Darwin College Lecture Series 2015 - Development

What is the future of religion?

Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Iza Hussin and Paul Seabright about recent trends in world religions, the interplay between politics and religion, and the economics of religion.

This episode unpacks the widespread belief that religion is in decline and explores why this view is mistaken. Leading experts discuss the intersection between religion and politics, the rivalry within and between religions, and how wider socioeconomic trends are both impacted by and impacting religious movements. 

This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Iza Hussin (University of Cambridge) and Paul Seabright (IAST). 

Season 2 Episode 10 transcript

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

Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse



Audio production by Steve Hankey

Associate production by Stella Erker

Visuals by Tiffany Naylor

What is the future of religion?

Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Ingela Alger (IAST) and Flavio Toxvaerd (University of Cambridge) about the drivers of research silos, the merits of conducting interdisciplinary research and how to overcome disciplinary divides.

This episode takes a look at why academic research is trapped in research silos. Ingela Alger (IAST) and Flavio Toxvaerd (University of Cambridge) talk to Rory Cellan-Jones, about the challenges faced in conducting interdisciplinary research. They emphasize the significant benefits that interdisciplinarity can bring and share insight into how to foster an interdisciplinary research culture for better results. 

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform

Season 3 Episode 2 transcript

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

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

With thanks to:

Audio production – Steve Hankey
Associate production –  Stella Erker
Visuals – Tiffany Naylor


More about our host and guests:
Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including his latest “Always On” which was published in 2021. @ruskin147

Ingela Alger is a CNRS Senior Scientist (DR) in Economics, and the current Director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST) as well as the Chair of the Department in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Her research, which has been published in international peer-reviewed journals such as the American Economic Review, Econometrica, and PNAS, focuses on the evolutionary foundations of human preferences, when these are transmitted from generation to generation and are subject to selection. She is particularly interested in the evolutionary foundations of morality and distributional preferences, as well as preferences guiding family-related behaviors. She has been awarded numerous grants, notably ANR Chaire d’Excellence 2012-2017, and ERC Advanced Grant 2019-2023. In 2022 she was awarded the CNRS Silver Medal. @ingelaalger 

Flavio Toxvaerd is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Clare College and an Affiliated Researcher with the Bennett Institute for Public Policy. He serves as UKRI Policy Fellow in Competition and Productivity Economics with the Competition and Markets Authority. His research and teaching interests are in microeconomics and game theory with applications, including industrial organisation, competition policy and economic epidemiology. @toxvaerd1

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Crossing Channels S2E5 featuring Sarah Dillon and Manvir Singh “Why are stories important for society?” 
Alger, I., Weibull, J. W., & Lehmann, L. (2020). Evolution of preferences in structured populations: genes, guns, and culture. Journal of Economic Theory, 185, 104951.
Alger, I. (2023). Evolutionarily stable preferences. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 378(1876), 20210505.
Alger, I., Dridi, S., Stieglitz, J., & Wilson, M. L. (2023). The evolution of early hominin food production and sharing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(25), e2218096120.
Toxvaerd, F., & Rowthorn, R. (2022). On the management of population immunity. Journal of Economic Theory, 204, 105501.
Toxvaerd, F. (2020). Herd immunity – crucial yet irrelevant. Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge.
Bromham, L., Dinnage, R., & Hua, X. (2016). Interdisciplinary research has consistently lower funding success. Nature, 534(7609), 684-687.

Why is academic research so siloed?

So, now what? the new podcast from Gates Cambridge, a leading scholarship programme for outstanding international postgraduates at the University of Cambridge.
 
Our guests are the scholars themselves - big thinkers from a range of different backgrounds and disciplines - who are out there finding solutions to some of our most wicked problems from the global economy and the environment, to technology, politics and universal healthcare.
 
They'll share their optimism and their experience, and give us a peek at their 'to do' lists too.  But they'll also be inviting the rest of us to join them - sharing 'So, now what?' actions that we can all apply today. 
 
Join me, Catherine Galloway, and a panel of Gates Cambridge scholars for conversations that lead to positive change. 
 
So, now what? with Gates Cambridge.  Available monthly on all your favourite podcast platforms.

Welcome to 'So, now what?'

In this episode, we explore how we can build back better after a crisis. What are the challenges and opportunities of addressing the climate crisis, including the need for climate justice, the costs of inaction, and the importance of green innovation. We consider the roles of governments, multilateral institutions, and grassroots movements play in driving change. And we conclude with a call to action, So, now what? Where we emphasise the need for coordinated international efforts and a just and equitable transition to a sustainable future.

