Ideas Lab Predictor Podcast: Recent Episodes
Ideas Lab Predictor Podcast
Each Ideas Lab Predictor Podcast features a different academic expert scanning the horizon in their specialist field to give insider knowledge on new trends and key issues. It's a quick heads-up on what to watch out for over the next 18-24 months, given by those in the know.
The series covers a wide range of topics, from energy and archaeology to animal intelligence and food engineering.
It’s a common misconception that to be fit you must be slim. Research is proving the significance of regular exercise to our health and wellbeing whatever our size, with the risks of remaining sedentary being compared with those of smoking. Do we as the public have any proper understanding of this crucial health message?
We are joined by a panel of experts from academia and beyond, featuring Professor Janice Thompson, Professor of Public Health, Nutrition and Exercise, Dr Carolyn Grieg, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Ageing, and Dr Gareth Wallace, Lecturer in Sport and Health Nutrition, all from the University of Birmingham, and special guests Shaleen Meelu, nutritionist and co-founder of the Harborne Food School, and Mark Roscoe, Commissioning Lead for Lifestyles at Birmingham Public Health. We also hear from Professor Steven Blair from the Department of Exercise Science at the University of South Carolina.
How should these exercise health messages be delivered to a population with a diverse range of fitness levels? What is the best way to motivate those who do no exercise at all to start doing some? Is it time for the food industry to take a positive role and help us fund physical activities? All these and more are debated along with the very latest research around the interconnections between fatness and fitness.
On the 30th of October, Janice, Carolyn and Gareth will be running the ‘Obesity Wars’ event outside Birmingham’s ThinkTank. Funded by the Physiological Society, Obesity Wars will feature a range of free interactive and informative activities to engage the public with research on the benefits of physical exercise and to dispel myths about weight, size, BMI and activity levels. Transcript : http://tinyurl.com/kdga6cd
Lucy talks to Dr Caroline Radcliffe about her research on Willkie Collins’ plays, specifically the ‘The Lighthouse’, a play that Collins wrote and staged together with Charles Dickens. Although a collaborative effort, Caroline explains that Collins was responsible for the majority of the play. ‘All Dickens contributed was a prologue and a song, and we actually reconstructed the song at Birmingham, so it was the first time this Dickens song had been heard for over 150 years.’ Caroline describes Collins’ plays as perceptive society dramas, the forerunners of the works of writers like George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, and explains how studying Victorian drama reveals much about the politics and psychology of the time. She also has time to talk about her upcoming appearance on a new BBC Four series with Lucy Worsley and Len Goodman, looking at the social history of dance.
A host of previously unknown archaeological monuments have been discovered around Stonehenge as part of a unique digital mapping project. Mr Paul Garwood, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Birmingham, tells us about the ‘Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project’, which over the past five years has been using cutting-edge geophysical technologies to map the area at an unprecedented spatial scale and resolution. Paul explains ‘Stonehenge did not stand in isolation but rather was part of a very densely inhabited landscape where a range of activities were taking place, (with) a multiplicity of different small foci, like small shrines, small cult centres, around the central one’. Alongside the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection & Virtual Archaeology in Vienna and other partners, the University of Birmingham team has made it possible for the first time to create a total digital model of the Stonehenge area, both on and below the surface. Transcript: http://bit.ly/1BsfCOC
3D printing is still in its infancy, but it has already provided astonishing opportunities for the manufacturing sector, affecting healthcare, transport and construction. Sam talks to Dr Moataz Attallah, Professor in Advanced Materials Processing at the University of Birmingham, about the future of the sector and a 3D printed medical implant developed as part of his research. Moataz explains ‘3D printing allows us to print very specialized patterns on the surface of medical implants. These patterns enable bone in-growth into the implants and they will improve and increase the implant life.’ Not only will the technology provide a longer lasting implant, but the implant will also have the ability to release drugs slowly into the body. Could 3D printing really bring about the third industrial revolution? Transcript: http://bit.ly/1x10RDt
We know that a lack of water is not great for a plant. How do plants cope? Sam talks to Dr Laura Vickers, Lecturer in Plant Biology in the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham about her research on the effect of ‘water stress’ on plants. Laura’s research involves putting plants through levels of water deprivation to see how they respond. With water a scarce resource, developing crops with water-resilient characteristics would be hugely beneficial for farmers. Laura explains ‘by picking apart the mechanisms and by really understanding what’s going on, we can get these characteristics in our crop varieties.’ But each plant responds differently to stresses, so there’s a lot of work to be done. Transcript: bit.ly/1rIXaAb
Rheumatoid arthritis is the inflammation of the joints as the immune system starts to attack them. Sam talks to Professor Karim Raza, Professor of Clinical Rheumatology and Honorary Consultant at the University of Birmingham. Karim explains his research aims to identify those at high risk of rheumatoid arthritis before it develops. ‘We might be able to target them and say look your at high risk of developing this problem in the future - rather than waiting why don’t we do something about it now?.’ Exposure to cigarette smoke is one of the risk factors. And getting to people showing the earliest signs could in the future allow a complete cure, rather than just controlling their disease with a lifetime of medication. Transcript: bit.ly/1piV95N
If a patient has had cancer, they are not eligible to donate organs, but this is changing thanks to the work of Dr Rajeev Desai, a Clinical Research Fellow in the School of Cancer Sciences. Sam talks to Rajeev about his research investigating the risk of cancer transmission from donors to their recipients. Rajeev explains 'We are trying to get the balance right by assessing donors who are traditionally counted as high risk. Can we include organs from such donors without resulting in significant cancer transmission?’. Rajeev’s work has shown that in some cases organs from people who have previously had cancer can be safely considered for donation. As a result of his study NHS Blood and Transplant has changed the national guidelines, which will mean a greater number of much-needed organs are available for those on transplant waiting lists. And Rajeev's research could have global impact if other countries follow suit. Transcript: http://tinyurl.com/ogdx3j7
There is still much we don’t know about the origin of the dinosaurs and how they became so successful. Sam talks to Birmingham Fellow Dr Richard Butler, Vertebrate Paleontologist in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences and Academic Keeper at the Lapworth Museum of Geology. Richard tells us about the exciting discovery of a new species of dinosaur in Venezuela. The dinosaur, currently unnamed, is one of the earliest members of the Ornithischia, a group of plant-eaters. It was found in rocks 200 million years old, from the early part of the Jurassic period, just after the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction. 'It shows us that ornithischians actually responded to this event by becoming more diverse’ Richard explains. But what was it about this group of dinosaurs that allowed it to thrive when others perished? Transcript : http://bit.ly/1otOpoR
Whether it’s religion, fashion, cooking or even medicine, smell plays a significant role in culture, past and present. Sam talks to Professor Jonathan Reinarz, Director of the History of Medicine Unit in Primary Care Clinical Sciences at the University of Birmingham, about his book Past Scents: Historical Perspectives on Smell. In this interview, Jonathan explains that the history of smell has been defined as an effort to distinguish between good and the bad scents. But what determines whether a smell is foul or fragrant, and how will our relationship with smell change in the future? Transcript : http://tinyurl.com/p53m2qv
Do you always wear a helmet when cycling, playing contact sports or doing activities which may risk you getting a blow to the head? Sam talks to Dr Alex Conner, Senior Lecturer in Medical Sciences at the University of Birmingham, about brain swelling. Alex runs a small research group looking at protein structure and function, with a specific focus on a protein called aquaporin 4 which is found in brain cells. Alex explains ‘we have to regulate the size of the cells and the one way we do that is through water. Aquaporins let water come in and out of the cell.’ But after a stroke or a concussion this process can go wrong, with too much water entering brain cells leading to harmful swelling. If the objectives of Alex’s research group are reached and a method of regulating aquaporin 4 is identified, it could prove a life saving discovery. Transcript: http://bit.ly/1pLcTJZ .
The symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity but can be difficult to diagnose. Sam talks to Brandan Ashinoff, Doctoral Researcher in the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham about his research in hyperfocus, a particular trait of people who have ADHD. ‘Hyperfocus is a state of intent concentration where you lose track of time, you really enjoy what your doing’ Brandon explains. But how does this relation to attention? Brandon observes ‘This is weird in the context of ADHD because it’s actually too much attention. You’re focused so intently on something that no information gets into your brain essentially.’ But when how does hyper focus in those with ADHD differ from those without? Transcript : http://bit.ly/1gZ9H8i
What are the challenges faced by academics when presenting their subject on television? Lucy hosts a live Q and A with Dr Richard Clay, Senior Lecturer in the History of Art at the University of Birmingham, before an invited audience of university staff and postgraduate students. The Q and A follows a screening of BBC Four documentary Tearing Up History, presented by Richard himself, and based on his research on iconoclasm and the French Revolution. Richard explains 'in that fifty seven minutes we're trying to sum up what is probably 25 years of my life's work.' But has his experience changed the style in which he teaches? Tearing Up History was produced by Furneaux & Edgar Productions, and was brought to the screen through the proactive work of Ideas Lab. It will be shown on BBC Four on May 6th 2014 at 9pm.
2014 marks the 450th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth. Lucy talks to Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the Shakespeare Institute, to find out what is going on. There’s a large number of events open to the public for the celebrations, with a production of Henry IV Part I followed by a firework display on the actual birthday itself, the 23rd, and on Friday 25th April a public lecture at the Institute given by Michael Bogdanov. The big procession in Stratford happens on the morning of Saturday the 26th. Michael also describes some of the international events happening for the anniversary, and looks forward to the even bigger celebrations in 2016 which will see the World Shakespeare Congress come to Stratford and London.
To kick off the week of the 450th anniversary there’s a special documentary on BBC Radio 3 featuring Michael and colleagues from the Institute including Professor Ewan Fearnie, Dr Erin Sullivan and Dr Martin Wiggins. Shakespeare: For and Against is on Radio 3 on the 20th April at 2pm. Later that day you can also hear a special production of Anthony and Cleopatra starring Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston – BBC Radio 3, 7.30-9.55pm.
Could simply breathing into a machine help diagnose liver disease? Sam talks to Dr Margaret O'Hara, a Medical Physicist in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Birmingham. Margaret explains 'people with advanced liver disease have a particular smell on their breath, called 'fetor hepaticus''. Could this technology have implications for early identification of other diseases?
How does language affect how we talk about, think about and treat animals? Sam visits the Department of English to talk with Senior Lecturer Dr Alison Sealey and Research Fellow Dr Chris Pak about their research project ‘People, Products, Pests and Pets’. Their Leverhulme funded project is collecting a wide range of discourse about animals, from descriptions on food packaging in the supermarket to fundraising leaflets from animal rescue shelters, to investigate how the linguistic choices within them relate to particular scientific, philosophical, ethical, popular and practical stances. Chris explains ‘We are able to explore how these professionals who worked in various industries have responded to debates in ways in which animals are actually treated in society, and the way they have moderated the language that they use in response to that.’
We all know that an increase in CO2 emissions leads to global warming, but just what can we do about it? Sam talks to Dr Francis Pope, Birmingham Fellow in Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, about his research into geoengineering - the deliberate changing of the Earth's climate. Francis explains that in order to counteract the negative effects of climate change we could alter the Earth's atmospheric system to cool the planet by reducing radiation. While injecting aerosol into the atmosphere has not yet been attempted, scientists have an idea of the potential effects of geoengineering by gathering data collected after the eruption of volcanos. Particles pumped into the stratosphere by eruptions block sunlight and so can reduce temperatures - sometimes by up to half a degree. What are the sides affects of this? Should politicians start considering geoengineering now as a potential solution, or only once serious climate catastrophe is already underway? Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1jLKIbj .
If you were asked to name a Black British intellectual, who would you come up with? Sam talks to Dr Paul Warmington, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director of the Centre of Research in Race and Education in the School of Education at the University of Birmingham about his book 'Black British Intellectuals and Education: Multiculturalism's Hidden History' [ http://bit.ly/1cw1uG7 ] . Paul explains ‘It’s in the site of education that black Britain as we know it today has come into being’ and he discusses the impact of educators and campaigners such as George Padmore, C.L.R. James, Stuart Hall, Hazel Carby, Gus John and Paul Gilroy. Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1kNyou1
As we reach 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War, how will the way we commemorate this period in history change? Sam talks to Dr Jonathan Boff, Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Birmingham and member of the Centre for War Studies. Jonathan explains the significance of WWI and its future commemoration: ‘Precisely because it is complicated and confusing and difficult, and there are conflicting interpretations of it, we are unlikely to achieve the same level of closure about it as for example about the Napoleonic wars.’ Just how will our commemoration of the First World War look in 50 years’ time?
The Birmingham Great War Centenary Lecture Series is open to the public. The 2014 lectures focus on ‘Roads to War’ and run from the 28th of January.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/MbLliJ
We think of scientific experiments as lab-based affairs in sterile environments, but what are the questions surrounding extreme medical research? Sam talks to Birmingham Fellow, Dr Vanessa Heggie, a historian of modern science and medicine in the Medical and Dental School at the University of Birmingham. Vanessa's research considers the history and ethics of physiological research at the boundaries of survival, specifically research conducted at the limits of altitude and temperature. Vanessa explains: 'They use the mountain as a model to make mountaineers unhealthy, to then study them in a way that they couldn't study people who are in accident and emergency.' But just how new are these methods of radical and potentially dangerous medical research?
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1gtCfHb
In October 2013 historic Maori remains which had been discovered in the anatomy department at the University of Birmingham were returned to the Maori people. Sam is joined by the coordinator of the Maori repatriation programme, Te Arikirangi Mamaku, and Dr Eliot Bates, Lecturer in Ethnomusicology and Popular Music at the University of Birmingham, to discuss the history, politics and music behind the repatriation ceremony. Eliot explains: ‘A lot of objects or recordings or in this case remains actually get taken from an original land. Repatriation is the returning of these possessions to their original homeland.’ The tupuna (ancestors) were formally handed over during a form of Tangihanga (funeral) in the Senate Chamber of the University of Birmingham’s Aston Webb building.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1eTLEsV
Human culture changes drastically over just a decade, but animal cultures may remain the same for hundreds of years. Sam talks to Birmingham Fellow Dr Claudio Tennie, from the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham, about his research into cumulative culture in both young children and great apes. Claudio explains cumulative culture is ‘culture which is un-inventible by any naive individual’. Is it that which separates human from animal intelligence, or do animals have cumulative culture too?
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1j3dvr5
Breast cancer affects 50, 000 people a year, and early diagnosis is key to improving survival rates. Dr Jo Morris, Senior Lecturer in Cancer Genetics in the School of Cancer Sciences, @unibirm_mds at the University of Birmingham, explains to Sam how she is creating an artificial cell that has the genetics of a person at high risk of breast cancer. By monitoring what happens next she hopes to understand more about the very earliest stages of breast cancer and how they might be identified.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1bovt81
Dr Mel Evans introduces extracts from Queen Elizabeth I’s letters read by Hannah Perrin, a member of the University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute Players, with the guidance of Jose A. Perez Diez, Co-President of the Shakespeare Institute Players and Doctoral Researcher at the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham. The first letter was written in July 31st 1548 to Elizabeth’s stepmother, Katherine Parr, to wish her a safe delivery in pregnancy. The second letter was written in 1586 to James VI of Scotland, who was Elizabeth's godson. This letter was part of a long exchange spanning nearly 20 years. Mel explains: ‘She tried to manage the political situation in Scotland by trying to persuade him personally through letters.’
