Gilbert Bennett Institute), César Hidalgo (IAST) and Jeni Tennison (Bennett Institute) talk to podcast host Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC) about the latest developments of emerging forms of technologies, their opportunities and harms, and what policymakers can do to mitigate the associated risks.This episode unpacks the most recent advancements of generative artificial intelligence and the metaverse, their policy implications, and the role of policymaking and legislation in this sphere. Our guests highlight the need for deliberative and participatory governance structures to facilitate the development and use of new technologies.Season 2 Episode 8 transcriptListen to this and other Crossing Channels episodes on your favourite podcast platform.For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and www.iast.frTweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouseAudio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Stella ErkerVisuals by Thomas Devaud
Who owns the past and does antiquity really ‘belong’ to anyone?Ella O’Loughlin speaks to Prof Tim Whitmarsh about an event at the Faculty of Classics which will discuss how the classical past is understood and who feels a sense of ownership over it. Find out more about the event here: https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/past-tense-who-does-greek-and-roman-antiquity-belongMusic by Coby O'BrienProduced by Rebekah King
Why did a female saint rise from her tomb and slap a bellringer across the face? Ella O’Loughlin speaks to Prof Rosalind Love about her recent Cambridge Festival event on female saints and hears some of the vivid stories told about their unique kind of power. Music by Coby O'BrienProduced by Rebekah King
Who was the Roman Emperor who rejected Christianity? Amelia Platt speaks to Dr Lea Niccolai from the Faculty of Classics about her talk on Julian the Apostate, an emperor who was raised Christian but rejected the faith and returned to the worship of the Roman gods. Find out more at the Cambridge Festival 2023https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/last-pagan-emperor-understanding-julian-apostate Music by Coby O'BrienProduced by Rebekah King
Prof David Runciman and Prof Karine Van der Straeten talk to Rory Cellan-Jones about extending voting rights to school-aged children.This episode unpacks the main objections against lowering the legal voting age, the merits of extending democratic rights to children, and how children’s voices might be better represented in electoral processes. Leading experts explore how the enfranchisement of children could revitalise our democracy and inject a fresh set of perspectives. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Karine Van der Straeten (IAST) and David Runciman (University of Cambridge).
Rory Cellan-Jones and leading experts Maria Kleshnina, Daniel Nettle and Amy Orben discuss the drivers of cooperation and how online and offline environments are impacting human behaviour.This episode looks at the main drivers of human behaviour, the difficulties of cooperation for the greater good, and whether those drivers are immutable or have changed in the era of digital communication.Our guests from the University of Cambridge, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, and École Normale Supérieure-PSL, explore how megatrends, such as digitalisation and inequality, impact cooperation and the policy levers needed to achieve positive societal change.
Sarah Dillon and Manvir Singh talk to Rory Cellan-Jones about the value of stories, some of the dangers of endorsing stories and the need for narrative evidence to inform decision-making.Stories can provide new insights into current policy challenges and problems but while listening to them could improve political decision-making, how do we know which ones to trust?This episode unpacks the value of stories to understand the past and inform current policy debates. Leading experts discuss the origin of stories, the status of storytellers, and the crucial need to listen to stories to improve policymaking. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Sarah Dillon (Bennett Institute for Public Policy) and Manvir Singh (Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse). Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformSeason 2 Episode 5 transcriptFor more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and iast.fr/Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouseAudio production by Steve HankeyAssociate production by Stella ErkerVisuals by Thomas Devaud
This special edition of Crossing Channels features Nataliia Shapoval and Tymofiy Mylovanov from the Kyiv School of Economics talking to Rory Cellan-Jones about the role of academics and research during wartime.Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), and Nataliia Shapoval, head of KSE Institute, discuss how their research priorities have shifted during the war on Ukraine, how the University has operated throughout these challenging times, and why the higher education system is integral to Ukraine’s future. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Tymofiy Mylovanov (Kyiv School of Economics) and Nataliia Shapoval (Kyiv School of Economics). Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformSeason 2, Episode 4 transcript
Rory Cellan-Jones and leading experts Charlotte Cavaillé, Ailbhe McNabola and Jack Shaw discuss the causes of income and regional inequality, why policymakers should care, and what policy interventions work best to reduce them.Leading experts discuss recent trends in income and regional inequality, and evaluate the effectiveness of different policy approaches. They debate the opportunities and challenges of (de)centralisation, what works best to revive ‘left behind’ places, and whether the assumptions built into the Levelling Up White Paper will deliver to reduce inequalities. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Professor Charlotte Cavaillé (Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan and IAST), Ailbhe McNabola (Bennett Institute for Public Policy and Power to Change) and Jack Shaw (Bennett Institute for Public Policy). Listen on your preferred podcast platformSeason 2 Episode 3 transcriptFor more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.Audio production by Steve Hankey.Associate production by Stella Erker. Visuals by Thomas Devaud.
Darwin’s tiny, priceless Tree of Life sketch is arguably the most iconic drawing in the history of science.
“The Tree of Life notebooks are Darwin at his most radical,” says Professor Jim Secord, a world expert on the subject. “The theory of natural selection and evolution is the foundation stone of modern biology and much of the rest of the sciences.”
However, the notebooks were stolen in the early 2000s and were missing for two decades before their anonymous return in a pink gift bag on March 9, 2022 – alongside a very odd note!
Despite an investigation that involved the Met Police, Interpol and a global public appeal, we still don’t know who took Darwin’s notebooks or why.
But why would someone steal them in the first place? What makes Darwin’s Tree of Life notebooks so important that someone saw fit to spirit them away from Cambridge University Library then return them again – 20 years later.
In this first podcast from one of the world’s great libraries, you’ll find out about the notebooks’ great importance, the endlessly curious life and letters of Charles Darwin, and the end of a nearly 50-year mega project to transcribe and publish 15,000 letters to and from Darwin – making them freely available to us all.
With guests Professor Jim Secord and Stuart Roberts, Head of Communications at Cambridge University Library. Hosted by communications specialist Sue Keogh FRSA. For more information about Darwin’s life and letters, please visit https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/
Rory Cellan-Jones and leading experts Gordon Harold, Laura Nurski and Zoe Purcell discuss why mental wellbeing in the workplace is essential, and what policymakers can do to promote a healthy workforce.
This episode unpacks the impact of the future of work on mental wellbeing, and its implications for policy. Leading experts discuss the major trends shaping the future of work, how job quality and AI impact wellbeing, and whether it is the job of businesses or governments to promote positive mental health at the workplace.
This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Professor Gordon Harold (University of Cambridge), Dr Laura Nurski (Bruegel) and Dr Zoe Purcell (Institute For Advanced Study in Toulouse).
Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform
Season 2 Episode 2 transcript
For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.
Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.
Audio production by Steve Hankey. Podcast production by Stella Erker.
Relevant links and publications
The Future of Work Partnership between the University of Cambridge and KPMG Nurski, L. and M. Hoffmann (2022) ‘Beating burnout: identifying bad jobs and improving job quality’, Policy Brief, Bruegel Nurski, L. and M. Hoffmann (2022) ‘The impact of artificial intelligence on the nature and quality of jobs’, Working Paper, Bruegel More information about our guests:
How can poetry explore and share academic research with the public?
Rebekah King speaks with David Cain and researchers at the University of Cambridge about their participation in the Creative Encounters Words programme.
Listen to researchers Dr Catherine Merrick (Senior Lecturer Pathology, Biological Sciences), accompanying music by Jonathan Windsor, Anne Thomas (Newnham College & Plant Sciences) Mona Jebril (Research Fellow, Centre for Business Research) read their poems and talk about how poetry has enabled them to think differently about the research.
The Words programme set out to look at and share research through poetry. Together with the poetry and public engagement professional, David Cain, the researchers explored the vast world of poetry, its different formats to bring out the poetry that lay behind their research for performance and for publication.
You can discover more about the Words programme, and read all the poems from 2022, at the Words website.
https://www.cam.ac.uk/public-engagement/creative-encounters-2022/creative-words
David's book Truth Street was shortlisted for the Forward Prizes for Poetry in 2019.
https://www.forwardartsfoundation.org/forward-prizes-for-poetry/david-cain/
Music by Coby O’Brien
Produced by Rebekah King
Rory Cellan-Jones talks to leading economists Diane Coyle, Jacques Crémer and Jean Tirole, about why productivity growth has slowed in spite of immense technological progress and what policy can do about it.
This episode unravels the impact of digitalisation on economic growth and its implications for policy. Leading economists discuss the productivity puzzle, why regulating Big Tech is so difficult, the threats of mass surveillance, and what policymakers can do to address these challenges. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Professor Diane Coyle (Bennett Institute for Public Policy), Professor Jacques Crémer (Toulouse School of Economics) and Professor Jean Tirole (Toulouse School of Economics – International Advanced Study in Toulouse). Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform Season 2 Episode 1 transcript For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/. Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse. Audio production by Steve Hankey. Podcast editing by Stella Erker.
More information about our guests:
Professor Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. She co-directs the Bennett Institute where she heads the themes of progress and productivity, and researches the digital economy and economic measurement. Diane is also a Director of the Productivity Institute, and a Fellow of the Office for National Statistics.
Professor Jacques Crémer received his undergraduate degree from the Ecole Polytechnique in 1971, a SM in Management and a PhD in economics, both from MIT, in 1973 and 1977. He has held appointments at the University of Pennsylvania and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. His current research interests are the economics of organization, the economics of the Internet and of the software industries, as well as contract theory.
Professor Jean Tirole is honorary chairman of the Foundation JJ Laffont-Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), and scientific director of TSE-Partnership. He is also affiliated with MIT, where he holds a visiting position, and the Institut de France. Professor Tirole’s research covers industrial organization, regulation, finance, macroeconomics and banking, and psychology-based economics.
Rory Cellan-Jones is a former technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism saw him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has written multiple books, including his latest “Always On” which was published in 2021.
How should we be expecting to live as we start to adapt to the changing climate? In our race to resilience, are there limitations to what we shoud expect to see on our supermarket shelves, escalated by the Ukraine war and cost of living crisis? And what real progress have we made since COP26?
To help build momentum after the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, University of Cambridge Professor Emily So worked with the Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) podcast team to engage with academics, policy professionals, and other climate experts to host a new mini-series (season 6) focussing on climate adaption.
We're so pleased to share with you the highlights of the series, produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, part of the Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
The mini-series was edited and produced by CSaP's Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series was supported by CSaP's Executive Director Rob Doubleday and CSaP's Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
Between April and June 2022 Professor Forsyth was interviewed four times. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (28 April 2022): Early Life and Career
- Second Interview (11 May 2022): Career Part 1
- Third Interview (17 May 2022): Career Part 2
- Fourth Interview (7 June 2022): Scholarly Works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-law-eminent-scholars-archive
Between April and June 2022 Professor Forsyth was interviewed four times. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (28 April 2022): Early Life and Career
- Second Interview (11 May 2022): Career Part 1
- Third Interview (17 May 2022): Career Part 2
- Fourth Interview (7 June 2022): Scholarly Works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-law-eminent-scholars-archive
Between April and June 2022 Professor Forsyth was interviewed four times. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (28 April 2022): Early Life and Career
- Second Interview (11 May 2022): Career Part 1
- Third Interview (17 May 2022): Career Part 2
- Fourth Interview (7 June 2022): Scholarly Works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-law-eminent-scholars-archive
Between April and June 2022 Professor Forsyth was interviewed four times. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
Please note due to technical problems, the audio quality of this interview is very poor
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (28 April 2022): Early Life and Career
- Second Interview (11 May 2022): Career Part 1
- Third Interview (17 May 2022): Career Part 2
- Fourth Interview (7 June 2022): Scholarly Works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-law-eminent-scholars-archive
Rory Cellan-Jones talks to expert guests Lucy Delap (University of Cambridge) and Victor Gay (IAST) about how lessons from history can inform policymaking today.
In this episode, Lucy Delap and Victor Gay discuss examples from history where lessons can be learned for today’s policymaking. They look at what the recession in the 1970s can tell us about government response to the current cost-of-living crisis, and what the 1918 Spanish Flu can tell us about dealing with a pandemic.
The guests also explore what history adds to policy debates but is currently left out, and why explaining what happened in the past isn’t as straightforward as it might seem.
Listen to this episode on your preferred listening platform. Episode 10 transcript
For more information about the podcast and the work of the Institutes, visit our websites: www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and www.iast.fr/
Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse
Audio production by Steve Hankey. Podcast editing by Annabel Manley.
About our guests and host:
Lucy Delap is a Professor in Modern British and Gender History at the University of Cambridge. Her research interests include the history of feminisms in Britain, the US, and the British Empire, and in labour history with a focus on the intersections of gender, class, and disability in the workplace. She is the author of three books, most recently ‘Feminisms: a global history’ in 2020. She was also the winner of the Royal Historical Society Public History Prize for public debate and policy in 2018.
Victor Gay is an Assistant Professor at the Toulouse School of Economics and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse. His research interests include labour economics and the economics of culture, focussing on the economic history of France. As part of his work on developing data infrastructures based on novel archival material, he is also the Scientific Advisor of the University Data Platform of Toulouse of the PROGEDO data infrastructure.
Rory Cellan-Jones is a former technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including his latest “Always On” which was published in 2021.
How can our built environment adapt to the impacts of climate change? What needs to be done to decarbonise the industry to future-proof our urban, rural and coastal environments and what can new development look like in our race to resilience?
In the final episode of our 4-part mini-series - Science, Policy and Climate Resilience - Host Emily So is joined by Chris Wise, an award winning designer and Senior Director at the consultancy Expedition Engineering, and Peter Fisher, Director at the architectural firm Bennetts Associates. Both are certified B Corporations, businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental performance.
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Season 6 is produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
How can people and businesses learn to adapt and live with climate change? What behaviours should be adopted, what conversations should be had and actions taken at a global, national and local level? In the third episode of our mini-series - Science, Policy & Climate Resilience - Host Emily So, Professor of Architectural Engineering, University of Cambridge, is joined by Professor Dame Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, member of the House of Lords, Chair of the Adaptation Committee of the Committee on Climate Change and Chair of the Carbon Trust. Plus Emily Farnworth, Co-Director of the Centre for Climate Engagement at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.
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Season 6 is produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
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Further reading on this episode:
The Climate Change Committee's website: https://www.theccc.org.uk/ Article on supply chain risks stemming from climate change. Second UK Climate Change Risk Assessment report (2017). Third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment report (2022). Government announcement regarding their planned phase-out of petrol and diesel cars. Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures website. The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review. Natural England blog: Biodiversity Net Gain - more than just a number. 9 things you can do about climate change - The Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment. The National Digital Twin programme’s Climate Resilience Demonstrator (CReDo): https://digitaltwinhub.co.uk/credo/
This podcast looks at the psychological quirks of humankind, what effects our bad decisions have on the society we live in, and how policy might best steer us towards better outcomes.
Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Dr Bence Bago - Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, and Professor Dame Theresa Marteau – the Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge and co-chair of The Lancet Chatham House Commission on improving health post Covid-19.
They draw on their research to explore what defines a ‘bad decision’, what causes us to make them, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on governments’ and citizens’ decision-making, the role of social media in misinformation processing, what we can do to prevent ourselves from making bad decisions, and what governments can do to improve matters.
Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform.
Episode 9 transcript
For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and www.iast.fr .
Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.
Audio production by Steve Hankey Podcast editing by Annabel Manley
More about our guests
Professor Dame Theresa Marteau is Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on the development and evaluation of interventions to change behaviour (principally food, tobacco and alcohol consumption) to improve population and planetary health and reduce health inequalities, with a particular focus on targeting non-conscious processes. She co-chairs the Lancet-Chatham House Commission on improving population health post-COVID-19, and participated in the UK government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), responding to Covid-19. She is also one of the members of the management board of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy.
Dr Bence Bago is a research fellow at the IAST, with an academic background in cognitive psychology. His research interests in the interplay between intuitive and analytical processes in human decision-making, including applications in truth discernment when exposed to misinformation.
Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including his latest “Always On” which was published in 2021.
This episode looks at what we expect from our leaders, how that's changed over time, and whether democratic leaders are particularly prone to disappointing us.
This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones, and features experts Dr Roberto Foa, Assistant Professor in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, and Dr Zachary Garfield, Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse.
Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform.
Episode 8 transcript
For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and www.iast.fr .
Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.
Audio production by Steve Hankey. Podcast editing by Annabel Manley
More about our guests
Dr Roberto Foa
Roberto Stefan Foa is Assistant Professor in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, Co-Director of the Cambridge Centre for the Future of Democracy, and Director of the YouGov-Cambridge Centre for Public Opinion Research. His research examines the quality of government, regimes, and comparative social indicators, and is frequently cited in academic and media debates.
Dr Zachery Garfield
Zachary Garfield is a Research Fellow at the IAST. He studied as an evolutionary anthropologist with research interests in the evolution of human leadership and the nature of social and political hierarchies across human societies. He is also the co-director of the Omo Valley Research Project which is working to create a large scale dataset from the various ethnolinguistic groups within the Omo Valley region of Ethiopia.
For our new 4-part mini-series - Science, Policy and Climate Resilience - Host Rob Doubleday is joined by our new Co-Host Emily So, Professor of Architectural Engineering, University of Cambridge. Season 6 is focusing on the race to resilience global climate campaign and how to accelerate climate priorities after COP26.
In this second episode we're discussing how to finance climate actions and resilience, which has been highlighted as one of the main climate priorities for 2022. Hosts Rob Doubleday and Emily So are joined by Andrew Coburn, the CEO of Risilience, a platform dedicated to transforming organisations into new business models and Rowan Douglas, Head of the Climate and Resilience Hub at the consulting firm Willis Towers Watson.
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Season 6 is produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
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Resources relevant to this episode:
Net Zero Finance summit website BBC News article on the Global Methane Pledge UN Climate Change article on COP26 agricultural progress Insurance Development Forum website ClimateWise (at the Centre for Sustainable Finance) website Global Resilience Index website Coalition for Climate Resilience Investment website The Coalition for Climate Resilience Investment's Physical Climate Risk Assessment Methodology (aimed at improving the integration of physical climate risks into investment appraisal practices) Article in The Economist on the effects of heatwaves (in chilly European countries) on voting patterns
This is an interview with the thirty-third entrant in the Eminent Scholars Archive. John Spencer was Lecturer and Professor in Law at Selwyn College from 1973 to 2013. He is Hon QC, CBE, and was Faculty Chairman 1995-97. The interview was recorded online from Professor Spencer’s home in Norfolk.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (20 November 2020): Early Life and Career
- Second Interview (15 January 2021): University Career and Retirement
- Third Interview (26 February 2021): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
This is an interview with the thirty-third entrant in the Eminent Scholars Archive. John Spencer was Lecturer and Professor in Law at Selwyn College from 1973 to 2013. He is Hon QC, CBE, and was Faculty Chairman 1995-97. The interview was recorded online from Professor Spencer’s home in Norfolk.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (20 November 2020): Early Life and Career
- Second Interview (15 January 2021): University Career and Retirement
- Third Interview (26 February 2021): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
This is an interview with the thirty-third entrant in the Eminent Scholars Archive. John Spencer was Lecturer and Professor in Law at Selwyn College from 1973 to 2013. He is Hon QC, CBE, and was Faculty Chairman 1995-97. The interview was recorded online from Professor Spencer’s home in Norfolk.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (20 November 2020): Early Life and Career
- Second Interview (15 January 2021): University Career and Retirement
- Third Interview (26 February 2021): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Professor Sir John Laws was interviewed by Lesley Dingle on 15 June 2017, at the Goodhart Lodge.
This recording supports the entry in the Eminent Scholars Archive at: https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive/professor-sir-john-laws
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Professor Cheryl Saunders is Laureate Professor Emeritus at Melbourne Law School, and Founding Director of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at the University of Melbourne and was the Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor in Legal Science for 2005-2006. Professor Saunders was interviewed on 12 September 2016, in the Squire Law Library.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Professor Tony Smith was the Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor in Legal Science for 2015-2016. Professor Smith was interviewed for the first time on 19 January 2016 in the Squire Law Library.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Professor Tony Smith was the Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor in Legal Science for 2015-2016. Professor Smith was interviewed for the second time on 20 July 2016 in the Squire Law Library.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Between February and March 2017 Professor Baker was interviewed three times in the Faculty to record his reminiscences as a legal historian. His scholarship of the history of the common law spans nearly half a century at UCL and Cambridge, and culminated in the Downing Chair, and a knighthood. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcript of those recordings:
- First Interview (22 February 2017): Early Life
- Second Interview (10 March 2017): Academic Career
- Third Interview (31 March 2017): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Between February and March 2017 Professor Baker was interviewed three times in the Faculty to record his reminiscences as a legal historian. His scholarship of the history of the common law spans nearly half a century at UCL and Cambridge, and culminated in the Downing Chair, and a knighthood. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcript of those recordings:
- First Interview (22 February 2017): Early Life
- Second Interview (10 March 2017): Academic Career
- Third Interview (31 March 2017): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Between February and March 2017 Professor Baker was interviewed three times in the Faculty to record his reminiscences as a legal historian. His scholarship of the history of the common law spans nearly half a century at UCL and Cambridge, and culminated in the Downing Chair, and a knighthood. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcript of those recordings:
- First Interview (22 February 2017): Early Life
- Second Interview (10 March 2017): Academic Career
- Third Interview (31 March 2017): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Professor Harold Hongju Koh was the Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor in Legal Science for 2018-2019. Professor Koh was interviewed on 28 May 2019 in his room in Christ's College.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Mr David Yale was interviewed by Mrs Lesley Dingle on 26 November 2019, in his home in Porthmadog, Snowdonia.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Mr David Yale was interviewed by Mrs Lesley Dingle on 26 November 2019, in his home in Porthmadog, Snowdonia.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Between January and May 2015 Professor Cornish was interviewed three times, to record his reminiscences of over forty years of research and teaching in Oxford, LSE and Cambridge. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (12 January 2015): Early Years
- Second Interview (13 March 2015): Academic Career
- Third Interview (22 May 2015): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Between January and May 2015 Professor Cornish was interviewed three times, to record his reminiscences of over forty years of research and teaching in Oxford, LSE and Cambridge. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (12 January 2015): Early Years
- Second Interview (13 March 2015): Academic Career
- Third Interview (22 May 2015): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Between January and May 2015 Professor Cornish was interviewed three times, to record his reminiscences of over forty years of research and teaching in Oxford, LSE and Cambridge. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (12 January 2015): Early Years
- Second Interview (13 March 2015): Academic Career
- Third Interview (22 May 2015): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Between November 2021 and February 2022 Sir Greenwood was interviewed three times. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (16 November 2021): Early Life and Career
- Second Interview (23 November 2021): LSE, ICJ and Master of Magdalene
- Third Interview (1 February 2022): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-law-eminent-scholars-archive
Between November 2021 and February 2022 Sir Greenwood was interviewed three times. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (16 November 2021): Early Life and Career
- Second Interview (23 November 2021): LSE, ICJ and Master of Magdalene
- Third Interview (1 February 2022): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-law-eminent-scholars-archive
Between November 2021 and February 2022 Sir Greenwood was interviewed three times. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (16 November 2021): Early Life and Career
- Second Interview (23 November 2021): LSE, ICJ and Master of Magdalene
- Third Interview (1 February 2022): Scholarly works
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-law-eminent-scholars-archive
Professor Rochell C Dreyfuss was the Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science for the academic years 2019-20. She was interviewed by video from the Goodhart Lodge on 28th April 2020.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Judge Crawford was interviewed on 3 and 4 May 2018, in his office at The Hague.
Audio recordings are available on the Squire Law Library website with transcript of those recordings:
- Part 1: Early Life and Career (3 May 2018);
- Part 2: Scholarly Works (4 May 2018).
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Judge Crawford was interviewed on 3 and 4 May 2018, in his office at The Hague.
Audio recordings are available on the Squire Law Library website with transcript of those recordings:
- Part 1: Early Life and Career (3 May 2018);
- Part 2: Scholarly Works (4 May 2018).
For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive
Between January and May 2008 Professor Sir Eli Lauterpacht was interviewed seven times to record his reminiscences of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (29 January 2008): Early years (1928-1940);
- Second Interview (7 March 2008): Time in the USA (1940-44) and career to 1962;
- Third Interview (13 March 2008): Recollections of The Sixties;
- Fourth Interview (20 March 2008): Recollections of The Eighties;
- Fifth Interview (28 March 2008): Recollections of The Nineties and the new Millenium;
- Sixth Interview (2 April 2008): Recollections of some legal personalities;
- Seventh Interview (30 May 2008): A postcript by Sir Eli to the interviews.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Between January and May 2008 Professor Sir Eli Lauterpacht was interviewed seven times to record his reminiscences of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (29 January 2008): Early years (1928-1940);
- Second Interview (7 March 2008): Time in the USA (1940-44) and career to 1962;
- Third Interview (13 March 2008): Recollections of The Sixties;
- Fourth Interview (20 March 2008): Recollections of The Eighties;
- Fifth Interview (28 March 2008): Recollections of The Nineties and the new Millenium;
- Sixth Interview (2 April 2008): Recollections of some legal personalities;
- Seventh Interview (30 May 2008): A postcript by Sir Eli to the interviews.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Between January and May 2008 Professor Sir Eli Lauterpacht was interviewed seven times to record his reminiscences of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (29 January 2008): Early years (1928-1940);
- Second Interview (7 March 2008): Time in the USA (1940-44) and career to 1962;
- Third Interview (13 March 2008): Recollections of The Sixties;
- Fourth Interview (20 March 2008): Recollections of The Eighties;
- Fifth Interview (28 March 2008): Recollections of The Nineties and the new Millenium;
- Sixth Interview (2 April 2008): Recollections of some legal personalities;
- Seventh Interview (30 May 2008): A postcript by Sir Eli to the interviews.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Between January and May 2008 Professor Sir Eli Lauterpacht was interviewed seven times to record his reminiscences of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (29 January 2008): Early years (1928-1940);
- Second Interview (7 March 2008): Time in the USA (1940-44) and career to 1962;
- Third Interview (13 March 2008): Recollections of The Sixties;
- Fourth Interview (20 March 2008): Recollections of The Eighties;
- Fifth Interview (28 March 2008): Recollections of The Nineties and the new Millenium;
- Sixth Interview (2 April 2008): Recollections of some legal personalities;
- Seventh Interview (30 May 2008): A postcript by Sir Eli to the interviews.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Between January and May 2008 Professor Sir Eli Lauterpacht was interviewed seven times to record his reminiscences of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (29 January 2008): Early years (1928-1940);
- Second Interview (7 March 2008): Time in the USA (1940-44) and career to 1962;
- Third Interview (13 March 2008): Recollections of The Sixties;
- Fourth Interview (20 March 2008): Recollections of The Eighties;
- Fifth Interview (28 March 2008): Recollections of The Nineties and the new Millenium;
- Sixth Interview (2 April 2008): Recollections of some legal personalities;
- Seventh Interview (30 May 2008): A postcript by Sir Eli to the interviews.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Between January and May 2008 Professor Sir Eli Lauterpacht was interviewed seven times to record his reminiscences of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (29 January 2008): Early years (1928-1940);
- Second Interview (7 March 2008): Time in the USA (1940-44) and career to 1962;
- Third Interview (13 March 2008): Recollections of The Sixties;
- Fourth Interview (20 March 2008): Recollections of The Eighties;
- Fifth Interview (28 March 2008): Recollections of The Nineties and the new Millenium;
- Sixth Interview (2 April 2008): Recollections of some legal personalities;
- Seventh Interview (30 May 2008): A postcript by Sir Eli to the interviews.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Between January and May 2008 Professor Sir Eli Lauterpacht was interviewed seven times to record his reminiscences of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
The interviews were recorded and the audio version is available on this website with transcripts of those recordings:
- First Interview (29 January 2008): Early years (1928-1940);
- Second Interview (7 March 2008): Time in the USA (1940-44) and career to 1962;
- Third Interview (13 March 2008): Recollections of The Sixties;
- Fourth Interview (20 March 2008): Recollections of The Eighties;
- Fifth Interview (28 March 2008): Recollections of The Nineties and the new Millenium;
- Sixth Interview (2 April 2008): Recollections of some legal personalities;
- Seventh Interview (30 May 2008): A postcript by Sir Eli to the interviews.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Between January and March 2007 Mr Dias was interviewed three times at his home in Babraham Road, Cambridge, to record his reminiscences of nearly seventy years of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. He is one of the very few remaining scholars whose experiences extend to pre-Second World War times, and at the time of writing, he is the oldest living ex-member of the Faculty.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcript of those recordings:
- First Interview (17 January 2007): Early Years – 1921-1951;
- Second Interview (23 February 2007): 1951-1981;
- Third Interview (13 March 2007): Scholarly Work.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Between January and March 2007 Mr Dias was interviewed three times at his home in Babraham Road, Cambridge, to record his reminiscences of nearly seventy years of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. He is one of the very few remaining scholars whose experiences extend to pre-Second World War times, and at the time of writing, he is the oldest living ex-member of the Faculty.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcript of those recordings:
- First Interview (17 January 2007): Early Years – 1921-1951;
- Second Interview (23 February 2007): 1951-1981;
- Third Interview (13 March 2007): Scholarly Work.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Between January and March 2007 Mr Dias was interviewed three times at his home in Babraham Road, Cambridge, to record his reminiscences of nearly seventy years of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. He is one of the very few remaining scholars whose experiences extend to pre-Second World War times, and at the time of writing, he is the oldest living ex-member of the Faculty.
