University of Cambridge

In this episode, Catalina Taylor chats with Dr Brian Ferguson, an immunologist and Associate Professor of Immunology at the University of Cambridge, about how vaccines work and why we need them. Produced by Claire Watt.

This episode sees Joanne Yau get to grips with the basics of nuclear energy, as well as taking a good look at their green potential. Featuring PhD researchers from the Nuclear Energy Futures CDT (Hannah Tipping, Martin Gillet, Will Thomas, Jason Lee and Parth Kulkarni). Produced by Claire Watt.

In this podcast, Claire Watt talks to Chris Wakefield, one of the archaeologists working on Must Farm, a Bronze Age settlement near Peterborough which has been described as ‘Britain’s Pompei’. Produced by Claire Watt.

Best-selling author Tara Westover, researcher Aliya Khalid and Thabo Msibi Deputy Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, tackle the issue of what education should be for. They stress the idea that small actions can have a significant impact on making a difference in the world and emphasise the power of individuals to create change within their own sphere of i...

Matthew Agarwala, Stefan Lamp and Alessio Terzi talk to Rory Cellan-Jones about the trade-offs between economic growth and environmental protection, the policies and legislations needed to achieve green growth, and the challenges associated with implementing such measures. This episode unpacks the possibility of green growth. Leading experts discuss the unsustainability of current growth paths, th...

In this episode, we explore how we can build back better after a crisis. What are the challenges and opportunities of addressing the climate crisis, including the need for climate justice, the costs of inaction, and the importance of green innovation. We consider the roles of governments, multilateral institutions, and grassroots movements play in driving change. And we conclude with a call to act...

So, now what? the new podcast from Gates Cambridge, a leading scholarship programme for outstanding international postgraduates at the University of Cambridge. Our guests are the scholars themselves - big thinkers from a range of different backgrounds and disciplines - who are out there finding solutions to some of our most wicked problems from the global economy and the environment, to technology...

Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Jean-Paul Azam, Diane Coyle and Andy Westwood about the potential of universal basic income to tackle regional inequalities, boost economic growth in ‘left behind’ and growing places, and rebuilding democracy. This episode unpacks why current policies are failing to tackle regional inequalities and how a universal basic infrastructure might boost productivity across all...

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill seeks to circumvent the UK Supreme Court's recent judgment holding the Government's Rwanda policy, concerning the removal of certain asylum-seekers, to Rwanda. The Bill contemplates placing the UK in breach of its international obligations, including under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Refugee Convention, while forming part of a...

This is the first interview with Mrs Charity (Cherry) Hopkins, Life Fellow of Girton College, University of Cambridge. Mrs Hopkins was interviews for the first time on 13 September 2023 in the Squire Law Library. For more information, see the Squire Law Library website at http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive

This is the fifteenth interview for the Eminent Scholars Archive with an incumbent of the Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science. Professor McLachlan is Professor of Law at Victoria University of Wellington. Professor McLachlan was interviewed on was interviewed on 19 June and 13 September 2023 in the Squire Law Library. For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squi...

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 impac...

On the 15 November the UK Supreme Court decided that the United Kingdom's policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful. In this short recording Dr Kirsty Hughes explains the Court's reasoning, and considers the Government's response and possible next steps. Kirsty Hughes is an Associate Professor specialising in Human Rights Law. She is joint General Editor of the European Human Rights...

Rory Cellan-Jones 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 (IAST) and Flavio Toxvaerd (University of Cambridge) talk to Rory Cellan-Jones, ab...

This is the fifteenth interview for the Eminent Scholars Archive with an incumbent of the Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science. Professor McLachlan is Professor of Law at Victoria University of Wellington. Professor McLachlan was interviewed on was interviewed on 19 June and 13 September 2023 in the Squire Law Library. For more information, see the Squire website at https://www.squi...

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 o...

Mohamed El-Erian is the President of Queen’s College Cambridge, and his new book, Permacrisis: A Plan To Fix A Fractured World, is out now. Written with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Nobel Prize-winning economist Michael Spence, the book is an attempt to understand and explain our world has gone wrong, and presents a plan to better manage the future for the benefit of the many and not...

What is the future of religion? 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 rivalry...

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. This podcast examines the constitutional challenges in France and the UK. Leading experts from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambr...

Why don’t naked mole-rats feel some kinds of pain and what does this mean for human medicine? Simone Eizagirre Barker talks to Ewan St John about his work studying pain and the extraordinary biology of naked mole-rats which is helping us learn about all sorts of human diseases and uncover potential cures or forms of symptom management. Find out more about naked mole-rats and watch an animation abo...

What is a herbarium and why is it important? Gregory Miller visits Dr Lauren Gardiner and Dr Edwin Rose at the Cambridge University Herbarium to learn more about this fascinating library of plants, who collected them, and why they are so crucial to the study of more than just the natural world. Music by Coby O'Brien Produced by Rebekah King

How does nuclear energy work and is it the best way forward for powering out future? Beth King talks to Susannah Lea, Michael Salvini and Hugh Dorward, three members of the CDT PhD team behind the event ‘the Nuclear Energy Futures Fair: an Insight into the Energy of Tomorrow.’ Music by Coby O'Brien Produced by Rebekah King

When we say that money is power, what exactly do we mean? Anna Mahtani talks to numismatist and former curator of coins at the British Museum Joe Cribb about the past and future of money. From ancient Chinese coins to cryptocurrencies, what does the study of money tell us about our world and who has power within it? Music by Coby O'Brien Produced by Rebekah King

Leading experts from the Bennett Institute and IAST debate emerging technologies like generative AI tools and the metaverse; why there is so much interest, whether we should be excited or worried, and what are the associated policy implications. Sam Gilbert Bennett Institute), César Hidalgo (IAST) and Jeni Tennison (Bennett Institute) talk to podcast host Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology corre...

Who owns the past and does antiquity really ‘belong’ to anyone? Ella O’Loughlin speaks to Prof Tim Whitmarsh about an event at the Faculty of Classics which will discuss how the classical past is understood and who feels a sense of ownership over it. Find out more about the event here: https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/past-tense-who-does-greek-and-roman-antiquity-belong Music by Coby O'Brien...