Takeaways

Building back better after a crisis requires addressing climate justice and the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable communities.
The costs of climate change, both economic and social, are substantial and require urgent action.
Investment in clean energy and good jobs can drive economic growth and reduce carbon emissions.
Leveraging people power and social media can help raise awareness and drive change.
Green innovation and regulation are key to building a sustainable and equitable society.


Chapters

00:00 Introduction

04:21 Expertise and perspectives

06:50 The challenge of building back better

10:10 Understanding the costs and risks of climate change

14:25 Building back better in the United States

17:15 Building back better in Africa

19:25 The Need for collaboration and connectivity. Who needs to be in the same room?

25:45 Leveraging people power and innovation. How can we talk about green innovation and change the narrative? What does a better society look like?

31:00. So, now what? Moving Forward: Political will and financing.



Bios

Kamiar Mohaddes @KamiarMohaddes is an Associate Professor in Economics & Policy at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. His main areas of research include climate change, economics of the Middle East, energy economics and applied macroeconomics. He is currently a consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank and has previously served as a Departmental Special Advisor at the Bank of Canada, a consultant at the United Nations, a consultant at the Asian Development Bank and a regular visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund to name a few. 



Todd N. Tucker @toddntucker is a political scientist and director of Industrial Policy and Trade at the Roosevelt Institute, where he helps lead research on global governance, democracy, and the administrative state. A recognised expert on trade and political economy, Dr Tucker has testified before legislatures and expert committees around the world.  He is author of Judge Knot: Politics and Development in International Investment Law  (Anthem Press, 2018). He has authored over 70 major reports, including Fixing the Senate: Equitable and Full Representation for the 21st Century and Industrial Policy and Planning: What It Is and How to Do It Better.



Queen Chinyere Quinn is a Co-Founder and Partner at Kupanda Capital, an investment platform established to create, capitalise and scale pan-African companies. In this capacity, Queen has worked to provide tailored advice and support to entrepreneurs, project developers, fund managers and corporations operating in Africa. She has worked on deals in various sectors across Africa, including those in media, consumer and energy; and leads the platform on issues related to impact investing. Queen has helped to found several new companies and ventures, including Fraym, a geospatial data company and Nithio, an AI powered energy finance platform for the off-grid solar sector in Africa.

How do we build back better after a crisis?

Best-selling author Tara Westover, researcher Aliya Khalid and Thabo Msibi Deputy Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, tackle the issue of what education should be for. They stress the idea that small actions can have a significant impact on making a difference in the world and emphasise the power of individuals to create change within their own sphere of influence. 

We explore their own perspectives and discuss their own powerful personal stories, highlighting the importance of diverse stories in education, the impact of education on women and gender and the power of education to challenge norms and beliefs. They also emphasise the role of education as a journey of self-discovery and unlearning, as well as a tool for social justice and empowerment. In addition, the episode discusses the need for curriculum reform and inclusivity, the role of technology in education and personal stories of overcoming educational challenges. 

Takeaways

Education as a lifelong journey of learning and personal growth.
Education has the power to empower individuals, promote social justice, and transform communities.
Listening to and learning from communities is crucial in developing effective educational practices.
Small acts of support and encouragement can make a significant difference in education.
Chapters

00:00 Introduction

00:31 The purpose of education

01:13 Guest introductions

05:24 Education and gender

06:24 Education as empowerment

08:21 The value of questioning and doubt in education

10:10 Education as a tool for social justice

12:56 Education in disadvantaged communities

15:17 The importance of listening and learning from communities

19:19 Personal teachable moments

20:14 Motivation for education

23:05 The transformative power of education

25:59 Unlearning and overcoming challenges in education

29:30 Curriculum reform and empowerment

31:40 Moving forward: Taking action in education

37:12 So, now what? 

Bios

Tara Westover @tarawestover is a memoirist and historian. Her first book, Educated (2018), debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and was a finalist for a number of awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award, the LA Times Book Prize, and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. The American Booksellers Association named it the Nonfiction Book of the Year, and to date, the book has been translated into 47 languages. For her staggering impact, TIME magazine named Westover one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2019, and in 2023, she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden. 

Thabo Msibi is the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning and a professor of Curriculum Studies in the School of Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Msibi has published research in South African and international journals and books and is author of the book Hidden sexualities of South African Teachers: Black male educators and same-sex desire. He has also co-edited a book entitled Gender, Sexuality and Violence in South African Educational Spaces, with Deevia Bhana and Shakila Singh. 

Aliya Khalid @khalidaliya1 is a Lecturer in Comparative and International Education in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, UK. She works on issues of educational equity with a focus on gender. Her areas of interest include the capability approach, negative capability, epistemic paradoxicality and justice, Southern epistemologies, politics of representation and knowledge production.

