Air Quality Matters

This week, we sit down with José Luis Gutiérrez Villanueva, a specialist radon measurement advisor at Radanova, member of the Commission on Radon Communication at the Spanish Professional Association of Physicists, and deeply involved in standards across Europe, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about indoor air quality and radiation protection: What if the single bi...

This week, we dive into a groundbreaking study published in The Lancet Public Health titled Impact of Ultra Low Emission Zone on Lung Function Growth in Children in London: A Prospective Parallel Cohort Study, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about air pollution and child health: What if the single biggest barrier to protecting our children's respiratory health isn'...

This week, we sit down with Brian Renda, Programme Director for the Built Environment, and Victoria Slaughter, PPE Director at Blueprint Biosecurity, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about pandemic preparedness: What if the single biggest barrier to preventing the next pandemic isn't our lack of scientific knowledge or technology—but our complete failure to recognis...

This week, we dive into a study published in Atmospheric Pollution Research titled Effects of Classroom Ventilation Management and User Activities on Indoor Air Quality in Madrid Primary Schools: A Two Year Field Study, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about school environments and indoor air quality: What if the single biggest barrier to delivering healthy classroo...

This week, we sit down with Amanda Reddy, Executive Director at the National Centre for Healthy Housing, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about housing quality and public health: What if the single biggest barrier to transforming housing quality isn't our lack of scientific knowledge or technology—but our complete failure to recognise that the places where we spend...

This week, we dive into a study published in Building and Environment titled The Impact of Energy Retrofit on Indoor Air Quality in Classrooms and Offices, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about building performance and climate action: What if the single biggest barrier to decarbonising our building stock isn't our lack of technology or ambition—but our complete fai...

This week, we sit down with Dennis Naughton, former Member of Parliament and Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in Ireland, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about science, policy and political decision making: What if the biggest barrier to transforming our built environment isn't our lack of scientific knowledge or technology—but our complete...

This week, we dive into a landmark policy paper published in Building and Environment titled Integrating Health and Indoor Air Quality into European Building Policy: A Landmark Policy Shift, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about building performance and public health: What if the single biggest barrier to transforming our built environment isn't our lack of scienti...

This week, we sit down with Plum Stone, founder and CEO of the Safer Air Project, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about indoor air quality and accessibility: What if the single biggest barrier to transforming indoor air quality isn't our lack of scientific knowledge or technology—but our complete failure to recognise that millions of people living with chronic heal...

This week, we dive into a study published in Building and Environment titled A Scalable Framework for Impact Analysis of Faults on Indoor CO2 in Buildings, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about building maintenance and indoor air quality: What if the single biggest barrier to delivering healthy indoor environments isn't our lack of technology or standards—but our c...

This week, we sit down with Lisa Greenfield, Regional Programme Manager for the Midwest at the Centre for Green Schools at the US Green Building Council, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about educational environments: What if the single biggest barrier to transforming school air quality isn't our lack of scientific knowledge or technology—but our complete failure t...

This week, we sit down with David Gottfried, co-founder of the US Green Building Council and founder of the World Green Building Council, a movement now spanning 85 countries that has ignited a trillion-dollar green building economy. What if the single biggest barrier to transforming the built environment isn't our lack of scientific knowledge or technology—but our complete failure to recognise th...

This week, we dive into a fascinating study published in Railway Engineering Science titled Study on Air Quality Improvements in Train Compartments by Coordinating Exhaust of Multiple Air Outlets, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about ventilation in mass transit: What if the single biggest barrier to protecting passengers on high speed trains isn't our lack of tech...

This week, I step back from the interviews to share a personal reflection on a question that has been nagging at me for some time, sparked by recent encounters with dubious manufacturer claims, the fallout from a prominent Cambridge professor scandal, and my own complicity in wielding peer review as a weapon against innovation: What if the single biggest barrier to progress in air quality and the...

This week, we dive into a comprehensive review published in the Science of the Total Environment titled Integration of Air Quality Monitoring Systems with Hybrid Electric Vehicles for Emissions Control in Smart Cities, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about urban air pollution: What if the single biggest opportunity to tackle air quality in our cities isn't just mak...

This week, we dive into a modelling study published in Environmental Science, Processes and Impacts titled Long-Term Prediction of Climate Change Impacts on Indoor Particulate Pollution, a case study of residential buildings, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about natural ventilation and climate adaptation: What if the single biggest barrier to maintaining healthy i...

This week, I step back from the interviews to share a personal reflection on the conversations, themes and patterns that have emerged over the last few weeks, both on this podcast and in the halls and sessions of Indoor Air 2026 in Singapore. What if the single biggest barrier to transforming the built environment isn't our lack of scientific knowledge or technology—but our complete failure to rec...

This week, we dive into a fascinating study from the University of Southampton and Hampshire County Council titled Preliminary Findings of Storytelling in Schools as a Pre-Heatwave Intervention to Enhance Children's Behaviour to Improve Thermal Comfort, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about overheating in schools: What if the single biggest barrier to protecting ch...

This week, we sit down with Professor Ardeshir Mahdavi, an internationally recognised expert in building science, affiliated with Graz University of Technology and the Vienna University of Economics and Business, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about indoor environmental quality: What if the single biggest barrier to creating healthy, comfortable buildings isn't ou...

This week, we dive into a study published in the Journal of Environmental Research titled Summer Heat Wave, Ozone Pollution and Ischemic Stroke Mortality: An Individual Level Case Crossover Study, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about climate, air quality, and public health: What if the single biggest barrier to protecting vulnerable populations isn't our lack of u...

This week, we sit down with Dr. Ranga Reddy Burri, a physician from Hyderabad, India, President of the Infection Control Academy of India, and Honorary Professor at the University of Hyderabad, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about public health in rapidly developing economies: What if the single biggest barrier to improving health outcomes in the Global South isn'...

This week, we dive into a groundbreaking longitudinal study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology titled Damp Housing Conditions as a Determinant of Psychological Distress: A Longitudinal Analysis of the British Household Panel Survey, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about housing and mental health: What if the single biggest barrier to addressing dampn...

This week, we sit down with Bill McQuade, outgoing President of ASHRAE, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about progress in the built environment: What if the single biggest barrier to transforming buildings isn't our lack of technical knowledge—but our failure to put human health and wellbeing at the centre of every design, maintenance, and policy decision we make?...

This week, we dive into a groundbreaking paper published in the Journal of Energy and Buildings titled A Methodology for Evaluating the Effects of Personalized Environmental Control Systems (PECs) on Building Whole Life Carbon CO2 Emissions, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about building design and decarbonisation: What if the single biggest opportunity to slash ca...

This week, we sit down with Professor Lidia Morawska, one of the world's leading voices in air quality science and airborne infection transmission, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about progress in indoor air quality: What if the single biggest barrier to transforming the built environment isn't our lack of scientific knowledge—but our inability to convert public h...