CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast

In the 14th episode of our series on science, policy and pandemics, we're talking about vaccines and immunology.  Throughout this episode, our host Rob Doubleday is joined by Dr Caroline Trotter , Dr Estee Torok , and Dr Flavio Toxvaerd . They explore our current understanding of the immunology and of vaccines under development; challenges involved in vaccine distribution, and insights we’ve...

In the thirteenth episode of our series on Science, Policy & Pandemics, our host Dr Rob Doubleday and guest host Salma Shah speak with Dr Shaun Fitzgerald and Mats Persson about the science, policy and decision-making surrounding easing lockdown restrictions. Throughout this episode, we hear perspectives from an engineer, a policy advisor, and an economist on how their areas of work can help i...

What have we learned about the epidemiology of covid-19 since the onset of the UK’s lockdown? In the twelfth episode of our special series on Science, Policy & Pandemics, our host Dr Rob Doubleday welcomes back Professor James Wood and mathematician Professor Julia Gog. Professor Wood and Professor Gog spoke to us in episode one of our series about the state of our understanding of the coronav...

The role of scientific advisers to government is under the spotlight as never before. It is easy enough to talk of “speaking truth to power” – but as governments’ efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic demonstrate – the science is often evolving and uncertain. At a time when politicians are relying on scientists not only to inform decisions but also as trusted communicators – what is the natur...

What role does evidence play when the stakes are high, decisions are urgent, and the science is not settled? In this week’s episode of Science, Policy & Pandemics, our host Dr Rob Doubleday and guest host Salma Shah explore the principles and practice of decision making in Government. With guests Jeremy Hunt MP and Professor Dame Sally Davies, we explore real life examples of tackling massive...

This week, Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by with Dr Jean Adams , NIHR Research Fellow at the Centre for Diet and Activity Research, and Dr Jag Srai , Head of the Centre for International Manufacturing, Institute for Manufacturing for a discussion about food security and supply chains during the covid-19 pandemic. CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy a...

This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by Professor of Communication Systems Jon Crowcroft , and epidemiologist Dr Caroline Trotter, for a discussion focused on the role of technology in the covid-19 pandemic. From trustworthy digital systems to digital identity and immunity pass-porting, they explore some of the new opportunities and challenges for innovative technology in the context of...

This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by Dr Meredith Crowley , Reader in International Economics, University of Cambridge and Dr Christopher Rauh , Lecturer in Economics, University of Cambridge. They explore the implications of the COVID-19 shock for international trade and labour market inequalities, with a focus on the UK context.  CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production...

How are children, including the most vulnerable, coping with the covid19 pandemic and home schooling? Will the covid-19 pandemic have longer term effects on our education systems? What impact has the pandemic had on adolescents' rites of passage? This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday sits down with Sarah-Jayne Blakemore , Professor of Psychology and Paul Ramchandani , LEGO Professor of Play in Educ...

This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday sits down with Dr Simone Schnall and Dr Sander van der Linden to discuss to psychological aspects of the coronavirus pandemic. We explore topics including the psychological aspects of isolation, why people spread misinformation, and coping with uncertainty. CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University...

This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday sits down with Prof Daniela De Angelis , Professor of Statistical Science for Health at the University of Cambridge to discuss applying statistical methods to epidemiology, disease transmission, and how we're using models to understand the burden on the NHS posed by covid-19.   CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and...

This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday sits down with the University of Cambridge's Professor Stephen Baker and Dr Caroline Trotter for a discussion about epidemiology and diagnostic testing for Covid-19. Kicking off the discussion, Dr Baker shares what he has learned leading one of the first academic labs converted to a diagnostic lab, now carrying out validated rapid testing at Cambridge's Addenbr...

What do we know about public trust in expert knowledge when the stakes are high and there is considerable uncertainty? This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday sits down with Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter and Dr Alexandra Freeman of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication. In the context of the current pandemic, we discuss what research has been done on the best way to communicate ev...

What do we know about immunity, the epidemiology, testing strategies, and data collection in the context of the coronavirus pandemic? On what basis are governments making decisions, and how much uncertainty is there in current epidemiological models? We answer these questions and more in the first episode of our new podcast series Science, Policy & Pandemics. In this week's episode, our host R...

The Centre for Science and Policy's Executive Director, Dr Rob Doubleday, introduces our upcoming series on Science, Policy & Pandemics. This series is produced by CSaP in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network. Learn more about our work at: www.csap.cam.ac.uk