Grammy-award winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre joins chair of the UK’s largest COVID-19 social study and UCL professor Dr Daisy Fancourt to talk about the power of community. They explore how people bound by common experiences can improve their health through non-clinical methods, looking at how singing and music can form a part of that process, and the wider implications that has on the health of the public.

“Every single person feels part of something larger than themselves.”

Communities are vital for a functioning society, but in an ever-changing world, has the concept of what ‘community’ means evolved into something new? Can virtual choirs really help with regulating emotions and coping with stress in the same way that singing live in a room full of people could? And is social prescribing of arts through linked support services the answer?

Grammy-award winning composer Eric Whitacre, and associate professor of psychobiology and epidemiology at UCL Dr Daisy Fancourt, seek to answer these questions and more, from studying the social factors on health such as loneliness and isolation, to how singing can help regulate emotions and cope with stress, and the physiological benefits that belonging to a community can bring.

Dr Fancourt’s research focuses on the effects of social factors on health, including loneliness, social isolation, community assets, art, cultural engagement, and social prescribing. She leads the team running the UK’s largest COVID-19 social study into the psychological and social impact of the virus. She also established and chairs the International Arts Help Early Career Research network, the UK March network, and is a consultant to the World Health Organization. You can find her on Twitter @Daisy_Fancourt.

Nevada-born Eric Whitacre is a multiple award-winning composer, conductor and graduate of New York’s prestigious Juilliard School of Music, whose work is recognised worldwide. Eric also established groundbreaking virtual choirs that have united singers from more than 145 countries. He has been the artist in residence at Los Angeles Master Chorale and University of Cambridge. You can find Eric on Twitter @EricWhitacre and at: https://ericwhitacre.com

Public Health Disrupted with Rochelle Burgess and Xand Van Tulleken is produced by Buckers at Decibelle Creative, find her on Instagram: @decibelle_creative and here: https://www.decibellecreative.com

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Author, chair of WHO Council on economics, and UCL professor Mariana Mazzucato joins renegade economist, creator of the “Doughnut” model of social and planetary boundaries, and Oxford Senior Associate Kate Raworth to share their considerable expertise on the relationship between public health and the economy; and why taking a mission-oriented approach will improve the overall health of the public.

“The fundamental relationship that must come in is humanity to the rest of nature.”

Would it be such a radical change to flip on its head the idea of improving the overall health of the public to prop up the economy? Redefining the idea of prosperity in the 21st Century and the balance between human wellbeing and economics are among the topics discussed by our guests: two leading thinkers in the field of innovative economics and its relationship with public health.

Together, Professor Mariana Mazzucato and renegade economist Kate Raworth tackle the topic of taking a mission-oriented approach to improving the health of the public. From redefining what prosperity looks like in a modern world, to how active a role the government should have in defining health innovation policy, and everything in between. 

The Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Prof Mariana Mazzucato leads the way in the economics of innovation and public value. Her breadth of work in the field has seen her author three highly acclaimed books on the subject, she was named one of the three most important thinkers about innovation and one of the 50 most creative people in business. You can find her on Twitter @MazzucatoM and at: https://marianamazzucato.com

Kate Raworth has taught at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, she is a professor of practice at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and authored the internationally best-selling book Doughnut Economies: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist, which has been translated into more than 20 languages. You can find her on Twitter @KateRaworth and find out more about Doughnut Economics at: https://doughnuteconomics.org

Public Health Disrupted with Rochelle Burgess and Xand Van Tulleken is produced by Annabelle Buckland at Decibelle Creative, find her on Instagram: @decibelle_creative and here: https://www.decibellecreative.com/

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For this final episode, we’re reflecting on what we’ve learned about public health over the past six months. Hosts Xand and Rochelle explore the episodes we’ve recorded so far that show what needs disrupting in public health, and look back at what our wonderful guests have been doing to shake up the system.

Featuring clips from interviews with Prof Paul Ekins, Dominique Palmer, Laura Lexx, Dr Matt Winning, Tinuke Awe and Clo Abe, Dr Carol Rivas, Sir Kier Starmer, Prof Dame Hazel Genn, Dr Harold Offeh and Prof Helen Chatterjee.

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The arts and culture sectors are among the hardest hit by the pandemic and lockdown but what would a post-pandemic world look like without art? Is there potential for arts and culture to be a significant part of the post-pandemic recovery?

