One series at a time, we break down complex issues into simple questions. 

Subscribe to the podcast here: https://mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen 

In this first series, we’ll explore climate change. Climate change is likely to affect almost every area of our lives… like a toddler with sticky fingers. But how did it become this way? What are we doing about it now? And what does the future hold?

We’ll ask smart people some simple questions and see what happens!

New episodes every Thursday.

From the University of Cambridge and Cambridge Zero

Mind Over Chatter, the Cambridge University Podcast!

Academic

Our reproductive capabilities are changing in exciting ways, altering our fundamental understanding of fertility, reproduction, and even parenthood. 

Subscribe to the podcast here: mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen

In this episode, we asked our guests what the consequences of novel reproductive technologies are likely to be, and how they will impact the future of human reproduction. Alice Reid told us about how reproduction has changed over the last 200 years and the likely demographic impact of assisted reproduction, while Lucy Van de Wiel introduced the important ways in which reproductive technologies must be considered in the context of wide social and political issues. Thorsten Boroviak shared his exciting and cutting-edge research on developing new reproductive technologies. We cover topics ranging from egg-freezing, so-called ‘three-parent-babies, and the importance of studying the embryonic development of primates.

This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan and Naomi Clements-Brod. Annie Thwaite and Charlotte Zemmel provide crucial research and production support for Series 2.

Please take our survey. How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.

What is the future of reproduction

Daytime television was once thought of as the nursery slopes of a TV career. Today its complex formats and production requirements are seen by many as more challenging than peak-time programming.

“You will learn more making a daytime show than any other.”– Rachel Innes-Lumsden

Smaller teams, smaller budgets and tighter schedules mean there’s little room for error. That makes a daytime production team a well-oiled machine where everyone knows their job.

Street Auction (above) and Dom on the Spot are two BBC One daytime series that were given the green light by commissioning editor Lindsay Bradbury. Alongside Lindsay in this week’s podcast are Julia Foot, series producer of Street Auction, and Rachel Innes-Lumsden, executive producer from the independent production company TwoFour which makes Dom on the Spot

In this podcast you’ll learn:

- the pros and cons of working on daytime programmes
- the daytime TV production process
- the relationship between commissioning editors and programme producers
- the schedules for daytime productions

Find out more about BBC Academy:
Website – www.bbc.co.uk/academy 
Facebook – www.facebook.com/bbcacademy 
Twitter – www.twitter.com/bbcacademy

Inside daytime television: Ideas, reveals and hard work

What does the future hold for China in a world of global trade wars, rising concerns about human rights and regional expansion in the form of the Belt and Road Initiative? With historian Professor Hans van der Ven, human rights expert Professor Eva Pils, Agnes Chong, visiting at POLIS and Bhavna Dave from Soas . Chaired by Rana Mitter
Talk recorded at event Wednesday 23 October: 6:00pm - 7:30pm
St John's College Fisher Building, St John’s Street, CB2 1TP

CHINA POWER POLITICS IN THE ASIAN AGE

In this episode we talk to Ibrahim Rahman about how he’s been raising money for Cambridge City foodbank and helping Muslim families struggling with hardships during the pandemic.

We also talk about his journey from Wimbledon to the social media team at the university, and how he’s been using his expertise to help Cambridge Central Mosque engage with the community during lockdown.

The Social Media Professional Who's Passionate About Helping His Community - Ibrahim Rahman

To subscribe on Apple podcasts please visit: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/we-a…ty/id1450822598

In this episode we talk to Tyler Shores about digital fatigue and distraction, and how we can all take care of our digital wellbeing.

We also talk about his experience of setting up an entirely online high school, and how we can think about online learning in a much more holistic way.

Taking Care Of Your Digital Wellbeing - Tyler Shores

One series at a time, we break down complex issues into simple questions. 
Subscribe to the podcast here: https://mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen

In this first series, we’ll explore climate change. Climate change is likely to affect almost every area of our lives… like a toddler with sticky fingers. But how did it become this way? What are we doing about it now? And what does the future hold?

We’ll ask smart people some simple questions and see what happens!

New episodes every Thursday.

From the University of Cambridge and Cambridge Zero

Welcome to Mind Over Chatter, the Cambridge University Podcast!

Climate change is likely to affect almost every area of our lives… but how did we get to this point? When and why did we first take notice of climate change? And why has climate change evaded our collective attention and action for so long?