The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with transcript of those recordings:
- First Interview (17 January 2007): Early Years – 1921-1951;
- Second Interview (23 February 2007): 1951-1981;
- Third Interview (13 March 2007): Scholarly Work.
For more information, see the Squire website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent_scholars/
Exploring the Deception Island Hut – with Elizabeth Lewis Williams.
What was it like to live in a remote Antarctic hut and how has Story Machine recreated this?
Kika Hendry speaks with Elizabeth Lewis Williams who is the writer in residence at British Antarctic Survey and has created the Deception Island Hut installation with Sam Ruddock and Story Machine. Keep listening for a snippet of the haunting audio soundscape…
The Deception Island hut has been on McDonald Lawn, Outside of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Downing Street, during the Cambridge Festival.
For more information about where it will tour next, see https://storymachines.co.uk/portfolio/deception-island/
Music by Coby O’Brien Produced by Rebekah King
The Logic of Religion – with Ryan Haecker
How can logic be used by both atheists and believers to address the questions of religion?
Rebekah King talks to theologian, Ryan Haecker, about what theology means in the modern world, how it differs from philosophy, and what common ground people of different viewpoints might find in order to hold more constructive and insightful debates.
Ryan’s talk ‘The Logic of Religion: Beyond Atheism Versus Theism’ was given at the Cambridge Festival 2022 and can be found online here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5QyjfoWEAE
Music by Coby O’Brien Produced by Rebekah King
What exactly is a sonnet and what’s so special about those written by Shakespeare?
Reuben J. Brown talks to Dr Paul Edmondson and Sir Stanley Wells about their new collection, All the Sonnets of Shakespeare, which they have previously spoken about at the Cambridge Festival. This discussion is a fantastic introduction to one of the most influential types of poetry in the English language.
This episode is supported by the Cambridge University Press bookshop.
Music by Coby O’Brien Produced by Rebekah King
Fighting the Big Diseases at AstraZeneca and the Postdoctoral Challenge – with Lotte van Beek and Toby Gurran
How are young researchers helping AstraZeneca fight complex diseases?
Rebekah King speaks with Lotte van Beek and Toby Gurran, about what it's like to be a researcher at AstraZeneca, and hears about the postdoctoral challenge, an opportunity which is aimed at young scientists finishing their PhD or MD.
Find out more about the challenge here: https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2022/astrazeneca-launches-global-rd-postdoctoral-challenge-to-accelerate-scientific-discovery-and-diversity.html
And find out more about AstraZeneca at the Cambridge Festival: https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events?search_api_views_fulltext=astrazeneca
Music by Coby O’Brien Produced by Rebekah King
AstraZeneca are a key sponsor of the Cambridge Festival.
This podcast looks at why some people think we need policies for happiness and what those might mean. Leading experts discuss how to define and measure happiness, the drivers of happiness in different countries and societies, and what we know about what works and what doesn’t in terms of policy solutions and interventions.
This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones, and features experts Anna Alexandrova, Professor in Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of King’s College Cambridge, and Dr Jonathan Stieglitz, Associate Professor of Anthropology at IAST and the University of Toulouse 1 Capitole.
Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform. https://podfollow.com/1597966909/episode/f5332aa5b9807556f803fc591d0cd5b5e8e8f7c9/view
Episode 7 transcript
For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and www.iast.fr/.
Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.
Audio production by Steve Hankey.
Podcast editing by Annabel Manley
More information about our guests:
Professor Anna Alexandrova
Anna Alexandrova is a Professor in Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of King’s College Cambridge. She researches how formal tools such as models and indicators enable scientists to navigate complex phenomena tinged with ethical and political dimensions. Her book A Philosophy for the Science of Wellbeing came out with Oxford University Press in 2017 and won the 2022 Gittler Book Prize of the American Philosophical Association. She previously taught at the University of Missouri St Louis and completed her PhD at the University of California San Diego. She was born and brought up in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar.
Dr Jonathan Stieglitz
Dr Jonathan Stieglitz is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at IAST and the University of Toulouse 1 Capitole. His main research interest is studying the health and well-being of individuals in small-scale subsistence societies, in part to gain broader insights into how humans may have lived in the past. He is Co-Director of the Tsimane Health and Life History Project, a longitudinal study of the evolution of the human life course; the project began in 2002 and currently focuses on better understanding the development of certain non-communicable diseases among two native South American populations - the Tsimane and Moseten of Bolivia.
The Big Bang, Time Travel, and Black Holes – with Geraint Lewis and Luke Barnes
Is time travel possible? What does a black hole actually do to light? What does ‘galactic cannibalism’ mean?
Honour de Pledge speaks to Geraint Lewis and Luke Barnes, authors of ‘A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos’ and ‘The Cosmic Revolutionary’s Handbook: (Or: How to Beat the Big Bang)’ about a tiny, simple, easily explainable topic...how the universe works!
This episode is supported by the Cambridge University Press Bookshop.
Music by Coby O’Brien Produced by Rebekah King
Delve further into space in our Discovery themed events at the Cambridge Festival.
https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/
Imagining aliens – with Wallace Arthur
What will aliens look like if we find them? Could a planet be entirely purple? Do skeletons have to be made of bone?
Rebekah King speaks to evolutionary biologist and science writer Wallace Arthur about his book ‘The Biological Universe, Life in the Milky Way and Beyond,’ which was published by the Cambridge University Press in 2020.
This is a Cambridge University Press Bookshop supported podcast.
Music by Coby O’Brien Produced by Rebekah King
You can find out more about the Discovery themed events at the festival here:
https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/
There is No Planet B – with Mike Berners-Lee
What mindset should we have about the global climate crisis?
Sophie Carlin speaks to expert in carbon footprinting, Mike Berners-Lee, about the new updated version of his book ‘There is No Planet B’ about climate change, cooperation, and the possibility of not only saving the world, but building a far better, brighter future for all.
Mike Berners-Lee featured at the 2021 Cambridge Festival.
Check out the environment events taking place in 2022 here:
https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/
Music by Coby O’Brien Produced by Rebekah King
Body Image for Young People – with Charlotte Markey
How can young people improve their body image in an age of social media?
Jesimiel Akinsuyi speaks to Charlotte Markey, author of both the ‘Body Image Book for Girls’ and the ‘Body Image Book for Boys,’ about her motivations for writing both books, what body image means, and how it is affected by social media.
Music by Coby O’Brien Produced by Rebekah King
Find out more at the Cambridge Festival 2022:
https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/navigating-adolescence-21st-century and https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/being-you-charlotte-markey
We're delighted to be able to share with you the highlights of the University of Cambridge's Centre for Science and Policy's fifth podcast season, which explores how science advice, data and evidence are used by decision makers in government. This series has been produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, part of the Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
Counter Speech and Online Harm – with Stefanie Ullmann
What is ‘counter speech’ and is it a more powerful alternative to censorship?
Scarlett Croft talks to Stefanie Ullmann about her research into harmful online content and strategies for combatting prejudice and hate. Scarlett also asks about how automated systems like Siri and Alexa should be programmed to respond when spoken to in an aggressive or sexist manner.
Music by Coby O’Brien Produced by Rebekah King
Find out more at the Cambridge Festival 2022:
https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/combatting-harmful-content-online-potential-counterspeech
Animals in Biomedical Research: Replacement, Refinement, Reduction - with Selina Ballantyne
Will we ever be able to stop using animals in the laboratory?
This episode, Rebekah King talks to Selina Ballantyne about the ways in which animal testing is being replaced, refined, and reduced such that good science and good animal welfare can go hand in hand.
Find out more at the Cambridge Festival 2022 https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/3rs-animals-biomedical-research
Coby O'Brien - Music Produced by Rebekah King
https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/3rs-animals-biomedical-research
Recipes for Saving the Planet – with Dana Ellis Hunnes
What can students do to help the planet?
Sophie Carlin speaks to nutritionist and climate change expert Dana Ellis Hunnes about her new book Recipes for Survival: What You Can Do to Live a Healthier and More Environmentally Friendly Life and gets the best advice for students who want to make a difference to the planet’s health.
A big thank you to CUP Bookshop for their support of this event and recording.
Find out more at the Cambridge Festival 2022 https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/recipe-survival-how-our-shopping-decisions-affect-planet
You can complete the survey mentioned in this episode here:
https://s.surveyplanet.com/67a7k51o
Music by Coby O’Brien Produced by Rebekah King
In the final episode of our season, Science Advice & Government, host Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by Sharon Peacock, Director of the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium and Professor of Public Health and Microbiology in the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, and James Wood, Head of Cambridge Vet School and infectious disease epidemiologist.
The episode explores how science advice has been used in the UK's response to the current COVID-19 pandemic and what lessons can be learnt to help prepare for future pandemics.
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Season 5 is produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
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Resources relevant to this episode (click on the below):
COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium. COG-Train. Exercise Cygnus. Sign up to our CSaP newsletter by clicking here.
How have scientists contributed to UK government decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic? What are the structures and mechanisms that have drawn science into the policy process? In today’s episode we’re exploring what the past two years have been like for the scientists involved in government and SPI-M, the experts providing the advice based on COVID modelling and epidemiology.
In today’s episode, host Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by Julia Gog, Professor of Mathematical Biology at the University of Cambridge, who has been heavily involved throughout the pandemic within SPI-M, the specialist advisory group on modelling pandemics which feeds into the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) process. Plus, Sir John Aston, Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life, University of Cambridge. He was Chief Scientific Adviser in the Home Office from 2017-2020 and during the COVID pandemic was heavily involved in SAGE and advising the Secretary of State in the Home Office.
As part of our series on science advice and government, we’re looking ahead to the public inquiry into the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic this spring. We hope the episodes will highlight lessons on what worked well, how scientific advice has helped governments make difficult decisions, and how this process can be improved for the future.
Season 5 is produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
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Resources relevant to this episode:
Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M): https://bit.ly/35G8jgt Chief Scientific Advisors: https://bit.ly/3KzNPEY Scientific evidence supporting the government response to coronavirus (COVID-19): https://bit.ly/3JhBaq1 Sign up to our CSaP newsletter by clicking here.
This special edition of Crossing Channels was organised in response to the invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022. It covers how the Ukrainian people, policymakers, and government have responded during the first ten days of the war, its geopolitical context and implications, and the scale of the information war taking place, within both Ukraine and Russia.
This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones, and features expert guests Nataliia Shapoval from the Kyiv School of Economics, Horacio Larreguy from the IAST, and Ayse Zarakol from the University of Cambridge.
Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform.
Episode 6 transcript
For more information about the conflict, the BBC is running a live webpage with up-to-date coverage of the war here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-60532634
The Kyiv School of Economics has on its website a summary of ways you can support it and Ukraine during the crisis: https://kse.ua/. This includes their lecture marathon to enhance Ukrainian intellectual sovereignty, along with ways to donate and apply political pressure.
For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and www.iast.fr/.
Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.
Audio production by Steve Hankey.
Podcast editing by Annabel Manley
More information about our guests:
Nataliia Shapoval is the Vice President for Policy Research and Director of the Center of Excellence in Procurement at the Kyiv School of Economics in Ukraine. She worked on policy research projects on public health’s cost and resource allocation, and on youth unemployment in Ukraine and Europe. She is also a member of the Editorial Board of Vox Ukraine, and a contributor to the Ukraine reform monitoring project of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Ayse Zarakol is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Cambridge. Her research interests are at the intersection of historical sociology and international relations, focussing on East-West relations. She is the author of two books, her first being After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West (2011) which covers the integration of defeated non-Western powers into the international system. Her second, Before the West: The Rise and Fall of Eastern World Orders, which looks at an alternative global history for international relations focussed on (Eur)asia, was released in March 2022. This book is available for purchase here: https://tinyurl.com/2p9xddxp
Horacio Larreguy is an Associate Professor of Economics and Political Science at the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), and is currently a visiting researcher at the Toulouse School of Economics and IAST. His research interests are in political accountability and voting behaviour, including the importance of information for political accountability. More recently, he has worked on projects on misinformation and the Covid-19 infodemic.
The UK is currently one of the most regionally unequal countries in the developed world. The government's White Paper on Levelling Up sets out 12 “missions” to increase economic opportunities across all regions.
The UK is far from the first country to try and “level up” regional areas. Countries including France, Germany and China are also making efforts to tackle similar regional inequalities.
But just how easy is it to tackle regional economic imbalances for levelling up to work?
Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Sylvain Chabé-Ferret from the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, and Professor Michael Kenny and Dame Fiona Reynolds from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy about just how far public policies can really go to address regional inequalities.
Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Episode 5 transcript
The Crossing Channels podcast series is produced by the Bennett Institute for Public Policy and IAST.
Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse #CrossingChannels
Audio production by Steve Hankey.
Podcast editing by Annabel Manley
More about our guests:
Professor Michael Kenny is the inaugural director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, and leads its Policy and Engagement programme on ‘Place’. He is leading research projects on left-behind communities, social infrastructure and devolution, and is writing a book about the UK’s constitutional future.
Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE is the Chair of the Management Board for the Bennett Institute, and chair of the National Audit Office and Chair of the Governing Council of the Royal Agricultural University.
Dr Sylvain Chabé-Ferret is Assistant Professor at the Toulouse School of Economics, Research Fellow at Inrae and member of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Toulouse. He specialises in the econometrics of causal inference with applications to the evaluation of Payments for Environmental Services and of Job Training Programs. Sylvain has also set The Social Science Knowledge Accumulation Initiative (SKY), which aims to summarise evidence in social science, mainly via meta-analyses.
www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk www.iast.fr
This episode discusses the potential of digital technologies to change infrastructure priorities in developing countries. Experts from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambridge, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST) consider what counts as infrastructure, whether ‘leapfrogging’ is a useful term, emerging digital divides, and the impact of foreign (particularly American and Chinese) tech giants in this space.
This fourth episode in the Crossing Channels podcast series is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones, and features guest experts Dr Stephanie Diepeveen (Bennett Institute), Professor Stéphane Straub (IAST), and Dr Rehema Msulwa (Bennett Institute).
Listen on your preferred podcast platform including Spotify and Apple podcasts.
Episode 4 transcript
The Crossing Channels podcast series is produced by the Bennett Institute for Public Policy and IAST.
Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse #CrossingChannels
Audio production by Steve Hankey.
Podcast editing by Annabel Manley
More about our guests:
Dr Stephanie Diepeveen is a research associate at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, as well as a research fellow at Overseas Development Institute. Her research focuses on digitalisation and politics. She recently published the book, "Searching for a New Kenya: Politics and Social Media on the Streets of Mombasa", which investigates the democratic value of street-based and online public debates.
Dr Rehema Msulwa is a Research Associate at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy. Her research is on the intersection of policy and the design and delivery of capital-intensive infrastructure projects. She has engaged and worked with government bodies, research institutes and consultancies in several countries, including the UK, India, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Stéphane Straub is Professor of Economics at the Toulouse School of Economics, where he is the head of the Behaviour, Institutions and Development group. He works on issues of infrastructure, procurement, and more generally institutional development in the context of developing countries. He has held academic positions in the US, the UK and France, has been a lead Economist with the Sustainable Development Practice Group at the World Bank in Washington DC (2016-17), and is a consultant for several international institutions such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union, and the Asian Development Bank among others. He is currently president of the European Development Network (EUDN).
Hope versus fear in artificial intelligence
In this third episode of Crossing Channels, experts from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambridge, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), discuss the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), including why we need to care about it, who is responsible for it, and whether there’s a double standard for AI and humans.
Host Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Dr Jean-Francois Bonnefon and Professor Daniel Chen from IAST, and Professor Diane Coyle from the Bennett Institute.
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Episode 3 transcript
For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and www.iast.fr/.
Tweet us your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.
Audio production by Steve Hankey. Podcast editing by Annabel Manley
More about our guests
Dr Jean-Francois Bonnefon is the Scientific Director at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), and a Research Director for the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). He is also the President of the European Commission expert group on the ethics of driverless mobility, Head of the Artificial Intelligenve and Society programme of the Toulouse School of Economics Digital Center, and Chair of Moral AI at the Artificial and Natural Intelligence Toulouse Institute. His research interests are decision-making and moral preferences, and the applications of this in the ethics of self-driving cars and other intelligent machines.
Professor Daniel Chen is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, a Professor at the Toulouse School of Economics, and a Director of Research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). His research interests include AI and the Rule of Law, with an overarching focus on normative commitments and the justice system. He is also Lead Principal Investigator for the World Bank DE JURE (Data and Evidence for Justice Reform) programme, which aims to update how legitimacy and equality in the justice system is measured and interpreted.
Professor Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. She co-directs the Bennett Institute for Public Policy where she heads research under the themes of progress and productivity. Diane is also a Director of The Productivity Institute, a Fellow of the Office for National Statistics, an expert adviser to the National Infrastructure Commission, and Senior Independent Member of the ESRC Council. Her research interests cover economic statistics, the digital economy, competition policy and digital markets, and the economics of new technologies.
Rory Cellan- Jones (host) is a former technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism saw him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has written multiple books, including his latest “Always On” which was published in 2021.
Why have economists ignored nature for so long - and now they have discovered it, are they measuring it correctly?
This episode tackles the issue of incorporating nature into economic measurements. These include whether there is still a trade-off between economic growth and the environment, what is still missing from economic measures, and how to get academics and policymakers to work together.
This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones, and features expert guests Dr Matthew Agarwala and Dr Cristina Peñasco from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, and Nicolas Treich, from the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse.
Episode 2 transcript
For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and www.iast.fr/.
Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.
Audio production by Steve Hankey. Podcast editing by Annabel Manley
More about our guests:
Dr Matthew Agawala is an economist at the Bennett Institute, and project lead for their Wealth Economy project. He is interested in wealth-based approaches to measuring and delivering sustainability, wellbeing, and productivity. This is motivated by the belief that 21st century progress cannot be described by 20th century statistics.
Dr Cristina Peñasco is a University Lecturer in Public Policy at POLIS, a Centre Fellow at Centre for the Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance (C-EENRG) hosted at the Department of Land Economy, and an associate researcher of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy. Her research brings together work in environmental economics, innovation policy and energy economics in green and energy efficiency technologies, with a focus on the policy instruments enabling the transition to low-carbon economy.
Nicolas Treich is a research associate at Toulouse School of Economics and INRAE (French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment). His work focuses on decision theory, environmental economics, and, more recently, on animal welfare.
Why has it become so hard to run government? The role of civil servants and decision-making in society today.
This episode tackles the issue of running government in the modern age. These include how the public perceptions of the government have changed, why there are so many civil service reforms, and what governments learn during crises.
This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones, and features expert guests Dennis Grube, Mohamed Saleh, and Catherine Haddon.
For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk, and www.iast.fr/.
Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.
Audio production by Steve Hankey Podcast editing by Annabel Manley
More information about our guests:
Dennis Grube has been a researcher on Politics and Public Policy at the University since 2016, and was previously an Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow with the Institute for the Study of Social Change at the University of Tasmania. His research interests are around political decision-making, the role of civil servants in that and how that then passes through to institutional memory.
Mohamed Saleh is a Professor of Economics at the Toulouse School of Economics, and a member of the IAST. His research interests are in economic history, and the economic history of the Middle East and North Africa in particular.
Catherine Haddon is the resident historian at the Institute for Government. Catherine also leads the Institute's work on changes of government, ministers and the workings of the constitution, and heads the Institute's professional development programme of ministers and opposition parties.
In today's uncertain world, the sixth episode of our series on science advice and government, explores how governments can better understand and respond to unforeseeable and challenging extreme risk scenarios, such as cyber hacking, biological hazards, climate change, and future pandemics, following the COVID-19 outbreak.
Host Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by:
-Lord Martin Rees, the UK's Astronomer Royal, a Cosmologist and Member of the House of Lords, which in December 2021 published the report, ‘Preparing for Extreme Risks, Building a Resilient Society’, which tackled some of the questions about how governments learn, react to, and prepare for extreme risks.
-Suzanne Raine, an Affiliate Lecturer at the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge. She was formerly a civil servant and was Head of the UK's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre from 2015-2017.
-Dr Kristen MacAskill, an Assistant Professor in Engineering at the University of Cambridge. Her work is on the governance and resilience of infrastructure and she has spent years in industry looking at disaster response.
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Season 5 is produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
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Resources relevant to this episode:
- House of Lords Risk Assessment and Risk Planning’s Report: Preparing for Extreme Risks: Building a Resilient Society
-Cabinet Office Guidance: Risk Assessment: How the Risk of Emergencies in the UK is Assessed
-National Risk Register 2020
-Introduction to the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre
- Lord Martin Rees’ book about existential risks: On the Future: Prospects for Humanity
In the fifth episode of our new series on science advice and government, host Dr Rob Doubleday discusses how SAGE and modelling advice were used during the Nepal Earthquake in April 2015. He's joined by James Jackson, an Earthquake Geologist and Professor in Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and Professor Emily So, an Artchitectural Engineer and Director of the Cambridge University Centre for Risk in the Built Environment (CURBE). Both James and Emily work on earthquakes, what causes them and what damage they do.
Season 5 is produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
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Resources relevant to this episode:
Summary Note of the SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) meeting on the Nepal Earthquake, 27 April 2015 Scientific background on PAGER (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response): https://on.doi.gov/359qgn4 NSET (Earthquake Safe Communities in Nepal): https://www.nset.org.np/nset2012/ Final Report of the Earthquakes Without Frontiers project: https://bit.ly/3htYB37 Global Earthquake Model: https://www.globalquakemodel.org/ World Housing Encyclopaedia: http://www.world-housing.net/ Robin Spence and Emily So’s book Why Do Buildings Collapse in Earthquakes: Building for Safety in Seismic Areas.
In the fourth episode of our series on science advice and government, we look back a few decades at what lessons were learnt following the BSE outbreak (Mad Cow Disease) in the 1980s and 1990s. Plus how it led to the establishment of the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Host Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by Dame Julia Unwin, who was appointed Deputy Chair of the FSA in 2003. Dame Julia's role was to co-lead the agency and develop its relationship with the government and most importantly, the public. In today's episode, Rob is also joined by Erik Millstone, a Professor at the University of Sussex, who's research focuses on the use of science and evidence in the governance of food safety and risk.
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Season 5 is produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
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Resources relevant to this episode:
About the Food Standards Agency and their mission: https://bit.ly/FSAmission The Food Standards Agency: A Force for Change (White Paper proposing the Food Standards Agency). BSE: Risk, Science, and Governance by Patrick van Zwanenberg and Erik Millstone
Sign up to our CSaP newsletter by clicking here.
What’s cancer got to do with crabs, artist Jackson Pollock, and artificial intelligence? It’s not a riddle; these are some of the things we’ll explore with surgeon Grant Stewart, computer scientist Mateja Jamnik and radiologist Evis Sala from the Mark Foundation Institute for Integrated Cancer Medicine.
In this episode, we’ll discover how artificial intelligence is making it easier for doctors to diagnose and treat cancer and we’ll share some cancer facts that are both amazing and disturbing. We also learn about the WIRE clinical trial for kidney cancer. WIRE evaluates the effectiveness of giving a short course of drug treatment to patients in the one-month “window of opportunity” between diagnosis and surgery. Patients on the WIRE trial also undergo a suite of new imaging techniques that have been brought together for the first time globally in this clinical trial.
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, Naomi Clements-Brod and Annie Thwaite.
Please take our survey!
How did you find us? What do you like about Mind Over Chatter? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
In the third episode of our new podcast series on science advice and government, host Dr Rob Doubleday discusses the Ebola outbreak of 2014 and how the government used science and evidence in helping to tackle it. He's joined by three people who were closely involved at the time:
-Dame Sally Davies, Master of Trinity College Cambridge, who was Chief Medical Officer for England from 2010-2019 and co-chaired the SAGE process during the outbreak.
-Sir Oliver Letwin, an MP for over 20 years and was a Senior Minister in the Cabinet Office during the time.
-Professor Melissa Leach, Director of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. She's also an Anthropologist who has worked in West Africa and played a crucial role in bringing evidence from the social sciences into the government's response to Ebola.
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Season 5 is produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
Is antimicrobial resistance (AMR) the greatest threat to human health? In this episode, we discuss how the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans and agriculture have accelerated bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens’ ability to mutate and develop resistance against the treatments designed to curb and control them.
We talked with molecular biologist Stephen Baker, virologist Ian Goodfellow and infectious disease epidemiologist Caroline Trotter about the magnitude of the problem and how it is not a problem of the future, but of the now. Along the way, we discuss whether post COVID19, are we in a better position now to deal with the next pandemic? Can we predict when it might happen? And if it does happen, will we deal with it any differently?
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, Naomi Clements-Brod and Annie Thwaite.
Please take our survey!
How did you find us? What do you like about Mind Over Chatter? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
Which scientific voices are heard in government? How one voice or many shapes information that is informing decision making? What structures and institutions have evolved over recent decades to try and make that process more open, more diverse and more robust? In the second episode in CSaP's series on science advice and government, host Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by Dr Claire Craig, Provost at The Queen's College, Oxford and Jon Agar, Professor of Science and Technology Studies at UCL.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
Season 5 is produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
What causes dementia? And how do we diagnose and treat it? Is there anything we can do to stop ourselves from developing dementia? These are the crucial questions we’ll be exploring with clinical neuropsychologist Barbara Sahakian, sociologist Richard Milne, and neurologist James Rowe. In this episode, we’ll find out more about what dementia actually is, some surprising factors that increase a person’s risk of developing dementia, and computer games that can actually help detect and diagnose dementia.
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, Naomi Clements-Brod and Annie Thwaite.
Please take our survey!
How did you find us? What do you like about Mind Over Chatter? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
In the first episode of our new series, we’re exploring how science advice, data and evidence are used by decision makers in government. Throughout today’s episode, host Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by Sir Patrick Vallance, UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser, and Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard Kennedy School. Season 5 is produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.