What is education for?

Ellie Wolmark introduces part four of our Integrated Cancer Medicine: Research in Focus series. She talks to members of the CRUK Cambridge Centre about a diverse range of topics, including Dr Raj Jena to hear about his ground-breaking research, specifically the InnerEye project and how this amazing collaboration with Microsoft Cambridge has been brought into the clinic to benefit patients. Other topics include combining being a surgeon and a clinical researcher, Professor George Vassiliou talking about his research on clonal haematopoiesis and a new clinic that he has recently set up, as well as much, much more. As always you will hear discussions about research and research collaborations, the techniques that are being developed and how they translate to the clinic to affect patient treatments and outcomes.

Ellie is Communications Manager for Integrated Cancer Medicine at the University of Cambridge, UK, and the CRUK Cambridge Centre, UK.

Integrated Cancer Medicine: Research in Focus

Integrated Cancer Medicine: Research in Focus – Part four introduction

Dr Raj Jena talks about his research on analysis of the images used for radiotherapy planning and for modelling the effects and outcomes of radiotherapy treatment. As a clinician, he uses radiotherapy and drug treatments on patients with tumours in the brain or spine. He also talks about the InnerEye Project, a collaboration with Microsoft Cambridge, which uses algorithms to map and segment tumours from CT/MRI scans.

Raj is a Clinical Consultant and Radiation Oncologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK, and is a member of the CRUK Cambridge Centre at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Using AI to map tumours: The InnerEye Project

In this episode, Professors Grant Stewart and Stephen Price discuss what it means to be both a cancer surgeon and a clinical researcher. They talk about how they can improve surgery for brain and kidney cancer patients, how they can identify cancer as quickly as possible through screening, and how they can improve on the outcomes of surgery by augmenting it with other treatments such as radiotherapy and drugs.

Grant is co-lead of both the Institute for Integrated Cancer Medicine and the Urological Malignancies Virtual Institute at the CRUK Cambridge Centre, UK, and is Professor of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery at the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Stephen is co-lead of the Brain Cancer Virtual Institute at the CRUK Cambridge Centre, UK, and is Professor of Neurosurgical Oncology and Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon at the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Surgery and clinical research in cancer

In today's episode, Ellie Wolmark is joined by Professor George Vassiliou to talk about his research on clonal haematopoiesis and a new clinic that he has recently set up. We'll uncover what clonal haematopoiesis is and how it can sometimes lead to the development of blood cancer.

George is a CRUK Senior Clinical Fellow and Professor of Haematological Medicine at the University of Cambridge, UK. He is also a member of Faculty at the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and a Consultant Haematologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Clonal haematopoiesis and using it to try to predict whether cancer will develop

The 2012 Olympics showcased one of the most successful British Olympic teams ever. This was no accident, for seven years the country knew that the Olympics was coming back to Britain and everything had been committed to give athletes the best chance of success. Funding systems were in place, world class coaches, scientific experts, venues, training grounds, equipment all made sure athletes could compete with the rest of the world. And every athlete knew this might be the chance of a lifetime. But athletes had also taken a lifetime to get to this point – athletes who began their sport as children in clubs, schools and universities all over the country. Athletes, who learned constantly, developed and challenged themselves while committing to being the best they could possibly be. I’ll chart the development of an athlete looking back at the past 4 Olympics that I’ve competed in and witness how the landscape of British sport, and specifically rowing, has changed.

Biography

Katherine Grainger is Britain’s most successful international female rower. Originally from Glasgow, Katherine studied at Edinburgh University, where she took up the sport in 1993.

Her international rowing career began in 1997 and since that time, she has won 6 world championships, 3 Olympic silver medals, (Sydney, Athens & Beijing) and in 2012 she won the Olympic gold with Anna Watkins in the double scull. Katherine is the only British female athlete from any sport to win medals in four consecutive Olympic Games.

She was awarded an MBE in 2006, and a CBE for services to sport in 2012.

Katherine has an honours LLB from Edinburgh University, an MPhil in Medical Law and Medical Ethics from Glasgow University, and achieved a PhD in the Law of Homicide at Kings College, London. Alongside her studies, Katherine wrote her autobiography ‘Dreams Do Come True’ which was published in June 2013.

Following a 2-year break from rowing, Katherine has recently returned to full-time training with her sights set on the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Development of an Athlete - Katherine Grainger

In frog spawn in a pond, each egg is able to turn itself into a tadpole and eventually a frog, with no help or guidance from a parent frog or from anything else in the pond. The single egg will have no resemblance in any respect to what it will turn into. We now begin to understand how this extraordinary transformation takes place. Eggs of frogs and other animals have another remarkable property. If a single cell from adult skin is transplanted into an egg, the skin cell will be made to go backwards in development to become an embryo cell from which another adult can be formed (repeating the process of normal development). In this way it is now possible to replace aged or diseased cells of an adult with rejuvenated cells from their skin. This is opening the possibility of cell replacement in humans.