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1ntKGVh
Nearly 10 000 children across five European countries have participated in the PAPA project – Promoting Adolescent Physical Activity - which is about to culminate in an event at St George's Park, the new state-of-the-art National Centre of the English Football Association. Sam talks to Professor Joan Duda in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences about how to enhance young peoples’ health and well-being through positive experiences in sport. She explains how the training of grassroots coaches is key to promoting physical activity among young people, and to helping them to enjoy sport and to build their self-esteem.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1lBU8Xr
Technology moves at a phenomenal rate, but what will upcoming quantum technologies mean for global computing? Sam talks to Professor Andy Schofield, Head of School and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Birmingham. The potential industrial applications of quantum mechanics include highly secure data encryption, brain scanning and landscape scanning. Andy explains ‘we have confidence that in the near future we will start to see the application of quantum technology in our daily lives.’
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1dHFzvg
The Queen's English has always has its own royal style, but it has not always been as we know it today. Sam talks to Dr Mel Evans, Lecturer in the Department of English Language at the University of Birmingham, about her research on the language of Queen Elizabeth I. The podcast features the performance of an extract of a parliamentary speech Elizabeth delivered to her parliament in 1586, in which she delays parliament's decision on the execution of Mary Queen of Scots: Mel explains how this example illustrates Elizabeth’s use of language to get her own way, such as an imagined group of 'we princes', to emphasise her regal status. Mel's book, 'The Language of Queen Elizabeth I: A Sociolinguistic Perspective on Royal Style and Identity (Publications of the Philological Society)' is out on Amazon on September 20th 2013.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1gpFHUw
While the UK government launches yet another high-profile public campaign against unauthorized immigrants, the US Congress discusses an immigration reform that would give millions of undocumented migrants a pathway to citizenship and benefit especially young adults. Sam talks to Dr Nando Sigona, Birmingham Fellow and Lecturer in the School of Social Policy and the Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) at the University of Birmingham. Nando tells us about the limits of a ‘law and order’ approach to migration governance and his research on undocumented migrant children, citizenship and immigration enforcement. His book ‘Sans papiers: The social and economic life of undocumented migrants’, written with Professor Alice Bloch (University of Manchester) and Professor Roger Zetter (University of Oxford) will be published by Pluto Press in 2014.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1bovmcO
With the majority of the world’s population living in cities, the security of the urban environment is more relevant than ever. Sam talks to Dr Sara Fregonese, Birmingham Fellow in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security. Sara tells us about the research behind her book ‘The Radicals' City: Urban Environment, Polarisation, Cohesion’ explaining ‘the argument of the book in a nutshell is that social conditions and urban environments shape each other.’ But just how does the city we live in shape the life we lead, and is it always for the better?
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1jwO5FB
Lucy chats to Dr Imran Rahman, NERC Research Fellow in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham, about his work with 500 million year old fossil echinoderms. To bring his work to life, Imran shows Lucy some computer reconstructions of three fascinating fossils - Ctenocystis Utahensis, Protocinctus and Placocystites - which he's been able to capture using a small CT scanner from the university's School of Dentistry! Resembling objects like tennis rackets and shaving razors (which sounds like the fossilised remains of Roger Federer's kit bag), Imran uses this scan technology to explore, investigate and virtually dissect these intricate Cambrian Period fossils in order to learn more about what was once inside them. It's truly fascinating stuff. (The images related to this podcast can be found on Twitvid.)
First broadcast: 11/07/2011
What will happen when bacteria become even more resistant to drugs and the current treatments won’t work? Sam talks to Dr Luke Alderwick, Director of the Drug Discovery Centre and Lecturer in Biosciences at the University of Birmingham. Luke’s research aims to understand the biology of mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of most TB in humans. He explains how the Drug Discovery Centre goes about developing a drug, and why it's so important that academic drug discovery continues alongside commercial drug companies. Luke explains the future of drug development could involve ‘making use of bacterial viruses called bacteriophages or ‘phages’, which are viruses that infect and destroy certain bacteria'. The success or failure of such developments will have a major impact on healthcare worldwide.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1ntKENb
Sam talks to Dr Jonathan Shapiro, Honorary Senior Research fellow at the University of Birmingham. Jonathan tells us about his interest in the perception of healthcare within the NHS and society, both from a management perspective and that of a GP. What it is that influences clinicians, and what makes them change their behaviours? This doesn’t only concern clinicians: Jonathan explains how a large part of a patient’s recovery rests on their beliefs and attitudes around getting better, as shown by the placebo effect. He explains that by ignoring this ‘we are discounting a third of all therapeutic impact’. Of course, the placebo effect is not a cure for everything, but how could a change of approach in the health service help to influence our attitude to recovery? What can health professionals do to help us we believe we will get better?
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1eqK1P0
Sam talks to Birmingham fellow Dr Sara Jones from both the Department of Political Science and International Studies and the Department of Modern Languages. Sara’s research examines the importance of eye witness testimony, specifically within East Germany and the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Sara explains the use of the German term ’zeitzeugen’, which means ‘people who witnessed a certain time’, and tells us about the findings of her research project ‘Reconstructing the Stasi: Images of Police Repression in the United Germany’. Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1jwNX94
Sam talks to Ben Cowan, Research Fellow in the School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham. Ben’s research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) looks at our evolving relationship with computers. Ben explains ‘If we as humans don’t perceive machines as natural, we won’t behave naturally towards them’. Will the 2012 ‘Government Digital Strategy’, moving government services into the digital sphere, give us a more convenient experience when it comes to paying our council tax or buying our parking permit? Or will it leave us all nostalgic for the days of listening to muzak while waiting on hold to at least eventually speak on the phone to a real person?
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1fg8Q15
Lucy speaks to Dr Simon Pemberton, based in both the School of Social Policy and the School of Law. Simon’s research in social harm addresses how harm is caused by the structure of a society as opposed to being caused intentionally. He explains ‘Criminal Law has a fascination with intent; well actually, the greatest levels of harm in our society are caused by indifference’. Could restructuring society reduce harms such as deaths caused by air pollution or workplace cancers?
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1eqJVqA
Lucy speaks with Professor Mike Robinson, Director of the Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage at the University of Birmingham. Mike outlines the differences between different types of cultural heritage, distinguishing national and world heritage sites. 2013 sees the Institute running two major conferences. The first, in Taiwan, follows the challenges of balancing tourism and heritage. The second conference, ‘Rust, Regeneration and Romance’, addresses how we see iron and steel as part of our cultural landscape, and is being held at Ironbridge, itself a World Heritage Site.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/MKOfLh
Sam talks with Birmingham Fellow Dr Zoe Schnepp from the School of Chemistry. Zoe’s research looks at artificial photosynthesis (AP), a process that replicates the natural process of photosynthesis, using sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. As a ‘green chemist’, Zoe’s challenge is to discover alternative materials to platinum, which is currently used within AP but which is costly and can be environmentally damaging to source. Zoe is interested in the biological and waste resources that can be used to produce energy across the whole industrial production process. ‘It’s this idea of cradle to cradle, and a lot of the products we have in our lives are cradle to grave. We buy a product, we use it, and we throw it away. In the future, industries are going to have to think a lot more carefully about all the resources they use to create a product.’