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CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is also supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm.
Subscribe here: mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen
COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of everyone, including children and young people, beyond recognition. So much so, that the proportion of children aged six to 16 with probable mental health disorders has increased from one in nine in 2017 to one in six in both 2020 and 2021. In this episode, we talked with Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Tamsin Ford, Professor of Health Neuroscience Paul Fletcher and behavioural epidemiologist Dr Esther van Sluijs about growing concern over the recent and widespread deterioration of adolescent mental health and what can be done about it.
We cover everything from the prevalence of mental health problems and eating disorders, sedentary behaviour and mentally passive activities, to how mental illness is represented in video games and how video games can be used to engage the public with mental illness in the right way. Along the way, we hear about mental health before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, Naomi Clements-Brod and Annie Thwaite.
Please take our survey!
How did you find us? What do you like about Mind Over Chatter? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
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What role do our genes play in influencing our body weight and what we like to eat? Why do some people gain weight more easily than others, and is it all down to genes or are there other factors at play? In this episode, we talked with a clinician and scientist Sadaf Farooqi, health psychologist Theresa Marteau, and geographer Thomas Burgoine about the multitude of factors that go into influencing our eating behaviours. Along the way, we hear about the crucial importance of the environment in influencing our eating behaviour, including “zoning” - the effort to keep fast food outlets no more than 400 yards from schools, and learn how our food has become more calorific over the past 20 to 30 years. Our guests discuss how ultimately, communicating information about obesity doesn’t necessarily change our behaviour towards food, as we are much more influenced by our genes and environment than what's inside our heads.
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, Naomi Clements-Brod and Annie Thwaite.
Please take our survey!
How did you find us? What do you like about Mind Over Chatter? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
Season 3 is here, and we’re back discussing all things Health!
Subscribe here: https://mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen
Welcome (or welcome back) to Mind Over Chatter, the Cambridge University Podcast. One series at a time, we break down complex issues into simple questions. In this third series, we’re talking all about Health. We’ll be exploring both physical and mental health, and we’ll discuss causes, treatments and preventions for issues like dementia, cancer, infectious diseases and obesity.
We’re going to be talking to interesting people from all over the University of Cambridge, including geographers, surgeons, computer scientists, molecular microbiologists, sociologists… and many more!
We’ll cover everything from infectious diseases and how we can use vaccines to prevent them, to Tinder for bacteria; from artificial intelligence helping us tackle cancer, to Grandpa JPEG and all the Little Pixels, from adolescent mental health and eating disorders to Senua, the Pict warrior hero of the blockbuster video game Hellblade; from obesity and the gene-environment debate, to how a room full of Twixes is like a room full of Borg (resistance is futile); and from dementia and new approaches to its diagnosis and treatment, to “Tau Tangles” - the new brand of Greek noodle.
Please take our survey!
How did you find us? What do you like about Mind Over Chatter? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
In April 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, close to 1.6 billion children and youth were out of school due to temporary closures, representing more than 90% of students around the world, according to the United Nations.
Subscribe to the podcast here: https://mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen
In this episode, we take an international perspective with our guests Arif Naveed, Aya Waller-Bey, and Sara Allen. We discuss the double-edged sword of education systems around the world, for example, the US and Pakistan: how education both preserves inequality and how it can help us to overcome inequality.
Arif Naveed explores how the underlying social hierarchy that shapes day-to-day living also impacts the economic outcomes of schooling. Aya Waller-Bey talks about quality as opposed to simple access to education. Access depends on deep structural factors that mean opportunity is not equally distributed. Sara Allan gets us thinking about changing the way that institutions organise instruction and the role of the teacher. Would more of a student-centered approach improve access and inclusion in schools?
Our reproductive capabilities are changing in exciting ways, altering our fundamental understanding of fertility, reproduction, and even parenthood.
Subscribe to the podcast here: mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen
In this episode, we asked our guests what the consequences of novel reproductive technologies are likely to be, and how they will impact the future of human reproduction. Alice Reid told us about how reproduction has changed over the last 200 years and the likely demographic impact of assisted reproduction, while Lucy Van de Wiel introduced the important ways in which reproductive technologies must be considered in the context of wide social and political issues. Thorsten Boroviak shared his exciting and cutting-edge research on developing new reproductive technologies. We cover topics ranging from egg-freezing, so-called ‘three-parent-babies, and the importance of studying the embryonic development of primates.
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan and Naomi Clements-Brod. Annie Thwaite and Charlotte Zemmel provide crucial research and production support for Series 2.
Please take our survey. How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
Artificial Intelligence can be found in every aspect of our lives. From A-level grade predicting algorithms to Netflix recommendations, AI is set to change the choices we make and how our personal information will be used.
Subscribe to the podcast here: mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen
In this episode, we explore the future of AI - its potential benefits and harms - with our three guests. Beth Singler told us about the different cultural consequences of AI, and how the way we think about the future of AI reflects more about society today than the future itself. John Zerilli shared his views on the consequences of AI for democratic decision-making, and Richard Watson urged us to conceive of the future of AI in terms of ‘scenario planning’, rather than predicting the future directly. We cover topics ranging from how to make AI ‘ethical’, how the media representation of AI can colour the public’s perception of what the real issues are, and the importance of an international AI regulatory system.
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan and Naomi Clements-Brod. Annie Thwaite and Charlotte Zemmel provide crucial research and production support for Series 2.
Please take our survey. How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
Our society is more unequal than ever, as the top 1% control over 44% of the world’s wealth while 689 million people are living on less than $1.90 per day. In this episode, we asked our guests what the future of fairness, justice, and equality should look like, and how their research can help to bring about a fairer society. Alexa Hagerty and Natalie Jones shared how injustice can be thought of as an existential risk to humanity, while Esra Ozyurek introduced us to the importance of understanding that different people have different needs, making equality insufficient to bring about justice. We cover topics ranging from distributive justice, the virtues and vices of empathy, and the role AI will play in shaping equality in the years to come.
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan and Naomi Clements-Brod. Annie Thwaite and Charlotte Zemmel provide crucial research and production support for Series 2.
Please take our survey. How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
Our wellbeing is essential to our overall quality of life. But what is wellbeing? Why is it so hard to pin down? How is it different to mental health, and what can we do to understand, measure and improve it? We talked with psychologist and neuroscientist Dr Amy Orben, psychiatrist Dr Tamsin Ford, and welfare economist Dr Mark Fabian to try and get to grips with wellbeing. In doing so, we learnt about the negative (and positive!) effects of the pandemic, how wellbeing differs for children and adults, and the influence of ever-evolving technology on our wellbeing.
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan and Naomi Clements-Brod. Annie Thwaite and Charlotte Zemmel provide crucial research and production support for Series 2.
Please take our survey.How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
In this episode:
0:00 - Introductions - meet the guests
03:00 - What's the difference between well being and mental health?
05:49 - What role does culture play in well being?
06:30 - Wellbeing and economics. How do we think about wellbeing outside of psychology?
09:35 - How do we measure wellbeing?
13:15 - Could we measure wellbeing from moment to moment?
15:01 - We’ve reached the recap point
19:04 - Can wellbeing be factored into factors that measure societal progress, like productivity GDP?
21:25 - How has COVID19 affected wellbeing at a policy level?
24:35 - Do the well being needs of children and adults differ?
26:30 - What about adolescents, how do their needs differ?
29:35 - How is wellbeing research going to change in the future? Could we use life satisfaction to measure social progress?
32:00 - Is there a link between technology and well being or mental health?
35:35 - How do we react to technological change as a society? The debate around screen time.
37:20 - Time for another recap!
43:15 - Measuring student experiences during the pandemic
45:40 - How we might think differently about wellbeing after the pandemic
47:45 - Are we all in the same boat? How do we make sure people aren’t left behind?
50:05 - How is this new thinking about well being going to shape our lives in the future?For individuals and for governments and policymakers?
55:45 - What is it to live a good life?
57:30 - What do you look forward to thinking about the future?
59:05 - Recap three. Let’s close this thing out.
We all have theories about what the future might look like. But what did the future look like in the past? And how have the advent of new technologies altered how people viewed the future? We talked with curator of modern sciences and historian of Victorian science Dr Johnua Nall, professor of Digital Humanities and director of Cambridge Digital Humanities Professor Caroline Bassett, and Junior Research Fellow in the history of artificial intelligence Dr Jonnie Penn in our attempt to understand how the future was thought of in the past. Along the way we discussed utopias and dystopias, the long history of science fiction, and how the future might come back to haunt us!
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan and Naomi Clements-Brod. Annie Thwaite and Charlotte Zemmel provide crucial research and production support for Series 2.
Please take our survey. How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
Hello and welcome back to Mind Over Chatter!
Please fill out our survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9 to tell us what your mind thinks about our chatter. Knowing what you think will really help us make the podcast even better… Now, on to the episode!
This second series is all about the future - and in this first episode we’re going to be considering what the future even is… Have you ever wondered how time works? It turns out, the answer is a lot more complicated than we thought.
Join our wondering and wonderful conversation with philosopher of science Matt Farr, professor of psychology Nicky Clayton, and professor of linguistics and philosophy, Kasia Jaszczolt. We’ll be talking about everything from physics to linguistics… and from broken eggs to Einstein’s theory of relativity.
You can find us on other platforms here: https://mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan and Naomi Clements-Brod. Annie Thwaite and Charlotte Zemmel provide crucial research and production support for Series 2.
[00:00] - Introductions
[02:10] - A bit about the guests’ research
[04:28] - Does time actually go from past to present to future? And does time really ‘flow’?
[06:04] - The A-theory of time and John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart
[07:53] - The B-theory and C-theory of time (and a little bit more about the A-theory too)
[09:53] - How do B-theorists deal with entropy? Can you un-break an egg?
[10:44] - The difference between the A-theory, B-theory and C-theory of time - does time have a direction? And does energy/entropy have a direction?
[14:12] - Recap of the first portion of the episode, reviewing A-theory, B-theory and C-theory of time
[18:58] - How the mind understands the subjective concept of time
[24:24] - How languages talk about time differently and why these differences matter
[27:11] - The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and how the way you talk about language affects the way you perceive and think about things
[30:21] - Recap of the second portion of the episode
[34:02] - How do the mental and linguistic concepts around time fit with philosophical concepts and physics of time?
[40:45] - How mental time travel works and how thinking about the past is different to thinking about the future
[41:40] - All biological organisms are subject to the laws of thermodynamics so we can’t remember the future or act towards the past
[42:55] - Cultural and linguistic differences in mental time travel and whether the past is behind us or in front of us
[45:46] - Is there a conflict between the psychological and linguistic models of time and the way physics handles time?
[48:20] - Recap of the last portion of the episode
[52:44] - Closing and thank you’s
If you want some more information about the different theories of time we discussed in this episode, this article by Matt helped us understand some of what was said: https://aeon.co/essays/the-c-theory-of-time-asks-if-time-really-has-a-direction
Welcome (or welcome back) to Mind Over Chatter, the Cambridge University Podcast! You can find us on other platforms here: https://mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen One series at a time, we break down complex issues into simple questions. In this second series, we’re talking all about the future. We’ll explore the nature of time itself - What even is the future? And is it in front of or behind us? - and we’ll also cover some of today’s most pressing questions, like how will artificial intelligence impact democracy?
We’re going to be talking to people from all over the University of Cambridge… from linguists and philosophers to historians, biologists, demographers and many more besides!
We’ll cover everything: from the physics of time to Sapir-Whorf, the first linguistic theory to join Starfleet; from the fabulous fabulations of futures past to Elon Musk, Mars, and James’ measly net worth; from the future of wellbeing and mental health to an overabundance of Pop Tarts; from using participatory research to help create a more just future to the unequal distribution of My Little Ponies; from the future of artificial intelligence to animism and Hello Barbie; and from the future of reproduction to the maternal instincts of Darth Vader.
Please take our survey. https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9
How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
In this last episode of the series, we’ll be exploring how stories work for and against climate change.
Subscribe to the podcast here: https://mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen
We cover a lot of ground: from hippos and polar bears to how many times ‘sex’ and ‘tea’ were mentioned on TV between 2017 and 2018… so what’s all of this got to do with sustainability and climate change? Join us to find out!
Our storytelling experts this time are Richard Staley (lecturer in the history and philosophy of science, Sarah Dillon (author, researcher and broadcaster) and Martin Rees (cosmologist, astrophysicist, and Astronomer Royal).
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, and Naomi Clements-Brod.
Please take our survey. https://bit.ly/38uXJaG
How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
Thanks very much.
Guest Bios:
Martin Rees (@LordMartinRees)
Martin Rees (Lord Rees of Ludlow, OM FRS) is an astrophysicist and cosmologist, and the UK's Astronomer Royal. He has been increasingly concerned in recent years about long-term global issues – the pressures that a growing and more demanding population are placing on the environment, sustainability and biodiversity; and the impact of powerful new technologies. He is co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge with a focus on these issues. In addition to his research publications, which total over 500, he has written extensively for a general readership. His ten books include 'Just Six Numbers', 'Our Cosmic Habitat', ‘Gravity’s Fatal Attraction’, and the recently-published, 'On the Future: Prospects for Humanity'.
https://www.martinrees.uk/
Dr Sarah Dillon (@drsarahdillon)
Sarah Dillon is a Reader in Literature and Film in the Faculty of English at the University of Cambridge. Her forthcoming book (Storylistening: Narrative Evidence and Public Reasoning, co-authored with Claire Craig) makes a case for the value of attention to stories, and the importance of understanding their functions and effects, in the context of high-level decision-making and policy-making.
http://drsarahdillon.com/
https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/people/Sarah.Dillon/
Dr Richard Staley
Hans Rausing Lecturer and Reader in History and Philosophy of Science. Currently leading the Making Climate History project. The project develops a fundamental new perspective on the histories and geographies of climate change by linking making and knowing in the emergence of the climate sciences over the past two centuries. We examine the entwined social, physical, and economic timescales of climate change over the entire period it took to remake the climate, and to recognise that we are changing it.
https://www.people.hps.cam.ac.uk/index/teaching-officers/staley
How and what we eat, and where our food comes from, these everyday choices that we often think very little about, have become increasingly relevant to climate change.
Subscribe to the podcast here: https://mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen
With a global population projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, it is not unreasonable to ask: how are we going to feed all these people... and without causing more damage?
In this episode we’ll cover everything from how climate change will affect the way we grow and eat food, to the pros and cons of ‘non-poo’ fertiliser. Sound appetising?
Giles Oldroyd, professor of plant science at the new Cambridge Crop Science Centre, Helen Anne Curry, lecturer in the history of modern science and technology, and developmental economist, Shailaja Fennell, helped us connect the dots between food and climate change. They discuss how we ensure people around the world will still have food to eat as the climate becomes more unpredictable.
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, and Naomi Clements-Brod.
Please take our survey. https://bit.ly/38uXJaG How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
Guest Bios:
Dr Helen Anne Curry (@hacurry)
My current research focuses on the history of efforts to understand and use crop diversity as a resource for agricultural development. In August 2020 I launched the project 'From Collection to Cultivation: Historical Perspectives on Crop Diversity and Food Security'. This project has its origins in my investigation of history of genetic conservation, especially the preservation of seeds and other plant materials in seed and gene banks. It is also the subject of my current book project, Endangered Maize: Indigenous Corn, Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction.
Dr Shailaja Fennell (@shailajafennell)
Shailaja Fennell is a Co-Investigator on TIGR2ESS, a research programme to study how to improve crop productivity and water use, identify appropriate crops and farming practices for sustainable rural development. She is also a Co-Investigator on MillNeti, a sister research programme (2019-2021) that is focussed on how to improve iron nutrition status of people living in Ethiopia and The Gambia by assessing the bioavailability of iron from biofortified millet. Her work package focuses on the use of quantitative and qualitative surveys to understand how millets are currently grown, processed, cooked and consumed in focus villages in The Gambia and Ethiopia.
Professor Giles Oldroyd (@gilesdoldroyd)
Professor Giles Oldroyd studies the mechanisms by which plants form beneficial interactions with micro-organisms, both bacteria and fungi, that aid in the uptake of nutrients from the environment, including nitrogen. A long-term aim of this research is to reduce agricultural reliance on inorganic fertilisers and he currently heads an international programme funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to engineer nitrogen-fixing cereals.
The future is becoming harder to predict thanks to climate change and a global pandemic. But a large part of what the future will look like is in our own hands. The biggest challenge to creating a better future may be political rather than scientific or technological.
Subscribe to the podcast here: mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen
In this episode, Diane Coyle, professor of public policy, Laura Diaz Anadon, professor of climate change policy, and architectural engineer, Ruchi Choudhary, join us to talk about how we can build a future that might not be anything like the past.
We cover topics like innovation, GDP, and how the uncertainty created by climate change can help propel policy and economic decisions. Plus, we look at some of the benefits that come with building a greener future together.
Please take our survey. https://bit.ly/38uXJaG How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, and Naomi Clements-Brod.
Last episode, we talked about how we got to where we are now with climate change, but do we even know what’s going on with climate change right now? In this episode we’ll talk about what tipping points we’re approaching, how and why we’re still struggling to gain momentum toward action on climate change, and what difference it would make if carbon dioxide was a brown smelly substance.
To figure all of this out, we talked to a mathematician, Emily Shuckburgh, an engineer Hugh Hunt and a psychologist, Sander van der Linden.
Along the way, we discuss solutions like geoengineering, creating a fake news ‘vaccine’ and opportunities for businesses to be more transparent about how their activities contribute to climate change. If you’re curious to find out more specific ideas about how we can build a greener future, check out Cambridge Zero’s Green Recovery Report here: https://www.zero.cam.ac.uk/green-recovery-report
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, and Naomi Clements-Brod.
Climate change is likely to affect almost every area of our lives… but how did we get to this point? When and why did we first take notice of climate change? And why has climate change evaded our collective attention and action for so long?
We talked with professor of human geography, Mike Hulme,, science historian and journalist Dr Sarah Dry and environmental economist Dr Matthew Agarwala to try to figure all of this out. Along the way, we discovered new ways of thinking about climate change, from a tragic story where the issue is constantly caught between opposing forces, to more hopefully thinking of it as a source of generative change and innovation.
This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan and Naomi Clements-Brod.
From the University of Cambridge and Cambridge Zero
One series at a time, we break down complex issues into simple questions. Subscribe to the podcast here: https://mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen
In this first series, we’ll explore climate change. Climate change is likely to affect almost every area of our lives… like a toddler with sticky fingers. But how did it become this way? What are we doing about it now? And what does the future hold?
We’ll ask smart people some simple questions and see what happens!
New episodes every Thursday.
From the University of Cambridge and Cambridge Zero
A new report from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge finds that investing public funds - in people’s health and skills, and in social, natural, and physical capital - is the best way to build forward to a more resilient and prosperous future, and to deliver the ‘levelling up’ agenda.
Professor Diane Coyle, Dr Matthew Agarwala and Dimitri Zenghelis, from the Wealth Economy project team, discuss the key findings from the report such as: the returns to any single element will be higher if they are treated as a portfolio; there is a need to measure and value these assets so that they are a part of policy and business decision making; and investing in these assets across the UK is the best way to restore prosperity and ensure fiscal health even if there is a temporary rise in the government debt/GDP ratio.
Listen to their economic wisdom and lively debate that shares the practical and immediate policy lessons for Building Forward to something better.
Read the report: Building Forward: Investing in a Resilient Recoveryhttps://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/publications/building-forward-investing-resilient-recovery/
o subscribe on Apple podcasts please visit: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/we-a…ty/id1450822598
We speak to Jennifer Howard-Grenville, Diageo Professor in Organisation Studies, at the Cambridge Judge Business School.
This is a fascinating conversation, we look at organisational culture through an 800 year old lens, by examining how Cambridge University sustains and conveys a culture. Jennifer debunks the myths about organisation culture and explains how organisational culture is more than a mere “statement of values” but instead reflects the practices and expectations of people working together.
We also discuss what the future of work might look like post Covid-19 and how organisations and leaders can maintain a culture after the shift to remote working.
We look at organisational culture through an 800 year old lens, when we discuss how Cambridge University conveys and sustains a culture. Jennifer debunks the myths about organisation culture and explains how it can be broken down into practices and beliefs, rather than physical environments and rituals.
To subscribe on Apple podcasts please visit: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/we-a…ty/id1450822598
In this episode Dr Kamal Munir, reader in strategy and policy at the Cambridge Judge Business School, joins us to talk about how racial inequality is reproduced in organisations and why it continues to escape scrutiny.
We think about how the Black Lives Matter protests have prompted organisations to do some soul-searching, and we explore some practical solutions to achieving racial equality at the workplace.
About Kamal:
Dr Kamal Munir is Reader in Strategy & Policy at the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, where he also serves as the Academic Director of the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy. His research interests lie in social change and stasis. Dr Munir is a Fellow of Homerton College and also serves as the Race Equality Champion for the University of Cambridge.
To subscribe on Apple podcasts please visit: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/we-a…ty/id1450822598
In this episode we speak to Professor Sarah-Jane Blakemore from the Department of Psychology, about the adolescent brain and the return to school. We think about the effects of social isolation on teenagers, the long term impact of COVID-19 and we ask if we are doing the right thing by having students return to university during a pandemic.
The Speaker Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is Professor of Psychology and leader of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group. Her group's research focuses on the development of social cognition and decision-making in the human adolescent brain, and adolescent mental health, running behavioural studies in schools and in the lab, and neuroimaging studies, with adolescents and adults.
To subscribe on Apple podcasts please visit: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/we-are-the-university/id1450822598
In this episode, we speak to Simone Eringfeld, MPhil student at the Faculty of Education and producer of the Cambridge Quaranchats podcast.
We talk about education in the time of COVID-19, how the move to online education will affect the idea of the university and how she sees the disruption as an opportunity to reimagine the future of the post COVID-19 university.
Simone shares conversations from her Quaranchats podcast where guests reimagine the learners’ journey, possible ways forward, and how institutions like Cambridge might embrace necessary change.
Guests Simone Eringfeld @SimoneEringfeld MPhil student at the Faculty of Education @CamEDFac , educationist, writer and photographer. Co-Chair of Cambridge Peace and Education Research Group @CPERGUK
Researching ‘post coronial’ futures of Higher Education. Podcast host of @CamQuaranchats.
More Info http://www.simoneeringfeld.com/
https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ceid/2020/07/09/eringfeld/
https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/UE-Simone-Eringfeld
To subscribe on Apple podcasts please visit: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/we-a…ty/id1450822598
In this episode, we speak to Dr Helen McCarthy, a Historian of Modern Britain at the Faculty of History and Author of Double Lives: A History of Working Motherhood.
In recent months, many working parents have had to juggle looking after kids at home with their usual jobs. We talk about how the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on working mothers.
We take the historical perspective and the long view to try and make sense of these gender divisions.
We talk about our reliance on childcare, the broader economic impact of the last few months on women, and how to ensure it is truly valued in the coronavirus recovery.
Guests Dr Helen McCarthy (@HistorianHelen), Historian of Modern Britain at Faculty of History (@CamHistory) and Fellow of St John’s College (@stjohnscam) Author of Double Lives: A History of Working Motherhood @BloomsburyBooks
To subscribe on Apple podcasts please visit: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/we-a…ty/id1450822598
In this episode we talk to Tyler Shores about digital fatigue and distraction, and how we can all take care of our digital wellbeing.
We also talk about his experience of setting up an entirely online high school, and how we can think about online learning in a much more holistic way.
In this episode we talk to Ibrahim Rahman about how he’s been raising money for Cambridge City foodbank and helping Muslim families struggling with hardships during the pandemic.
We also talk about his journey from Wimbledon to the social media team at the university, and how he’s been using his expertise to help Cambridge Central Mosque engage with the community during lockdown.
We talk to Nicole Horst about her journey from the body shop of a car manufacturing plant to a research project studying obsessive compulsive disorder, and about finding her true passion for advocacy and supporting other young researchers.
As this is our first episode recorded remotely during the coronavirus lockdown, we also talk about her role in a volunteering project that’s supporting NHS workers with vital protective equipment.
To find out more about donating PPE supplies, contact covid-response@cam.ac.uk.
ExoMars is Europe’s first Rover mission to Mars, a mission in search of life, past or present, to answer one of humankind’s oldest questions: are we alone in the Universe? Abbie Hutty, Platform Delivery Manager, discusses the mission’s aims and objectives, the major challenges and design drivers of a mission to Mars, and how the team are engineering solutions to meet those challenges.
How much garlic did the medieval Irish use in baking bread? The answer to this and other questions about daily life in medieval Ireland can be found in written and material sources used to construct the past. Sharon Arbuthnot and Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, and Aidan O’Sullivan and colleagues, University College Dublin, bring to life the everyday objects of medieval Ireland.
By 2050, the global population is estimated to hit 10 billion, and we're going to need to feed them all. Around a third of our food depends on pollinating insects, but they're in decline. Hamish Symington explores how food relies on insects, and how research at the Department of Plant Sciences aims to make flowers more efficient at being pollinated, helping to feed all those mouths in future.
An asteroid impact 66 million years ago may have wiped out the giant dinosaurs, but it also resulted in the rapid evolution of birds. From this point onwards, bird body size and genomes were changed forever. Dr Daniel Field, Department of Earth Sciences, explores the evidence and sheds light on the way modern animals may respond to Earth’s current biodiversity crisis.
Horizons Public Lecture Nick White, Head of University Catering Service, Emma Garnett, Department of Zoology and Amy Munro-Faure, Environment and Energy Section, discuss how a Sustainable Food Policy at the University of Cambridge, which includes removing beef and lamb from the menu and promoting plant-based food options, has dramatically reduced food-related carbon emissions.
What does the future hold for China in a world of global trade wars, rising concerns about human rights and regional expansion in the form of the Belt and Road Initiative? With historian Professor Hans van der Ven, human rights expert Professor Eva Pils, Agnes Chong, visiting at POLIS and Bhavna Dave from Soas . Chaired by Rana Mitter Talk recorded at event Wednesday 23 October: 6:00pm - 7:30pm St John's College Fisher Building, St John’s Street, CB2 1TP
When he’s not monitoring seals from space, Prem Gill is laying down Grime tracks featuring the voices of seals and live-streaming his Antarctic expeditions to secondary school students in the UK. He hopes that his efforts will encourage others from ethnic minority or working-class backgrounds to consider a career in polar science. My PhD research, which is jointly funded by the Scott Polar Research Institute, British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and World Wildlife Fund, uses satellite images to study Arctic seals. By monitoring the seals, we can gain a greater understanding of their habitat preferences and population trends. Through this analysis we can learn more about the health of the entire Arctic ecosystem.
This is crucial because what happens in the polar regions, effects the whole world. The Arctic and Antarctica act like a thermostat for the planet. If you can monitor what's going on in these areas, you can get an idea of what's going on globally, which has huge implications for assessing the effects of climate change.
What comes to mind when you hear the words ‘polar scientist’? A sepia-tinted photograph of a Victorian explorer? A modern-day researcher in a brightly coloured padded jacket and sunglasses? You probably wouldn’t picture someone who looks like me. I’m first?-generation British-Indian working class.
In the 200 years since Antarctica was first discovered, there have been huge strides in terms of women in polar science. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for people from ethnic minority backgrounds. I’m working to change that.
I know from experience that a number of factors can stand in the way of young people like me from pursuing a career in something like polar science– this could be cultural expectations, financial pressures or quite simply not having role models that look like you.
What has Brexit revealed about how we view ourselves and how others see us?
Listen again to our panel discussion with Professor Robert Eaglestone, Ali Meghji, lecturer in social inequalities, anthropologist Professor Katharine Tyler and international relations expert Ayse Zarakol. Chaired by David Reynold.