We talked with professor of human geography, Mike Hulme,, science historian and journalist Dr Sarah Dry and environmental economist Dr Matthew Agarwala to try to figure all of this out. Along the way, we discovered new ways of thinking about climate change, from a tragic story where the issue is constantly caught between opposing forces, to more hopefully thinking of it as a source of generative change and innovation. 

This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan and Naomi Clements-Brod. 

From the University of Cambridge and Cambridge Zero

Navigating the values of climate change

Last episode, we talked about how we got to where we are now with climate change, but do we even know what’s going on with climate change right now? In this episode we’ll talk about what tipping points we’re approaching, how and why we’re still struggling to gain momentum toward action on climate change, and what difference it would make if carbon dioxide was a brown smelly substance.

To figure all of this out, we talked to a mathematician, Emily Shuckburgh, an engineer Hugh Hunt and a psychologist, Sander van der Linden. 

Along the way, we discuss solutions like geoengineering, creating a fake news ‘vaccine’ and opportunities for businesses to be more transparent about how their activities contribute to climate change. If you’re curious to find out more specific ideas about how we can build a greener future, check out Cambridge Zero’s Green Recovery Report here: https://www.zero.cam.ac.uk/green-recovery-report 

This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, and Naomi Clements-Brod.

What are we (as a global community) doing right now?

The future is becoming harder to predict thanks to climate change and a global pandemic. But a large part of what the future will look like is in our own hands. The biggest challenge to creating a better future may be political rather than scientific or technological. 

Subscribe to the podcast here: mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen

In this episode, Diane Coyle, professor of public policy, Laura Diaz Anadon, professor of climate change policy, and architectural engineer, Ruchi Choudhary, join us to talk about how we can build a future that might not be anything like the past.

We cover topics like innovation, GDP, and how the uncertainty created by climate change can help propel policy and economic decisions. Plus, we look at some of the benefits that come with building a greener future together. 

Please take our survey. https://bit.ly/38uXJaG
How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.

This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, and Naomi Clements-Brod.

Creating a future that is not like the past

How and what we eat, and where our food comes from, these everyday choices that we often think very little about, have become increasingly relevant to climate change. 

Subscribe to the podcast here: https://mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen 

With a global population projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, it is not unreasonable to ask: how are we going to feed all these people... and without causing more damage? 

In this episode we’ll cover everything from how climate change will affect the way we grow and eat food, to the pros and cons of ‘non-poo’ fertiliser. Sound appetising?

Giles Oldroyd, professor of plant science at the new Cambridge Crop Science Centre, Helen Anne Curry, lecturer in the history of modern science and technology, and developmental economist, Shailaja Fennell, helped us connect the dots between food and climate change. They discuss how we ensure people around the world will still have food to eat as the climate becomes more unpredictable.

This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan, and Naomi Clements-Brod. 

Please take our survey. https://bit.ly/38uXJaG
How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.

Guest Bios: 

Dr Helen Anne Curry (@hacurry)

My current research focuses on the history of efforts to understand and use crop diversity as a resource for agricultural development. In August 2020 I launched the project 'From Collection to Cultivation: Historical Perspectives on Crop Diversity and Food Security'. This project has its origins in my investigation of history of genetic conservation, especially the preservation of seeds and other plant materials in seed and gene banks. It is also the subject of my current book project, Endangered Maize: Indigenous Corn, Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction. 

Dr Shailaja Fennell (@shailajafennell) 

Shailaja Fennell is a Co-Investigator on TIGR2ESS, a research programme to study how to improve crop productivity and water use, identify appropriate crops and farming practices for sustainable rural development. She is also a Co-Investigator on MillNeti, a sister research programme (2019-2021) that is focussed on how to improve iron nutrition status of people living in Ethiopia and The Gambia by assessing the bioavailability of iron from biofortified millet. Her work package focuses on the use of quantitative and qualitative surveys to understand how millets are currently grown, processed, cooked and consumed in focus villages in The Gambia and Ethiopia. 

Professor Giles Oldroyd (@gilesdoldroyd) 

Professor Giles Oldroyd studies the mechanisms by which plants form beneficial interactions with micro-organisms, both bacteria and fungi, that aid in the uptake of nutrients from the environment, including nitrogen. A long-term aim of this research is to reduce agricultural reliance on inorganic fertilisers and he currently heads an international programme funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to engineer nitrogen-fixing cereals.