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1bMcv61
Starting 2013 on a healthy note, Lucy speaks to Dr Jackie Blissett at the University of Birmingham's School of Psychology. Jackie talks about her research into the early development of taste in children, describing the many fascinating factors that influence how infants develop preference for different foods. With some helpful dinnertime hints and tips for parents, Jackie addresses strategies to help children develop their own healthy eating habits. She also tells us about the ’Comfort Eater Beater’, a free iPhone app designed to help combat emotional eating. You can download the app here. The app was developed in collaboration with Ideas Lab and funded through 4ip and UnLtd.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1gpFxfQ
Lucy speaks to Janesh Gupta, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Birmingham who also works as an honorary consultant at Birmingham Women’s Hospital. Janesh is the lead author for the ECLIPSE study, which compared the clinical effectiveness of the Mirena contraceptive coil as a treatment for heavy periods with other medical treatments on offer in primary care. This research is expected to change standard clinical practice for the treatment of heavy periods, as women will be able to gain access to treatment via their general practitioner rather than having to be referred to hospital. Janesh's pioneering work should have a positive impact on the quality of life of women who suffer from heavy periods. The findings of the ECLIPSE study have been published in January 2013 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1eTLotZ
Lucy speaks to Dr. Clare Davies, Murphy Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham’s department of Cancer Sciences. Clare’s research focuses on understanding the role of protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) in breast cancer formation, aiming to gain a better understanding of the connection between PRMTs and cancer cells. Highlighting the importance of finding alternative ways to target breast cancer, Clare explains ‘cancer cells are incredibly clever and they can change the way they adapt to various environments’. In the long term, her truly pioneering research may lead to drugs that could restrict the activity of PRMTs in order to slow down tumour growth or to prevent a tumour from forming. But as Clare explains, although this exciting research has the potential to make a difference to cancer patients, she is right at the start of the journey.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1fYJFlj
Andy speaks to Professor Scott Lucas, Professor of American Studies at the University of Birmingham and the founder and editor of EA Worldview, one of the leading sites on U.S. foreign policy and international affairs. Scott reflects on the recent U.S. Presidential Election and discusses what a second term for President Barack Obama means for America and the wider world. He talks about the challenges that lie ahead for the Obama administration in terms of U.S. foreign policy and the economy, and also discusses how the Republican Party should reorganise itself over the next four years to enable it to challenge for the Presidency in 2016.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/NC357V
Andy chats to Dr Louise Dixon, senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Birmingham and a registered Forensic Psychologist, about Intimate Partner Violence. It's a subject that most of us are probably familiar with, but hopefully nothing too many of us will have personal experience of. Louise defines IPV as "any form of aggression and/or controlling behaviours used against a current or past intimate partner of any gender or relationship status", which clearly marks it as something that sadly affects many different people. Louise explains what causes someone to be violent to their partner, why it matters that we understand the causes of IPV and which gender is mostly victimised, and also talks about new directions currently underway to prevent such violence taking place.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1kBwQ6a
It’s impossible to wander through a bustling city or town these days without exposing your lungs to a grotty mixture of exhaust fumes and god knows what else. Unsurprisingly, inhaling these air pollutants isn’t very good for our health – but what can be done? Andy chats to Professor Rob MacKenzie, Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Birmingham’s School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, about how ‘greening up’ our cities could be the answer. Rob explains how plants act as a natural filter to absorb street-level air containing the highest concentrations of pollutants. Alongside existing efforts to reduce emissions, green walls and green streets could lead to significant reductions in pollution (not to mention the potential for making our cities much more attractive places in which to live and work). It sounds like the perfect solution. But are we ready for this imaginative leap in city planning?
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1ePXo1b
With only a few days to go before the spectacular opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics Games, Andy chats to Professor Kathleen Armour, Professor of Education and Sport and Head of the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham, about whether the Games can deliver a youth sport participation legacy. Can the jaw-dropping sporting feats of the world's elite athletes really inspire young people to take up sport? Or will the legacy materialise only as a fleeting spike of interest? Kathleen talks about the importance of having the right coaches and methods in place to help develop children's skills from an early age, discusses what those basic skills should be, and explains how gaining an understanding of where we lose people from physical activity is absolutely key. Because instead of trying to play catch-up and find those people again later in life, it's better not to lose them in the first place.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1eTLlP4
Andy talks to Dr Jonathan Grix, Senior Lecturer in Sport Politics and Policy at the University of Birmingham, about the likelihood of the London 2012 Games leaving Britain with an Olympic legacy long after the Olympic Flame is extinguished. The last time London hosted the Olympics was the 1948 Austerity Games, which echoes the economic turmoil that Britain and the wider world is currently experiencing. However, with the Olympic budget heading for around £11 billion, the modern Games will be on an entirely different scale to the event of 64 years ago. In light of this, Jonathan identifies five areas of Olympic legacy, determines their chances of success, and discusses the long term benefits for the country in general.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1j3cQWu
Andy talks to Ian Thornhill, a doctoral researcher in the field of Urban Ecology at the University of Birmingham's School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. Ian talks about urban ponds and biodiversity, how the dwindling numbers of ponds in both rural and urban areas threatens the ecological communities within them, and suggests how the loss of wildlife within urban areas could even affect our own health and well-being. With over 50% of the world’s population now living in urban areas, it’s crucially important we consider the impacts this can have on wildlife. The good news, however, is that we can all get involved to help reverse this trend of pond loss. In fact, we can start close to home - in our very own gardens!
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1g6HUVj
Andy talks to Dr Frank Eves, Reader in Lifestyle Physical Activity at the University of Birmingham's School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, about how psychology can be applied to issues of public health. With the ever increasing problem of obesity in the western world, Frank explains how current approaches to tackling the problem often come in the form of 'nudges' which gently push people towards healthier and more active lifestyles. Whether by redesigning public environments, such as ensuring that train passengers reach the stairs before the elevators, or something as blissfully simple as listing lower calorie options at the beginning and end of a menu (which are twice as likely to be chosen as items in the middle), these are passive environmental nudges which have the potential to improve our lives. Frank also talks about active nudges that can be implemented - such as providing clear calorie information on food packaging - and discusses the many challenges that public health initiatives often face. But as Frank says: "Tackling obesity and increasing physical activity is not simply a question for health professionals, it requires everybody to be involved." Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/LUkdDW
If, like me, you're surgically attached to your phone and computer and largely communicate with friends and family through text messages and social media, then this podcast is for you! Andy speaks with Dr Caroline Tagg, lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the Centre for English Language Studies at the University of Birmingham, about her research into the way we use language in text messages and on social media sites, such as Facebook. If you thought text messaging was simply about conveying your point quickly with a line of baffling acronyms, you'd be wrong. To the contrary, Caroline has discovered that people can actually be quite creative with their texts, often making them longer and more elaborate rather than shortening them. Caroline also covers how we use emoticons to moderate and temper the content of our messages, answers the age-old question of whether 'text speak' is diluting the English language and is potentially damaging to children growing up in an age of mobile phones and social networks, and also explains how we use linguistic strategies to communicate with our audience of friends and acquintances on Facebook. Caroline's book - 'Discourse of Text Messaging' - will be published on May 24th by Continuum.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1lBT5qC
With Peter Jackson's 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' due to be released in December 2012, Andy chats to Dr James Walters, senior lecturer in Film and Television Studies at the University of Birmingham, about the director's controversial decision to shoot the fantasy epic at 48 frames per second instead of the standard 24fps. After Warner Bros. screened 10-minutes of footage from the forthcoming movie at CinemaCon 2012 last month it got mixed reviews, with some audience members claiming that the higher frame rate made the footage look like a soap opera, which gave the experience an unpleasant, artificial feel. James gives his own fascinating take on the Hobbit debate that's currently raging and also talks about plans to establish a Centre for Film Studies at the university, which will enable academics to share ideas and discuss the kinds of issues that films and filmmaking often bring to the fore. As we appear to be on the cusp of a significant development in film technology, it's an exciting time to be a film lecturer!