This event took place as part of the Cambridge Festival of ideas on 19 October 2019.
Will automation make us redundant or are there qualities that are essentially human which will become more sought after?
Listen again to robots expert Hatice Gunes, Allegre Hadida, University Senior Lecturer in Strategy at Judge Business School, author and lecturer Laura Dietz and Stephen Cave from the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. Chaired by Julian Clover from Cambridge 105 Radio.
This panel discussion was part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas and took place on Saturday 19 October 2019.
Risk expert Professor David Spiegelhalter and social psychologist Dr Sander van der Linden explore how we can discuss risk sensibly without causing conspiracy theories and mass panic.
Our current stance on Class A drugs is not working. Is the lack of success in reducing the harm drug-users do to themselves or others a matter of economics, politics, ethics or education? Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, chairs a discussion on safer drug use and the research on drug consumption rooms.
Panel Chair: Dr Rowan Williams
Panel members:
Fiona Godlee Editor in Chief of The BMJ. Qualified doctor, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. She has written and lectured on a broad range of issues, including health and the environment, the ethics of academic publishing, evidence based medicine, access to clinical trial data, research integrity, open access publishing, patient partnership, conflict of interest, and overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
Fiona is honorary professor at the Netherlands School for Primary Care Research (CaRe), honorary fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners, a senior visiting fellow at the Institute of Public Health at the University of Cambridge, honorary fellow of the Faculty of Public Health and a by-fellow of King’s College Cambridge. She is on the advisory or executive boards of the Health Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute, Alltrials, the Peer Review Congress, the International Forum for Quality and Safety and Healthcare, Evidence Live, Preventing Overdiagnosis, the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change and the Climate and Health Council.
Fiona was a Harkness Fellow (1994-5), President of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) (1998-2000), Chair of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (2003-5), and PPA Editor of the Year (2014). Fiona is co-editor of Peer Review in Health Sciences.
Johannes Lenhard A published researcher within the European homeless sector. Three years researching people on the street and their institutional surroundings in London and two years of fieldwork in Paris (with additional context on Copenhagen and San Francisco).
Johannes main interest and argument is as follows: “I am seeing lots of people in situation of housing exclusion / homelessness suffering additionally because of their addiction problems (often linked also to mental health issues). In most contexts addiction will lead to further exclusion (e.g. not being able to access housing because of it). I believe that there is an ideological bias - particularly pronounced in the US - supported often by the pedal structure criminalising drugs that leads to these effects. Thinking about the American war on drugs in particular, how we treat a big proportion of homeless people won’t change unless we as society change our way of treating the addiction they are living with (which in itself is often linked to the situation of homelessness rather than being a causal factor). I am interested in discussing how we can move more quickly and comprehensively to a context of harm reduction rather than criminalisation (as out into place for instance in Copenhagen, Geneva or areas of Portugal) also given the overwhelming evidence that economically and health-wise it makes absolute sense to do so.”
Vicki Markiewicz Executive Director, Change Live Grow (CGL) and has worked in the substance misuse sector since 1998 and benefits from years of valuable experience in a range of different roles. After completing a MA Degree in Criminology from the University of Cambridge, Vicki worked on the frontline (HMP Wormwood Scrubs and Brixton) and the community. Vicki then worked for the Home Office Drugs Prevention Advisory Service before joining Hertfordshire County Council as a commissioner. Vicki has spent the past ten years working for Change Grow Live, a Health and Social Care Charity, as Executive Director for the East, London and South East. CGL provides health and social care services support to adults, children, young people and families. CGL currently delivers the contact for addiction support services in Cambridge.
Person with Lived Experience
The scientific consensus on climate change is clear so how do we get everyone on board for the kind of radical action required to save the planet? With writer Hugh Warwick, composer and environmental activist Lola Perrin, Professor Matthew Gandy and Laura Diaz Anadon, Professor of Climate Change Policy. Chaired by Steve Evans from the Centre for Industrial Sustainability.
How much did your health shape your fate in the Middle Ages? If you were a typical peasant or townsperson, how much was your fate in your own hands? How much did it really depend upon chance encounters with random microbes, runaway carts, crop failures, and the like?
In this talk, members of the After the Plague: Health and History in Medieval Cambridge project experiment with several ways of getting beyond abstract numbers and putting a human face on the problem. One way is to look at actual life stories of people from medieval Cambridge, as revealed by multidisciplinary studies of their skeletons. A second is to use virtual, interactive life stories, using a computer game to play out the lives of typical medieval people. Finally, moving up to the historical scale, we use World Health Organisation style methods to ask "what was the biggest health problem of the Middle Ages?" If you got to play God and wipe out one health problem, what would it be? The Black Death? Influenza? Toothache? Come and find out!
The Balkans has long been Europe’s most unstable region. After a series of devastating conflicts in the 1990s, the Balkans was pacified when the US intervened militarily to impose a settlement which transformed the internal boundaries from Yugoslavia into international borders, resulting in a set of multiethnic states such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Kosovo.
However, this settlement has been consistently challenged by the peoples of the region who believe the security, rights and opportunity they desire can only be attained by establishing nation states, based on the established model in the rest of Europe.
For the last year, Serbia and Kosovo’s leaders have been openly discussing an exchange of territory along ethnic lines, with the apparent approval of the United States and the European Union. Meanwhile, Albania and Kosovo have stated their intention to unify next decade and the Serbs and Croats in Bosnia are driving the country towards disintegration.
In this presentation, PhD student Timothy Less will ask how long its current borders can hold, what the map of the region will look like in the future, and whether the region make a transition to nation statehood without another conflict, and what the response of the outside powers should be.
Revolution is everywhere, from people power uprisings in Sudan and Algeria to the rise of Islamic State and the emergence of populism. But how should we understand this new age of revolution? And what links contemporary movements to their predecessors in history? George Lawson, from the Department of International Relations LSE, will explore how revolutions begin, unfold and end. His talk aims to unravel the ‘anatomies of revolution’, and to generate a nuanced understanding of the place of revolution in the contemporary world.
What would it be like to live in a metropolis where horses and livestock abound, and influence every aspect of daily life? How would this affect your attitudes and conduct towards man and beast? Tom Almeroth-Williams answers these questions by exploring how human–animal interactions shaped Georgian London.
Researcher Tyler Shores on how the move from books to screens is affecting our reading habits, whether digital distraction alters how we take in information and what this means for the future of reading.
The third edition of David Crystal’s Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language published this year. There have been huge developments in English in the 15 years since the previous edition.
Not all of the developments have been predictable. Among the expected changes were a continuing spread of English as a global language and the remarkable growth of new internet varieties. But who would ever have predicted in 2003 that the book would need new spreads on English in a post-Brexit Europe, or on changes in the oratorical style of American presidents?
David will discuss these issues, along with a further unexpected outcome in relation to the language of Shakespeare.
Welcome to We are the University. A podcast about the alumni, staff and students who make Cambridge University unique.
In this episode we chat to Julian Hargreaves about his life in the music industry discovering talent like So Solid Crew and why he chose to leave the music industry and pursue a career in academia.
We talk about Julian’s research with British Muslim communities; the issues around anti-Muslim discrimination and hate crimes.
Dr Amy Erickson talking about Women Entrepreneurs in 18th-century London: change or continuity? and her exhibition: City Women in the 18th Century at the Cambridge Festival of Ideas.
The outdoor exhibition City Women in the 18th Century (Cheapside, London, 21 September – 18 October 2019) highlights the extraordinary number of women who ran manufacturing and commercial businesses in the heart of 18th-century London. Then, as now, the Cheapside area was known for its luxury goods. Unlike now, most of those goods were made on the premises. It is often assumed today that women did not enter the labour force before the 20th century. What is the significance of the discovery that in the 18th century women were not only central to the labour market but also ran businesses? Amy Erickson discusses her research and reflects on the experience of mounting a public exhibition with private sector support.
Didier Queloz from the University of Cambridge was jointly awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics along with James Peebles and Michel Mayor for their pioneering advances in physical cosmology, and the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.
Listen to Professor Queloz talk to journalists at the Science Media Centre in London just a few hours after finding out about the award.
Final-year chemist Shadab Ahmed reflects on his sabbatical year as Cambridge University Student Union Access and Funding Officer, the importance of role models, and how increasing diversity within universities could be the start of seeing real change in society as a whole.
The neuroscientist working to understand and prevent suicide in teenagers.
We talk to Dr Anne-Laura van Harmelen, a neuroscientist, who became fascinated by the brain as a teenager, after her dad gave her a copy of Oliver Sacks’ The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Today she’s investigating adversity and resilience and is part of an international collaboration working to understand, and ultimately prevent, suicidal thoughts and behaviours in teenagers. https://www.riskandresiliencegroup.uk/ https://twitter.com/ProjectHOPES https://twitter.com/DrAnneLaura
Is taxidermy a craft or art? Can natural history specimens be an artwork? Who made this putty-nosed monkey? And while we're here, can a fox snarl?
Jack Ashby, Museum Manager at the University Museum of Zoology, tackles taxidermy and its inclusion in Artist: Unknown.
This podcast series is part of an exhibition titled Artist: Unknown at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge. In collaboration with the University of Cambridge Museums, it brings together works of art from across the University’s collections from July to September 2019.
What would a young woman's CV from the past look like?
Helen Ritchie, Research Assistant at The Fitzwilliam Museum, talks about samplers and the role they played for young women in the 17th and 18th century, and why in this instance the artist is unknown.
This podcast series is part of an exhibition titled Artist: Unknown at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge. In collaboration with the University of Cambridge Museums, it brings together works of art from across the University’s collections from July to September 2019.
Nicholas Thomas, Director at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, talks about a 19th / early 20th century barkcloth. Both a museum object and an extraordinary work of art, the maker’s name was never recorded and the individual artistic value overlooked.
This podcast series is part of an exhibition titled Artist: Unknown at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge. In collaboration with the University of Cambridge Museums, it brings together works of art from across Cambridge University’s collections from July to September 2019.
What happens when the artist doesn't want to be known, and why would that be?
Josh Nall, Curator of Modern Sciences at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, talks about the makers who aim to deceive.
This podcast series is part of an exhibition titled Artist: Unknown at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge. In collaboration with the University of Cambridge Museums, it brings together works of art from across Cambridge University’s collections from July to September 2019.
Eliza Spindel, Curatorial and Research Assistant at Kettle's Yard, tells us about a tea bowl from Kettle's Yard and a case of mistaken identity. Not only does the maker change, but so does its story.
This podcast series is part of an exhibition titled Artist: Unknown at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge. In collaboration with the University of Cambridge Museums, it brings together works of art from across Cambridge University’s collections from July to September 2019.
Whalers. Expert Navigators, but also expert artists?
Charlotte Connelly, Curator at The Polar Museum, tells us about some atmospheric ink drawings and scrimshaw created by whalers voyaging in the Arctic.
This podcast series is part of an exhibition titled Artist: Unknown at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge. In collaboration with the University of Cambridge Museums, it brings together works of art from across the University’s collections from July to September 2019.
Every cast in the Museum of Classical Archaeology is a hybrid – the work of both the ancient sculptor and the modern cast maker.
Dr Susanne Turner, Curator at the Museum of Classical Archaeology, talks to us about a plaster cast taken from a carved marble head, identified as that of the ancient Greek god Apollo. But who sculpted the original, and who made the cast?
This podcast series is part of an exhibition titled Artist: Unknown at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge. In collaboration with the University of Cambridge Museums, it brings together works of art from across the University’s collections from July to September 2019.
The Hay Festival is one of the most prestigious cultural and literary events in the world.
The University of Cambridge has partnered with the Festival for 11 years to deliver The Cambridge Series which gives a taste of the research being conducted at the University.
The Series is part of the University’s public engagement work and draws on the University’s two flagship public engagement events, the Cambridge Science Festival and the Cambridge Festival of Ideas. The 2019 Hay Festival ran from 25th May to 2nd June.
The Hay Festival is one of the most prestigious cultural and literary events in the world.
The University of Cambridge has partnered with the Festival for 11 years to deliver The Cambridge Series which gives a taste of the research being conducted at the University.
The Series is part of the University’s public engagement work and draws on the University’s two flagship public engagement events, the Cambridge Science Festival and the Cambridge Festival of Ideas. The 2019 Hay Festival ran from 25th May to 2nd June.
The Hay Festival is one of the most prestigious cultural and literary events in the world.
The University of Cambridge has partnered with the Festival for 11 years to deliver The Cambridge Series which gives a taste of the research being conducted at the University.
The Series is part of the University’s public engagement work and draws on the University’s two flagship public engagement events, the Cambridge Science Festival and the Cambridge Festival of Ideas. The 2019 Hay Festival ran from 25th May to 2nd June.
The Hay Festival is one of the most prestigious cultural and literary events in the world.
The University of Cambridge has partnered with the Festival for 11 years to deliver The Cambridge Series which gives a taste of the research being conducted at the University.
The Series is part of the University’s public engagement work and draws on the University’s two flagship public engagement events, the Cambridge Science Festival and the Cambridge Festival of Ideas. The 2019 Hay Festival ran from 25th May to 2nd June.
The Hay Festival is one of the most prestigious cultural and literary events in the world.
The University of Cambridge has partnered with the Festival for 11 years to deliver The Cambridge Series which gives a taste of the research being conducted at the University.
The Series is part of the University’s public engagement work and draws on the University’s two flagship public engagement events, the Cambridge Science Festival and the Cambridge Festival of Ideas. The 2019 Hay Festival ran from 25th May to 2nd June.
The Hay Festival is one of the most prestigious cultural and literary events in the world.
The University of Cambridge has partnered with the Festival for 11 years to deliver The Cambridge Series which gives a taste of the research being conducted at the University.
The Series is part of the University’s public engagement work and draws on the University’s two flagship public engagement events, the Cambridge Science Festival and the Cambridge Festival of Ideas. The 2019 Hay Festival ran from 25th May to 2nd June.
The Hay Festival is one of the most prestigious cultural and literary events in the world.
The University of Cambridge has partnered with the Festival for 11 years to deliver The Cambridge Series which gives a taste of the research being conducted at the University.
The Series is part of the University’s public engagement work and draws on the University’s two flagship public engagement events, the Cambridge Science Festival and the Cambridge Festival of Ideas. The 2019 Hay Festival ran from 25th May to 2nd June.
Throughout its ancient history, the UK has been home to many amazing creatures that are now long extinct. From dinosaurs to giant millipedes, discover how these animals shaped the land around them and what secrets are held within their prehistoric footprints.
Bill Sutherland, who holds the Miriam Rothschild Chair in Conservation Biology at the University of Cambridge, described attempts to make global evidence available to all, improve the effectiveness of experts and change attitudes toward the use of evidence, especially in relation to conservation.
Black holes are nature’s most extreme objects. Professor Christopher Reynolds described how they stretch our understanding of space-time to the limits and power some of the most energetic phenomena in the Universe.
The Industrial Revolution brings to mind famous male inventors and industrialists. In her new book economist Victoria Bateman instead argues that the everyday woman underpinned Britain’s – and indeed the West’s - rise.
The sequencing of the human genome has revolutionised how scientists search for the genetic causes of human diseases. Human geneticist Professor Nicole Soranzo described how the field has evolved in the last 15 years, and discussed how new genetic evidence is used to better understand the interplay between our DNA (‘nature’) and the environment (‘nurture’).
How do we counter fake news and can we inoculate public opinion against misinformation? Dr Van der Linden is Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab and is investigating the psychological mechanisms behind the spread of misinformation.
Holding her first grandchild in her arms in 2003, Mary Robinson was struck by the uncertainty of the world he had been born into. Before his fiftieth birthday, he would share the planet with more than nine billion people – people battling for food, water and shelter in an increasingly volatile climate. As the UN’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Robinson’s mission led all over the world, from Malawi to Mongolia, and to a heartening revelation: that an irrepressible driving force in the battle for climate justice could be found at the grassroots level, mainly among women, many of them mothers and grandmothers like herself. Robinson met with ordinary people whose resilience and ingenuity had already unlocked extraordinary change. Robinson is the former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and is now a member of The Elders. This year she was awarded the prestigious Kew International Medal for her work on climate justice.
Shuckburgh is a climate scientist and mathematician, and is co-author of the Ladybird book on Climate Change. She will speak about her research on modelling localised effects of climate change – from Arctic warming to flooding in Tewkesbury, from severe drought in Malawi to record-breaking temperatures in Thailand, and from the acidification of the Barrier Reef to the hurricanes battering the Caribbean.
In this episode we chat to Duncan Astle, a developmental neuroscientist, who’s based at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. Duncan and I talk about his recent study that uses machine learning to identify learning difficulties and why children may struggle at school. We also talk about his work with Pride in STEM and how the current scientific research publishing model needs to change.
It’s something that we all do, but no one talks about it: emptying your bowels. However, for many people with conditions that impair this most normal of bodily functions, it can impact your day-to-day life in unexpected and profoundly challenging ways. Scientists Dr Ewan St. John Smith and Dr James Hockley teamed up with DragonLight Films to produce a short film that explores how gut function goes wrong, the impact it has on peoples’ lives and how scientists and clinicians are working to better treat those affected. We seek to understand how gut function is disrupted and how pain occurs in conditions including Crohn’s disease (a form of inflammatory bowel disease, IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as well as being a natural consequence of ageing. You can watch the film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOiNI0qREsI
After watching the film Dr Dervila Glynn of Cambridge Neuroscience will moderate an open debate with a panel of experts to discuss themes arising from the film. The event is supported by Bowel and Cancer Research whose mission is to bring forward to a day when no one will die of bowel cancer or have to live with chronic bowel disease.
Come along and discover more about your amazing gut, a system as complex as your brain, how it controls things we take for granted and which no one usually likes to talk about!
Biographies: Dr Ewan St. John Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge and Fellow in Pharmacology at Corpus Christi College. Ewan’s research group is focused on determining how pain is caused in a wide variety of conditions.
Dr James Hockley is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge. James’ research examines the biological pathways responsible for how sensations, in particular pain, arise from our internal organs.
Colin Ramsay is an award-winning Cambridge based filmmaker, founder and managing director of DragonLight Films. In 2017, Colin won the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) “Best Research Film of the Year” for his documentary film Pain in the Machine.
Giovanna Mallucci is Professor of Clinical Neurosciences and Associate Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute. She discusses how research is transforming our understanding of the cellular mechanisms that make brain cells go wrong in dementia and degenerative brain disease and how these insights may be translated into new treatments.
Professor Giovanna Mallucci has undergraduate degrees in Physiological Sciences and Medicine from the University of Oxford, with clinical training at University College, London. She obtained her PhD from London University, for which she generated the first adult onset mouse model of prion protein knockout that paved the way to her discoveries about reversibility of early neurodegeneration and underlying mechanisms.
Her work on the role of the UPR in neurodegenerative disease and its pharmacological manipulation was hailed as “turning point in search for medicines to control and prevent Alzheimer’s” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24462699 and was the 2013/2014 Research for Society MRC success story http://www.mrc.ac.uk/successes/mrc-success-stories-2013-14-a-review-of-t.... Since her PhD she has combined clinical work and basic research and led groups in the MRC Prion Unit (2001-2008) and the MRC Toxicology Unit (2008-present), before moving to Cambridge, where, as well as running her own lab, she is now setting up the UK Dementia Research Institute Centre at the University of Cambridge. She is also Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital specialising in Dementia. Her own lab is pioneering interventions targeting common pathways for treatment of dementia.
She has received numerous national and international awards for her work, including a SciAm50 award for leadership in research as one of the top 50 scientific innovators worldwide, and has given many plenary and keynote talks at international conferences. She is an ERC Consolidator Fellow. In 2017, she was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
You might have heard that scientists will soon be able to build quantum computers. But what exactly is a quantum computer? Is it just a super-fast version of a normal computer? What will it be good for? And most importantly, should you buy one? Mithuna Yoganathan provides the answers! Hint: don't put in your pre-order until you've seen this talk!
Through a series of short, interactive presentations, Astex Pharmaceuticals take you on a journey into their ‘molecular mix and match’ approach to the discovery of new medicines. Stick around after the talks to meet the scientists!
Imagine to be in front of a traffic light, you are about to cross and the green light starts to blink. Do you cross? Do you always stop, or does your choice depend on how late/early you are for an appointment? Does this depend on your age, the younger you are, the faster you can cross, or the more likely you are to take risks?
Right from brainless bugs such as bacteria and yeasts, to each of the three trillion cells making up our bodies, each cell continually takes critical decisions about proliferation, migrations, metabolisms and cell behaviour. However, once in a while, genetic mutations occur. Like typos that change the meaning of a sentence in a book, these errors change how cells decide leading to uncontrolled growth.
Although cells have mechanisms to correct these errors or to avoid the consequences that these errors may lead to, rarely, wrong decisions are made and perpetuated… and cancer is triggered. Dr Alessandro Esposito, MRC Cancer Unit, explores how the cell, a tiny droplet of water, takes decision to support life and how scientists probe the ‘brain of the cell’ to understand cellular decisions in physiological and pathological conditions.
Professor Ulf Büntgen presents a short introduction into modern tree-ring research, including wood anatomy, followed by timely examples of how different tree-ring archives and parameters can help to identify and shift research frontiers and cross disciplinary boundaries; not only within the natural sciences but also to the humanities.
In addressing different aspects of archaeology, astronomy, biology, ecology, epidemiology, history, mycology and volcanology, he discusses the potential and limitations of state-of-the-art ‘dendro sciences’ that may range in space and time from the cell to the hemisphere and from the day to throughout most of the Holocene, respectively.
Professor Ulf Büntgen and his team conduct fieldwork all over the globe to assemble unique tree-ring archives, parameters and techniques for the advanced reconstruction of environmental and climatic conditions over centuries to millennia. In so doing, they are providing annually resolved and absolutely dated solutions to unravel the direct and indirect causes and consequences of past ecological and societal changes. One focus is on the better understanding of conceivable linkages between volcanic activity, climate variability and human history.
Research Horizons Public Talk What does the future hold for Cambridge? How will its economy grow, and will our housing and transport infrastructure be able cope? Ying Jin talks about how we are able to model the city’s development, and Matthew Bullock and Gemma Burgess discuss why these predictions matter for balancing economic success and social equality.
Most of us have used antibiotics to fight an infection by a nasty bug and were happy that it worked. But the bugs are fighting back, or so it seems, making them potential winners in an ongoing rat race between us and them. Dr Hendrik van Veen discusses the ins and outs of antibiotic resistance in the hidden world of microorganisms. There will be historic facts, gloopy stuff and science in action!
Biography: Hendrik van Veen is a Reader in Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge, and a teaching fellow at Clare College. He has studied antibiotic resistance over the past 20 years and is fascinated by the intricate solutions that bugs have developed to avoid antibiotic action.
Understanding disease at the molecular level is key to the discovery of new targets that drive inflammation and autoimmune processes. What happens when the immune system hits the wrong target? It can unleash a torrent of disorders, including inflammatory diseases, cancer, and autoimmune disease. Understanding disease triggers may enable entirely new approaches to treating and potentially preventing disease. Come along and be enlightened by our panel of experts in the field.
From human disease and intellectual ability, ethnicity and race to sex and our origins, Dr Ewan Birney and colleagues, discuss the five things that everyone should know about genetics.
Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith is the Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics and Head of the Department of Genetics. Her research focuses on the molecular events governing pre- and post-natal mammalian development.
Dr Matthew Hurles leads a research group at the Wellcome Sanger Institute focused on deciphering the genetic causes of severe developmental disorders, and understanding how DNA mutates as it is passed from generation to generation.
Dr Stuart Ritchie is a Lecturer in the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at King’s College London. His research focuses on the genetic and environmental links to human intelligence differences.
Ewan Birney is Director of EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute with Dr Rolf Apweiler, and runs a small research group. He is also EMBL-EBI's Joint Head of Research, alongside Dr Nick Goldman.
Ewan completed his PhD at the Wellcome Sanger Institute with Richard Durbin. In 2000, he became Head of Nucleotide data at EMBL-EBI and in 2012 he took on the role of Associate Director at the institute. He became Director of EMBL-EBI in 2015. Ewan led the analysis of the Human Genome gene set, mouse and chicken genomes and the ENCODE project, focusing on non-coding elements of the human genome. Ewan’s main areas of research include functional genomics, DNA algorithms, statistical methods to analyse genomic information (in particular information associated with individual differences in humans and Medaka fish) and use of images for chromatin structure.
Ewan is a non-executive Director of Genomics England, and a consultant and advisor to a number of companies, including Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Dovetail Genomics and GSK. Ewan was elected an EMBO member in 2012, a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2014 and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2015. He was also made a CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list in 2018.
Ewan has received a number of awards including the 2003 Francis Crick Award from the Royal Society, the 2005 Overton Prize from the International Society for Computational Biology and the 2005 Benjamin Franklin Award for contributions in Open Source Bioinformatics.
Cambridge Climate Lecture Series In his 100th year, James Lovelock talks with Chris Rapley and Helen Czerski on the theme of Climate Change, Can We Fix It? Only three months after COP24 we hear if Lovelock, the father figure of our climate concerns, remains optimistic. Is Gaia alive? Will the Earth self-regulate whatever we do?
Dr Helen Czerski, Professor Tim Lenton and Professor Chris Rapley will hold a live discussion of the implications of the Gaia Hypothesis with recorded interviews with James.
Forty years ago James postulated that the Earth is a self-regulating system able to keep the climate and chemical composition comfortable for organisms. This was the Gaia Hypothesis, which as evidence and mathematical models accumulated has now become Gaia Theory.
Chris Rapley is Professor of Climate Science at UCL. Previous to this, Chris was the Director of the British Antarctic Survey (1998 to 2007) and Director of the Science Museum (2007-2010). In 2008 he was awarded the Edinburgh Science Medal – “For professional achievements judged to have made a significant contribution to the understanding and well-being of humanity” Since January 2014 Chris is the Chair of European Space Agency Director General's High Level Science Policy Advisory Committee. Chris Rapley is amongst scientists to comment on the future state of the Earth System. The report warns of the potential of a ‘Hothouse Earth’, whereby self-reinforcing feedbacks could push the Earth System through a planetary threshold to a new state characterised by a combination of high global temperatures and rising sea levels unprecedented in the Holocene.
Dr Helen Czerski is a physicist, first and foremost, but she’s acquired a few other labels along the way: oceanographer, presenter, author and bubble enthusiast. Helen studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge and continued her academic studies gaining a PhD in experimental explosives physics. After research at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and a post doc at the Graduate School of Oceanography in Rhode Island Helen returned to the UK to start her own research programme on the physics of oceanic bubbles, first at the University of Southampton and then at her current academic home, University College London. Helen gets particularly excited about the physics of the everyday world and the oceans and has presented documentaries on a wide range of subjects relating to physics in general, and also atmospheric and ocean science. She is passionate about conveying the beauty and ingenuity of the physical world around us, and the perspective on the world that science provides.
Professor Tim Lenton studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Reading Jim Lovelock’s books on Gaia ignited his passion for studying the Earth as a whole system. This led to his PhD studies on what regulates nutrient balance of the ocean and the oxygen content of the atmosphere, supervised by Professor Andrew Watson at Plymouth Marine Laboratory and later the University of East Anglia (UEA). After gaining his PhD, Tim worked at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh. In 2004 he returned to UEA and built up an Earth system modeling group, working on key events in the coupled evolution of life and the planet, including human-induced global change. Tim moved to the University of Exeter in 2011, where he and his group are focusing on understanding these past revolutions, on developing an evolutionary model of the marine ecosystem, and on early warning of climate tipping points.
