Crossing Channels

Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Angelique Acquatella, Shan Morgan and Jennifer Dixon about the current status of digital technology adoption in healthcare services, why digital adoption is so slow,  and the opportunities for medtech, individuals and the wider economy. In this episode, experts unpack the barriers and facilitators of digital healthcare. Rory, Angelique, Shan and Jennifer explore the impa...

Rory Cellan-Jones (host) talks to Ingela Alger (IAST) and Flavio Toxvaerd (University of Cambridge) about the drivers of research silos, the merits of conducting interdisciplinary research and how to overcome disciplinary divides.  This episode takes a look at why academic research is trapped in research silos. Ingela Alger and Flavio Toxvaerd engage in a thoughtful discussion with Rory Cellan-Jon...

In this first episode of series 3, Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Dr Anne Degrave, Prof Dennis Grube and Halima Khan about the drivers of short-termism in government, the interplay between voter preferences and policy change, and the mechanisms needed to embed longer-term decision-making. This episode unpacks why governments have been trapped in short-term thinking. Leading experts examine the impact...

Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Iza Hussin and Paul Seabright about recent trends in world religions, the interplay between politics and religion, and the economics of religion.  This episode unpacks the widespread belief that religion is in decline, and explores why this view is mistaken. Leading experts discuss the intersection between religion and politics, the rivlary within and between religons, a...

Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Michael Kenny, Louis Baktash, and Mathieu Carpentier about the governance challenges in France and the United Kingdom, the impact of recent political protests, and whether devolution might be the answer to address these challenges. Leading experts reflect on recent political protests and movements - including protests over Macron's pension reforms, the gilets jaunes...

Leading experts, Sam Gilbert Bennett Institute), César Hidalgo (IAST) and Jeni Tennison (Bennett Institute)  talk to podcast host Rory Cellan-Jones   (former technology correspondent for the BBC) about the latest developments of emerging forms of technologies, their opportunities and harms, and what policymakers can do to mitigate the associated risks.  This episode unpacks the most recent advance...

Prof David Runciman and Prof Karine Van der Straeten talk to Rory Cellan-Jones about extending voting rights to school-aged children.  This episode unpacks the main objections against lowering the legal voting age, the merits of extending democratic rights to children, and how children's voices might be better represented in electoral processes. Leading experts explore how the enfranchisement...

Rory Cellan-Jones and leading experts Maria Kleshnina, Daniel Nettle and Amy Orben discuss the drivers of cooperation and how online and offline environments are impacting human behaviour.  This podcast unpacks the facilitators and inhibitors of cooperative behaviours to tackle wicked problems and the impact of our environment on cooperation. Our guests from the University of Cambridge, Institute...

Rory Cellan-Jones and leading experts Sarah Dillon and Manvir Singh discuss the value of stories, the possible dangers of endorsing stories and the need for narrative evidence to inform decision-making.  This episode unpacks the value of stories to understand the past and inform current policy debates. Leading experts from the University of Cambridge and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Toulo...

Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), and Nataliia Shapoval, head of KSE Institute, discuss how their research priorities have shifted during the war on Ukraine, how the University has operated throughout these challenging times, and why the higher education system is integral to Ukraine’s future.  This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology corresp...

Rory Cellan-Jones and leading experts Charlotte Cavaillé, Ailbhe McNabola and Jack Shaw discuss the causes of income and regional inequality, why policymakers should care, and what policy interventions work best to reduce them. Guests discuss recent trends in income and regional inequality, and evaluate the effectiveness of different policy approaches. They debate the opportunities and challenges...

Rory Cellan-Jones and leading experts Gordon Harold, Laura Nurski and Zoe Purcell discuss why mental wellbeing in the workplace is essential, and what policymakers can do to promote a healthy workforce.  This episode unpacks the impact of the future of work on mental wellbeing, and its implications for policy. Leading experts discuss the major trends shaping the future of work, how job quality and...

Rory Cellan-Jones talks to leading economists Diane Coyle, Jacques Crémer and Jean Tirole, about why productivity growth has slowed in spite of immense technological progress and what policy can do about it. This episode unravels the impact of digitalisation on economic growth and its implications for policy. Leading economists discuss the productivity puzzle, why regulating Big Tech is so difficu...

In this episode, Rory Cellan-Jones talks to expert guests Lucy Delap (University of Cambridge) and Victor Gay (IAST) about how lessons from history can inform policymaking today. They discuss what the recession in the 1970s  can tell us about government response to the current cost-of-living crisis, and what the 1918 Spanish Flu can tell us about dealing with a pandemic. The guests explore what hi...

This podcast looks at the psychological quirks of humankind, what effects our bad decisions have on the society we live in, and how policy might best steer us towards better outcomes. Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Dr Bence Bago - Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, and Professor Dame Theresa Marteau – the Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the Universit...

This episode looks at what we expect from our leaders, how that's changed over time, and whether democratic leaders are particularly prone to disappointing us.  This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones, and features experts Dr Roberto Foa, Assistant Professor in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, and Dr Zachary Garfield, Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced...

This podcast looks at why some people think we need policies for happiness and what those might mean. Leading experts discuss how to define and measure happiness, the drivers of happiness in different countries and societies, and what we know about what works and what doesn’t in terms of policy solutions and interventions. This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones, and features experts Anna Alex...

This special edition of Crossing Channels was organised in response to the invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022. It covers how the Ukrainian people, policymakers, and government have responded during the first ten days of the war, its geopolitical context and implications, and the scale of the information war taking place, within both Ukraine and Russia.  This episode is hosted by Rory...

The UK is currently one of the most regionally unequal countries in the developed world. The government's White Paper on Levelling Up sets out 12 “missions” to increase economic opportunities across all regions. The UK is far from the first country to try and “level up” regional areas. Countries including France, Germany and China are also making efforts to tackle similar regional inequalitie...

This episode discusses the potential of digital technologies to change infrastructure priorities in developing countries. Experts from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambridge, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST) consider what counts as infrastructure, whether ‘leapfrogging’ is a useful term, emerging digital divides, and the impact of foreign (particularly American a...

Hope versus fear in artificial intelligence In this third episode of Crossing Channels, experts from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambridge, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), discuss the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), including why we need to care about it, who is responsible for it, and whether there’s a double standard for AI and humans. Host Rory Cell...

Why have economists ignored nature for so long - and now they have discovered it, are they measuring it correctly? This episode tackles the issue of incorporating nature into economic measurements. These include whether there is still a trade-off between economic growth and the environment, what is still missing from economic measures, and how to get academics and policymakers to work together.  T...

This episode tackles the issue of running government in the modern age. These include how the public perceptions of the government have changed, why there are so many civil service reforms, and what governments learn during crises.  This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones, and features expert guests Dennis Grube, Mohamed Saleh, and Catherine Haddon.  For more information about the podcast and...

Crossing Channels is the new podcast series produced by the Bennett Institute for Public Policy and Institute for Advanced Study to give interdisciplinary answers to today’s big questions. Experts from both research centres will discuss different approaches to explore complex challenges and offer policy solutions.   This first teaser episode hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones  with co-director of the Ben...