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1j3czmm
Andy chats to Dr Joe Bennett, lecturer in Applied Linguistics in the Centre for English Language Studies at the University of Birmingham, about the word 'chav'. Ahead of an event at the Birmingham New Street branch of Waterstones on May 9th, which will see Joe hosting a Q&A session with Owen Jones, author of 'Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class', he explains where 'chav' originates from, talks about the various false etymologies behind the word, and explains how television has helped to propagate so-called 'Chav Culture' over the last ten years. Joe also dips into his current area of research, which looks at how language has developed in response to last year's England riots and in response to the financial crisis, and how politicians are devising new ways of talking about the social class.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1djE2Qp
Andy chats to Dr Stefan Bouzarovski, senior lecturer in Human Geography and co-ordinator of the Energy, Society and Place Unit at the University of Birmingham, about energy security. Stefan explains what the term 'energy security' means (it's more complex than it sounds!), talks about the "difficult decisions" we'll have to make over the coming decades in terms of our energy future, and discusses whether energy-rich states can (and do) use energy as a strategic weapon by cutting off or withholding supplies to their consumers. Along with many other prominent academics and thinkers working in the area of energy, Stefan has been invited to a 'Perspectives on Energy' dinner in Westminster on May 8th, 2012, by the Rt Hon David Willetts MP, the Minister for Universities and Science. Given the energy challenges we're facing in the coming years, Stefan sees the dinner as an opportunity to emphasise the importance of energy research in the UK and also the need for it to grow and develop further.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1g6HQoD
If you think that the 'sound of the stars' is probably just a bunch of Hollywood A-listers blathering on about their latest mediocre offering at the box-office, you'd be wrong. This podcast is much more interesting than that! Andy chats to Professor Bill Chaplin, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Birmingham's School of Physics and Astronomy, about the science of asteroseismology. Bill explains that asteroseismology is a tool that he and his colleagues in the astrophysics community can use to study stars, using what he calls "the natural music of the stars". Utilising data from the NASA Kepler mission, a telescope launched in 2009 to locate exoplanets outside of our solar system, the mission has revolutionised work in the area of stellar astrophysics. And if you don't think this is relevant to your everyday life, think again! One of the many outcomes of Bill's fascinating research is a greater understanding of our own star - the Sun - which has a direct impact on us, here on earth. Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1djDRVo
Ahead of the forthcoming 'Children's Lives' exhibition at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Andy chats to Professor Ian Grosvenor, Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor for Cultural Engagement and Professor of Urban Educational History at the University of Birmingham. As one of the curators of the exhibition, Ian talks about some of the fascinating exhibits that will be on display, discusses the problems of trying to curate an exhibition that comprehensively tells the story of childhood and children’s experiences from across all classes, and explains what the connections are between childhood past and present. With a section of the exhibition set aside for childhood in the 21st Century, Ian also talks about how young people from two local schools have set about documenting and recording their own childhoods today.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1bouJjg
After a week of art and music-related activities involving a small group of unemployed young men from the multiply deprived Bromford estate in east Birmingham, Andy caught up with Dr Chris Shannahan, research fellow in Urban Theology at the University of Birmingham, to find out how the event had gone. Entitled 'Bromford Dreams', the community art project saw the young men spend a week working alongside urban spiritual artist Mohammed Ali to spray-paint their dreams for their community onto a huge cube, which demonstrated their determination to reject social exclusion and enabled them to articulate what Chris terms "spirituality of resistance". With future initiatives in the pipeline and the cube due to be displayed at the University of Birmingham's Edgbaston campus in the next few weeks, the journey that these young men have embarked upon is only just beginning.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1fg8gQR
Following her recent appointment as Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham, Andy headed to the Lapworth Museum to meet with anatomist, author and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts. With typical enthusiasm about the challenge ahead, Alice talks about her new role at the university, which involves making science accessible to as wide an audience as possible, making it easier for academics to talk about their research with the public, and encouraging young people to think about science as a career. She also explains how public engagement isn't just about academics educating the public, but about engaging them in a conversation. Alice also has encouraging words for any academics who are reticent or worried about engaging with broadcast media (but you'll have to listen to the podcast to learn more!). Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1hbvY7W
In his recent speech in Strasbourg, Prime Minister David Cameron claimed that "for too many people, the very concept of rights is in danger of slipping from something noble to something discredited, [which] has a corrosive effect on people's support for human rights." Andy speaks with Dr Bharat Malkani, lecturer at Birmingham Law School at the University of Birmingham, who lectures and researches in the fields of human rights and criminal justice, to find out if that's an accurate assessment of the current state of human rights law. Bharat also responds to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, which argues that human rights are being used as a weapon against democracy and as a shield for terrorists. He also talks about human rights issues in relation to the harsh deterrent sentences meted out by the courts following the UK riots, and looks at the balance between human rights law and the need to have an effective criminal justice system that the public has confidence in. Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1g6Htul
In the first Ideas Lab Predictor Podcast of 2012, Andy speaks with forensic archaeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls about her archaeological fieldwork at the site of the Treblinka extermination camp in north-east Poland. With around 800,000 people killed there during the Holocaust, the camp is second only to Auschwitz in terms of the number of deaths, yet there had been no coordinated scientific search for their remains until Caroline and her team from the University of Birmingham began the hunt for new evidence. With a lack of physical evidence remaining at the site - after the Nazis tried to destroy all traces of their industrial-scale killing during their abandonment of the camp in August 1943 - and with Jewish burial law forbidding the disturbance of Jewish burial sites, Caroline talks about the non-invasive techniques that she and her team employed in order to carry out a thorough investigation of the site.
A BBC Radio 4 documentary about Caroline's work at Treblinka - 'The Hidden Graves of the Holocaust' - was broadcast on Monday, 23rd January, 2012.
Caroline has now left the University of Birmingham and is currently Lecturer in Forensic Investigation at Staffordshire University
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/MbKkac
In the last Ideas Lab podcast of 2011, Lucy joins Julia Hyland, Wellcome Trust funded medical effects make-up artist and Outreach Officer for the History of Medicine Unit at the University of Birmingham, as she applies prosthetic dermatological conditions to medical students with different skin colours. Making up the students with conditions such as psoriasis, Kaposi's Sarcoma and ringworm, Julia demonstrates how the same diseases and conditions present very differently on different coloured skin, which can often lead to GPs misdiagnosing and under-diagnosing conditions. Lucy then chats to Dr June Jones, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Ethics at the University of Birmingham, who explains more about their project to train GPs to help them diagnose dermatological conditions among patients of diverse ethnicities. We also hear from the medical students involved in the workshop, who give their thoughts on what the temporary skin conditions look like on their skin. The accompanying photos for this podcast can be found on Ideas Lab's Flickr.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1ok5ba9
Andy talks to Dr Stuart Derbyshire, Director of Pain Imaging at the University of Birmingham and a Reader in Psychology, about his research into functional pain. Anywhere between 5% and 20% of the population has a chronic functional pain - disorders where there’s no obvious underlying cause for the person’s pain - which can be extremely devastating to quality of life and a cause of constant discomfort. As a pressing clinical problem, Stuart talks about the fascinating research he undertakes in his lab to try and model the core features of functional pain, which involves taking people who don’t have pain and then seeing if he can make them experience pain without a traditional noxious stimulus. Adhering to the motto 'touching is cheating', Stuart attempts to create pain using a variety of weird and wonderful techniques, including hypnosis, photos of people with injuries, and even a rubber arm illusion, where he gives people a fake limb and then stabs it! (Oh, and if Stuart looks familiar, he was also the man behind the ice bath test in the assassin episode of 'Derren Brown: The Experiments'.)
