Public Health Disrupted

About Public Health Disrupted

Presented by Doctor, writer and TV Presenter Xand van Tulleken and community health psychologist and self-proclaimed hippie, UCL's Professor Rochelle Burgess. This podcast is about public health, but more importantly, it’s about the systems that need disrupting to make public health better. In each episode, we’ll be challenging the status quo of this field, asking what needs to change, why and how to get there. We’ll be joined by activists, scholars, artists, comedians and industry professionals to offer perspectives from the UCL community and beyond. We’re calling this podcast Public Health Disrupted because that’s exactly what we want to do. We are going to be breaking down disciplinary, sectoral and geographic boundaries to really understand the diverse and complex issues impacting our health.

Publisher

UCL Health of the Public

Category

education · science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Nov 2020

Latest episode

17 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

34 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Sept 2026

   The microbes that raise us: how early life shapes lifelong health

   From the moment we are born, microbes begin to shape our development. But what role do these early microbial communities play in our long-term health? In this episode, Professor Rochelle Burgess is joined by Professor Meghan Azad and UCL Professor Nigel Field to explore the science of the infant microbiome and what it can teach us about lifelong health. Drawing on findings from major studies in Canada and the UK, the conversation examines how birth, infant feeding and early-life exposures influence the development of the microbiome. We discover how these earliest encounters with microbes may impact immune function, allergies, infections and future health outcomes. The discussion also explores the wider public health implications of this research, from maternity care and breastfeeding support to the growing commercial market for microbiome-based products. Our guests reflect on how health systems can better support babies and families during the first critical months of life, while navigating the complex social, political and economic realities surrounding infant feeding and birth choices. Guests: Meghan Azad is a Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health at the University of Manitoba, where she holds the Canada Research Chair in Early Life Nutrition and the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. Her research focuses on the role of infant nutrition and the microbiome in shaping child growth, development, and resilience. Meghan directs the Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre (MILC) and leads the International Milk Composition (IMiC) Consortium, a network advancing multi-omic studies of human milk. She also serves as Knowledge Mobilization Co-Chair for the CHILD Cohort Study, a national pregnancy cohort following 3,500 Canadian children to understand how early life experiences influence lifelong health. Nigel Field is a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at UCL and Vice Dean Research in the Faculty of Population Health Sciences. He leads the Centre for Molecular Epidemiology and Translational Research at the UCL Institute for Global Health. Nigel’s research focuses on how microbes shape health across the life course. He leads internationally recognised work on the Baby Biome Study, which explores how gut microbes are transferred at birth and how this influences health later in life. In this episode: What the microbiome is and why it matters for lifelong health How microbes help shape the immune system, metabolism and brain development What the Baby Biome Study and CHILD Cohort Study reveal about early-life microbial exposure How birth, infant feeding and antibiotics influence the developing microbiome Why breast milk feeds not only babies, but their microbes too The role of maternity leave, breastfeeding support and wider social systems in enabling healthy starts to life What researchers still don't know about the relationship between the microbiome and long-term health The future of microbiome research, from mental health to personalised medicine This episode was hosted by Professor Rochelle Burgess, Community Health Psychologist and Professor at the UCL Institute for Global Health. “What has disrupted your thinking?” Professor Nigel Field: A tiny figurine from the British Museum that represents fertility and regeneration. Professor Meghan Azad: A commissioned paper cutting of a microbial community that embodies the intersection of art and science. Links: Learn more about Meghan’s work at https://www.thrivediscovery.ca/ (https://www.thrivediscovery.ca/) Learn more about the Baby Biome study: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/population-health-sciences/baby-biome-study (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/population-health-sciences/baby-biome-study) Production credits: Public Health Disrupted with Rochelle Burgess and Xand van Tulleken is a podcast from UCL Health of the Public (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/health/health-across-disciplines). Recorded remotely and edited by Annabelle Buckland at Decibelle Creative (https://www.decibellecreative.com/) / @decibelle_creative (https://www.instagram.com/decibelle_creative/)

2. 