In this episode, Charis and I speak to Cambridge University alumna, Pat Marsh. When we recorded the interview, we didn’t have any of the studio equipment with us, just a phone, but we thought it would be a crime not to share Pat’s incredible story.
Pat was the first woman in the UK to hold a gaming licence and in 1979 she brought Space Invaders, the arcade game sensation, to the UK shores.
Pat has had a distinguished business career, most recently serving as Executive Chairman of Philip-Treacy. Philip Treacy’s hats have adorned the heads of royals and celebrities alike, including Grace Jones, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Beyonce and Victoria Beckham.
Black holes are nature’s most extreme and exotic objects. They stretch our understanding of space and time to its limits and, in a cosmic irony, are responsible for some of the most energetic phenomena in the Universe. In this talk, Professor Christopher Reynolds describes the nature of black holes as we currently understand them, the role that they play in the Universe, and how future research on black holes may yet again change our view of reality.
Christopher Reynolds is the Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at the University of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy, and a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College. After completing his undergraduate and doctoral degrees at Cambridge, he spent 21 years in the United States including a 16 year stint as a Professor at the University of Maryland where we ran a research group focused on black holes. He returned to Cambridge in the Autumn of 2017
A technology breakthrough that started in Cambridge has brought us to where we are able to decode the entire DNA sequence and determine mutations that cause rare genetic diseases and cancer. With all 100,000 genomes now sequenced, Dr David Bentley, Chief Scientist at Illumina, and Professor Mark Caulfield, Chief Scientist at Genomics England, discuss how the 100,000 Genome Project will revolutionise the way we practise medicine.
Dr David Bentley FMedSci David is Vice President and Chief Scientist at Illumina Inc. and graduated with an M.A. in Natural Sciences from Cambridge and a D.Phil from Oxford. During his career he has been a Senior Lecturer at London University; and later the Head of Human Genetics and a founder member of the Board of Management at the Sanger Centre. David has played a leading role in the Human Genome Project and related international consortia to characterise human sequence variation, including The SNP Consortium and the HapMap Project. His long-term interest is the study of human sequence variation and its impact on human health and disease. His current research is focussed on fast, accurate sequencing of human genomes for adoption and benefit in healthcare, with early applications including rare genetic disease and cancer. These applications are exemplified in the goals of the 100,000 genomes project, a partnership that includes Illumina, Genomics England and the National Health Service.
Professor Mark Caulfield Mark Caulfield graduated in Medicine in 1984 from the London Hospital Medical College and trained in Clinical Pharmacology at St Bartholomew’s Hospital where he developed a research programme in molecular genetics of hypertension which has discovered over 1000 gene loci for blood pressure and clinical research. He served on the NICE Guideline Group for hypertension and was President of the British Hypertension Society (2009-2011).
He was appointed Director of the William Harvey Research Institute in 2002 and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2008. He led on fundraising towards the £25m William Harvey Heart Centre which created a translational clinical research centre. Since 2008 he directs the National Institute for Health Research Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit and Centre at Barts. Between 2010 and 2015 he co-led the merger of three hospitals in North London to create the new £400 million Barts Heart Centre which provides 80,000 cardiovascular patient episodes.
He has won the Lily Prize of the British Pharmacology Society, the Bjorn Folkow Award of the European Society of Hypertension 2016 and the Franz Volhard Award of the International Society of Hypertension in 2018.
In 2013 he became an NIHR Senior Investigator and was appointed as the Chief Scientist for Genomics England (100,000 Genomes Project) 2013-ongoing.
The UK is embarking on a renewal of its generation of electricity by nuclear power and moving towards finding a permanent home for its accumulated radioactive waste. Since the last time the UK made decisions like this, much understanding has developed that could re-set our attitude to radiation and radiological risk. Ian & Gerry will demonstrate little appreciated aspects of radioactivity in the natural world and the outcomes of decades of study on the health effects of radiation.
Ian Farnan is Professor of Earth & Nuclear Materials in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge. His research involves the effect of radiation and water on materials used in radioactive waste disposal and nuclear power generation. He has led UK and European research consortia in this area and is currently Chair of Cambridge Nuclear Energy Centre.
Gerry Thomas is Professor of Molecular Pathology at Imperial College London and among many other things, Director of the Chernobyl Tissue Bank. Her research involves the molecular mechanisms involved in development of thyroid cancer, which is the only radiobiological consequence of the Chernobyl accident. Gerry believes passionately in the communication of the real health effects of power generation, and addressing our unconscious biases towards methods of electricity generation. She has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows all over the world talking about the health effects of the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents.
We humans have many obvious physical adaptations for effective movement – most notably the fact that we all tend to wander around on two legs. Less obvious, but every bit as important, is how our minds – particularly our desires – have been shaped through evolution by the need to move. Central to these mental adaptations is the brain’s ‘reward chemical’ dopamine. Dopamine is famous for making the runner’s high feel so good, but its role in encouraging and rewarding movement goes much deeper than that.
Drawing on the latest research, as well as traditional hunter-gatherer wisdom, zoologist Dr Matt Wilkinson will reveal all about these stimulating mental systems, and will give some tips about how to keep them working in our modern, civilised world.
Cambridge Infectious Diseases Public Lecture Dr Ellen Nisbet discusses how saving the world's coral reefs is helping us cure malaria. Corals contain photosynthetic algae, dying when the algae are lost. And malaria parasites are really algae in disguise.
Daphne Martschenko, president of Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club, is determined to make the sport of rowing more accessible. Her mission to pave the way for greater diversity in rowing chimes with her study of the charged concepts of race, socio-economic status, intelligence and genetics.
Read more here: https://medium.com/this-cambridge-life/the-star-rower-whose-research-examines-teachers-perceptions-of-intelligence-59467a7e18e2
https://www.cam.ac.uk/thiscambridgelife/waheedarian
Having survived the civil war in Afghanistan, Waheed Arian arrived alone in the UK aged 15. He went on to study medicine at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Today he’s using smartphones and volunteer specialists to provide life-saving medical advice to doctors working in areas of conflict.
Welcome to We are the University. A podcast about the people who make Cambridge University unique.
In this episode we meet James Biddulph, the headmaster of the University of Cambridge Primary School. https://www.cam.ac.uk/primaryschool
We talk about the school’s character and vision, how a trip to Nepal helped him realise that he wanted to teach as a career and we find out how he inspires the team of teachers that work with him.
www.educ.cam.ac.uk/people/staff/biddulph/
More than just an outstanding Ofsted rating sets the University of Cambridge Primary School apart: it places research at its heart, informing education practice and furthering research at Cambridge’s Faculty of Education and elsewhere.
Visitors walking through one of the ‘learning streets’ that run through the core of the University of Cambridge Primary School (UCPS) soon notice something unusual. It’s not the fact that they end up back where they started – the school’s Polo-mint-shaped structure is just one of its radical features – but the startling lack of doors: classrooms open up invitingly on each side of the street, with snatches of lessons, storytelling or music audible within.
The open-plan design both facilitates and symbolises the school’s role as the first, and still only, University Training School at primary level in the UK (the only secondary UTS is in Birmingham). Sponsored by the University of Cambridge, its role is to provide brilliant and inclusive primary education for its local community, and also to work alongside the University’s Faculty of Education and others to be research informed and research generating.
Building from the work of the Faculty of Education, the school identified three ‘golden threads’that bind together its curriculum: habits of mind (the resilience and problem-solving skills that help children learn); dialogue (exemplified in the new DIALLS project); and playful inquiry. The aim, looking forward again, is to “empower children to make sense of the complex world in which they live” and nurture “compassionate citizens who want to make a positive contribution to their local and global worlds.”
Has parliament taken back control and if so, are MPs about to shed their traditional party loyalties to prevent a no-deal Brexit? Listen to David Howarth, Professor of Law and Public Policy and former Cambridge MP, and Simon Deakin, Professor of Law, discuss what’s likely to happen in the Brexit negotiations in both the short and longer term.
The University Library is delighted to have been given the archive of the satirical TV programme Spitting Image. The first latex puppet to arrive is Margaret Thatcher. In this podcast, by Made For Your Podcasts, Spitting Image creator explains why the archive is coming home, and Mrs Thatcher speaks form beyond the grave...
What does gender equality mean in practice? Is feminism a threat to men or a collective liberation from social stereotypes? A panel discussion will look at the links between equality at work and equality at home and how the move towards gender equality connects to wider issues of social equality. With Jude Browne, Jessica and Peter Frankopan Director of the University of Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies, economist Victoria Bateman, sociologist Manali Desai, film, TV and theatre director Topher Campbell and Duncan Fisher from the Family Initiative. Chaired by psychologist Magdalena Zawisza.
David Reynolds, Professor of International History, reflects on how Western perspectives on Stalin have changed since the end of the Cold War and why the wartime alliance with the Soviet Union remains one of the most challenging problems - both historically and morally - in writing the story of the 20th century.
Many common sayings warn us against being judgmental: “Judge not, lest ye be judged,” is one familiar directive, underscoring the vulnerabilities of human judgments to distortion and bias and reminding us of our own exposure to others’ negative judgments. Nevertheless, we continue to make judgments, both positive and negative, because we have evolved to do so. In this talk psychologist Dr Terri Apter, former Senior Tutor at Newnham College, describes a 'judgment meter' at work in our brains, emerging in infancy and shaping our relationships with parents, children, spouses and colleagues throughout our lives. Rather than trying to suppress judgmental activity, we should respect its power as an inevitable feature of the human mind.
Ever felt your phone vibrate without getting a message? That’s a hallucination. In this talk, Hannah Jongsma will explore the spectrum from normal experiences to mental illness. How helpful is it to think of wellbeing this way? Where and how do we draw a line between being well and being ill?
Will the future of work be one in which jobs become ever more precarious and robots take over or can we regulate to make the gig economy and artificial intelligence work in our favour? With Magdalena Soffia, former UN consultant and researcher in Sociology at the University of Cambridge, Dr Alex Wood, a sociologist of work and employment at the University of Oxford, Dr Hatice Gunes, associate professor in the University of Cambridge's Computer Laboratory, and Laetitia Vitaud, HR specialist and writer on the future of work.
What is the likely impact of trade wars and how has the tension between protectionism and free trade played out in history? A panel discussion with: Dr Marc-William Palen, historian at the University of Exeter and author of 'The 'Conspiracy' of Free Trade: The Anglo-American Struggle over Empire and Economic Globalisation, 1846–1896'; Dr Meredith Crowley, a Reader in International Economics in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Cambridge; Dr Minako Morita-Jaegerand, trade consultant and Associate Fellow at the UK Trade Policy Observatory; and Dr Lorand Bartels, Reader in International Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge.
Chaired by Michael Kitson, Judge Business School.
Professor David Runciman, Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge and author of How Democracy Ends, argues that, far from following the familiar pattern of military takeover or collapse in the rule of law, it is likely that democracy will fail in the 21st century in ways that we are not yet familiar with and that rather than implosion, it may simply fade away, hollowed out by forces of technological progress and social division that we lack the power to understand, never mind to resist.
Read David's feature article: www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/how-democracy-ends
Cooperation and violence are opposite poles of human experience. Some societies, institutions and places are highly violent, while others promote cooperation and mutual respect. Four experts discuss core ideas about the root causes of these differences, and how research can help us to better address different forms of violence.
• What makes some societies more violent than others? Manuel Eisner
• What makes some prisons more violent than others? Alison Liebling
• What makes some neighbourhoods more violent than others? Graham Denyer Willis
• What makes some places more violent than others? Alex Sutherland
Best-selling author Tara Westover talks to Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman about her memoir, Educated, which tells of her experiences growing up in rural Idaho, raised by a radical, survivalist father who was intensely paranoid about government interference in the lives of his family. In the book she writes of how, through the pursuit of knowledge, she evolved into a 'new self'. She says: 'You could call this selfhood many things. Transformation. Metamorphosis. Falsity. Betrayal. I call it an education.'
Read Tara's feature article: https://www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/educated-tara-westover-conversation-hadley-freeman
With huge internal and external pressures facing the European Union, including the rise of nationalist and populist movements of all types across Europe - both inside the EU and outside, as well as the power struggle going on for control of Europe, can it survive?
With Ian Kearns, co-founder of the European Leadership Network and author of Collapse: Europe after the European Union, Dr Julie Smith, Director of the European Centre in the Department of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University, John Breuilly, professor of nationalism and ethnicity at the London School of Economics, and Timothy Less, associate researcher at the University of Cambridge and director of the Nova Europa consultancy, which provides political risk analysis of Eastern Europe.
Chaired by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire's Chris Mann.
This panel reflects on mystical experiences in epilepsy and what they can teach us about empathy, personal reflection, and how different traditions of faith or non-faith can intersect in big questions about the nature of personal experience.
This panel includes experts on the psychology of religion and people who have had mystical seizures. By using a rare and unusual phenomena that has implications for both medical and faith communities, this talk aims to address how we engage with the hard to understand subjective experiences of others and how competing understandings of the nature of these extreme experiences can share the explanatory landscape. Rather than simply focusing on the science of mystical seizures, this panel aims to address what these experiences tell us about spiritual plurality, interfaith understanding, and how we grapple with first hand accounts of experiences inaccessible to most people.
With Prof. Rev. Alasdair Coles, Joseph Tennant, Ian Ball, Mordecai Zeller
In this podcast, Peter Clarke, Professor Emeritus of Modern British History, discusses Theresa May’s leadership of the Conservative Party, her approach to the Brexit negotiations, and what he thinks will be the outcome of her Chequers deal when it is eventually put to parliament later this year. Prof Clarke is a Fellow and former Master of Trinity Hall. Recorded at the end of October 2018.
Why do fundamentalist beliefs and practices function as they do? Why are they so attractive? How should we distinguish between fundamentalism, extremism, radicalism and orthodoxy?
Professor Kim Knott, Lancaster University, Ed Kessler MBE, Woolf Institute, Cambridge, and Tobias Müller, Woolf Institute and POLIS, University of Cambridge, present their reflections on fundamentalisms, particularly in Jewish, Muslim, Christian and non-religious contexts. They draw on case studies and fieldwork in religious communities in the UK and Europe. In addition, the panellists present some conceptual proposals on how best to study and conceptualise fundamentalism in order to make it an analytical and useful category that takes seriously the historical development of the term. The presentations focus on shared characteristics such as the role of patriarchy, the desire to return to a golden age, the significance of sacred texts and truth claims, anti-pluralist attributes, the importance of charismatic leadership and the influence of globalisation. At the same time, the presentations will point out characteristics that are particularly noticeable amongst some religious fundamentalisms but not others, for example sacred land is important to Jewish, Sikh and Hindu fundamentalists but less so for Christian and Buddhist. Finally, the panel will address how fundamentalism relates to mainstream interpretations of the same religion.
Chair: Dr Sara Silvestri, Senior lecturer, City, University of London and Bye Fellow, St Edmund's College, Cambridge
Read Tobias' feature article: https://www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/what-fundamentalism-and-what-should-we-do-about-it
The dangers of the dark web are explored in a discussion that looks at how anonymous users can purchase illegal firearms and drugs on this hidden part of the internet. The challenges this poses and what could be done to manage its impact are also examined.
• Giacomo Persi Paoli is a research leader at RAND Europe in the Defence, Security and Infrastructure Group, where he leads the National Security and Resilience research portfolio. Giacomo will give an introduction to RAND Europe’s research into cryptomarkets – the black markets on the dark web – and reveal the size and scope of the dark web and what is available for trade, with a focus on illegal firearms.
• Stijn Hoorens is the head of RAND Europe's Brussels Office and an associate director of RAND Europe. His research interests are broad, but most of his work has revolved around issues related to illicit markets, security, demographic issues, employment, and skills. Stijn will be looking at how the dark web has facilitated the trade in illicit drugs and how the findings converge and differ between firearms and drugs.
• Steve Welsh is a senior manager at the National Crime Agency in the UK and heads up the Dark Web Intelligence Collection and Exploitation department. He will be giving an insight into the evolving threat of dark web markets and sharing some of the UK’s success in combatting it with international partners.
• Judith Aldridge is Professor of Criminology in the School of Law at the University of Manchester in the UK, she is the author of over 80 publications in the drugs field; 19 of these on ‘darknet’ drug markets. As a counterpoint, Judith will explore some of the unexpected benefits of the dark web, such as how it may reduce some of the harms generally associated with global drug prohibition.
Hello and welcome to We are the University. A podcast about the people who make Cambridge University unique. I’m your host Nick Saffell.
In this episode we meet James Biddulph, the headmaster of the University of Cambridge Primary School.
We talk about the school’s character and vision, how a trip to Nepal helped him realise that he wanted to teach as a career and we find out how he inspires the team of teachers that work with him.
https://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/people/staff/biddulph/
Ed Bullmore - Inflamed mind: A radical new approach to depression by University of Cambridge
Terri Apter - Passing Judgment: praise and blame in everyday life by University of Cambridge
Clive Wilkins with Professor Nicky Clayton - The Moustachio Quartet - An exploration of memory by University of Cambridge
Cecilia Brassett, Emily Evans and Isla Fay - The Secret Language of Anatomy by University of Cambridge
Ottoline Leyser: Thinking without a brain - how plants decide what to do by University of Cambridge
Dr Sujit Sivasundaram - The history of islands and their contribution to the modern world by University of Cambridge
Shruti Kapila - India, empire and the invention of terror in the 20th century by University of Cambridge
Professor Wendy Ayres-Bennett - The menace of monolingualism by University of Cambridge
Dacia Viejo Rose - War on culture: the politics of reconstructing cultural heritage by University of Cambridge
Lucy van de Wiel - Freezing fertility: How reproductive ageing is changing in the 21st century by University of Cambridge
Jaideep Prabhu - Frugal innovation: how the globe is learning to do more (and better) with less by University of Cambridge
Helena Sanson, Professor Bill Byrne and Marcus Tomalin: Lost in Translation by University of Cambridge
Recorded at POLITICAL THOUGHT, TIME, AND HISTORY, An International Conference which took place at Clare College, University of Cambridge on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 May 2018.
Quentin Skinner (Queen Mary, London), ‘Why states need time’ Sir Christopher Clark (Cambridge), ‘The times of power’
Nutrition and exercise are paramount for improving health and preventing disease. However, controversy exists over what constitutes a healthy diet. “Chocolate is good, Butter is back…” Misinformation in the media is confusing. Alexander Mok, MRC Epidemiology Unit, aims to demystify the research and evidence base underpinning the public health recommendations for a healthy lifestyle.
Alexander’s research focuses on the combined influence of Nutrition and Physical Activity on health, chronic disease and longevity using large population-based studies. He graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Master’s Degree in Epidemiology and subsequently completed interdisciplinary training in Public Health at Harvard University. Prior to starting his PhD studies at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge; he worked in the Clinical Nutrition Research Centre within the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences and was awarded the National Science Scholarship from A*STAR, Singapore to pursue his doctoral studies.
Research Horizons Public Talk
As AI systems are widely deployed in real-world settings, it is critical for us to understand the mechanisms by which they take decisions. Dr Adrian Weller discusses how processes are being developed to ensure AI systems are transparent, reliable and trustworthy.
A technology breakthrough that started in Cambridge has brought us to where we are able to decode the entire DNA sequence of 100,000 genomes to determine mutations that cause rare genetic diseases and cancer. Dr David Bentley, Chief Scientist at Illumina, and Professor Mark Caulfield, Chief Scientist at Genomics England, discuss how this promises to revolutionise the way we practise medicine.
The Antarctic is a difficult place to do science. Keeping a research ship moving is tricky in a vast expanse of frozen ocean. In addition, the ship needs to stay safe and efficient while executing research projects in a remote and hostile environment. Achieving this demands timely and reliable information to be accessible to everyone operating in sea ice. Available information has evolved from ice charts, to satellite imagery, sea ice forecasts and even surveillance by small drones. Andrew Fleming, British Antarctic Survey, describes the information derived from satellite data, how space borne technologies have revolutionised marine operations and consider which new satellites are required as ship traffic increases in the Arctic and Antarctic.
Very rarely, people with epilepsy have mystical experiences during their seizures. This may be why the ancients called epilepsy the Sacred Disease. Dostoyevsky had such seizures and wrote about them in The Idiot. Professor Alasdair Coles and Dr Joseph Tennant describe modern day examples of people with these unusual seizures, and what they can teach neuroscience, psychology and theology.
In recent years the debate about the harms and benefits of breast cancer screening has become increasingly polarised. This expert panel discussion will consider the complexities of this debate from four different disciplinary perspectives. Dr Sian Taylor Phillips, an epidemiologist who works with the UK National Screening Committee, will provide insights into the challenges of interpreting the evidence base; Professor Fiona Gilbert will give a clinical perspective and describe new technological options in breast screening, Professor David Spiegelhalter will discuss the challenges of communicating complex risk information to the public in screening programmes and Dr Hogarth will provide a social scientist’s perspective on how the mammography debate has developed since the 1970s.
Rose Giles reads the opening page of Casino Royale, a first edition of which features in Tall Tales: Secrets of the Tower, a free exhibition at Cambridge University Library from May 2-Oct 28, 2018. This was Fleming’s first Bond novel and the only one to feature his own artwork. The relatively small initial print run (4,750 copies) and the fact that Fleming himself designed the dust jacket means that first edition copies have changed hands for tens of thousands of pounds.
ulTallTales
www.lib.cam.ac.uk
Julian Fuller reads an extract from Lonely Londoners, featuring in Tall Tales: Secrets of the Tower at Cambridge University Library. The novel was one of the first books to focus on poor, working-class blacks following the enactment of the British Nationality Act 1948 and the arrival of the 'Windrush Generation'. The book was a major step towards the recognition of the new, multicultural London of the 1950s.
ulTallTales
www.lib.cam.ac.uk
Mark Purcell reads a poem from Ye Comical Rhymes of Ancient Times, first published in 1862. The volume features eccentric poems and displays elements of the casual racism which abounded at the time. The volume is on display in a free exhibition at Cambridge University Library, Tall Tales: Secrets of the Tower.
ulTallTales
www.lib.cam.ac.uk
Louise Williams reads this short practical pamphlet, from the Tower Collections at Cambridge University Library, which encourages people to take up chicken rearing. The author, a Mrs Woodrow of Harrow, notes that rearing chickens is ‘One of the least expensive, most enjoyable, scientific, interesting, and healthy hobbies that can be undertaken.’ Tall Tales: Secrets of the Tower runs from May 2-October 28, 2018.
ulTallTales
www.lib.cam.ac.uk
David Marshall reads an extract from The Liar by Stephen Fry, one of the books featured in Tall Tales: Secrets of the Tower at Cambridge University Library.
ulTallTales
www.lib.cam.ac.uk
A fact that scientists rarely mention is that space really, really wants to murder you. While this is upsetting, it does at least want to kill you in interesting ways! Dr Michael Parker explains his personal top ten most exciting ways that space can obliterate tiny, fragile humans.
Dr Michael Parker grew up in the Lake District, did his undergraduate degree in theoretical physics in Durham, then a PhD in astronomy in Cambridge. He worked as a postdoc in Cambridge for 18 months, now he's an ESA research fellow, based at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Madrid.
Have you ever wondered why dragons, unicorns, giants and vampires don’t exist? If so, then this is the event for you, as zoologist Dr Matt Wilkinson takes you on an expedition beyond life as we know it, to see why there are some things that evolution just can’t make.
Most of us value our health highly yet act in ways that undermine it. If we ate and drank less, didn’t smoke and were physically more active, 40% of cancers and 75% of diabetes and cardiovascular disease would be avoided. This talk addresses four questions, the answers to which reveal less and more effective approaches to improving our health: 1. Why do we persist in engaging in unhealthy behaviour despite valuing our health highly? 2. Why doesn’t learning of the risks to our health from our behaviour – eating and drinking too much, smoking, moving too little - lead us to change it? 3. Why don’t governments do more to make these behaviours less likely? 4. Is a better public understanding of the non-conscious nature of much of human behaviour core to more effective approaches to improving health?
Professor Theresa Marteau is Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit in the Clinical School at the University of Cambridge, and Director of Studies in Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at Christ’s College, Cambridge. She studied psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the University of Oxford.
Her research interests include: i. development and evaluation of interventions to change behaviour (principally diet, physical activity, tobacco and alcohol consumption) to improve population health and reduce health inequalities, with a particular focus on targeting non-conscious processes ii. risk perception and communication particular of biomarker-derived risks, and their weak links with behaviour change iii. acceptability to publics and policy makers of government intervention to change behaviour.
She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Academy of Social Sciences. In 2017, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her contribution to Public Health.
The world sends more messages today than ever before. Through the internet we email, and tweet, and instagram. And those messages are in code. This may not be surprising, but even those codes contain more secrets than you realise.
Dr James Grime will reveal how film studios know if you are sharing movies illegally. How to hide a secret message on the internet in plain sight. And the ingenious maths within a CD that allows it to keep playing.
James will also reveal a World War II code machine even more secret and difficult than the famous Enigma, and how too that code was broken. And introduce the Golden Age Hollywood actress and secret inventor who came up with an idea still used in WiFi today.
Dr James Grime is a mathematician and public speaker. Formerly of the Millennium Mathematics Project for the University of Cambridge, James now runs The Enigma Project and travels the world giving public talks on the history and mathematics of codes and code breaking. James is also a presenter of the YouTube channel numberphile.
We love dogs for their companionship and work but they can also help humans by teaching us about human genetic diseases. Eleanor Raffan, Institute of Metabolic Sciences, explains how studying inherited disease in dogs can benefit humans too, including examples from her own work studying the genetics of obesity.
Biography: Eleanor Raffan is a vet and researcher at the University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories. She got the bug for research after specialising as a vet and encountering lots of inherited disease in her patients. Eleanor studies pet dogs to understand how genes cause disease in both animals and humans.
Organ transplants save lives and improve quality of life for recipients and their families. Although more than 50,000 people in the UK are alive today because of organ transplantation, demand for organs still outstrips supply in every country in the world. It is estimated that in the UK three people die every day while waiting for a transplant. Researchers worldwide are endeavouring to improve this picture and increase the quality and quantity of organs available.
Transplant surgeon and researcher Professor Mike Nicholson hosts a session in which some of the young scientists in his team talk about their latest work and about the developments in transplantation they hope to see in the future.
With Professor Mike Nicholson, Dr Sarah Hosgood, Dr Tom Adams, Miss Jenna DiRito
Professor Michael Nicholson qualified from Nottingham University and trained in renal transplantation in Leicester and Oxford. He was the Director of the Transplant Service and Professor of Transplant Surgery in Leicester for 18 years. Early in 2015 he moved to Cambridge in order to further develop his work into ex-vivo normothermic perfusion.
Clinical interests: Professor Nicholson has a particular interest in live donor kidney transplantation and with colleague Peter Veitch introduced laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy into UK practice, performing the first operation in October 1998. He has now performed more than 600 laparoscopic donor nephrectomies and 1100 kidney transplants.
Academic activities: Professor Nicholson is the Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Organ Donation and Transplantation at the University of Cambridge and Newcastle University. He continues to be active in research addressing the pathophysiology of ischaemia-reperfusion injury and in the development of ex-vivo normothermic perfusion (EVNP) techniques. He has published more than 340 papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Professor Nicholson's translational research programme has taken renal normothermic perfusion from the laboratory into clinical practice. Kidney Research UK have funded a randomized controlled trial of EVNP using DCD kidneys in Cambridge, Newcastle, Guy’s Hospital and Edinburgh. Recruitment started in February 2016.
