On this page:
- Mind over Chatter – from the University of Cambridge
- The Confidence Interval – from the MRC Epidemiology Unit
- Other podcasts
Mind over Chatter
Mind over Chatter is the Cambridge University Podcast, breaking down complex issues into simple questions. Visit the Mind Over Chatter homepage.
Mental health and young people
COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of everyone, including children and young people. The proportion of children aged six to 16 with probable mental health disorders has increased from one in nine in 2017 to one in six in both 2020 and 2021. In this episode, the Unit’s Esther van Sluijs is among guests discussing the growing concern over the recent and widespread deterioration of adolescent mental health and what can be done about it. Listen here or below.
Obesity: the gene-environment debate
What role do our genes play in influencing our body weight and what we like to eat? Why do some people gain weight more easily than others, and is it all down to genes or are there other factors at play? In this episode, the Unit’s Thomas Burgoine, is among the guests looking at the multitude of factors that influence our eating behaviours. Listen here or below.
The Confidence Interval
The Confidence Interval is an occasional podcast from the MRC Epidemiology Unit – talking science, people and public health. We’re using this podcast to explore the research happening at the Unit, meet some of our researchers and find out what makes them tick.
Ways to listen:
- Soundcloud links below, or find the full playlist here
- Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
- University of Cambridge streaming service
- YouTube
- Other podcast providers – search “The Confidence Interval”
Dr David Ogilvie
Dr David Ogilvie, Programme Leader and MRC Investigator in the Population Health Interventions group, talks to Unit Head of Communications Oliver Francis. They discuss how we evaluate complex interventions and phenomena; how we put together the findings of multiple studies in a meaningful way; and what we do with all this evidence if we want to improve public health. David reflects on his career studying physical activity, health and the built environment, and what we can learn from the Covid pandemic… and Sherlock Holmes.
Bonus material! You can find timestamped links to the various papers and resources David discusses in this podcast here.
Dr Jean Adams
Dr Jean Adams, Programme Leader and MRC Investigator in the Population Health Interventions group talks to Unit Head of Communications Oliver Francis about how we might improve the nation’s diet, the politics of what we eat, moving from medicine to public health and what motivates her scientific inquiry.
More Freedom or More Control?
This episode features a recording of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas event “Improving our Diets – More Freedom or More Control?”. Governments try to improve our diets by labelling, taxes and manipulating what shops are on the high street. The right approach is not just a matter of what works, but involves questions about government and personal rights and responsibilities. Public health and policy experts explore the role of evidence and ethics in helping us decide how and when to intervene.
Dr Felix Day
Dr Felix Day, Senior Research Associate in the Early Life Aetiology and Mechanisms of Diabetes and Related Metabolic Disorders group talks to Unit Head of Communications Oliver Francis about genetics, puberty and unusual career trajectories. At the time of recording, the group was known as the Growth and Development programme. And since recording, Felix has been promoted from Career Development Fellow to Senior Research Associate.
Also available…
Alimentos Y Emociones – Inequalities and behavioural weight management
Dr Claudia Hunot discusses inequalities and behavioural weight management with Unit PhD student Jack Birch.
Plus Magazine – New ways of seeing with the INTEGRAL project
Plus Magazine talks to Dr James Woodcock and other members of the INTEGRAL project team about the innovative machine learning approaches they are developing to understand remotely gathered images, and the significant impact these technologies can have on the world. INTEGRAL is an innovative international collaboration between people collecting remote sensing data – such as satellite images of forests and video from traffic cameras – and researchers developing the technology to analyse those remotely gathered images to answer meaningful questions.
Nesta Talks to… Christopher Snowdon & Dolly Theis
Government policy has a significant impact on what we eat and drink through regulation (or not) of our food environments. The extent to which policy makers should intervene is a hotly contested debate. For some, it is a question of personal responsibility and freedom to choose. For others, reshaping and regulating our food environments is an essential part of any meaningful plan to reduce obesity rates in the UK. Join Christopher Snowdon and Dolly Theis as they tackle these questions with Nesta’s Chief Executive, Ravi Gurumurthy.
The Swift Half with Snowdon from the IEA
In this episode of ‘The Swift Half with Snowdon’, Chris locks chats with the Unit’s Dolly Theis.
MRC Talks – Prof Nita Forouhi
Nita Forouhi, Programme Leader and MRC Investigator for the Nutritional Epidemiology Programme is interviewed by Isabel Harding. Nita talks about how what we eat affects our health and her advocay for good, solid evidence and equality, diversity and inclusion in science. Listen…