Public Health Disrupted
Episodes
Why are younger generations drinking less?
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the first episode of Season 6 of Public Health Disrupted, Dr Xand van Tulleken and Professor Rochelle Burgess explore why younger generations are d...
Ageing Playfully: Transforming perspectives on growing older
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Public Health Disrupted, host Rochelle Burgess is flying solo, and dives into the transformative power of play in the context of ag...
The Future of Work: Rethinking the 9 to 5
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the key to better mental health, stronger families, and a more sustainable society was working less?In this episode, Xand van Tulleken an...
Beyond the neglectful state: unpacking the intersection of public health and personal freedom
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Public Health Disrupted, hosts Xand van Tulleken and Professor Rochelle Burgess tackle the concept of the "nanny state". Alongside ...
Listening to connect: how understanding beliefs can transform public health
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Public Health Disrupted, hosts Xand van Tulleken and Rochelle Burgess dive into how we form beliefs, and how they shape our underst...
Running together: Parkrun & the transformative power of grassroots community fitness
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back to a brand new season of Public Health Disrupted!As Rochelle makes her return to the podcast following maternity leave, we’re excited t...
Episode 6: Smoke-Free Future: Tackling tobacco and vaping for the health of the public
19 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The World Health Organisation highlights the tobacco epidemic as one of the greatest public health crises in history, claiming over 8 million lives an...
Episode 5: Flushing Out the Truth: Sewage and Public Health in the UK
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The development of wastewater systems in the 19th century was one of the greatest achievements of public health, but in recent years there has been gr...
Episode 4: The genetic revolution: implications and applications for improving the health of the public
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this month’s episode, our experts dive into the exciting world of genetics, exploring the latest technological breakthroughs and innovations. The...
Episode 3: Redefining the Classroom: Nurturing Mental Health Through Nature, Arts, and Understanding
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"It's not our children who are disordered, it's the environment in which we're expecting them to operate."In this month’s episode, our experts explo...
Episode 2: AI for Good - Tech and Ethics in Humanitarian Crises
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"Is technology the magic bullet for humanitarian aid, or does it come with its own set of ethical dilemmas?"In this episode, hosts Dr Xand van Tu...
Episode 1: Injecting Innovation - Creative Ways to boost vaccination rates
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join hosts Doctor Xand van Tulleken and Dr Rochelle Burgess for Season 4, Episode 1 of Public Health Disrupted with Prof Helen Bedford and Doctor...
Episode 5. Unravelling Health Disparities: The Racial Divide
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“It’s the indirect act of racism that is leading to poorer outcomes for racialised groups.”How does racism impact people’s health? And how big...
Episode 4: The change-up, demystifying the menopause
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join hosts Doctor Xand van Tulleken and Dr Rochelle Burgess for Season 3, Episode 4 of Public Health Disrupted with Prof Joyce Harper and Rachel Lanke...
Episode 3: Sex by numbers
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“A remarkable number of claims you see in newspapers and magazines about sex are essentially made up.”What does the average British person think a...
Episode 2: Ultra-Processed People
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“It’s really not our fault that we struggle with our health, we have to look to the system around us and hold them accountable.”In our fast-pace...
Episode 1: Living on the edge - health inequalities and rising costs
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
EPISODE DESCRIPTION“The way to get economic growth in a sustainable way is to improve the income of the bottom 60% of the population.”How does the...
Episode 6: Fat Chance: how the body positivity movement can be used to influence societal change
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“The ways in which we talk about our bodies, the metaphors we use to understand our bodies in the world around us radically shape our health and the...
Episode 5: The power of conversation: redefining the binary around social media and young people's mental health
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“There’s much more room for nuance in the conversation than it feels like we have now.”Social media is a huge part of our lives, but growing fea...
Episode 4: Dignity, decency and dying
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Death is something that affects us all and by not talking about it we make it harder.” Death is not infinitely deferrable, yet the successes...
Episode 3: The Elephant in the Planning Room
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“It is imperative that we learn to create homes that truly support and sustain us.” Interior and external environments affect our health and ...
Episode 2: Singing the praises of communities
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
SummaryGrammy-award winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre joins chair of the UK’s largest COVID-19 social study and UCL professor Dr Daisy Fa...
Ep.1 Mission-oriented Public Health
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
SummaryAuthor, chair of WHO Council on economics, and UCL professor Mariana Mazzucato joins renegade economist, creator of the “Doughnut” model of...
Episode 6: What have we learned about public health?
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For this final episode, we’re reflecting on what we’ve learned about public health over the past six months. Hosts Xand and Rochelle explore the e...
Episode 5: How can arts and creativity tackle health inequalities?
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The arts and culture sectors are among the hardest hit by the pandemic and lockdown but what would a post-pandemic world look like without art? Is the...
Episode 4: How is law good for your health?
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this month’s episode, we speak to Sir Keir Starmer - Leader of the Labour Party and former human rights lawyer – and Professor Dame Hazel Genn ...
Episode 3: People and Power
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In public health, we often refer to 'hard to reach' groups, but are we doing enough to listen to them?This month, we speak to the co-founders of Five ...
Episode 2: Stand-up for public health: how can comedy improve our health?
19 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this month’s episode, we speak to award-winning comedian and author Laura Lexx and London-based Scottish comedian and UCL academic Dr Matt Winnin...
Episode 1: What does climate change have to do with public health?
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Episode 1 of Public Health Disrupted, the brand new podcast from UCL Health of the Public.This month, hosts Xand and Rochelle are joined by...
Public Health Disrupted - Series Trailer
06 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Presented by Doctor, writer and TV Presenter Xand Van Tulleken and community health psychologist, UCL lecturer and self-proclaimed hippie, Dr Rochelle...