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1gtAXfh
Andy talks to Dr Sadiah Qureshi, lecturer in Modern History at the University of Birmingham, about her fascinating new book Peoples on Parade: Exhibitions, Empire, and Anthropology in Nineteenth-Century Britain, which looks at the commercial exhibition of living foreign peoples in the 19th Century. Although horrifying for modern audiences to contemplate, throughout the 19th Century up until the mid-20th Century, foreign peoples were imported to this country to perform songs, ceremonies and dances in various shows and exhibitions, which were attended by the paying Victorian public in their thousands. At the height of their popularity, exhibitions of this kind could be seen at local theatres, museums, world fairs (such as the 1851 Great Exhibition in the vast Crystal Palace in London's Hyde Park) and even zoos. Thankfully, these shows have now been consigned to history. But as Sadiah explains, they're perhaps not quite as distant a memory as we would like them to be.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1gpEVH8
Lucy talks to Dr Andrew Davies, lecturer in Intercultural Theology and Pentecostal Studies in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham, about the changing face of Christianity in the UK. Andrew discusses the dramatic growth of Pentecostal black majority churches in Britain and the subsequent rise of the 'megachurch'. In a far cry from the traditional village parish church, with a smattering of locals sauntering in for the weekly service, these formidable developments can accommodate thousands of parishioners. Andrew also talks about the 'new atheism' and looks at Christianity further afield, with an upsurge in Christian conversion in China (around 10,000 people a day), but a surprising rise in the persecution of Christians around the world. Whatever your religious views, this is interesting stuff.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1aUvBvG
Andy talks to Dr Sadiah Qureshi, lecturer in Modern History at the University of Birmingham, about her fascinating new book Peoples on Parade: Exhibitions, Empire, and Anthropology in Nineteenth-Century Britain, which looks at the commercial exhibition of living foreign peoples in the 19th Century. Although horrifying for modern audiences to contemplate, throughout the 19th Century up until the mid-20th Century, foreign peoples were imported to this country to perform songs, ceremonies and dances in various shows and exhibitions, which were attended by the paying Victorian public in their thousands. At the height of their popularity, exhibitions of this kind could be seen at local theatres, museums, world fairs (such as the 1851 Great Exhibition in the vast Crystal Palace in London's Hyde Park) and even zoos. Thankfully, these shows have now been consigned to history. But as Sadiah explains, they're perhaps not quite as distant a memory as we would like them to be.
Lucy talks to Dr Rebecca Stack, a Research Fellow in Health Research within the School of Immunity and Infection at the University of Birmingham, about patient decision-making and people's use of health services. With particular focus on rheumatoid arthritis, Rebecca looks at why people don't decide to seek help sooner after the emergence of new symptoms, such as joint pain, stiffness and swelling. As the first three months of symptom onset in rheumatoid arthritis are a crucial window of opportunity, with immediate treatment effectively turning off the inflammation process, it's vital that people seek help early. However, research shows that people spend that three-month window deliberating over whether their symptoms are serious enough to warrant a visit to their GP. But as rheumatoid arthritis can affect any age group - and affects 1% of the population - any symptoms in the hands and feet should be taken seriously.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1ok52Uh
In the last of three special podcasts covering the Birmingham Policy Commissions, Lucy chats with Professor Tony Bovaird, Professor of Public Management and Policy at the University of Birmingham, about the future of public services in the UK. As one of the commissioners behind a recent policy commission report entitled When Tomorrow Comes – The Future of Public Services, Tony talks about the need for a radical shake-up in the way government works at the national and local level in order to make public services more effective and cost-effective in this era of austerity. Tony will be one of the speakers at a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on October 3rd (8am to 9:30am) to discuss the commission's findings, and specifically to discuss the report’s recommendation that the 21st century requires the development of a new generation of public servants.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1gpESen
In the second of three special podcasts covering the Birmingham Policy Commissions, Lucy chats with Professor Jean McHale, Professor of Health Care Law at the University of Birmingham, about the policy and political implications of healthy ageing in the UK. It's an issue that affects us all, as we're all living longer, but who should pick up the tab for our healthcare? Jean will be playing a key role at a Birmingham Policy Commissions event called ‘Life and Death in the 21st Century’, which will be held at the Labour Party conference on Monday September 26th (12:30pm to 2:00pm, Exhibition Meeting Room 2, The ACC, Liverpool). The event is being chaired by Professor Adam Tickell, a Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Birmingham, and will include representatives from various organisations, such as Mervyn Kohler from Age UK, and Finbarr Martin from the British Geriatrics Society.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1iOAfeQ
In the first of three special podcasts covering the Birmingham Policy Commissions, Lucy chats with Professor Martin Freer, Head of the Nuclear Physics Group at the University of Birmingham and Director of the Birmingham Centre for Nuclear Education and Research, about the future of nuclear power. Does the future lie with building more of the same kinds of nuclear power station? Or do we need to invest in new technology entirely? With the country facing an unprecedented energy crisis – which Martin feels the public is yet to truly grasp – he discusses the various options for taking nuclear power forward in Britain. Martin will be playing a key role at a Birmingham Policy Commissions event called ‘Nuclear Power: what is the future?’, which will be held at the Liberal Democrats autumn conference on Tuesday September 20th (6.15pm to 7.30pm, Hall7b, The ICC). The event is being chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, Professor David Eastwood, and the panel will include the chair of the commission Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Lib Dem MP John Hemming, and Director of Greenwatt Technology, Dr Susan Juned. Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1lBS9m0
With the tenth anniversary of 9/11 approaching, Lucy chats to Dr Chris Allen, lecturer in Social Policy in the Institute of Applied Social Studies at the University of Birmingham, about what's been achieved over the last ten years to document Islamophobia, and the work that still needs to be done. He also talks about the recent massacre in Norway, which was initially attributed to al-Qaeda and Islamic terrorism, even though the perpetrator was Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik. And with this latest terrorist atrocity in mind, Chris discusses how the threat from far right extremists has, to some extent, been ignored, while Islamic terrorism has remained in sharp focus as a key threat. Finally, Chris looks at the Birmingham Muslim community's dignified response to the deaths of three young men during the recent UK riots, which diffused a potentially dangerous situation and aimed to unite Birmingham's diverse multicultural population. (You can also listen to our October 2010 podcast with Chris and read his blog.)
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1lBS69L
Over a third of British universities are set to charge £9000 in tuition fees next year, and all of those institutions have had to set out their targets to widen participation among students from non-traditional backgrounds and will be judged on whether they meet them. The stakes are higher than ever, both for students and for universities. In a departure from the usual academic focus of the Ideas Lab podcast, Lucy joins Dr Vikki Burns, Senior Lecturer in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences and also the School’s Head of Quality Assurance and Enhancement, to discuss the problems students commonly encounter when they begin university life, and how universities can support them. Plus what to do if you’re a student and you’re finding it hard to cope, and top tips for success if you’re heading to university for the first time this year. Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1hbvLS8
Over a third of British universities are set to charge £9000 in tuition fees next year, and all of those institutions have had to set out their targets to widen participation among students from non-traditional backgrounds and will be judged on whether they meet them. The stakes are higher than ever, both for students and for universities. In a departure from the usual academic focus of the Ideas Lab podcast, Lucy joins Dr Vikki Burns, Senior Lecturer in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences and also the School’s Head of Quality Assurance and Enhancement, to discuss the problems students commonly encounter when they begin university life, and how universities can support them. Plus what to do if you’re a student and you’re finding it hard to cope, and top tips for success if you’re heading to university for the first time this year.