Biography
John Gurdon was judged at school to be wholly unsuited to science having come bottom in a class of 250 in Biology. However, he was able to take up science at Oxford University, where he also did a PhD. His work led to the concept that an egg has the ability to rejuvenate the nucleus of an adult cell, and hence to the current prospect of replacing aged and diseased cells in humans with new cells derived from other body cells such as skin. In mid career he moved to Cambridge where he still works in the University. He is an Honorary Fellow of Christ Church, Oxford, and of Magdalene and Churchill Colleges in Cambridge. He served as Master of Magdalene from 1995-2002. He has received a number of awards including the Copley Medal of the Royal Society (2003), the Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (2009), and the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (2012). 

Reprogramming Animal Development - Professor Sir John Gurdon

Professor Jason Carroll speaks about his research in molecular oncology, with a focus on the work underpinning the PIONEER breast cancer trial and the outcomes of this clinical trial.

Jason is Professor of Molecular Oncology and Senior Group Leader at the CRUK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, UK. He is also co-lead for the Precision Breast Cancer Virtual Institute at the CRUK Cambridge Centre, UK.

Molecular oncology research and the PIONEER breast cancer clinical trial

Galaxies are the visible fabric of the Universe. These luminous cities of stars can be seen across great distances in the Universe and, because the speed of light is finite, they provide astronomers with the remarkable opportunity to witness their birth and evolution. By using large ground and space-based telescopes, detailed information has been gathered on the properties of galaxies back to a time when the Universe was barely 5% of its present age. The challenge lies in connecting these `time-slices’ of cosmic history into a physical picture of galactic evolution. A detailed understanding of the development of galaxies enriches our view of the evolving Universe and I will describe the progress being made.

Biography

Richard Ellis is the Steele Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. A Welshman by birth, he was an undergraduate at University College London and gained his Ph.D. at Oxford. He became a professor of astronomy at the University of Durham in 1985. He was appointed the Plumian Professor at Cambridge in 1993 and served as Director of the Institute of Astronomy from 1994 to 1999. He has published widely on topics in observational cosmology and galaxy evolution and has recently charted the earliest period of cosmic history, when the first galaxies emerged. Within both the UK and USA he has led discussions for new observational facilities, the most recent example being the Thirty Meter Telescope now under construction atop Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. Ellis is a Fellow of the Royal Society and was awarded the Gruber Cosmology Prize for his part in the discovery of the accelerating Universe, and the Royal Astronomical Society’s Gold Medal.

The Development of Galaxies - Professor Richard Ellis

It could be argued that over the last 20 years climate science has become synonymous with global warming, but there is so much more to climate science than just climate change. At its roots it is about understanding how the various components of the climate system – the atmosphere, oceans, land surface and ice – work together to give us the regional climates we experience around the world. This lecture will present a personal perspective of how climate science has evolved from meteorology and oceanography, through the application of theory, observations and modeling, to deliver the understanding we now have of how our climate system works and why climate change is arguably one of the greatest challenges facing us in the 21st century.

Biography

Julia Slingo became Met Office Chief Scientist in February 2009 where she leads a team of over 500 scientists working on a very broad portfolio of research that underpins weather forecasting, climate prediction and climate change projections. Since joining the Met Office Julia has sought to integrate the UK community in weather and climate research to ensure that the UK receives maximum benefit from its science investments. She has strengthened the NERC /Met Office Joint Weather and Climate Research Programme to secure the UK’s national capability in observations, modelling and supercomputing, and set in place a unique Academic Partnership with leading universities including Exeter University to advance cutting edge research and bring more of their science through to impact. Before joining the Met Office Julia was the Director of Climate Research in NERC ’s National Centre for Atmospheric Science, at the University of Reading. In 2006 she founded the Walker Institute for Climate System Research at Reading, aimed at addressing the cross disciplinary challenges of climate change and its impacts. Julia has had a long-term career in atmospheric physics and climate science, working at the Met Office, the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the USA . Throughout her career she has brought innovative approaches to understanding and modelling weather and climate. She has developed and used complex weather and climate models to deliver new insights into how the atmosphere and climate system works, as well as significant advances in predictive skill. Her special interests are in tropical weather and climate variability, understanding their influence on the global climate system and their role in monthly to decadal climate prediction.

The Development of Galaxies - Professor Richard Ellis

University of Cambridge

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