Episodes

  • Health warnings and lifestyles

    Health warnings and lifestyles
    Jun 22 2026
    In this episode, we’re looking at how we change our lifestyles – or not – when we face a health issue such as diabetes or a heart problem. Our guests are Zoey Verdun, a researcher at Imperial College London, and Claire Levy from the Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    22 mins
  • Our digital lives and our wellbeing

    Our digital lives and our wellbeing
    Nov 26 2025
    This episode looks at our increasingly digital lives and how they affect our wellbeing. Our guests this time are Dr. Daniel Wheatley, Reader in the Department of Management at the University of Birmingham, and Abigail Coxon, principal Economist at the Youth Futures Foundation.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    33 mins
  • Breathing unequal air in the UK

    Breathing unequal air in the UK
    Oct 15 2025
    In this episode, host Chris Coates looks at air pollution and in particular how common is it for immigrant populations to live in more polluted areas. His guests are Tobias Rüttenauer, Assistant Professor in Quantitative Social Sciences UCL and L’myah Sherae, Director of Enact Equality, a non-profit organisation which campaigns for racial justice and equality in the UK.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    24 mins
  • Pets and life satisfaction

    Pets and life satisfaction
    Sep 8 2025
    In this first episode of our new season, host Chris Coates looks at the link between pets and life satisfaction, and how it’s possible to put a monetary value on the benefit of having a cat or dog. His guests are Adelina Gschwandtner, a senior lecturer in Economics at the University of Kent, and Ashleigh Brown, Scientific and Policy Manager at RSPCA.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    25 mins
  • Studying for a PhD at ISER

    Studying for a PhD at ISER
    Jul 23 2025
    In this episode we’re looking at the some of the people who use the data we gather. Chris talks to Cara Booker, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research where Understanding Society is based, about studying for a PhD and what to do with the doctorate once you’ve got it.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    9 mins
  • Families and benefit cuts

    Families and benefit cuts
    May 20 2025
    In this episode, we discuss how families are affected by benefit cuts and fluctuating incomes, with Gabriele Mari, assistant professor in the School of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Sara Ogilvie, Director of Policy, Rights and Advocacy at the Child Poverty Action Group.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    32 mins
  • The housing crisis

    The housing crisis
    Mar 19 2025
    The housing crisis – a simple question of too much demand and not enough supply, or is there more to it? With Rory Coulter, Associate Professor in Human Geography at University College London, and Kevin Garvey, Head of Member Relations at the National Housing Federation.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    29 mins
  • Arts and wellbeing

    Arts and wellbeing
    Feb 17 2025
    What is the relationship between the arts and our mental health? Are they good for our mental health, or are happier people more likely to engage in the arts? The guests for this episode are Hei Wan (Karen) Mak, a senior research fellow in epidemiology and statistics at UCL and Nicky Goulder, CEO of Create, which puts on creative workshops in schools, day centres, prisons, and hospitals.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    34 mins