   3 Aug 2026

   The history of public health is messier than you think: Live for UCL200

   To mark UCL's bicentenary, Public Health Disrupted comes to a live audience for the very first time. Hosts Xand van Tulleken and Rochelle Burgess are joined by medical historian Dr Cristiano Turbil for a conversation that challenges some of the stories we tell about public health progress. Drawing on historical case studies linked to UCL, including vaccination and sanitation reform, the discussion reveals that public health has never advanced in a straight line. Behind many of the successes we celebrate today sit stories of protest, disagreement, exclusion, activism and resistance. What can these histories teach us about today’s public health challenges? How should we think about public trust, misinformation and scientific authority? And why might resistance be an essential part of creating healthier societies? Recorded live at Bloomsbury Studio as part of UCL200, this special episode explores how history can help us think differently about public health today. Guest: Dr Cristiano Turbil is a historian specialising in the modern history of medicine and public health. His research explores the relationship between medicine, politics and society, including the history of vaccination, public health reform, science communication and the role of medicine in shaping national identities. He is a Lecturer in Modern European History at UCL. In this episode: Why public health progress is often shaped by protest, conflict and resistance What Victorian anti-vaccination campaigns can teach us about trust and public health today Lessons from past pandemics and public health crises Edwin Chadwick, sanitation reform and the birth of modern public health Public health, power and the politics of inclusion and exclusion The intersection of politics, health, and societal change Hosts: Xand Van Tulleken – Doctor, Writer, and TV Presenter and Professor Rochelle Burgess – Community Health Psychologist and Professor at the UCL Institute for Global Health. "What has disrupted your thinking?" Xand: The Epic of Gilgamesh – particularly the advice of the goddess Siduri: "Cherish the little child that holds your hand." Cristiano: Candide by Voltaire. Rochelle: Survival by Bob Marley & The Wailers. Production Credits Public Health Disrupted with Rochelle Burgess and Xand van Tulleken is produced by UCL Health of the Public. This episode was recorded live at Bloomsbury Studio as part of UCL200. Filmed and edited by Gillan Williams at Clarity Video, with support from Annabelle Buckland at Decibelle Creative / @decibelle_creative.

3. 

   15 Jul 2026

   What’s love got to do with… public health?

   Xand van Tulleken and Rochelle explore a deceptively simple question: what role does love play in our health and wellbeing? Joined by award-winning poet and author Laura Mucha, and UCL sociologist Dr Rachel Benchekroun, they examine love not just as a feeling, but as a social force that shapes our relationships, communities and health. From attachment theory and friendship to libraries, schools and community spaces, the discussion explores how connection, care and support influence the way we live, and what might be possible if public health took love more seriously. Guests: Laura Mucha is an ex-lawyer turned award-winning poet and Author-in-Residence in the Department of Public Health & Primary Care at the University of Cambridge. Her books have been described as ‘stunningly original’ by BookTrust, ‘fantastic’ by the Daily Mail, ‘a must for every school library and classroom’ by The School Librarian and ‘a marvellous feat’ by Richard Curtis. She won Children’s Book of the Year 2024 (Non-Fiction) in The Week Junior Awards and recently broke the Guinness World Record for Largest Multi Venue Poetry Lesson together with over 43,000 young people around the world. Her books Please Find Attached and We Need to Talk About Love explore love and attachment theory by combining academic research and interviews with people in every continent of the world. Dr Rachel Benchekroun is a Senior Research Fellow at UCL. She is a sociologist and ethnographer, and her research focuses on support networks, friendship, social infrastructure and wellbeing. At UCL's Social Research Institute, she has been researching motherhood and support networks in the context of precarious migration, and recently published a book about this. She has also been working on the NIHR-funded Fair Food Futures UK project, examining how community food organisations shape families' experiences of food insecurity. Now, at the Institute of Health Informatics, Rachel is part of the RAPHAEL project, funded by the EU and Horizon Europe, which aims to improve access to palliative care for heart failure patients. In this episode: Why love, care and connection matter for health and wellbeing Attachment theory and the importance of feeling safe, supported and valued The impact of social and structural factors on love and connection Love, care and support as acts of resistance in challenging circumstances The role of schools, libraries and community spaces in fostering wellbeing What a more caring and connected society might look like Hosts: Xand Van Tulleken – Doctor, Writer, and TV Presenter and Professor Rochelle Burgess – Community Health Psychologist and Professor at the UCL Institute for Global Health. “What has disrupted your thinking?” Laura: Dropping the Ball, poem written by Rochelle Burgess, Undefeated and Unspoken (books) by Kwame Alexander, Rachel : Maxinquaye - album by English rapper and producer, Tricky. Production Credits: Public Health Disrupted with Rochelle Burgess and Xand Van Tulleken is a podcast from UCL Health of the Public. Recorded remotely and edited by Annabelle Buckland at Decibelle Creative (https://www.decibellecreative.com/) / @decibelle_creative (https://www.instagram.com/decibelle_creative/).

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.