The most interesting events and discoveries in molecular science and nanotechnology went through a “de-evolution of words”: from this does not make any sense to Eureka. Dr Ljiljana Fruk, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology highlights discoveries and molecules, which initially did not make any sense, but have nevertheless rocked our world and changed the way we live. From oxygen discovery and strange ice properties to DNA, fullerene and nanotechnology, some myths will be debunked and some stories revisited. And no worries, there is plenty of no-sense still around!
Chemist by training, Dr Ljiljana Fruk is lecturer in bio-nanotechnology working on light- triggered chemical reactions and devices, hybrid materials for tissue engineering and nanomaterial modification. She is a prototype of a EU scientist having studied and worked in Croatia, Italy, Germany and UK and therefore still tries to make sense of Brexit. But when things really do not make any sense, she designs Molecular Chocolates, turns failed experiments into art, writes short SF stories that keep on getting rejected and annoys her PhD students by making them do experiments they think do not make any sense (and they are often right!).
Take a deep breath and jump into the incredible world of fish, with marine biologist Dr Helen Scales (goggles and snorkels optional). Find out how fish can live for 500 years, how their beards can glow in the dark and sometimes they talk to each other with farts.
As a writer, marine biologist and broadcaster Dr Helen Scales' work combines a scuba diver’s devotion to exploring the oceans, a scientist’s nerdy attention to details, a conservationist’s angst about the state of the planet, and a storyteller’s fixation with words and ideas.
Helen writes books and articles and makes radio documentaries; she searches for stories about the oceans and the natural world, of the wonders of science and people; and she does her best to spend as much time as she can in, on and next to the sea.
Using sparks, fire, microwave ovens and many more demos, Dave Ansell shows the science and engineering that has allowed humans to shine light into the darkness from the stone age to the present day.
This is Dave's 21st Cambridge Science Festival, in that time he's been an a physics undergraduate and a research student, has worked in science radio, built a hands on science museum, and started a science roadshow. Now he spends most of his time in his shed making science toys, demos and exhibits for his own shows and for museums, researchers, TV companies and enthusiasts.
http://sciansell.co.uk
Whether it's about the risks of eating burnt toast or changes in sexual habits, numbers get used to give weight to a media story. But statistics are frequently abused, with exaggerations and misunderstandings disguised by the illusion of hard facts. Professor David Spiegelhalter shows how to identify the naughty numbers and the shabby stats, and how some basic mathematics can take apart scare stories.
David Spiegelhalter is Winton Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk and Fellow of Churchill College at Cambridge University, and as Chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, he works to improve the way in which risk and statistical evidence are taught and discussed in society. He gives many presentations to schools and others, advises organisations on risk communication, and is a regular commentator on risk issues. He presented the BBC4 documentaries ‘Tails you Win: the Science of Chance’ and the award-winning ‘Climate Change by Numbers’. He was elected FRS in 2005, awarded an OBE in 2006, and was knighted in 2014 for services to medical statistics. For 2017-2018 he is President of the Royal Statistical Society. In 2011 he came 7th in an episode of Winter Wipeout.
Mobile devices are often with us 24/7. Intuitively, we understand these mobile companions must know a lot about our interests and friends but sensors embedded in these devices offer a incredibly rich window into the lives of individuals and society as a whole. Is this information reliable? For what and how can this be used? How can we exploit it while respecting user privacy? Cecilia Mascolo, Professor of Mobile Systems, discusses the challenges and opportunities of this technology that is revolutionizing the future of a wide variety of domains ranging from health care to how cities function.
Cecilia Mascolo is a mother of a teenage daughter. She is also Full Professor of Mobile Systems in the Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, UK, a Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge and a Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute for Data Science in London. Prior joining Cambridge in 2008, she was a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science at University College London. She holds a PhD from the University of Bologna. Her research interests are in human mobility modelling, mobile and sensor systems and networking and spatio-temporal data analysis.
She has published in a number of top tier conferences and journals in the area and her investigator experience spans projects funded by Research Councils and industry. She has received numerous best paper awards and in 2016 was listed in “10 Women in Networking /Communications You Should Know”. She has served as an organizing and programme committee member of mobile, sensor systems, networking, data science conferences and workshops. She has delivered a number of keynote talks at conferences and workshops in the area of mobility, data science, pervasive computing and systems. She sits on the editorial boards of IEEE Pervasive Computing, IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, ACM Transactions on Sensor Networks and ACM Transactions on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies.
More details at www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/cm542.
Dr David Belin, Department of Psychology, discusses our current understanding of the psychological and neural basis of impulsive/compulsive disorders such as drug addiction and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He will offer an overall framework within which to understand how goal-directed behaviour, initially aiming at experiencing euphoria, pleasure, or performing better at the exam, in the context or drug use, or relieving distress in the context of OCD becomes, in some vulnerable individuals, a compulsive habit.
Dr David Belin is a Lecturer in Behavioural Neuroscience at the Department of Psychology of the University of Cambridge.
Dr Belin was born in Blois, France. He graduated in 2005 in Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology at the University of Bordeaux 2. During his PhD he developed the first preclinical model of cocaine addiction based in the operationalisation of multiple clinical criteria of the pathology as defined in humans.
Dr Belin then moved to the laboratory of Professor Barry Everitt at the Department of Experimental Psychology of the University of Cambridge in January 2006. With his mentor Dr Belin investigated the corticostriatal mechanisms of cocaine seeking habits and the relationships between impulsivity and compulsive cocaine self-administration, leading to a breakthrough in our understanding of the neurological and psychological mechanisms subserving individual vulnerability to cocaine addiction.
In 2009 Dr David Belin tenured at the INSERM in France and established his INSERM team in Poitiers (France) which focused on the psychological, neural and cellular mechanisms of individual vulnerability to compulsive disorders and their modulation by the environment. Soon it became apparent that Cambridge is where he wanted to carry out his research and he came back in October 2013, being appointed Lecturer in Neuroscience at the Department of Pharmacology. He moved back to the Department of Psychology in October 2016, where he has now established his research on the psychological and neural mechanisms of compulsive disorders.
Dr David Belin has received the Mémain-Pelletier Award from the French Academy of Science and the Young Investigator Award from the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society. He received a visiting scientist award from the Chinese Academy of Science in December 2017.
Meet the new Course Director of the Faraday Institute. Eleanor Puttock talks with Prof.Hugh Rollinson about his interests, scientific career and future with the Faraday.
Find out more about the Faraday Institute at http://www.faraday.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/index.php Find out more about our courses at http://www.faraday.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/Courses.php
Lucy Delap: lessons from the suffrage movement for today's feminist activists by University of Cambridge
As the Brexit negotiations proceed, who will win the PR battle over Brexit and who will be the losers? What will the outcome be for Britain's future relations with Europe? Join a debate about the ramifications of Brexit for European politics and the broader issues of how narratives are formed in public discourse. With Paul Whiteley, Catherine Barnard, Robert Tombs and Leonie de Jonge.
See related Feature article www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/what-drive…t-politics
Yes, we really do! Vladimir Putin has been running Russia since 2000 and it’s a fair bet (if anyone is still betting about politics these days) that he will win another six-year term in the 2018 elections. Yet in the West we know little about Putin or his remarkable country that has roller-coasted along since the collapse of the USSR in 1991. David Reynolds (History Faculty) and Kristina Spohr (London School of Economics) draw on their book Transcending the Cold War to bring alive Putin’s worldview, blending historical analysis with entertaining vignettes from some of his most vivid summits.
If all cultures and concerns are equally valid then surely it follows that truth is subjective? Or is this a meaningless caricature of relativism? Join Simon Goldhill, Caroline Edwards, Priya Gopal and Frank Furedi as they discuss what relativism can and can't tell us about the 'post-truth' world. Chaired by Simon Blackburn.
See related Feature article www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/relativism-enemy-truth
Have the people really had enough of experts? With economic experts taking a particular bashing since the recession, what does the future hold for economics and can it reforge its links with politics? Join economist Ha-Joon Chang, political scientist Helen Thompson, journalist Aditya Chakrabortty and editor Victoria Waldersee as they discuss whether we can improve the way research is used in informing policy.
See related feature article www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/can-we-believe-experts
Professor Sir Richard Evans was the principal expert witness against Holocaust-denier David Irving when he sued American historian Deborah Lipstadt for libel. Here he reflects on the case and the recent film – Denial – based on the events.
See related Feature article www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/denial
Refugees often have to give the most personal details to prove their past and receive asylum. But how easy is it to be open and truthful in a climate of mistrust when governments are looking to keep numbers down? Lucy Popescu, editor of A Country of Refuge, speaks to asylum seekers and writers Noo Saro-Wiwa and Hassan Abdulrazzak, and Tim Finch, writer and former director of communications for the Refugee Council, about their experiences.
Insufficient sleep affects all stages of a person’s live, from their development as a child and teenager, to their ability to function as an adult at home and work.
You are what you sleep takes attendees through all the different effects of insufficient sleep, from the impact on individual health and performance, to the impact on businesses and the wider economy. The session looks at what can be done to tackle the growing problem of sleep deprivation in society, and explains why the science and economics show that sleep really matters.
Speakers are:
• Dr Dagmara Dimitriou, Director of the LILAS Lab: Lifespan Learning & Sleep Lab at University College London. Dagmara is interested in sleep disorders and how these relate to learning and behaviour in children with developmental disorders, such as Autism, Williams Syndrome, Down syndrome and ADHD.
• Dr Wendy M. Troxel, Senior Behavioural and Social Scientist at the RAND Corporation. Wendy’s research focuses on understanding the links between close relationships and sleep, and how this relationship may influence couples’ health and functioning.
• Marcus de Guingand, Managing Director of Third Pillar of Health. Marcus helps organisations to support their staff in overcoming the debilitating health, safety and productivity effects of tiredness, sleep deprivation and fatigue.
• Marco Hafner is a Senior Economist at RAND Europe. Marco led the research – Why Sleep Matters – which estimated the economic impact of insufficient sleep among the workforces of five countries – the US, UK, Canada, Germany and Japan.
Presented with RAND Europe
In a polarised world, populist leaders with narratives of grievance promote global schisms based on religious and cultural differences. How can this be prevented? Andrew Preston, Julian Hargreaves, Sara Silvestri and Esra Ozyurek will discuss the situation in the US, Turkey and the UK, how it might be feeding a rising intolerance of different cultures and religions and how it can be challenged.
Leaks and hacks are both praised as tools of transparency and accountability or condemned as espionage and manipulation by malevolent powers. How safe is our data in the digital age…and what is the worst that could go wrong? Discussing this topic are Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6, MI5 historian Christopher Andrew, journalist Nick Davies and Martha Spurrier, head of Liberty. Chaired by BBC Cambridgeshire's Chris Mann.
False statistics can spread around the world in an instant. Politicians are open to manipulation by hostile government hacking. Masses of data on citizens is widely available and open to surveillance and misuse. How can politics and government keep up? With social anthropologist Beth Singler, Law lecturer Nora Ni Loideain, author George Zarkadakis and Will Moy from Full Fact factchecking charity.
Is history always written by the victors? Panelists Ruth Dudley Edwards, Kehinde Andrews, Maximilian Sternberg and Yesim Yaprak Yildiz will discuss how history is used to advance nationalist and colonialist ideas and how different sides can fervently believe different versions of the same events. Their contributions will cover decolonisation, Irish history, torturers’ confessions in Turkey and how architectural heritage is used and abused in Jerusalem.
We know that populists can be sloppy with facts and speedy with promises that are impossible to deliver. Yet populist leaders also tend to highlight real inequities and to persuade followers that they are in possession of some greater truth. Followers often outsource their judgment to the populist leader on the basis of this belief. What, then, is the relationship between populism and truth? What might we learn about our contemporary political moment from an understanding of this relationship? In this panel, we explore these less discussed aspects of populism, drawing on current and historical examples from Argentina to India, and from Turkey to Russia.
Confirmed speakers: Ayça Çubukçu (LSE) on Recep Erdogan Hugo Drochon (CRASSH) on Marine Le Pen Tanya Filer (CIPP) on Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Matthew Barr (Cambridge) on Donald Trump Nayanika Mathur (Oxford) on Narendra Modi Madeleine Reeves (Manchester) on Vladimir Putin
Earlier this week, Professor Stephen Hawking and the University of Cambridge made his 1966 PhD thesis available to anyone, anywhere in the world via Open Access. You can read more about the story and download the PhD thesis here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/step-inside-the-mind-of-the-young-stephen-hawking-as-his-phd-thesis-goes-online-for-first-time
And, to whet your appetite, Professor Hawking recorded a short extract from the PhD thesis for you to listen to here.
Herodotus is referred to as the 'father of history' - and he was that, and also much more besides: the father of comparative ethnography, and the father of cultural history of civilisations among others .... But much of his life remains a mystery, and there are a ton more things to be discussed about his superb work, The Histories. Join translator Tom Holland and Herodotus expert Professor Paul Cartledge in conversation about this enigmatic figure and what we can learn about history from his writings.
Paul Cartledge is A.G. Leventis Senior Research Fellow of Clare College and emeritus AG Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at Cambridge. His many books on ancient Greek history include The Spartans: An epic history (pb 2003) and Ancient Greece: A Very Short Introduction (2009, pb 2011); his latest is Democracy: A Life (2016). He wrote the introduction and notes to accompany Tom Holland's new translation of Herodotus's Histories (Penguin 2013, pb 2014).
Tom Holland is the author of Rubicon, Persian Fire, Millennium and In The Shadow Of The Sword, and the translator for Penguin Classics of Herodotus’ Histories. His most recent work of history, Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar was published last year. His biography of Æthelstan, the first in Penguin’s monarchs of Britain series, was published last summer. He is the presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Making History, and of TV documentaries on topics that have ranged from ISIS to dinosaurs.
Dr Michelle Oyen, Reader in Bioengineering Dr Michelle Oyen will discuss the carbon footprint of popular building materials like steel and concrete and approaches for substituting new bio-inspired materials instead.
Dr Rosalind Ridley, Senior Member of Newnham College and former Head of the UK Medical Research Council's Comparative Cognition Research Team in the Department of Psychology Rosalind Ridley views the Peter Pan stories through the eyes of a neuroscientist and explores J M Barrie's interest in cognition, theory of mind and the nature of consciousness. Barrie's stories are rich in post-Darwinian questions about the origins of human nature and the mental abilities of animals, children and adults.
Professor Daping Chu, Director of Centre for Photonic Devices and Sensors and Director of the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE) Professor Daping Chu outlines his work on the car of the future and the use of Head-Up Display technology together with his JLR collaborators.
Dr Preti Taneja, Fellow Commoner at Jesus College and a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker Preti Taneja's debut novel We That Are Young sets Shakespeare's King Lear in contemporary India, where the clash of youth and age, the rise of the religious right wing, the repression of free speech and civil conflict in Kashmir are ongoing. Preti will discuss the hidden history, politics and urgent contemporary relevance of Shakespeare's plays in India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies and will read from her forthcoming book. Dr Taneja is also chairing a session with the writer Paul Beatty at 5.30pm.
Hugh Hunt, Reader in the Department of Engineering We may want to cool the planet if (when) we fail to meet our CO2 emissions targets. There are technologies out there almost ready to go and some sound quite scary. Is it safe to meddle with the climate when we only have one Earth, asks Dr Hugh Hunt?
Professor Steve Evans, Director of Research in Industrial Sustainability Factories that forage, X-ray glasses that can see energy, why price is not value, and lots of stupid stuff as well. We will explore how the industrial system is (slowly) changing and why free energy is ignored. Professor Steve Evans explains how to be an environmental optimist and love factories.
Athene Donald, Professor of Experimental Physics and Master of Churchill College Children as young as six have already developed ideas about what boys and girls can 'do'. As they progress through school further cultural messages fix attitudes and are one part of why we have so few women engineers and male vets. Innovation, which thrives on diverse perspectives, is handicapped by the effects of such stereotyping. Our society needs to do better.
Catherine Barnard, Professor of European Union Law and the Jean Monnet Chair of EU Law in the Faculty of Law EU legal expert Professor Catherine Barnard explains the complexity of the Brexit negotiations.
Dr Kourosh Saeb Parsy, Lecturer at the Department of Surgery, University of Cambridge and a Consultant Transplant Surgeon at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust Dr Kourosh Saeb Parsy reviews how organ transplantation is being transformed by innovations in organ donation, stem cell technology, bio-engineered tissues, machine perfusion of organs and other biomedical advances, including a discussion of the ensuing ethical and legal dilemmas.
The Reverend Alasdair Coles, Professor of Neuroimmunology Once considered separate and independent, it is now clear that the there is an intimate, two-way, connection between the two most complex body systems: the immune system and the brain. So, our behaviour can affect inflammation in the body, and immune cells can alter our behaviour. What are the implications, asks Reverend Professor Alasdair Coles?
Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Professor of Mammalian Development and Stem Cell Biology Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz is a Professor of Mammalian Development and Stem Cell Biology at the University of Cambridge. Her passion lies in understanding how cells decide their fate for the very first time and how embryos build their architecture. This passion allowed her and her team to reveal the remarkable self-organising properties of human embryos, pioneering the way for future studies of human and mouse embryogenesis. Her talk will describe that work and the ethical issues it raises about embryo research.
Dame Carol Black, Principal of Newnham College, in conversation with journalist Rosie Boycott on addiction, obesity and employment Carol Black's independent review for government on employment outcomes for those with drug or alcohol addiction or obesity was published in December 2016. These three conditions impose great costs on individuals and society. The review examines the challenges and the data and makes recommendations that could improve the lives of those affected. She will be in conversation with Rosie Boycott.
Dr Elizabeth Drayson, Lorna Close Fellow in Spanish at Murray Edwards College Dr Elizabeth Drayson on how seven centuries of Muslim rule in Spain came to an end.
Dr Beth Singler, Research Associate on the Human Identity in an age of Nearly-Human Machines project at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion Recent developments in Artificial Intelligence and robotics demonstrate that we are aiming towards creating something that is 'human-like' in various ways. What sort of experiences should these beings have? And what does the answer to that question tell us about ourselves? Anthropologist Dr Beth Singler will expand on the role of 'Pain in the Machine' in our understanding of the robotic and the human through examples from her research and a short documentary.
David Tong, Professor of Theoretical Physics According to our best theories of physics, the fundamental building blocks of matter are not particles, but continuous fluid-like substances known as 'quantum fields'. David Tong will explain what we know about these fields, and how they fit into our understanding of the Universe.
Professor Theresa Marteau, Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit Many of us would like to lead healthier lives so what stops us? asks Professor Theresa Marteau.
We know that sport is good for developing teamwork and exercise is good for your cognition, mood and physical health. However, we also hear about the harmful effects of rugby, boxing and other sports with high risk of concussion on the brain. Join Professor Barbara Sahakian, Professor Peter Hutchinson, Dr Michael Hart, Dr George Savulich and Mike Crofts in a discussion of the benefits and risks of sports, including innovative strategies that aim to promote better brain health.
Presented with the NIHR Brain Injury Heathcare Technology Co-operative
Often dismissed as an unpleasant transitional stage or even maligned as a blight on society, are teenagers really as unproductive and worthless as we are usually told? David Bainbridge uses anthropology, physiology, history and psychology to argue that the teenage years should instead be seen as a unique human innovation – the very phenomenon, in fact, which has allowed us to achieve our unique success. He argues that many of the wonderful and stressful things which teenagers experience may only be understood in the light of our species’ bizarre evolutionary history. Zits, sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll – all human life is here.
David Bainbridge is a vet, reproductive biologist and the author of ‘Teenagers: A Natural History’, as well as ‘Middle Age: A Natural History’ and ‘Curvology: The origins and power of female body shape’. He teaches veterinary anatomy at Cambridge University and is Admissions Tutor at St Catharine’s College. After degrees in Zoology and Veterinary Medicine at Cambridge, he researched into pregnancy biology at the Institute of Zoology, Royal Veterinary College and Cornell, Sydney and Oxford Universities.
Chemistry doesn’t have to be done in a lab – in fact, you can do it in your kitchen! Find out with Andy Brunning the chemistry lurking in your kitchen cupboards, and learn some chemical explanations for food oddities along the way.
Andy Brunning is a secondary science teacher, writer, and science communicator based in Cambridge. He also runs the Compound Interest website, which features simple graphics-based explanations of chemical reactions we come across on a day-to-day basis.
Can we build a machine that can solve any problem? How can we break a code others believe unbreakable? Why do leopards have spots and zebras stripes? These questions were all answered by Alan Turing. Mathematician James Grime explores Turing's childhood fascination with maths and how it led to the breaking of the infamous Enigma cipher. Including a demonstration of an original WWII Enigma Machine!
A technology breakthrough that started in Cambridge has brought us to the point where we are able to decode the entire DNA sequence of 100,000 genomes to determine mutations that cause rare genetic diseases and cancer. Dr David Bentley, Chief Scientist illumina and Professor Mark Caulfield, Chief Scientist Genomics England discuss how this project promises to revolutionise the way we practice medicine.
Professor Mark Caulfield Mark Caulfield graduated in Medicine in 1984 from the London Hospital Medical College and trained in Clinical Pharmacology at St Bartholomew’s Hospital where he developed a research programme in molecular genetics of hypertension and clinical research. In 2009 he won the Lily Prize of the British Pharmacology Society. In 2000 he established the Barts and The London Genome Centre which now underpins over 40 programmes of research. Since 2008 he directs the Barts National Institute for Health Research Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit. Mark was appointed Director of the William Harvey Research Institute in 2002 and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2008. He led on fundraising towards the £25m William Harvey Heart Centre which created a translational clinical research centre. Mark served on the NICE Guideline Group for hypertension and leads the Joint UK Societies’ Working Group and Consensus on Renal Denervation and was President of the British Hypertension Society (2009-2011). In 2013 he became an NIHR Senior Investigator and was appointed as the Chief Scientist for Genomics England (NHS 100K Sequencing Project) 2013-2017.
David Bentley DPhil FMedSci David is Vice President and Chief Scientist at Illumina Inc. and graduated with an M.A. in Natural Sciences from Cambridge and a D.Phil from Oxford. During his career he has been a Senior Lecturer at London University; and later the Head of Human Genetics and a founder member of the Board of Management at the Sanger Centre. David has played a leading role in the Human Genome Project and related international consortia to characterise human sequence variation, including The SNP Consortium and the HapMap Project. His long-term interest is the study of human sequence variation and its impact on human health and disease. His current research is focussed on fast, accurate sequencing of human genomes for adoption and benefit in healthcare, with early applications including rare genetic disease and cancer. These applications are exemplified in the goals of the 100,000 genomes project, a partnership that includes Illumina, Genomics England and the National Health Service.
From Laser Light Displays to Extreme X-rays, we'll take you on a fantastic journey through the rainbow world of the electromagnetic spectrum. You'll believe your eyes - but you shouldn't in this illuminating science show. And as Jon London is the presenter you know SOMETHING is going to catch on fire!
Animals with backbones took millions of years to move out of the seas and onto land, then one group turned around and dived back in. Join Dr Helen Scales for an encounter with whales, including the biggest and some of the smartest animals ever to evolve.
Dr Helen Scales is a marine biologist, writer and broadcaster. Her latest book is the Guardian bestseller Spirals in Time, the secret life and curious afterlife of seashells.
The human brain is one of the most remarkable objects in the known universe but, like everything living, it evolved over millions of years from the humblest of beginnings. Join zoologist and writer Matt Wilkinson on a quest to uncover these mysterious origins. You’ll never look at a sponge in the same way again!
Morphing structures can adapt their shape to suit their environment and purpose. These are surprisingly difficult for us to make, but nature offers many solutions. For example, the Venus Fly Trap captures its prey using an ingenious morphing structure. Martin Walker introduces examples of these morphing structures: discover how they work and try them for yourself.
Martin Walker is a 3rd year PhD candidate in Engineering at the University of Cambridge studying the mechanics of creased thin metallic shells. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo (Canada) where he obtained a Bachelors of Applied Science in Civil Engineering with Distinction. He won a prestigious Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship to undertake a Masters in Structural Engineering at the University of Toronto (Canada), where he studied a novel lightweight blast protection system. After working as a structural engineer in London (UK) for three years he returned to academia to pursue a PhD.
Dr Kirstie Whitaker will take you on a journey "under the hood" to learn how researchers in Cambridge (and around the world) are studying the teenage brain. She will discuss what we can (and can not!) learn from brain scans in understanding this sensitive period of brain development.
Dr Kirstie Whitaker is a postdoctoral researcher in the Brain Mapping Unit of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. She is a 2016/17 Mozilla Fellow for Science and a passionate advocate for reproducible neuroimaging research. Dr Whitaker received her PhD in Neuroscience in 2012 from the University of California at Berkeley, funded by a Fulbright scholarship. She is the founder and lead developer of the STEMM Role Models project (www.stemmrolemodels.com) that seeks to ensure conference organisers are able to invite the most exciting and diverse speakers to their event. Her personal website is www.kirstiewhitaker.com and she tweets @kirstie_j.
Professor Clive Oppenheimer explains what has been learned about how volcanoes work from detailed observations of the southernmost active volcano in the world, Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica. The island was the base for several polar missions, notably those led by Shackleton and Scott. Their pioneering studies of the volcano paved the way for all subsequent investigations, and the physical traces they left on the mountain provide a tangible link between past and present scientific endeavours.
Presented with Cambridge University Press
Clive’s research explores the behaviour and hazards of volcanoes and the impacts of large eruptions of the past on climate and society. These themes were treated in the film INTO THE INFERNO that he made with Werner Herzog for Netflix in 2016. Fieldwork is his passion, and over the past year he has studied volcanoes in Chad, Ethiopia, Antarctica, Indonesia and North Korea.
The research presented in this talk is funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The mission of the ERC is to encourage excellent frontier research in Europe supporting top researchers across all fields and of any nationality. 2017 marks the 10th Anniversary of the ERC.
Every day your immune system is busy protecting you from the thousands of germs around you that can make you sick. It does its job so efficiently that you don’t even notice that it is at work. Micro-organisms are present in your gut and interact with your body during periods of health and disease. When the immune system hits the wrong target, however, it can unleash a torrent of disorders, including inflammatory diseases, cancer, and autoimmune disease. Come along and be enlightened by our experts in the field.
Panelists: Dr Eoin McKinney (Autoimmunity - Dept of Medicine), Dr Maike De La Roche (Immunity - CRUK), Dr Sam Forster (Microbiota - Sanger Institute). Chaired by Prof Clare Bryant (Innate Immunity - Dept of Vet Medicine).
In the UK over 6,500 people are currently on the waiting list for an organ transplant. In 2015/16 more organ transplants were carried out than ever before, but there is still a gap between the number of patients waiting for a transplant and the number of organs available. Professor Mike Nicholson, Dr Sarah Hosgood and Dr Patrick Trotter discuss how their research may help increase the quality and quantity of organs for transplantation.
Professor Michael Nicholson qualified from Nottingham University and trained in renal transplantation in Leicester and Oxford. He was the Director of the Transplant Service and Professor of Transplant Surgery in Leicester for 18 years. Early in 2015 he moved to Cambridge in order to further develop my work into ex-vivo normothermic perfusion.
Clinical interests: Professor Nicholson has a particular interest in live donor kidney transplantation and with colleague Peter Veitch introduced laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy into UK practice, performing the first operation in October 1998. He has now performed more than 600 laparoscopic donor nephrectomies and 1100 kidney transplants.
Academic activities: Professor Nicholson is the Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Organ Donation and Transplantation at the University of Cambridge and Newcastle University. He continues to be active in research addressing the pathophysiology of ischaemia-reperfusion injury and in the development of ex-vivo normothermic perfusion (EVNP) techniques. Professor Nicholson has published more than 340 papers in peer-reviewed journals and his translational research programme has taken renal normothermic perfusion from the laboratory into clinical practice. Kidney Research UK have funded a randomized controlled trial of EVNP using DCD kidneys in Cambridge, Newcastle, Guy’s Hospital and Edinburgh. Recruitment started in February 2016.