Using Hollywood as a reference point, the robots of the future could either be polite, servile humanoids, ruthless Terminator-style overlords, or adorable home-help ‘bots’ that look a bit like Henry Hoover (and beep reassuringly when they bring you your slippers). But what’s the reality? Lucy chats to Dr Nick Hawes, lecturer in Intelligent Robotics at the University of Birmingham, about the robots currently in operation today, and about the special purpose 'service robots' we may well be relying on in the not too distant future. Nick also introduces Lucy to 'Dora the Explorer', a robot he’s using in his research to explore the potential for developing robots that could arrive on your doorstep from Amazon or Argos, be removed from their packaging, then instantly start performing useful tasks around the home. He also looks ahead to the 'Festival of Robots' at The British Science Museum (Nov 28th - Dec 4th) which he'll be attending with Dora. (You can view images of Nick's robots on Flickr.)
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1cvP4Oc
Lucy chats to Dr Pierre Purseigle, senior lecturer in Modern History at the University of Birmingham, and President of the International Society for First World War Studies. With the centenary of the First World War on the horizon in 2014, Pierre talks about the ways in which Britain and the other nations involved in WWI are planning to mark the occasion. The British public is still interested in the 'Great War', but our conception of the conflict has been shaped by its depiction in popular culture, such as Blackadder Goes Forth, which has highlighted some elements and obscured others. Pierre says that historians will be using the centenary to educate the public further, to enhance our understanding of a war that changed not just the political map of Europe, but of the entire world. Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1eTKOwx
Lucy chats to Dr Imran Rahman, NERC Research Fellow in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham, about his work with 500 million year old fossil echinoderms. To bring his work to life, Imran shows Lucy some computer reconstructions of three fascinating fossils - Ctenocystis Utahensis, Protocinctus and Placocystites - which he's been able to capture using a small CT scanner from the university's School of Dentistry! Resembling objects like tennis rackets and shaving razors (which sounds like the fossilised remains of Roger Federer's kit bag), Imran uses this scan technology to explore, investigate and virtually dissect these intricate Cambrian Period fossils in order to learn more about what was once inside them. It's truly fascinating stuff. (The images related to this podcast can be found on Twitvid.) Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/MbK3Ep
If someone told you that, one day, we might all be able to drive from A to B without encountering endless miles of cones, numerous temporary traffic lights, and hours of infuriating delays - while workmen drink cups of tea and stare into several deep holes in the road - you'd probably think that person was telling porkies. But thanks to the 'Mapping the Underworld' project, it's a possibility! Lucy chats to Dr Nicole Metje, senior lecturer in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Birmingham, about the 25-year vision to locate and map the network of buried pipes and cables under Britain's roads. Not only will this project save time and money (no need for utilities companies to dig multiple 'dry holes' while they search for pipes), but it will also make the maintenance of those underground utilities a lot safer. Ultimately, this is a project that could benefit us all.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1g6H9f8
When you think about a World Government, it's almost impossible not to imagine a cold, all-powerful body that ruthlessly controls all of humanity. But believe it or not, there are several arguments in favour of such a thing. If you think about it as an antidote to our impending nuclear destruction or a way of tackling global poverty, through greater integration between states, there might actually be something in it. And Einstein was all for it! Lucy chats to Dr Luis Cabrera, senior lecturer in Political Theory in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham, about the Millennium Development Goals, the recent launch of Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP), developments around global democracy, and the prospect of a World Government. Interesting stuff. Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1hbvGxC
Ideas Lab's Project Director, Lucy Vernall, interviews Dr Joanna Renshaw, lecturer in biogeochemistry at the Water Sciences group at the University of Birmingham, about her research into the spread of contaminants in the environment, and the restoration or remediation of those environments. Jo explains how microbes could be used to clean up nuclear sites, and also looks at how microbes could play a part in extracting crucial rare earth elements from waste electrical components going to landfill. Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1m77KOa
The world is an unjust place. As the powerful, industrialised nations continue to produce huge carbon footprints, the resulting climate change ravages the poorer, least developed nations, who subsequently struggle to cope. Lucy chats to Dr Celine Tan, lecturer in law at the University of Birmingham, about international economic law, the effects of climate change on developing countries, and how international trade laws can impact heavily on the local industries of poorer nations.
Celine Tan has now left the University of Birmingham and is currently Assistant Professor at Warwick School of Law, Warwick University
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1bMbtaf
Picture this: you jump in your car and drive over to a friend’s house for some lunch. When you get there, you tip your smartphone into the landscape position and show off some recent holiday photos, guzzle down some food, then work off the calories with several games of Wii tennis. You’ve just had so many brushes with MEMS devices (microelectromechanical systems), it’s difficult to count them all! Lucy chats to Dr Emma Carter, a Research Fellow in Micro-Engineering at the University of Birmingham. As well as talking about the MEMS devices which can be found in equipment we use every single day, Emma reveals the multiple applications of E-Nose technology, and how energy scavenging - such as using blood pressure - can power these devices. Where's this amazing microtechnology going next? Listen and find out!
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1eqIus9
Lucy chats to Professor Ewan Fernie, Chair of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Birmingham's Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, about Redcrosse, a new poetic liturgy written by Ewan, former poet laureate Andrew Motion, award-winning poets Jo Shapcott and Michael Symmons Roberts, and Andrew Shanks, the canon theologian of Manchester Cathedral. The liturgy aims to reinvigorate and offer a new exploration of St George and Englishness, and to produce an inclusive celebration that will ultimately bring people together. As St George's Day falls on Easter Saturday this year, the next liturgical event will be held at Manchester Cathedral on Sunday May 8th, which will be preceded by a procession, through the city streets, featuring two Catalan-style ‘gegants’ representing St. George and the Dragon. It certainly sounds like a spectacular way to reclaim St George!
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1iOA0R2
Lucy chats to Dr Amitava Banerjee, a Clinical Lecturer in Cardiovascular Medicine, about value-based pricing of medicines, which is part of the government's current Health and Social Care Bill, and, from 2014, will see drugs priced according to their effect on patients and the value society places on those drugs. When you consider that drugs aren't currently priced according to their effectiveness, it might not be a bad idea! Ami also co-writes an evidence-based blog called trusttheevidence.net, which aims to 'unpack' the data and statistics in news stories about health and health research, to make it easier for the layperson to understand.
Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1hbvoHd
We've all heard the famous line from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: "Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink," but with roughly one and half billion cubic kilometers of water on the planet you'd be forgiven for thinking that there's probably plenty to gulp down! Unfortunately, that isn't the case. With World Water Day coming up at the end of March, Lucy chats to Dr John Bridgeman, Reader in Envronmental Engineering in the University of Birmingham's School of Civil Engineering, about global water scarcity and what we can do to tackle the problem. He also talks about a new water sampling instrument he's helped to develop, which can detect contaminated water in disaster areas, and answers the big question on all our minds: do carbon water filters actually make any difference to our tap water?
None of us is going to live forever. But one thing's for sure: we're all giving it a damn good try! By the year 2050, one in four people will be aged over 65 years. We're certainly living for longer, but we're not necessarily healthier for longer. Lucy chats to Dr Anna Phillips, a Roberts Research Fellow and health psychologist at the University of Birmingham's School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, about the results of a recent study into bereavement and subsequent ill health in the elderly, and also about her research into how stress and other factors can affect our immune systems. Anna also reveals measures we can take to ensure that our long lives are healthy ones.
We're living in an era of sweeping governmental changes to some of our most beloved and crucial services and institutions. But what does this reorganisation mean for the Health Service? Lucy chats to Professor Jon Glasby, Professor of Health and Social Care and Director of the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham, about the positive and negative aspects of the reforms outlined in the Health and Social Care Bill, published in January this year. Jon also predicts where he thinks health and social care in the UK will be in 10-15 years time.
We all like curl up by the fire with a good read, don’t we? But when your chosen reading material weighs 22 kilos and is two and a half times the length of Tolstoy’s War & Peace, that’s easier said than done! Lucy chats to Professor Wendy Scase, Geoffrey Shepherd Professor of Medieval English Literature at the University of Birmingham, about her work to bring The Vernon Manuscript to a wider audience. Regarded as the biggest and most important surviving manuscript in medieval English, an online exhibition (The Vernon Manuscript: A Literary Hoard from Medieval England) is planned for spring 2011, which will coincide with the release of a DVD featuring the work (available from the Bodleian Bookshop). You no longer have to be a scholar to enjoy this exquisite work.