In this month’s episode, we speak to widely exhibited artist Dr Harold Offeh and UCL Professor of Biology Professor Helen Chatterjee, to explore what arts and creativity have to do with public health, and how they can help tackle health inequalities.

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In this month’s episode, we speak to Sir Keir Starmer - Leader of the Labour Party and former human rights lawyer – and Professor Dame Hazel Genn - Professor of Socio-Legal Studies and UCL Vice Provost Advancement & International - to explore the intersections of law and public health, and how law and legal services can help to mitigate health inequalities.

The coronavirus pandemic, and the wider governmental and societal response, have brought health inequalities into sharp focus. There is growing evidence of bi-directional links between law and health. Social and economic problems with a legal dimension can exacerbate or create ill health, and conversely, ill health can create legal problems. By promoting greater integration of health and legal services, we can have a real impact on the health of the public, and build a healthy future for all.

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In public health, we often refer to 'hard to reach' groups, but are we doing enough to listen to them?

This month, we speak to the co-founders of Five X More, and UCL academic Dr Carol Rivas, to explore the role of discrimination and structural disadvantage in the health inequalities experienced by different marginalised groups in the UK, and the incredible work they are doing to change this.

Black women in the UK have a fourfold* higher risk of dying in pregnancy in comparison to white women. Our first guests, Five X More co-founders Tinuke and Clo, join us to discuss the action they are taking to address this disparity. Five X More is a grassroots campaign dedicated to supporting mothers and empowering black women to make informed choices and advocate for themselves throughout their pregnancies and after childbirth. The campaign is committed to calling on the government and healthcare workers to change the shocking statistics.

Our second guest, Dr Carol Rivas, is an associate professor in social policy and programme evaluation at the UCL Institute of Education’s Social Research Institute. Carol tells us more about her work on so-called hidden disabilities, their intersection with race, ethnicity and migrant status, and on developing tools that empower the voices of marginalised groups

*When the campaign started, this number was five times more (MBRRACE 2018 & 2019).

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In this month’s episode, we speak to award-winning comedian and author Laura Lexx and London-based Scottish comedian and UCL academic Dr Matt Winning, to explore how comedy and humour can be used to improve health for all.

Laughter is good for your health - a good laugh can reduce stress. It can also be used as a tool to reduce the stigma of people discussing issues or raise the profile of topics to improve the health of the public.

In this episode, Laura and Matt discuss their personal experiences of using comedy to address serious topics including mental health, infertility and climate change in their stand-up shows. Both comedians have created a space in the world of comedy to talk about public health issues, but what about the other way around? Is there space for comedy in public health?

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Welcome to Episode 1 of Public Health Disrupted, the brand new podcast from UCL Health of the Public.

This month, hosts Xand and Rochelle are joined by Dominique Palmer - dedicated climate activist, organiser within the UK Student Climate Network and one of Forbes 100 Top UK Environmentalists - and Prof Paul Ekins OBE - Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy and Director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources - to explore how the climate is disrupting public health.

Tackling climate change can improve our health, not only through reducing the risks of heatwaves, extreme weather events and poor air quality, but through the mitigation and adaptation strategies we use, bringing benefits for climate, the economy and health.

The effects of the climate crisis are already being felt today, and future projections highlight a devastating risk to the health of the public. Could tackling climate change be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century, helping us to address inequalities and racism, strengthen the economy and promote global health? 

If there’s a question you’d like our hosts or guests to answer, please email us at [email protected] or tweet @UCLHealthPublic. 

New episodes will be made available monthly via the UCL Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcast. Find the transcript and more information on the UCL Health of the Public website.

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Presented by Doctor, writer and TV Presenter Xand Van Tulleken and community health psychologist, UCL lecturer and self-proclaimed hippie, Dr Rochelle Burgess.

This podcast is about public health, but more importantly, it’s about the systems that need disrupting to make public health better. In each episode, we’ll be challenging the status quo of this field, asking what needs to change, and why and how can we get there. Each month we’ll be joined by activists, scholars, artists, comedians and industry professionals to offer perspectives from the UCL community and beyond. 

We’re calling this podcast Public Health Disrupted because that’s exactly what we want to do. We are going to be breaking down disciplinary, sectoral and geographic boundaries to really understand the diverse and complex issues impacting our health. Issues as complex as structural racism and as broad as the role of tech in public health.

If there’s a question you’d like our hosts or guests to answer, please email us at [email protected] or tweet @UCLHealthPublic. 

New episodes will be made available monthly via the UCL Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcast. Find the transcript and more information on the UCL Health of the Public website.

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