Original Ideas

Heat is one of the most dangerous natural hazards, causing preventable deaths and putting vulnerable communities under increasing pressure. But heat is not experienced equally, with some communities more vulnerable than others. The University of Liverpool’s Melting Metropolis research is a major Wellcome funded project that explores how people experience urban heat, and how cities can respond. It...

Digital media shapes how we communicate, how we access information, and how we understand the world around us. However, it also raises big questions, from social media and artificial intelligence to misinformation and online safety. The University of Liverpool’s Digital Media and Society Institute, is a research hub that brings together experts to understand how digital technologies shape society...

According to the World Health Organisation, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria and viruses no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines. As a result, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death. AMR is now directly responsible for 1.3 million deaths and cont...

From lasers used in supermarket checkouts, to the emergence of complex supercomputers, quantum is all around us. Recently the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for quantum breakthroughs, with experiments having implications for computing, sensing, and our understanding of the universe. At the University of Liverpool, quantum is part of our Particle Physics research frontier, where scientists...

Around the world, 1 in 5 people are experiencing pain, and in the UK over 34% of adults regularly experience chronic pain. In the last decade, our understanding and knowledge in this area has increased exponentially, with academic research contributing to the search for treatments. The University of Liverpool have recently launched a world leading hub - the Liverpool Interdisciplinary Neuroscience...

Our relationship with food is complex - there are many different health and cost of living challenges connected to food, yet there are also opportunities, to educate and live a better, healthier life through our food choices. In this Original Ideas Podcast episode we discuss research from the University of Liverpool, explore the impact junk food advertising can have on our children, how our enviro...

Researching and delivering effective medicines is something we all depend on, for the prevention, treatment and cure of diseases around the world. There's never been a more urgent need to develop medicines that are both clinically effective, and cost-efficient.  In this Original Ideas Podcast episode, host Gavin Freeborn is joined by Professor Neill Liptrott, Surgeon Scientist Dr Rajarshi (Rishi)...

The United Nations have highlighted that businesses are key to achieving their 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Around the world, every business of every size is looking at how they can change, develop, grow and create a more sustainable business for the people they serve. Investors, employees and customers now consider ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors when they choose...

What does the past tell us about the future? How does Archaeology impact the world we live in? In 2024, the Liverpool Institute of Archaeology celebrated its 120th birthday, and it has developed an international reputation for its quality of teaching and research. In this Original Ideas Podcast episode Gavin Freeborn is joined by University of Liverpool researchers Professor Larry Barham, Dr Ceren...

Dementia is an illness without a cure yet, and whilst it’s more common in people over the age of 65, it can affect young people too. A 2024 report from the Alzheimer’s Society put the number of people in the UK living with Dementia at around 1 million. So what research is taking place into this debilitating disease? What are the hopes for the future, and what progress is being made in the fight ag...

As a UNESCO City of Music, and home to the Institute of Popular Music, Liverpool is a city with music at its heart. Exploring cultural phenomena from The Beatles to Taylor Swift, in this episode we look at the research taking place around popular music. What can we learn from the many different perspectives of popular music? How has it changed society in the past, and how will the music industry e...

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that all children should have equal rights, no matter who they are, where they live, what gender they are, or whether they are wealthy or in poverty. No child should be treated unfairly for any reason, and protecting children is something that every society should work towards - from safeguarding the use of their data and images, through to enabl...

Joining other Feminist Cities around the world including Barcelona and Vienna, Glasgow became the UK’s first self-proclaimed Feminist City in 2022. This inspired University of Liverpool staff to create the Liverpool Feminist City Network, connecting multiple areas of research. What is a Feminist City? How is academic research helping inform and create cities that are more inclusive for everyone? I...

Regarded as one of the most transformational technologies we’ve ever seen, AI is developing at an unprecedented rate. We’ve seen world leaders hold summits to explore the many benefits that AI can bring to society – but also warn of the need to use it responsibly. So what impact is AI making in academic circles? How is AI being used now to transform research across Chemistry and Computer Science,...

Over 3 billion people use smoky polluting stoves and fuels inside homes for cooking and heating. In the UK, a third of childhood asthma cases are related to poor air quality. Air pollution is one of the biggest threats we have to global health – how is research at the University of Liverpool driving change for lower to middle income countries? In the city of Liverpool, what research is taking plac...