University of Cambridge

Fighting the Big Diseases at AstraZeneca and the Postdoctoral Challenge – with Lotte van Beek and Toby Gurran

How are young researchers helping AstraZeneca fight complex diseases?

Rebekah King speaks with Lotte van Beek and Toby Gurran, about what it's like to be a researcher at AstraZeneca, and hears about the postdoctoral challenge, an opportunity which is aimed at young scientists finishing their PhD or MD.

Find out more about the challenge here: https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2022/astrazeneca-launches-global-rd-postdoctoral-challenge-to-accelerate-scientific-discovery-and-diversity.html

And find out more about AstraZeneca at the Cambridge Festival: https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events?search_api_views_fulltext=astrazeneca

Music by Coby O’Brien

Produced by Rebekah King

AstraZeneca are a key sponsor of the Cambridge Festival.

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 Alexandrova, Professor in Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of King’s College Cambridge, and Dr Jonathan Stieglitz, Associate Professor of Anthropology at IAST and the University of Toulouse 1 Capitole.

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform.

https://podfollow.com/1597966909/episode/f5332aa5b9807556f803fc591d0cd5b5e8e8f7c9/view

Episode 7 transcript

For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and www.iast.fr/.

Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.

Audio production by Steve Hankey.

Podcast editing by Annabel Manley

More information about our guests:

Professor Anna Alexandrova

Anna Alexandrova is a Professor in Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of King’s College Cambridge. She researches how formal tools such as models and indicators enable scientists to navigate complex phenomena tinged with ethical and political dimensions. Her book A Philosophy for the Science of Wellbeing came out with Oxford University Press in 2017 and won the 2022 Gittler Book Prize of the American Philosophical Association. She previously taught at the University of Missouri St Louis and completed her PhD at the University of California San Diego. She was born and brought up in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar.

Dr Jonathan Stieglitz

Dr Jonathan Stieglitz is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at IAST and the University of Toulouse 1 Capitole. His main research interest is studying the health and well-being of individuals in small-scale subsistence societies, in part to gain broader insights into how humans may have lived in the past. He is Co-Director of the Tsimane Health and Life History Project, a longitudinal study of the evolution of the human life course; the project began in 2002 and currently focuses on better understanding the development of certain non-communicable diseases among two native South American populations - the Tsimane and Moseten of Bolivia.

The Big Bang, Time Travel, and Black Holes – with Geraint Lewis and Luke Barnes

Is time travel possible? What does a black hole actually do to light? What does ‘galactic cannibalism’ mean?

Honour de Pledge speaks to Geraint Lewis and Luke Barnes, authors of ‘A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos’ and ‘The Cosmic Revolutionary’s Handbook: (Or: How to Beat the Big Bang)’ about a tiny, simple, easily explainable topic...how the universe works!

This episode is supported by the Cambridge University Press Bookshop.

Music by Coby O’Brien

Produced by Rebekah King

Delve further into space in our Discovery themed events at the Cambridge Festival.

https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/

Imagining aliens – with Wallace Arthur

What will aliens look like if we find them? Could a planet be entirely purple? Do skeletons have to be made of bone?

Rebekah King speaks to evolutionary biologist and science writer Wallace Arthur about his book ‘The Biological Universe, Life in the Milky Way and Beyond,’ which was published by the Cambridge University Press in 2020.

This is a Cambridge University Press Bookshop supported podcast.

Music by Coby O’Brien

Produced by Rebekah King

You can find out more about the Discovery themed events at the festival here:

https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/

There is No Planet B – with Mike Berners-Lee

What mindset should we have about the global climate crisis?

Sophie Carlin speaks to expert in carbon footprinting, Mike Berners-Lee, about the new updated version of his book ‘There is No Planet B’ about climate change, cooperation, and the possibility of not only saving the world, but building a far better, brighter future for all.

Mike Berners-Lee featured at the 2021 Cambridge Festival.

Check out the environment events taking place in 2022 here:

https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/

Music by Coby O’Brien

Produced by Rebekah King

Body Image for Young People – with Charlotte Markey

How can young people improve their body image in an age of social media?

Jesimiel Akinsuyi speaks to Charlotte Markey, author of both the ‘Body Image Book for Girls’ and the ‘Body Image Book for Boys,’ about her motivations for writing both books, what body image means, and how it is affected by social media.

Music by Coby O’Brien

Produced by Rebekah King

Find out more at the Cambridge Festival 2022:

https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/navigating-adolescence-21st-century and https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/being-you-charlotte-markey

We're delighted to be able to share with you the highlights of the University of Cambridge's Centre for Science and Policy's fifth podcast season, which explores how science advice, data and evidence are used by decision makers in government. This series has been produced in partnership with the research project Expertise Under Pressure, part of the Centre for the Humanities and Social Change at the University of Cambridge.

CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Jessica Foster. Research for this series is supported by CSaP Policy Researcher Nick Cosstick.

Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Counter Speech and Online Harm – with Stefanie Ullmann

What is ‘counter speech’ and is it a more powerful alternative to censorship?

Scarlett Croft talks to Stefanie Ullmann about her research into harmful online content and strategies for combatting prejudice and hate. Scarlett also asks about how automated systems like Siri and Alexa should be programmed to respond when spoken to in an aggressive or sexist manner.

Music by Coby O’Brien

Produced by Rebekah King

Find out more at the Cambridge Festival 2022:

https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/combatting-harmful-content-online-potential-counterspeech

Animals in Biomedical Research: Replacement, Refinement, Reduction - with Selina Ballantyne

Will we ever be able to stop using animals in the laboratory?

This episode, Rebekah King talks to Selina Ballantyne about the ways in which animal testing is being replaced, refined, and reduced such that good science and good animal welfare can go hand in hand.

Find out more at the Cambridge Festival 2022 https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/3rs-animals-biomedical-research

Coby O'Brien - Music

Produced by Rebekah King

https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/3rs-animals-biomedical-research

Recipes for Saving the Planet – with Dana Ellis Hunnes

What can students do to help the planet?

Sophie Carlin speaks to nutritionist and climate change expert Dana Ellis Hunnes about her new book Recipes for Survival: What You Can Do to Live a Healthier and More Environmentally Friendly Life and gets the best advice for students who want to make a difference to the planet’s health.

A big thank you to CUP Bookshop for their support of this event and recording.

Find out more at the Cambridge Festival 2022 https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/recipe-survival-how-our-shopping-decisions-affect-planet

You can complete the survey mentioned in this episode here:

https://s.surveyplanet.com/67a7k51o

Music by Coby O’Brien

Produced by Rebekah King