In the second episode of our Mental Health and Wellbeing mini-series, host Jade Hunter sits down with Professor Hugo Spiers, Dr Fiona Zisch, and Isabelle Charval,  the trailblazing team behind the world’s first international centre for neuroarchitecture and neurodesign. Together, they delve into how neuroscience and the built environment are converging to shape healthier, more inclusive spaces for everyone. 

This wide-ranging conversation touches on the potential of this pioneering field to transform sectors such as healthcare, education, and urban planning. With deep insights from research and practice, the episode explores how our brains respond to the spaces we inhabit, and how better design can enhance wellbeing, accessibility, and human connection.

Featured in this episode:

Host: Jade Hunter – Coordinator, UCL’s Grand Challenge of Mental Health & Wellbeing
With special thanks to our guests:
Professor Hugo Spiers – UCL Department of Experimental Psychology
Dr Fiona Zisch – Lecturer in Architecture, UCL Bartlett School of Architecture
Isabelle Charval – Design Strategist and Co-Founder, Centre for Neuroarchitecture

Building Better Minds: Neuroarchitecture and the Future of Inclusive Design

In this episode, host Rob Malley and guest Elhanan Miller discuss the power of religious and cultural dialogue in building bridges between Jewish and Muslim communities, and how Elhanan’s Arabic-language media project aims to foster empathy across deep political divides.

Rabbi Elhanan Miller is the founding director of People of the Book, an educational non-profit that explains Jewish faith and culture to Muslim audiences. His viral videos reach some 450,000 subscribers and millions of monthly hits, mostly in the Arab Middle East. Miller is a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, specializing in Arab and Israeli politics and the intersection of Judaism and Islam. He regularly comments on Israeli affairs for international Arabic news channels, such as: BBC Arabic, Sky News Arabia, DW Arabic, France 24 Arabic, al-Mashhad (Dubai), and Israeli public news channel Makan. Miller previously served as the Arab Affairs Correspondent for The Times of Israel and as rabbi of the Jewish community in Canberra, Australia. Born and raised in Jerusalem, Miller began studying Arabic at 13. He completed his BA and MA degrees in Middle East History and Islamic Studies at Hebrew University.

You can find Elhanan and his work here:

https://www.youtube.com/@people.of.thebook 
https://www.facebook.com/peoplethebook/ 
https://www.instagram.com/people.of.thebook/

The host: Robert Malley is a seasoned diplomat and conflict resolution expert with decades of experience in international affairs. He has served in senior roles under multiple U.S. administrations, including as Special Envoy for Iran and as a lead negotiator for the Iran nuclear deal. He is a Senior Fellow at the Jackson School of Global Affairs and the founding director of the International Leadership Center’s Peace Hub. 

This episode is part of a 4-part interview series with Yale’s 2025 Peace Fellows. Find out more about the Yale Peace Fellowship here: https://jackson.yale.edu/international-leadership-center/peace-fellowship/


Episode 1: Building Bridges Between Jewish and Muslim Communities, with Rabbi Elhanan Miller

In this episode, Elliot Canfield-Dafilou talks about his interest in the architectural acoustics of sacred spaces. He begins by recounting his background in musical training and technology, eventually combining the two to find his interdisciplinary home in musical acoustics. With a particular emphasis on sacred spaces, Canfield-Dafilou explores in his research the unique liturgical contexts within which musical acoustics unravels itself.

Between Art and Science: An Exploration into the Musical Acoustics of Sacred Spaces

Author Eike Exner discusses his new book, Manga

A New History of Japanese Comics

In July 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Kimberley S. Johnson, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University and the John G. Winant Visiting Professor of American Government at the University of Oxford, about the recent history of the US administrative state and racial representation in the US government and administration They also discussed the second Trump administration’s moves to dismantle Diversity, Equity and Inclusion measures in the US government as part of Project 2025

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.  

Further reading and resources

•	Dark Concrete: Black Power Urbanism and the American Metropolis by Professor Kimberley S. Johnson (Cornell University Press, 2025) – to be published on 15 December 2025
•	Reforming Jim Crow: Southern Politics and State in the Age Before Brown by Professor Kimberley S. Johnson (Oxford University Press, 2010)
•	Governing the American State: Congress and the New Federalism, 1877-1929 by Professor Kimberley S. Johnson (Princeton University Press, 2007)


LSE: The Ballpark | The Administrative State with Professor Kimberley S. Johnson

Brought to you by Penguin.

Prepare to be hooked by James Patterson's newest thriller in which an art student must orchestrate the heist of a lifetime to save her father...

Read by Oscar-nominated actress Felicity Jones (Star Wars: Rouge One, Inferno, The Brutalist).