Professor Monica Grady, Open University discusses how meteorites, fragments of asteroids, show us the processes and materials that shaped our solar system and planet. Presented with Cambridge University Press
Join Dr Suzy Lishman, President of the Royal College of Pathologists, as she performs a virtual autopsy on a live model to investigate the effects of modern living on the body. Discover what an autopsy involves, how post mortem examinations have transformed our understanding of disease and why future investigations may not require a scalpel.
Although there will be no real blood or body parts this event is not recommended for the very young or the very squeamish.
Dr Suzy Lishman is a Consultant Histopathologist at Peterborough City Hospital and President of the Royal College of Pathologists. She introduced National Pathology Week in 2008, since when thousands of events for schools and the public have been held in the UK and abroad to dispel some of the misconceptions about pathology and highlight its vital role in healthcare.
The starting point for this talk is the following obviously absurd question. Imagine that we are about to vote in a yes/no referendum, and we hope that the majority will get the answer 'right'. Unfortunately, each person is completely clueless about the answer. Professor Imre Leader, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, will consider what we should do. No mathematical knowledge required!
It has been a year and a half since Dr Joseph Tennant joined the Faraday team at The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion to work on the project “Mystical seizures and Salience in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.” In collaboration with lead investigator Prof. Alasdair Coles, Joe has been investigating the neurological underpinnings and psychological consequences of seizures that are accompanied by intense euphoria, senses of knowing the purpose of the universe, or even seeing the face of god(s). Eleanor Puttock chatted with Joe to find out how the project is going and what it is like to be a social scientist.
To find out more about the project go to: http://bit.ly/1WLEzyu To find out more about The Faraday Institute go to: http://www.faraday.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk
Man vs Pathogen
The next big infectious disease is in the tabloids but the real killers lurk amongst us every day. Dr. Colin Russell, Cambridge Infectious Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Centre, discusses what scientists are doing to predict the emergence of new diseases and combat existing threats.
Every 2.25 seconds someone dies of an infectious disease. Ebola and Zika have captured the world’s attention and yet “old diseases”, such as Flu, Malaria,TB, and good old diarrhoea, continue to have immense, sustained human impact. One of the aims of Cambridge Infectious Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Centre is to focus on the early identification of dangerous pathogens and enable a rapid response to thwart the spread of disease before they become a significant threat to public health. Together, science, medicine and education provide a path for diminishing the impact of infectious disease and improving quality of life for everyone.
Dr. Colin Russell is a Principal Research Associate and Royal Society University Research Fellow in the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge. His work focusses on influenza viruses. He is also one of the chief scientists of the University of Cambridge WHO Collaborating Centre for Modelling, Evolution and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, and of the Cambridge Infectious Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Centre.
http://www.infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk/ http://www.vet.cam.ac.uk/directory/russell http://www.whocc.infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk
We are discovering the first planets with sizes, masses and temperatures similar to the Earth. Dr Amaury Triaud will describe how after much speculation and philosophical debate, the existence of life outside our solar system is close to becoming a testable scientific hypothesis.
Dr Amaury Triaud is a senior researcher at the Institute of Astronomy. A regular visitor to the observatories of the Atacama desert, he is the discoverer of over one hundred planets. He now searches for planets the same size and the same temperature as the Earth, and aims to find out if life emerged elsewhere in the Universe.
Please note: This event replaces that by Professor Didier Queloz in the print programme.
Astrology #Science #CambridgeScienceFestival #CSF2017
Carrying out fieldwork in high-security subterranean data centres, Alex Taylor explores fears of technological failure in our data-dependent society. Alex is a PhD student in the Division of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge.
People with multiple sclerosis will describe how they are affected by this disease of the brain and spinal cord. It starts in early adulthood and initially consists of attacks, which come and go, due to inflammation in the brain. Later in the illness, people develop progressive disability. In 1993, the first drug to suppress the inflammation in multiple sclerosis became available. Since then, several treatments have been developed, that are increasingly effective in reducing the attacks of multiple sclerosis. We will show how this first battle in the war against multiple sclerosis has nearly been won. However, that still leaves people with some scarring in the brain, with the threat of progressive disability in the future. We will hear from scientists at Cambridge who have recently developed exciting strategies to encourage the brain to repair itself. And participants in a trial of one of these approaches will describe their experience.
Professor Alasdair Coles has been in Cambridge since 1993, having trained at Oxford, London and Nottingham. He is a neurologist at Addenbrooke’s who specialises in treating immunological diseases of the brain. He also researches the effects of neurological diseases on religious faith.
Reporting From Extreme Environments Lyse Doucet (BBC) Darwin College Lecture Series 2017 – Extremes
Lyse Doucet is the BBC ’s award winning Chief International Correspondent who spends much of her time covering stories in our news headlines including devastating wars in Syria and Iraq as well as Afghanistan. She often focuses on the human costs of conflict. Her work also involves asking questions of world leaders. Her BBC journalism began with postings in Abidjan, Kabul, Islamabad, Tehran, Amman and Jerusalem. She was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Honours list in 2014 for her services to broadcasting and the Columbia Journalism Award for lifetime achievement in 2016.
‘Carriers of Culture’ is an exhibition at Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology of 19th and 20th-century images from the Congo. The exhibition came about when the London-based Congo Great Lakes Initiative (CGLI) worked with the Museum to unlock new understanding of the photographs through the Congolese community’s unique indigenous insights. Among the images is a series showing women making kwanga, a manioc bread. The community returned again and again to these images, and eventually suggested they form the heart of the exhibition. ‘Carriers of Culture: Women, Food and Power from the Congo Basin’ is at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology until 2 April 2017.
Political extremism appears to be all around us. Populists, xenophobes and, some might argue, fascists seem to be on the rise. Many trace the current challenge to liberal representative democracy to the legacy of the post-2008 financial crisis and economic scarcity, recycling earlier interpretations of the rise of historic fascism. But what is really driving support for political extremism in the West today? What do we really know about those who vote for these parties, including their backgrounds and concerns? This lecture will examine the drivers of support for contemporary forms of political radicalism and extremism, from the election of Donald Trump to the vote for Brexit in the United Kingdom and to forthcoming elections in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
Biography
Matthew J. Goodwin is Professor of Politics at Rutherford College, University of Kent, and Senior Visiting Fellow at Chatham House. His books include Revolt on the Right: Explaining Public Support for the Radical Right in Britain (published by Routledge) and a forthcoming study of the Brexit vote with Cambridge University Press. He shares much of his research and thoughts on Twitter (@GoodwinMJ) and his website matthewjgoodwin.org
Extremes of the Universe Andy Fabian, University of Cambridge Darwin College Lecture Series 2017 – Extremes
Spending up to five months alone at sea, rowing for twelve hours a day, may appear extreme, but Roz Savage will suggest that, like many major achievements, an epic ocean voyage is simply the accumulation of a very large number of tiny actions applied consistently over time. This power of accumulation also applies to phenomena as diverse as environmental degradation (or restoration), living a life of meaning and purpose, or creating the collective future that serves the needs of people and planet. In this very personal lecture, she uses her ocean rowing adventures as the underlying narrative for musings on solitude, psychology, sustainability, systems thinking, the hero’s journey, truth, identity, and free will.
Biography
Roz Savage MBE spent the first 11 years of her career working as a management consultant, before an environmental epiphany led to her transformation into a world-class adventurer. Since 2005 Roz has rowed, solo, across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans making her the world’s foremost female ocean rower. On the ocean Roz had to redefine her comfort zone on a daily basis, and reach deep into her inner sources of strength, self-discipline, and commitment to her goal, as she spent up to five months alone at sea on a 23-foot rowboat, thousands of miles from land and humanity, at the mercy of winds, waves and currents. Roz now speaks to organisations all over the world that are keen to find new ways to inspire and motivate more engaged, happy and purpose-driven individuals. She shares stories from the epic adventures she has experienced and the lessons she has learned. Her speeches help audiences to take more personal responsibility for their individual and collective success, find higher levels of resilience and courage, more effectively navigate the uncharted waters of change and invest more of themselves into every challenge they undertake.
Many extremist ideologies rely heavily on conspiracy theories to explain how the world works and where power lies. This lecture explores what our understanding of conspiracy theories – where they come from, how they work, who believes in them – can tell us about dealing with extremism. The US presidential election campaign showed that conspiracy theories are increasingly becoming part of the currency of democratic politics. Is democracy itself becoming more extremist? Where do the boundaries lie between the contestation of democratic values and the repudiation of them? This lecture will examine the relationship between harmless conspiracy theories, dangerous extremism and the rise of ‘post-truth’ politics and it will ask how we can still draw the line between them.
Biography
David Runciman is Professor of Politics and Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at Cambridge University. His books include Political Hypocrisy and The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis and he writes regularly about politics for the London Review of Books. He is one of the directors of a major Leverhulme-funded research project based in Cambridge on Conspiracy and Democracy, which explores the history and impact of conspiracy theories on democratic politics. (More details of the project can be found here: http://www.conspiracyanddemocracy.org/) He is the host of the popular weekly podcast Talking Politics.
Distributions that are dominated by extremes and tail events require a completely different way of thinking. We provide a classification and show where conventional statistical tools fail, such as the conventional law of large numbers. We show how robust statistics is not robust at all; how frequency-based forecasting fails and how past averages misrepresent future ones. We show implications for decision-making in the real world and what modifications are required. Ironically they are often easier to work with. See http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/FatTails.html for more details and papers.
Biography
Nassim Nicholas Taleb spent 21 years as a risk taker before becoming a researcher in philosophical, mathematical and (mostly) practical problems with probability. Taleb is the author of a multivolume essay, the Incerto (The Black Swan, Fooled by Randomness, and Antifragile) covering broad facets of uncertainty. It has been translated into 36 languages. In addition to his trader life, Taleb has also published, as a backup of the Incerto, more than 45 scholarly papers in statistical physics, statistics, philosophy, ethics, economics, international affairs, and quantitative finance, all around the notion of risk and probability. He spent time as a professional researcher (Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at NYU ’s School of Engineering and Dean’s Professor at U. Mass Amherst). His current focus is on the properties of systems that can handle disorder (“antifragile”). Taleb refuses all honors and anything that “turns knowledge into a spectator sport”.
Much contemporary discussion around feminism concentrates on how to get more women into positions of power and prestige, whether in academia, politics or business. Lorna Finlayson argues that in order to represent all women, feminists must do better.
The past year, 2016, was the warmest globally in records stretching back to 1850. The second warmest year was 2015 and the third warmest 2014. In recent years we have seen weather records being broken more and more often with severe heatwaves, floods and other extreme weather around the world. The risk of some of these extreme weather events has been shown to have increased as a consequence of climate change linked to human activities. In this talk I will discuss the scientific evidence surrounding the causes and consequences of climate change and the prospects for the future. Dr Shuckburgh is co-author of a new Ladybird book on Climate Change which will be published in January 2017. The book has been written with co-authors HRH The Prince of Wales and Tony Juniper, former Executive Director of Friends of the Earth.
Biography
Dr Emily Shuckburgh is a climate scientist and is deputy head of the Polar Oceans Team at the British Antarctic Survey, which is focused on understanding the role of the polar oceans in the global climate system. She holds a number of positions at the University of Cambridge (fellow of Darwin College, member of the Faculty of Mathematics, associate of the Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research, associate fellow of the Centre for Science and Policy, member of the Cambridge Forum for Sustainability and the Environment and fellow of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership). In the past she has worked at Ecole Normal Superieure in Paris and at MIT . She is a fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society and co-chair of their Climate Science Communications Group, a trustee of the Campaign for Science and Engineering and a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences. She has also acted as an advisor to the UK Government on behalf of the Natural Envrionment Research Council.
Speaking as part of the University of Cambridge's 'Brexit Week' - which took place from 18 to 22 October 2016 - Anand Menon gives his response to the discussion topic of 'The UK and Brexit: How, why and where now?'.
Professor Anand Menon is a Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London, and Director of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative.
Speaking as part of the University of Cambridge's 'Brexit Week' - which took place from 18 to 22 October 2016 - Jonathan Portes gives his response to the discussion topic of 'The UK and Brexit: How, why and where now?'.
Jonathan Portes is a Principal Research Fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, and a Senior Fellow of UK in a Changing Europe initiative. Previously, he was Chief Economist at the Cabinet Office, where he advised the then Cabinet Secretary, Gus O’Donnell, and Number 10 on economic and financial issues.
Speaking as part of the University of Cambridge's 'Brexit Week' - which took place from 18 to 22 October 2016 - Catherine Barnard gives her response to the discussion topic of 'The UK and Brexit: How, why and where now?'.
Professor Catherine Barnard is a Professor of European Union Law and Employment Law at the Faculty of Law, and a Fellow and Senior Tutor of Trinity College, Cambridge, She is also a Senior Fellow of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative.
Speaking as part of the University of Cambridge's 'Brexit Week' - which took place from 18 to 22 October 2016 - Matthew Elliott gives his response to the discussion topic of 'The UK and Brexit: How, why and where now?'.
Matthew Elliott is the former Chief Executive of the Vote Leave campaign, now Editor-at-Large of BrexitCentral. He was a founder and former Chief Executive of the political think tank The TaxPayers' Alliance.
Speaking as part of the University of Cambridge's 'Brexit Week' - which took place from 18 to 22 October 2016 - Mark Elliott gives his response to the discussion topic of 'Process and Politics of the UK Leaving the EU'.
Professor Mark Elliott is a Professor of Public Law at the Faculty of Law, and Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge.
Speaking as part of the University of Cambridge's 'Brexit Week' - which took place from 18 to 22 October 2016 - Charles Clarke gives his response to the discussion topic of 'Key Issues for UK and EU Post-Brexit'.
Charles Clarke is a former Home Secretary and a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute of Kings College London. He was MP for Norwich South from 1997 to 2010, and served as Home Secretary between 2004 and 2006 in Tony Blair's Labour Government.
Speaking as part of the University of Cambridge's 'Brexit Week' - which took place from 18 to 22 October 2016 - Coen Teulings gives his response to the discussion topic of 'Key Issues for UK and EU Post-Brexit'.
Professor Coen Teulings is the Montague Burton Chair of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations, Faculty of Economics, Cambridge.
Speaking as part of the University of Cambridge's 'Brexit Week' - which took place from 18 to 22 October 2016 - Chris Bickerton gives his response to the question 'How Did We Get Here?'
Dr Chris Bickerton is a University Lecturer in Politics at POLIS and Official Fellow at Queens’ College, Cambridge. He recently published a book called The European Union: A Citizen’s Guide. He publicly supported a Leave vote in the run-up to the Referendum.
Speaking as part of the University of Cambridge's 'Brexit Week' - which took place from 18 to 22 October 2016 - Robert Tombs gives his response to the question 'How Did We Get Here?'
Robert Tombs is a Professor of Modern European History, Faculty of History and Fellow at St John’s College, Cambridge. He was a signatory on a letter from 'Historians for Britain', a campaign group that supported a Leave vote in the run-up to the Referendum.
It’s 30 years since the most dramatic of the superpower summits: Reagan and Gorbachev at Reykjavik. David Reynolds, Faculty of History, and Kristina Spohr, London School of Economics, draw on their new book Transcending the Cold War to bring alive the personalities and the arguments. Was this, they ask, the great missed opportunity of the nuclear age?
In an age of anti-establishment thinking, is the process of overthrowing elites and creating new ones speeding up? Are we in for a period of perpetual distrust and is this a good thing? Join John Naughton, Beatrix Campbell, Kieron O'Hara and Samantha Asumadu as they discuss what it means to be anti-establishment. Chaired by Kiri Kankhwende.
What kinds of spaces are formed when the movement of displaced people is suspended? Controlled refugee camps and detention centres, alongside makeshift encampments and spontaneous settlements, manifest the various spatial expressions of the global control over movement. This debate explores the spaces of displacement, suspension and refuge created in and beyond the current 'migration crisis'.
Speaking as part of the University of Cambridge's 'Brexit Week' - which took place from 18 to 22 October 2016 - Athene Donald gives her response to the discussion topic of 'Key Issues for UK and EU Post-Brexit'.
Professor Athene Donald is a Professor of Experimental Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory and the Master of Churchill College, Cambridge. She publicly supported a Remain vote in the run-up to the Referendum.
Speaking as part of the University of Cambridge's 'Brexit Week' - which took place from 18 to 22 October 2016 - Victoria Bateman gives her response to the question 'How Did We Get Here?'
Dr Victoria Bateman is a Director of Studies, Fellow and College Lecturer in Economics at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. She publicly argued for a Remain vote in the run-up to the Referendum.
Does the development of new digital technologies and instant access to the internet provide new opportunities or present new dangers? How can good journalism thrive in these new circumstances? With Jane Singer, Mary Fitzgerald, Roxane Farmanfarmaian and Luke Lewis. Chaired by journalist Julian Clover.
What lessons have we learnt from the financial crisis of 2008? Are we on the brink of yet another global collapse? Is it time to start thinking about economics rather differently? Join experts Ha-Joon Chang, Victoria Bateman, Kamal Munir and Vicky Pryce for a discussion. Chaired by Helen Joyce, The Economist.
The Earth's climate has changed throughout its history. So what's so special about now and what can we learn from past climate change? Join a panel of experts as we discuss the past, present and future of this global issue. With Douglas Crawford, Rachel Reckin, Victoria Herrmann and Ben Caldecott. Chaired by Chris Smith, Naked Scientists.
Mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare by discussing his relevance today. Beyond the Elizabethan theatre and around the world, what, if anything, can we still learn from the Bard? With Preti Taneja, Paul Edmondson, Edward Wilson-Lee and Emma Whipday. Chaired by Adrian Poole, University of Cambridge.
Contrary to popular notions of atheism as a product of the Enlightenment, Professor Tim Whitmarsh argues that it was a matter of serious public debate as early as in the classical Greek world. Discover the stories of those who first refused the divinities and find out more about the origins of the secular values at the heart of the modern state.
In a world where too often, it seems, only the economy matters, Fiona Reynolds argues that beauty should shape our lives. Dame Fiona is Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and was formerly Director-General of The National Trust.
The internet used to be an open road, with unrestricted access and use, based very much on trust and community values. Join panellists from Cambridge University's Computer Lab as they discuss recent developments, bumps and obstacles as we traverse down this open road.
Most people that used Email are aware of the rapid rise of spam, rendering it almost useless for many uses where reliability is essential. As the world moves on to use other services, we find that social media, blogging and news media access are also subject to various obstacles, some that impact performance, and some that intrude more explicitly, such as censorship, by site blocking, or bots, automated systems that create content, often for a particular political or commercial purpose.
In the Computer Laboratory, we've been studying these phenomena systematically for some years, and this panel will discuss what we have been finding.
Classicist James Clackson discusses what we can learn from the ancient Romans and Greeks about the impact of migration on language. How is this relevant to contemporary concerns about immigration and language change?
Professor John Harris of the University of Manchester presents this year’s Sir Hermann Bondi Lecture.
With our increasing abilities to manipulate genes, we will increasingly have to tackle the ethical issues involved. Even if governments and other regulating authorities catch up with these issues, the publics they represent or regulate also need the opportunity to do so. John Harris discusses the ethical and policy dimensions raised by gene editing, the creation of human/animal hybrids and chimeras, Artificial Intelligence and human enhancement, cognitive, physical and moral.
A recent study involving the largest set of trials in criminal justice research found that assaults against officers wearing body cameras were 15% higher than against those without cameras. What does this tell us about the effectiveness of body cameras and how they’re used? Featuring Alex Sutherland (RAND Europe); Barak Ariel (University of Cambridge); and Julian Huppert (Former MP for Cambridge and University Lecturer)
"I'd heard stories about it. I'd heard stories about people entering at night, clandestinely taking out materials, sneaking out again, all under the cover of nightfall... there were plenty of stories of body parts or dead bodies turning up"
In a new podcast, Patrick O’Hare describes his time with the clasificadores – the families who scavenge Montevideo’s pungent ‘wastescape’ to recover and classify anything that is valuable, usable or edible.
Corbyn! Trump! Brexit! Politics has never been more unpredictable, more alarming or more interesting. From next week (22ND September 2016), a brand new podcast called TALKING POLITICS will be launched to try to make sense of it all. Each week, David Runciman will talk to the most interesting people around: novelists, comedians, historians, philosophers - and even a few politicians - and ask them what they think is going on. Democracy is feeling the strain everywhere. What might happen next? How bad could it get? As the crazy stuff happens, TALKING POLITICS will be on it. It’s the political conversation everyone is having: please join us.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
In what continues to be a historic year of change, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the great movements in history and scans the horizon for flows of the future. Join some of the brightest minds and engage with the movement of ideas, technology, people, politics, music and more.
John Polkinghorne speaks to Andrew Briggs about his new book 'The Penultimate Curiosity'
'The Penultimate Curiosity' sets out to answer one of the most profound questions about the development of human thought: why it is that throughout the long journey from cave painting to quantum physics what we now refer to as 'science' and 'religion' have been so closely entangled.
To find out more about The Faraday Institute go to: www.faraday.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk
Abigail Hammond conducted an interview while on work experience at the Faraday Institute in June 2016.
She interviewed PhD student Bruno Medeiros about Faraday courses, seminars and the impact of the Faraday Institute in the science religion dialogue.
To find out more about the Faraday Institute go to http://www.faraday.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk
David Runciman talks to Glen Rangwala on the day after the publication of the Chilcot report, about what's in it and what's missing. Glen exposed the 'dodgy dossier' at the time of the Iraq war and is a leading expert on the politics of the region. They discuss what are the real lessons to learn from Chilcot and why the problems extend beyond a few individuals. They also examine Tony Blair's claims about what Iraq would be like if Saddam were still there. Plus, was Jeremy Corbyn the right person to apologise?
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
A record number of Cambridge academics took part in this year’s Hay Festival, one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the world. This was the eighth year running that the Series has formed part of the Festival. It featured a range of speakers, from experts on climate change, robotics, maternal health and risk to Classics, European politics, nuclear power, playfulness in education and digital media. The Series is part of the University of Cambridge’s commitment to public engagement. The Hay Festival ran from 26th May to 5th June 2016.
On the morning Gove joins the race (and just before Boris drops out) we try to catch up with the news. The panel discusses the civil war in the Labour party, the Theresa May project, and what the referendum means for politics in Northern Ireland. We also take a step back to ask how serious things now are: just how bad could it get?
The panel reassembles on the morning after the night before to start sifting through the implications of this momentous decision: What does it mean for Labour? For UKIP? For Scotland? For the rest of Europe? And why did the betting markets get it so wrong? More next week.
In the early hours of 24 June 2016, the result of the UK referendum on EU membership was announced. By a narrow but clear majority the vote was to leave the European Union.
This result has begun a chain of seismic political consequences in the UK and the EU, and will have widespread implications for the law and constitution in the UK.
In this video, Mark Elliott assess the immediate impact of the result.
Professor Elliott has also written a blog post available at: https://publiclawforeveryone.com/2016/06/24/brexit-legally-and-constitutionally-what-now/
For more information about Professor Elliott, please refer to his profile at http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/people/academic/mc-elliott/25
Law in Focus is a collection of short videos featuring academics from the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law, addressing legal issues in current affairs and the news. These issues are examples of the many which challenge researchers and students studying undergraduate and postgraduate law at the Faculty.
Students from the Politics and International Studies Department in Cambridge talk to Helen Thompson about what they’ve learned from three years of studying Politics and what they would tell their seventeen year old selves about the experience.
Professor Theda Skocpol of Harvard University. She assesses the impact of Barack Obama as president, and analyses the current state of American politics.
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, Z is for Zebrafish as we talk to eminent immunologist Professor Lalita Ramakrishnan about her research into new ways of treating tuberculosis.
Read by Dervilla Glynn.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/z-is-for-zebrafish-edca23ee7e32#.gw49f4321
Now we know it's Trump, David Runciman and the panel reassembles to discuss what comes next. How ugly will the contest with Hillary get? Will Cleveland make it through July? Plus we talk the UK elections this week and the ongoing saga of Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party. How can they get rid of him?
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, Y is for Yak: an animal that is an integral part of high-altitude livelihoods throughout the Himalayas, Tibet and Central Asia.
Read by Mary Newbould.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/y-is-for-yak-abe8867ae0d9#.1anag3axy
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, X is for Xenarthran. A must-have item for 15th-century collectors of ‘curiosities’ and a source of fascination for evolutionary biologist Dr Robert Asher.
Read by Lesley Steinitz.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/x-is-for-xenarthran-e3bf707bd3db#.yjtmtdi2k
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, W is for Whale: the journey of one iconic whale in particular, from a Sussex beach to pride of place in the Museum of Zoology.
Read by Tom Almeroth-Williams.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/w-is-for-whale-615d521d908c#.13ma555zk
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, V is for Venomous Snake: an animal that has long evoked fear and curiosity, but is revealing important clues for the development of treatments for some devastating conditions.
Read by Mak Takahashi.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/v-is-for-venomous-snake-f567ce15940#.i8xq8d9gt
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, U is for Unicorn. Despite being notoriously difficult to catch, they feature prominently on Roman maiolica plates, 15th century heraldry, and in early recipes for anti-poison.
Read by Liberty Barnes.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/u-is-for-unicorn-ad53f4c36df7#.19glr3peo
Democracies ancient and modern: just how far have we come from the ancient Athenian idea of democracy and what can we do to get back to it? Are we still really democracies at all? We speak to classicist and historian Paul Cartledge about what the ancient Greeks meant by democracy and what it should still mean to us. Plus we ask the panel for their views about the current state of democracy in the age of Trump and Brexit: how bad is it? In this bumper final episode we also get their predictions for the US presidential election and the EU referendum.
Each week one of the Election team vox pops the public for the Cambridge politics podcast. This week Galen Druke asks people in New York what they think about the current state of democracy?
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, T is for Tasmanian Devil and the researchers studying the transmissable cancer that threatens these marsupials with extinction.
Read by Stephen Mawdsley.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/t-is-for-tasmanian-devil-812d680aece4#.o9g1i8e3g
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, S is for Sheep and their presence in the evocative, pastoral paintings by Samuel Palmer.
Read by Mary Newbould.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/s-is-for-sheep-ac20b6ff2c65#.v52ex46ya
How much more information do people need about Europe before they can make up their minds to remain or leave? And do the facts ever beat a good story? We talk to Anand Menon, who has been leading a project to bring the facts about the EU to the wider public before the referendum vote. We also talk about what role experts can play in an age where the voters are mistrustful of elites: is it better to pretend to be something else? Plus the latest news from the US, as the Trump bandwagon stumbles out of Wisconsin and Bernie is still trying to reel Hillary in.
Each week one of the Election team vox pops the public for the Cambridge politics podcast.
This week: Lizzie Presser asks voters in Cambridge: " Do you feel you need to be better informed about the EU and how it works before you can cast a vote in the referendum on June 23?"
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, R is for Rabbit, as Dr Zoe Jaques talks about the bunny’s crucial place in the history of children’s fiction.
See more at - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/r-is-for-rabbit-3b9583d3164d#.wa7mjiyhr
Many people know of the famous sinking of the Titanic, but not much about the iceberg that hit it. Follow the story of two individual icebergs, including the famous iceberg that collided with the Titanic in April 1912 and an iceberg the size of Singapore that calved from the Pine Island Glacier of West Antarctica in November 2013. Professor Grant Bigg from the University of Sheffield discusses his research into the changing state of polar ice in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Supported by Cambridge University Press.