Whether you’re a musical genius or can only bash out ‘Chopsticks’ on a piano, this should still make for interesting listening. Recorded in the concert hall of the Barber Institute, Lucy chats to Dr Kenneth Hamilton, concert pianist and Reader in Music at the University of Birmingham's Department of Music. Speaking shortly after an afternoon concert, Kenneth talks about improvisation in musical pieces during performances, differences in 18th century instruments, and also gives details about forthcoming performances to celebrate the Franz Liszt bicentenary in 2011.
Ken has now left the University of Birmingham and is currently Professor of Music at Cardiff University.
With clips from podcasts featuring Professor Scott Lucas, Dr Chris Allen, Dr Matt Bridge and Professor Isabelle Szmigin, Lucy and Andy (the other half of Ideas Lab) review some of podcasts from the last year in relation to what’s happened in the news since they were first broadcast. We also have a preview of a forthcoming podcast with Professor Wendy Scase, Geoffrey Shepherd Professor of Medieval English Literature at the University of Birmingham, who's been working on a translation of the The Vernon Manuscript. Wendy reads The Birth of Christ in the Stable from the Estorie del Evangelie; first in medieval West Midlands English and then in modern English. Merry Christmas!
Sam talks to Dr Gideon Nisbet in the department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Birmingham. Gideon’s research looks at the reception of Ancient Greece and Rome in modern culture including film, television and computer games. Gideon describes how many of the games we play and the films we watch shape our perception of the ancient past. ‘We need to tell stories, that is how we understand the past, or versions of the past, but by telling those stories, we are also making up the past.’ What’s next for the ancient past in the modern world? Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://bit.ly/1hbwEKp
In a podcast that covers both U.S. politics and the American version of Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars), you might be forgiven for thinking that we’ve mistakenly cut two separate recordings together. But I assure you, we haven’t! Lucy chats to Professor Scott Lucas, Professor of American Studies at the University of Birmingham and editor of the news and current affairs site EA WorldView, about what's next for President Barack Obama, the rise of Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement, and the politicisation of dance programmes!
Unless you’re a physicist, you might find this podcast a little difficult to understand in places. But that’s not to say it’s not fascinating stuff! Lucy speaks to Professor Kai Bongs, Professor of Cold Atom Physics at the University of Birmingham's School of Physics and Astronomy, and the local head of the Midlands Ultracold Atom Research Centre. Kai talks about cold atoms, quantum computing and how atomic clocks on GPS satellites help the sat-navs in our cars. I bet you didn't know that, did you?
With the 2012 London Olympics now visible on the horizon, there are exciting times ahead for British sport. Lucy chats to Dr Matt Bridge, Senior Lecturer in Coaching and Sports Science at the University of Birmingham's School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, about young people's engagement with sport in school, and whether we’re developing talented youngsters in the right way. Are we giving them enough choice – enough sports – to find out what they’re good at? Matt also discusses the forthcoming 2012 Olympics and gives his verdict on whether the games will leave Britain with an Olympic legacy.
Coinciding with the release of his new book ‘Islamophobia’, Lucy speaks with Dr Chris Allen, a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham's Institute of Applied Social Studies. Chris talks about the causes and ramifications of Islamophobia, such as community reactions to new mosques being built, controversial Koran burnings, and the rise of the English Defence League (EDL). Chris also talks about his work towards the establishment of an All Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crimes. This is still a really hot topic, so don’t miss this one.
Lucy interviews Dr Eliot Marston, BUPA Translational Research Manager at the University of Birmingham's College of Medical and Dental Sciences. Eliot talks about the major causes of obesity in children and how bariatric surgery is increasingly becoming a front line treatment. He also reveals the efforts being made to tackle the obesity problem in Birmingham, such as the Health Research Bus, which is a mobile clinical research facility that can conduct research in the community.
Lucy speaks with Dr Robin May, Senior Lecturer in Infectious Disease and Lister Fellow, at the University of Birmingham's School of Biosciences. Robin talks about ‘opportunistic pathogens’, the uniqueness of our microbiomes (the total compliment of microbiological organisms that live on and in us - we’re greatly outnumbered!) and the prospect of personalised genomes in the not too distant future. He also examines the possibility that, in a few years, forensic investigations may well refer to people’s microbiological fingerprints in the same way that they do real fingerprints. Great news for forensics, bad news for burglars.
Lucy chats to Professor Isabelle Szmigin, Professor of Marketing at Birmingham Business School, about consumer behaviour, alcohol and binge drinking. Isabelle explains how the huge increase in the density of ‘vertical drinking establishments’ - concentrated in just one or two streets in city centres – has transformed the way we drink. She also discusses how suppliers look to market certain kinds of drinks; what the government is doing about the problem of binge drinking; and how we can educate people about the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption.
If you’ve had a tough day and are thinking of reaching for a comforting slab of chocolate, this podcast might be of interest to you. Lucy chats to Dr Jackie Blissett, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Birmingham, about emotional eating. With research interests in feeding and eating in infancy and childhood, particularly in relation to the role of the parent, Jackie discusses the psychology behind emotional eating and the numerous other factors contributing to obesity.
The perfect podcast for these austere times. Lucy speaks to Professor Karen Rowlingson, Professor of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham, and Director of the Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management (CHASM). Karen talks about personal finance in relation to the gloomy economic outlook, and discusses the idea of a maximum wage. And with the spectre of extensive government spending cuts on the horizon, she speculates about what the future holds for those at the top, those at the bottom, and those of us stuck in “the angry middle”.
Is it possible to create a chocolate that tastes just as good as the real thing, but which has a massively reduced fat content? Lucy chats to Dr Phil Cox, lecturer in food micro-structural engineering at the University of Birmingham, to learn more. Phil talks about his research group’s efforts to design novel foods and novel food structures to try and combat a variety of food-related problems, such as obesity. He also talks about food manufacture. Ever wondered how much energy is required to produce that little jar of mayonnaise in your shopping basket? Well, listen to the podcast and find out!
Lucy interviews Professor Richard Green, Professor of Energy Economics at the University of Birmingham, and Director of the Institute for Energy Research and Policy. Richard talks about the future of British energy in terms of supply, the likelihood of Britain meeting its EU renewable energy targets by 2020, and also discusses the technological developments that might alter the way we consume energy in the future. You’d best listen to this before the lights go out.
Richard Green has now left the University of Birmingham and is currently the Alan and Sabine Howard Professor of Sustainable Energy Business at Imperial College, London.
In this week’s podcast, Lucy chats to Dr Jackie Chappell, Lecturer in Animal Behaviour in the University of Birmingham’s Department of Biosciences. She also runs the Cognitive Adaptations Research Group. Working with both animals and humans, Jackie talks about her research into intelligence, which she defines as “individuals who can adapt their existing knowledge to new situations, and that also can innovate new behaviours to solve new problems”. When researching intelligence in animals, Jackie discusses her work with New Caledonian crows and their understanding and use of hooked tools. It’s fascinating stuff.
To kick off our podcast series, Lucy chats to Dr Henry Chapman, Director of the Visual & Spatial Technology Centre (VISTA) at the University of Birmingham. Henry talks about how digital content is transforming museums, allowing the public to access, explore and experience the collections and hidden riches of our museums and archives like never before. He also explains how new technology, such as augmented reality on smartphones, is allowing archaeologists to present the past in new and novel ways. If you’re not currently a frequenter of museums, this podcast might just change your mind.