A rare masterpiece by Picasso is about to go to auction, and the whole world is watching.
But bright art student Halston Graham sees an opportunity. One that could secure millions for her future – and freedom for her wrongly imprisoned father…

To pull off the crime of the century, she must assemble an unlikely crack team: an expert in forgery, a ruthless mob boss, and an eccentric fashion designer.

In a game where trust is a luxury and failure is not an option, will Halston’s brilliance be enough to outsmart her enemies?

'No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades.' Lee Child

'Patterson boils a scene down to the single, telling detail, the element that defines a character or moves a plot along. It's what fires off the movie projector in the reader's mind.' Michael Connelly

'Patterson is in a class by himself' Guardian

© James Patterson 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

The Picasso Heist, Prologue, written by James Patterson and Read by Felicity Jones

Guests Catherine Barnard and Emmanuelle Auriol discuss how migration affects labour markets, legal protections and social cohesion, how economic incentives and border regimes shape who migrates and why, and what smarter, fairer migration policies could look like in the years ahead.

In this final episode of season 4, Richard Westcott is joined by Catherine Barnard (University of Cambridge) and Emmanuelle Auriol (Toulouse School of Economics) to unpack the economic, legal, and social dimensions of migration.

Drawing on insights from law and economics, the conversation explores how migration affects labour markets, legal protections, and social cohesion, from post-Brexit realities in Great Yarmouth to global questions of fairness and opportunity. The episode examines who moves and why, the limits of current border regimes, and what more effective and ethical migration policies could look like.

Season 4 Episode 10 transcript – Word / PDF
Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform
For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

Follow us on social media.

With thanks to:

Audio production by Steve Hankey
Associate production by Burcu Sevde Selvi
Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel
More information about our host and guests:


How does migration change our world?

Wendy Ayres-Bennett and Benjamin Pitt join Richard Westcott to explore how speaking multiple languages shapes our identity, thinking, relationships, and boosts economic opportunities.

In this episode, Richard Westcott is joined by Wendy Ayres-Bennett and Benjamin Pitt to explore a big, everyday question: what is the value of speaking other languages? The conversation looks at how the languages we speak shape our sense of identity, influence how we think and reason, and affect how we relate to others. We explore how multilingualism can foster social cohesion, support cognitive flexibility, and even boost economic opportunities.

Our guests discuss why language is never just a tool for communication and why recognising its deeper value matters for how we design education, shape public policy, and navigate life in an increasingly interconnected world.

This episode is hosted by Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus), and features experts Benjamin Pitt (IAST) and Wendy Ayres-Bennett (Cambridge University). 

Season 4 Episode 9 transcript Word / PDF
Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform
For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk and iast.fr/

Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X

With thanks to:

Audio production by Steve Hankey
Associate production by Burcu Sevde Selvi
Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel

What is the value of speaking other languages?

In the third episode of our Mental Health & Wellbeing mini-series, host Jade Hunter speaks with Dr Flaminia Ronca, Evie Watson, and Katie Sykes about the Active Minds Project at UCL, an innovative pilot exploring how students’ physical activity and lifestyle habits impact their mental wellbeing and cognitive function.
 
Through wearable technology and behavioural insights, the team is working to refine interventions that can motivate students to move more, sleep better, and thrive both academically and personally. Together, they unpack the data-driven approach behind the project and how it aims to foster a healthier, more supportive university environment.
 
This dynamic conversation touches on the real-world challenges facing students today and the ways in which physical fitness can serve as a pathway to mental resilience.
 
Find out more: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/grand-challenges/disruptive-voices-podcast/active-minds-exploring-links-between-student-lifestyles-and-mental-health

Active Minds: Exploring the Links Between Student Lifestyles and Mental Health

In this podcast insolvency law expert Gabriel Moss, co-author of Moss, Fletcher and Isaacs on the EU Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings, talks to George Miller about the European Insolvency Regulation. 
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/moss-fletcher-and-isaacs-on-the-eu-regulation-on-insolvency-proceedings-9780199687800

In a wide-ranging discussion they address some of the characteristics of the original regulation, and their relationship with common-law approaches. In advance of the new regulation coming into force in 2017, they talk about the efficacy of the changes, and describe how much difference they will bring. They talk about the possibilities of harmonisation, how the regulation is applied to global businesses and the challenges of integrating conceptually alien legal concepts.

Gabriel Moss QC is a Barrister at South Square. He sits part-time as a deputy High Court judge of the Chancery Division and is a part-time Visiting Professor in Corporate Insolvency Law at Oxford University. 

© Oxford University Press

Find out more

Gabriel Moss talks to Law Vox about the European Insolvency Regulation

Oxford University Press’s academic insights for the thinking world combine authority, innovation, and excellence.  We share audio resources for students, scholars, and researchers.

Gabriel Moss talks to Law Vox about the European Insolvency Regulation

Oxford Academic (OUP)

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