How conscious is my dog? Can robots become conscious? Are people in a vegetative state conscious? Philosopher Professor Tim Crane and neuroscientist Dr Srivas Chennu look into our minds and wrestle with the meaning of what it is to be conscious.
You may have been told your 'heart-age' or your 'lung-age', but what does this mean? Professor David Spiegelhalter shows how we can use statistical analysis to assess your 'real age', and how to work out how much younger (or older) your good (or bad) habits can make you.
Each year, 14 million people are diagnosed with cancer and 8 million people die of the disease. These numbers are increasing and will reach 22 million annual worldwide cancer diagnoses by 2030. Professor Richard J Gilbertson discusses this enormous challenge and how patients, healthcare professionals and the research community work together every day to kill cancer.
Technology doesn’t grow on trees… does it? In fact, biology makes its own versions of batteries, displays and processors, using very tiny nanoscale components. Nano-biophysicist, Chris Forman, discusses whether mimicking biology could improve our own technology and eliminate pollution at the same time.
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, Q is for Queen Bumblebee, one of the UK’s 1,500 species of wild pollinators that play a vital role in the environment and food production.
Read by Lesley Steinitz.
See more at - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/q-is-for-queen-bumblebee-9a6fd21c2e6c#.hvv83vpot
What is intelligence? What is learning? Can we build computers and robots that learn? How much information does the brain store? How does mathematics help us answer these questions? Professor Zoubin Ghahramani takes us on a journey exploring these questions and leading us to the field of machine learning: the invisible algorithms underlying many of the tools we now use everyday.
Professor Ghahramani highlights some current areas of research at the frontiers of machine learning, including a project on developing an Automatic Statistician, and speculates on some of the future applications of computers that learn.
Zoubin Ghahramani is Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge, and the Cambridge Liaison Director of the Alan Turing Institute.
As Big Data Chief Architect at Deloitte in the City, Chartered Engineer in France, MIT and Stanford Ignite, Adrien Arculeo shares some of the insights he has gleaned from the Big Data projects he has led over the past seven years.
We live in a world surrounded by computers, and increasingly also robotics. But how do we get these machines to do what we want? Find out with Philip Garsed and Rachel Garsed in this fun and interactive demonstration, as they try to program their (suspiciously life-like...) robot to carry out a simple task.
Looking at the upwardly growing skyline of London, it’s easy to identify the two materials best-loved by civil engineers: steel and concrete. Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, large amounts of energy have been expended on these two materials, and they represent a far greater burden on our total carbon footprint than most people realise.
In addition to being energy-intensive, steel and concrete are heavy. If we consider instead the building blocks of the natural world, we see materials that are lightweight and that are produced with relatively low energy input under ambient temperature and pressure conditions. The building blocks of nature are completely recyclable, and a relatively small number of building blocks can be put together in a wide variety of ways to make materials for very different functions.
Dr Michelle Oyen explores these building blocks and looks at examples in nature of how we might rethink how we build our future cities.
The survival of mother and baby during pregnancy depends on keeping the birth weight between two extremes so that the baby is adequately nourished but does not become so large that delivery through the pelvis is impossible. Professor Ashley Moffett describes how immune system genes act to orchestrate this compromise and how the study of these genes is leading to new understanding of the causes of maternal mortality.
Ashley Moffett qualified as a doctor and worked as a reproductive pathologist at the Rosie Maternity Hospital. Since 1990 she has devoted her time to studying the maternal immune response to the baby, both in the UK and in Africa. Professor Moffett leads the 'Maternal, Neonatal Reproductive Health Research’ Theme of the Wellcome Trust Cambridge Centre for Global Health Research and is Fellow in Medical Sciences at King’s College.
Organ transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients in end-stage kidney disease and the only option available to patients suffering from heart, liver or lung failure. Professor J Andrew Bradley, from the Department of Surgery at Cambridge University, explores the beginnings of transplant surgery through to the cutting-edge procedures in use today.
The Department of Surgery at Cambridge University and Addenbrooke’s Hospital have been at the forefront of transplantation since its inception. Professor J Andrew Bradley is a world leader in the field of transplant surgery, he is Professor of Surgery at Cambridge University, an honorary Transplant Surgeon at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, and has been President of the British Transplantation Society, the Society of Academic and Research Surgeons, and the British Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics.
Artificial intelligence could be of great benefit to society, producing innovative discoveries and providing humans with more leisure time. However, workers are concerned that, more and more, jobs are being taken over by artificial intelligence. We can see this in the context of the current trend for robots to work in car factories and driverless trains, and also in the future trend for driverless cars.
The questions are will artificial intelligence be superior to the human brain? Can artificial intelligence ever be as creative as the human brain? And will artificial intelligence contribute to the benefit of society? A panel of outstanding speakers, including Dr Hermann Hauser, Dr Mateja Jamnik, Professor Trevor Robbins and Professor Alan Winfield, in the fields of information technology, robotics and neuroscience, discuss the implications of supercomputers and machine learning to promote artificial intelligence for overtaking the human brain.
The event was moderated by Tom Feilden, Science Correspondent for the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4.
When Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, he was only 50 and most of his publications lay ahead. The rest of his life can be seen as a one long research programme exploring the implications of his evolutionary ideas, and in particular their implications for one species - humans. He is most famous for showing that people are related to other animals, but he did much more than that: he showed that all animals, including us, are related to all other living things – to plants.
The story of Darwin’s discovery of carnivorous plants – plants that eat – and also of plants that sleep, and plants that move, has all the ingredients of a blockbuster: beauty, seduction, deceit, and mass murder – or 'tremendous slaughter' as Darwin called it. It also has chloroform, cobra poison, and a lot of curiosity. And it is in Darwin’s private letters and notebooks that the fun really happens.
What will Obama's legacy be? This week we take stock of the last eight years and ask whether history will look kindly on the Obama presidency. Our special guest is John Judis, co-author of The Emerging Democratic Majority, which predicted the growing dominance of the Democratic party. Does he still hold to that prediction? Plus we discuss what the Night Manager has to say about Britain's role in the world and the never-ending War on Terror.
This week the election panel wonder what - if anything - the BBC adaptation of Le Carre's novel 'The Night Manager' has to say about the UK's place in the world.
Is the key to effective conservation, collective knowledge? A distinguished panel discuss whether combining knowledge enables us to deliver transformational approaches to the understanding of biodiversity and the wealth of natural capital it represents. Supported by Science AAAS.
Panel members: Dr Mike Rands, Executive Director, Cambridge Conservation Initiative, University of Cambridge Professor Bill Adams, Moran Professor of Conservation and Development, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge Dr Juliet Vickery, Head of International Research, RSPB Dr Matt Walpole, Director of Partnerships and Development, UNEP-WCMC
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, P is for Pet. Cultural geographer Dr Philip Howell and PhD student Makoto Takahashi examine both the lighter and darker sides of pet keeping as a national obsession.
Read by Ellen Thornton.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/p-is-for-pet-f4d3bf010278#.ed6onvscc
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, O is for Owl, the researchers using their wing structure to inspire aeroacoustic developments, and the lavish drawings of them found in one of the world’s first ornithologies.
Read by Simon Crowhurst.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/o-is-for-owl-eaaf68769c25#.7yxhkny9o
Each week one of the Election team vox pops the public for the Cambridge politics podcast.
This week: Catherine Carr asks people in Cambridge if they think Jeremy Corbyn is still up to the job?
Is this the wildest election in recent US history? We ask former Today programme presenter James Naughtie, who has covered every American presidential election for the BBC since 1988, how it's been for him. He tells us why he's never seen anything like it, and how things could get crazier still. We also catch up with the fall-out from the UK Budget. Is the Tory party in real trouble for the first time since the last election? And is Jeremy Corbyn any closer to knowing how to take advantage?
Evolutionary biologist and broadcaster, Ben Garrod, explores the animal kingdom from the inside out, from the smallest skeleton on Earth to the biggest. In this talk on super-strong deer bones and elephants on tiptoes, Ben also discusses how he ended up on the other side of the planet, looking for the largest dinosaur ever.
Sharks have roamed the oceans for millions of years and they’ve evolved into masses of awesome species. Prepare to be amazed by everything from sharks with beards to tiny glowing sharks you could hold in your hand. Avid shark-spotter, Dr Helen Scales, explores these ocean wonders and explains why we shouldn’t be scared of shark-infested waters.
The spectacular science of chocolate. The BBC’s Gastronaut Stefan Gates and UCL’s Prof Andrea Sella present the most delicious show on earth, full of meltingly edible multidisciplinary science.
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, N is for Naked Mole-Rats, which won’t win any beauty contests, but can live for 30 years and may be able to help in the development of new therapies for chronic pain.
Read by Rox Middleton.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/n-is-for-naked-mole-rat-9aa946ae69a5#.xipgb6aay
Each week one of the Election team vox pops the public for the Cambridge politics podcast.
This week: Will Coley asks New Yorkers "How do you feel about Ohio and Florida getting such an outsize say in who ends up president?"
How violent is US politics going to get? The panel talks historical parallels with 1968 and what might happen at a contested convention in Cleveland. Our special guest is Sean Trende from realclearpolitics, who explains why Americans have become such a mystery to each other and whether this marks a fundamental shift in the two party system. Plus it's the week of the Budget and we rake over the politics of austerity. How does George Osborne keep getting away with it?
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, M is for Midge as we talk to eminent ecologist Dr Henry Disney about his lifelong interest in Diptera.
Read by Stephen Mawdsley.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/m-is-for-midge-29f72c988e0#.c76jevyc6
In the final paragraph of The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin leaves us with the vision of Nature as an “entangled bank”, where individuals struggle to survive and reproduce in a world of competitors, predators and parasites. In this lecture, I shall explore the games animals play in these struggles. Some are behavioural games, resulting in an extraordinary mix of cooperation and conflict in animal families, where sexual partners and parents and their offspring sometimes help one another, but sometimes cheat. Some are games played over evolutionary time, where strategies escalate over the generations between competitors, and between enemies and their victims, leading to extremes, not only in weaponry and cruelty, but in ornamentation and beauty, too. I shall illustrate these themes especially with examples of mating games in birds and evolutionary arms races between cuckoos and their hosts, to show how the rules of the games can be unravelled by a combination of bird watching and field experiments.
Biography
Nick Davies is Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Pembroke College. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and in 2015 he gave the Croonian Lecture. His book “Cuckoo – Cheating by Nature” was published recently by Bloomsbury.
There is nothing more important than good brain health and wellbeing throughout our lives. Yet while many people are concerned with their physical health and utilise wearable tech and mobile devises to monitor their exercise, steps, heart rate etc, we are not yet using technology to enhance our brain health and wellbeing. In this lecture, I will discuss how neuroscientists can work together with other experts in game development, IT and computing to develop enjoyable games for enhancing cognition, such as memory. In addition, I will discuss how we can use games to improve cognition, motivation and the ability to function in daily life for people with neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. Everyone likes to play games, so why not play one that is fun and good for your brain?
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, L is for Limpet and what they can tell us about Mesolithic middens, seasonal changes in the Atlantic Ocean, and the lives of people living on the remote Isle of Oronsay 6,000 years ago.
Read by Simon Crowhurst.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/l-is-for-limpet-4e6287fc3c4c#.ii733xcwo
Colditz Castle and the Dambusters raid are two of the most iconic events of World War II. Based on his own experience, Dr Hugh Hunt looks at the engineering challenges and achievements of Barnes Wallace in his design of the bouncing bomb and the PoW's who never flew the glider they secretly built in the roof of Colditz Castle. Maybe we have lessons to learn: can the "Blitz Spirit" help us to tackle climate change? What would a modern-day Barnes Wallis be dreaming up?
While mathematicians are undoubtedly brilliant, there are still questions they can't answer. Every mathematical question is a puzzle and there'll be plenty of puzzles to chew on while mathematician Katie Steckles introduces questions that still leave mathematicians stumped, from simple-sounding number and shape problems to mind-bending fundamental questions.
Can we build a machine that can solve any problem? How can we break a code others believe unbreakable? Why do leopards have spots and zebras stripes? These questions were all answered by Alan Turing. Mathematician James Grime explores Turing's childhood fascination with maths and how it led to the breaking of the infamous Enigma cipher. Including a demonstration of an original WWII Enigma Machine!
Your iTunes playlist may reveal more about you than you think. Science shows that the music we choose to listen to is not random. In fact, there is evidence that both our musical taste and abilities are tied to our personality and the way that we think. Dr David Greenberg explores how our preferences for musical genres and attributes map onto five different personality traits and three thinking styles.
Do you think you make rational decisions? Think again... Ginny Smith turns your understanding of your brain upside down - and may even improve your decision-making! We'll be asking you to take part in some 'tricks of the mind' so please bring along an Internet-enabled device so you can play along with the show.
Richard Grisenthwaite, Lead Architect and Fellow at ARM, talks about how the ARM architecture and the computing ecosystem it enables has changed in the 25 year history of ARM Ltd. Aimed at a technical audience, this talk looks at how the architecture has been influenced, sometimes in unexpected ways, by the changing environment and fashions, of the computing industry. It draws out some general lessons of the process of balancing the developments in hardware and software learnt from the progression of ARM to be one of the most popular architectures in the world.
Solar photovoltaics have spread widely in recent years as costs have plummeted. They makes up less than 1% of the electricity market today but could be the world’s cheapest energy source by 2030. Dr Paul Coxon explores how the solar revolution began, how solar cells work, and how scientists are now harnessing natural structures and materials to make them more efficient.
Dr Paul Coxon is a physicist in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses light capturing materials and has developed new low-cost methods to produce extremely black silicon surfaces for anti-reflection coatings in photovoltaic cells. - See more at: http://www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk/events/solar-energy-past-present-and-future-limited-returns-available-door#sthash.nljWw6V8.dpuf
Smartphones are increasingly powerful, sensor-rich, and personal devices. Could they also help us to become happier and healthier? In this talk, computer scientist, Dr Neal Lathia discusses how scientists have been using smartphone sensors to track how we behave, and designing systems that use these inferences to help us become healthier.
The Prisoners' Dilemma: An Unsympathetic Critique The most popular, most famous, most mentioned exemplar in game theory, especially in the social sciences, is the ‘prisoners’ dilemma’ – actually a predicament rather than a dilemma. Two men – all we know is their gender – charged with a joint violation of the law, are held separately by the police. Each is told that: If one confesses and the other does not, the former will be given a reward of one unit and the latter will be fined two units; If both confess, each will be fined one unit; If neither confesses, both will go clear. Each of the two gains suffered less by confessing, but if they could reach a binding agreement they would clearly agree not to confess. As originally presented in unpublished note by Albert Tucker and, usually, faithfully followed by game-theoretic analysts, this is all we know, namely their gender. It usually follows, at least by implication, that both confess, contrary to their joint interest. I am going to argue that we cannot conclude that the two are likely to confess. My argument will be simply, namely, that we don’t know what they know and cannot predict what they will decide.
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, K is for Kingfisher. Look out for them among the swamp cypresses at the Botanic Garden, where the secrets behind their cyan and blue feathers are being studied by an extraordinary collaboration of scientists.
Read by Liberty Barnes.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/k-is-for-kingfisher-84bf5be91c1e#.hg15axvfb
Is Donald Trump or Ted Cruz the real ideologue? What would Brexit mean for the future of the UK? And why is Cambridge so different from Peterborough? We talk the EU referendum with Jeremy Cliffe, who writes the hugely influential Bagehot column on British politics for the Economist, and he tells us what divides the Eurosceptics from the rest: it's not what you think. Plus the panel catch up on the news from the US as we track developments in the endlessly fascinating and occasionally terrifying race to the White House.
Each week one of the ELECTION team vox pops the public for the Cambridge politics podcast.
This week: Lizzie Presser asks people in Cambridge how European they feel and whether it will affect how they might vote in June
Georgia Bachti (outreach officer) and Ben Gallant (president) of the European Society at Cambridge University, came in to POLIS to chat to David Runciman. David started by asking Georgia how they are managing to promote the idea of Europe in the middle of a contentious referendum campaign.
Mrinmoyee Roy, Joshua Daniels, and Rashidat Animashaun, came to POLIS to meet David Runciman. He asked the pupils -all from Westminster Harris sixth form - whether they think Britain should leave the EU.
Mrinmoyee Roy, Joshua Daniels, and Rashidat Animashaun, came to POLIS to meet David Runciman. He asked the pupils - all from Westminster Harris sixth form- whether they were interested in the US election so far.
Mrinmoyee Roy, Joshua Daniels, and Rashidat Animashaun, came to POLIS to meet David Runciman. He asked the pupils - all from Westminster Harris sixth form - what particularly interested or puzzled them about politics generally.
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, J is for Jay — a surprisingly clever corvid with the ability to mimic human voices and much more.
Read by Malavika Anderson.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/j-is-for-jay-bd179de74269#.ch7r4j2hp
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, I is for Iguanodon — a thousand ages underground, his skeleton had lain, but now his body’s big and round, and there’s life in him again!
Read by Simon Crowhurst.
See more - https://medium.com/cambridge-animal-alphabet/i-is-for-iggy-the-iguanodon-b42e9cae2de8#.6sx6m95iq
Did Super Tuesday settle the nominations? This week we explore where the races now stand and have another go at decoding the appeal of Donald Trump, with some help from our friends in the Brooklyn nail bar. Our special guest is Xenia Wickett from the Chatham House think tank. She explains what Trumpism tells us about how America sees its place in the world and what this election might mean for the future of American foreign policy. Plus we revisit Ireland to explore the messy election result there and see what the future might hold for Irish democracy.
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, H is for Horse – 170-year-old model teeth, the Parthenon friezes, and the surprising origins of racehorses' speed.
Read by Rox Middleton.
See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/would-you-place-a-grand-national-bet-on-a-shetland-pony#sthash.OHyoWjgy.dpuf
Nicholas King, SJ (Academic Director, Theology, St Mary’s University, Twickenham) James Montgomery (Sir Thomas Adams’s Professor of Arabic, Executive Editor of the Library of Arabic Literature AMES, Cambridge)
Moderator: Nathan MacDonald (Lecturer in Hebrew Bible, Divinity, Cambridge)
The workshop will offer participants the opportunity to explore in detail the theological influences on, and consequences resulting from, the different kinds of strategies that are employed when translating sacred texts.
David Charlston (Translator and Co-Editor of the Journal New Voices in Translation Studies) Timothy Crane (Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge) Danielle Sands (Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway) Moderator: Angeles Carreres (University of Cambridge)
The panel discussion will address questions concerning the impact translation can have on the development and transmission of philosophical ideas, the extent to which philosophy relies on translation for its very existence, and (conversely) the reciprocal influence philosophical theories have exerted over the theory and practice of translation.
Adriana X. Jacobs (Associate Professor and Cowley Lecturer in Modern Hebrew Literature; Fellow, Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University of Oxford) James Montgomery (Sir Thomas Adams’s Professor of Arabic, Executive Editor of the Library of Arabic Literature, AMES, Cambridge) Rowan Williams (Master of Magdalene, Cambridge)
Moderator: Marcus Tomalin (English/Engineering, Cambridge)
The panel discussion will explore the role of poetry translation in different cultures and historical periods from a range of theoretical and practical perspectives.
Georgina Collins (Lecturer in Translation Studies, University of Glasgow) Hephzibah Israel (Lecturer in Translation Studies, University of Edinburgh) Paul Russell (Professor of Celtic, University of Cambridge)
In recent decades, as the study of translation has shifted from the search for ideal equivalence to a pervasive focus on difference, so literary writing and translation have increasingly been caught in a complex tangle of power asymmetries.
The panel discussion will provide an opportunity for a number of specialists to reflect upon the linguistic, cultural, and socio-political implications of translation ventures that are situated close to peripheries (of one kind or another).
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, G is for Greyhound – as heraldic symbols of the Tudors' right to rule, and as part of important research into treatments for osteosarcoma in dogs and humans.
Read by Tom Almeroth-Williams
See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/g-is-for-greyhound#sthash.0HXFz3i2.dpuf
Dr Frank Ledwidge, Barrister, Writer and Lecturer Darwin College Lecture Series 2016 – Games
The failed British military campaigns in Basra and Helmand followed similar courses. They began confidently, followed by defeat in the field and US military bail-out. The enemies of UK forces now dominate both theatres. British generals prided themselves on their prowess in exactly the kind of conflicts they thought they had entered- ‘counterinsurgency’. How then did they go so wrong? Before an army becomes involved in conflict, it should fully understand the kind of war it is going to be, what it wants to achieve by it and how the war will achieve those ends. British generals failed to ensure clarity on any of these questions and had no workable strategy. Further, they lacked a corporate culture and flexibility to understand and adapt to the environments in which they found themselves and defaulted to methods for which they were trained. The lack of a sound intelligence system and consequent situational naivete allowed their enemies to gain and retain the initiative. However, whilst there is a long way to go, there are signs that UK military leadership is developing the necessary skills and awareness to conduct successful operations.
Biography
Following eight years as a Barrister in Liverpool, Dr Frank Ledwidge served as a reserve military intelligence officer on front-line operations in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.He has also worked as a civilian security and justice advisor in UK Missions during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Libya. A law graduate of Oxford University, Frank holds a doctorate from Kings College London awarded for a study of the role of courts in insurgency. He is the author of two well-reviewed and bestselling studies of Britain’s recent military adventures ‘Losing Small Wars’ (Yale 2011) and ‘Investment in Blood’ (Yale 2013). He currently lectures in strategy and international law for Portsmouth University at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell.
Tapiwa Tandi from Jack Hunt school in Peterborough posed some questions for the Election panel. Helen, Finbarr and Chris were only to happy to answer them! If you would like to ask some questions visit http://www.polis.cam.ac.uk/about-us/election/school-project for more information on how to get in touch
Hear a longer version of journalist Halima Athumani's conversation with the women at the Femwrite group in Kampala - a few days after the election results.
Each week one of the Election team vox pops the public for the Cambridge politics podcast.
This week we are talking about three elections and a referendum. We go back to Uganda to catch up on the election results there, and back to the US to try to wrap our heads around Donald Trump's recent successes: is he now unstoppable? Our focus is on Ireland, where voters go to the polls for a general election later this week. Our special guest is the leading Irish economist and broadcaster David McWilliams, who takes us through the continuing blame game for the financial crash. We also talk Brexit, looking at its possible implications for Ireland as well as the UK.
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, F is for Fruit Fly and the myriad ways that they are helping with medical research.
Read by David Summers.
See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/how-close-are-you-to-a-fruit-fly#sthash.ryjE4YMN.dpuf
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, E is for Elephant: an animal that takes pride of place in the Parker Library's manuscripts, is frequently in conflict with people in Thailand and parts of Africa, and is the focus of some important conservation projects.
- See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/elephants-and-humans-a-love-affair-over-1300-years#sthash.6ENFNc2D.dpuf
Read by Malavika Anderson
Professor Nick Davies, who gives this week’s Darwin Lecture, has been studying reed warblers for more than 30 years – and has unlocked many of the secrets of their interactions with the cuckoo. His work shines light on the evolutionary games played out in nature as species compete with environmental pressures, with other species, and with the opposite sex, to pass on their genes. - See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/the-reed-warbler-and-the-cuckoo-an-escalating-game-of-trickery-and-defence#sthash.m1vWzE1O.dpuf
Eleanor Puttock talks to Alister McGrath about his latest book "Inventing the Universe: Why we can't stop talking about science, faith and God"
To find out more about the book go to bit.ly/1PHNy1l
To find out more about Alister go to bit.ly/1XztgKm
To find out more about The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion go to http://www.faraday.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk
This week we talk about two presidential elections - Uganda, where the long-standing incumbent faces a new kind of challenge, and the US, where the primary season keeps throwing up surprises. Our special guest is Gary Gerstle, author of a new history of American government Liberty and Coercion, to take us through the long background to the deep tensions currently on display. He tells us where anti-government feeling in America comes from and why he still has hope.
Jack Hunt pupil Tapiwa Tandi from the school's politics club had some questions for the 'Election' panel. Here are the questions and the answers they gave!
In the week before the election in Uganda, Halima Athumani visited the women's writing group Femwrite in Uganda's capital Kampala to talk about the candidates and the campaign.
Each week one of the Election team vox pops the public for the Cambridge politics podcast.
This week: Halima Athumani in Uganda asks "What do you hope for or fear from this election?”
Eleanor Puttock discusses key themes of “Beyond Matter: Why science needs metaphysics” with the author Prof. Roger Trigg.
To find out more about the book go to bit.ly/1OdIVrG
Further discussion on the book will happen on 29 February 2016 at The Faraday Institute in Cambridge . Further details can be found at http://bit.ly/1TnBoOO
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, D is for Dragon. Watch out for fire-breathers among the treasures of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, in Anglo-Saxon proverbs, and in fantasy literature from medieval Scandinavia to the present day.
Read by Dr Richard Dance.
Professor Didier Queloz hunts for extreme worlds and Earth twins in Cambridge’s Battcock Centre for Experimental Astrophysics. Here he tells of the moment in 1995 when he became the first to discover a planet that orbits a star other than our Sun.
Conversations with Professor Justice Paul Finn #1: Reflections on Becoming the Goodhart Professor by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Sir Robin Auld #1: Reflections on Becoming the Goodhart Professor by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Toby Milsom #4: Professor Milsom's Published works by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Toby Milsom #3: Cambridge - 1976 to present by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Toby Milsom #2: The Fifties & Sixties by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Toby Milsom #1: Early Years (1923-1955) by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Sir Bob Hepple #3: Professor Hepple's Published works by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Sir Bob Hepple #2: Cambridge and UK (1963 - present) by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Sir Bob Hepple #1: South Africa (1934-1963) by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Philip James Allott #5: Scholarly works by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Philip James Allott #4: Cambridge, retirement & scholarly works by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Philip James Allott #3: Return to Cambridge (1973-1980) by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Philip James Allott #2: The Foreign Office years (1960-1973) by University of Cambridge
Conversations with Professor Philip James Allott #1: Early Years (1937-1963) by University of Cambridge
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, D is for Dragon. Watch out for fire-breathers among the treasures of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, in Anglo-Saxon proverbs, and in fantasy literature from medieval Scandinavia to the present day. - See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/d-is-for-dragon#sthash.7u32sMSP.dpuf
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society.
Here, C is for Chicken – a popular source of protein that carries a hidden hazard in the form of Campylobacter.
Read by Barney Brown.
This week we have instant reaction to the results from New Hampshire, plus we start to talk seriously about whether Britain might vote to leave the EU. Our guest is Dame Athene Donald, scientist and campaigner, who tells us what politicians get wrong about science and why it's still not a level playing field for women. And for anyone who's still confused, we have a quick primer on how the US primary system actually works.
Games in Sports - Sir Dave Brailsford, Team Sky
Dave has been involved in cycling throughout his career and was first employed by the GB Cycling Team as a consultant following the advent of lottery funding. He then moved on to become Programmes Director before becoming Performance Director. He has brought to the role a blend of sporting knowledge and business acumen, which he has utilised to lead and develop the team into one of the most respected and successful Olympic Programmes across all sports. Dave led the team through the successful Athens Olympics campaign in 2004, where the team picked up four medals, two of them gold. And, of course, in the Beijing Olympics the GB Cycling Team won an unprecedented fourteen medals – eight gold medals, four silver medals, and two bronze medals – placing them firmly into the history books.
Aaron Rapport from the POLIS department at the University of Cambridge explains brokered conventions
Aaron Rapport from the POLIS department at the University of Cambridge explains Super Tuesday
Aaron Rapport from the POLIS department at the University of Cambridge explains who can vote in the US primaries.