This is Lancaster. Global research tales from the North of England.

Reimagining research culture: AI in research

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 13:05:53 GMT

Dr Heather Shaw returns to conclude the Reimagining Research Culture series and discuss our latest event on the use of AI in research. The conversation reflects on the balance between maintaining critical human judgement when using AI, autonomous decision making by AI in research processes and the balance between reproducibility and research integrity with AI use in research.

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Reimagining Research Culture: Sustainability dilemmas in research

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 12:44:38 GMT

In this episode, Post-Doctoral Researcher Dr Seth Robinson discusses the challenges of instilling a change in attitudes to sustainability in research culture. The conversation tackles the dilemma for early career researchers and international travel, the trade-offs between environmental sustainability and research quality and the implications AI is having on environmental efforts

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Reimagining Research Culture: Universities' response to the climate crisis

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 12:43:39 GMT

Dr Samuel Finnerty, a social psychologist at Lancaster University researches the intersection of science, activism, and higher education — looking at how scientists and universities respond to the climate crisis. In this episode he discusses the role of the university, the individual, and where we go from here, bridging the gap between aspirations and reality.

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Reimagining Research Culture: How is Deepfake technology impacting society?

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 12:42:57 GMT

Dr Sophie Nightingale is this week’s guest discussing the work of her UKRI Future Leaders fellowship on protecting ordinary people from deepfakes. The discussion reflects on the benefits and challenges of this emerging technology, possibilities for future regulation and the push for responsible and ethical development in this area.

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Reimagining Research Culture: Public Participation and Citizen Science

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 12:42:17 GMT

Lancaster University’s Public engagement manager, Jess Shaw, joins us in this week’s episode to discuss the challenges around undertaking research with communities. Tackling dilemmas of equity, ownership and terminology of both citizen science and community-based research.

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Reimagining Research Culture: Using Social Media Data in Research

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 12:41:32 GMT

As part of our research culture project funded by Wellcome, this series hosted by Dr Dan Craddock unpacks conundrums on a variety of topics relating to ethical tensions in research. Every week a new guest reflects on a different conundrum, discussed informally over a cuppa, from AI in research to climate action, sustainability and citizen science.

Psychology Lecturer Dr Heather Shaw joins us in this week's episode to discuss the development of the ‘cuppa conundrum’ series and ethical challenges relating to the use of social media data in research.

The topics covered include whether social media is a public or private space? Do researchers require consent when using social media data in research? And what considerations are required when using social media data from vulnerable groups in research?

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A World of Difference: People of purpose

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:50:48 GMT

In this episode, Professor Caron Gentry discusses her own academic journey, which began with research into the history of women and terrorism – against the back drop of unfolding events following 9/11 - and took her across the Atlantic from America to the UK, where she is now leading a school of 'people of purpose'.

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A World of Difference: ‘Be curious and ask questions’

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:50:38 GMT

ITV journalist and ‘multi-hyphenate’ Warren Nettleford is the Chatham House podcaster and production company entrepreneur who found himself and lifelong friendships at Lancaster University …with a little help from a Nick Drake poster.

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A World of Difference: Storytelling to tackle global trade barriers

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:50:28 GMT

Kate Foster is Deputy Head of International Affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses. Based in London, she lobbies the UK government to tackle the barriers to international trade affecting UK SMEs. She is also a board member of SMEunited, the European association for crafts and SMEs.

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A World of Difference: All in a day’s work – selling the UK around the world

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:49:51 GMT

Now founder of elementarycommunications.com and formerly Deputy Director of Communication and Marketing at the Department for Business and Trade, David Watson has worked in corporate communications and marketing for more than 25 years. He has created and delivered innovative campaigns across issues as diverse as climate change, road safety, recruitment to the armed forces and global trade and investment.

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A World of Difference: Taking the Man Utd brand across the globe

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:49:35 GMT

Meet Head of Talent Integration at Manchester United Raisa Richardson, who speaks of the value and relevance of languages and culture in her role which sees her working with first team and former players, celebrities and fans on home turf and in far-flung places.

She is accountable for leveraging the club’s talent (including players, ex-players and celebrity supporters) to help deliver the commercial and strategic ambitions of the club. Raisa is based at Old Trafford but spends much of her time travelling across the world as she and her team lead many of the club’s signature events. She came to Manchester United ten years ago from Deutsche Bank and has been in her current role for the last year.

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Preserving the future of limestone pavements

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 14:02:52 GMT

Professor Carly Stevens of Lancaster University’s Environment Centre is at Horton Quarry in North Yorkshire, where she has partnered up with quarry owners Heidelberg Materials in an effort to preserve the ecological richness and diversity of the rare limestone pavement habitat. Funded by Quarry Life Awards and the Philip Welch Fund.

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Witchcraft accusation in the modern world

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 17:15:02 GMT

From sales of body parts in Sierra Leone to belief in child possession in the UK, this podcast contains powerful stories from those at the forefront of the fight against harmful practices associated with beliefs in witchcraft in the 21st century.

In this special episode of ‘This is Lancaster’, Lancaster University’s Charlotte Baker Professor of French and Critical Disability Studies in the School of Global Affairs, hosts the International Network Against Accusations of Witchcraft and Associated Harmful Practices on our campus in the North West of England.

During this fascinating event, barristers, campaigners, academics and impacted communities from around the world gathered at Lancaster University to leverage their collective power, raising awareness of existing laws and sharing knowledge to protect people across the world from harm.

Photo: Mohammed Osman Kamara - Sierra Leone Association of Persons with Albinism

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The transformative power of design

Thu, 16 May 2024 08:09:46 GMT

From man-made gems, healthy ageing and artificial intelligence to biomaterials and the climate crisis, the Festival of Futures at Lancaster University explored how design research can respond to an array of local and global challenges. Tune in to hear researchers from four design-research centres of excellence across the UK share their stories of collaboratively designing for a better tomorrow with partners from industry, health, private and public sectors. The episode demonstrates the transformational power of design and design research for the benefit of people, place, and planet.

Participating organisations include ImaginationLancaster at Lancaster University, The Centre for Print Research at University of the West of England, Bristol; The Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment at Newcastle University and Northumbria University; and Lab4Living at Sheffield Hallam University.

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Lost lives and lost billions

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:05:38 GMT

Meet the researchers tackling large scale criminal activity in the pharmaceuticals industry by harnessing quantum identity techniques developed at Lancaster University.

Supported by the Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

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Could nuclear fusion offer us a sustainable way out of the energy crisis ?

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:04:26 GMT

Lancaster researcher Sam Murphy breaks down cutting edge developments in Nuclear Fusion – with the help of a pool table.

Supported by the Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

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The Making Rooms

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:03:21 GMT

How design research is helping stop the smart tech graveyard gathering dust in almost every home.

Supported by the Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

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Hope on the coast

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:02:28 GMT

Healthier Fleetwood – how working in partnership with a socially deprived UK coastal town is helping identify priority areas to focus COVID-19 recovery.

Supported by the Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

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‘I can’t just ignore this’

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:01:44 GMT

How Dr Charlotte Baker pivoted her research focus onto work with partners trying to protect people with Albinism around the globe.

Supported by the Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

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An unfair business

Wed, 03 May 2023 10:55:14 GMT

The UK may be experiencing record levels of employment, but for millions work remains insecure, poorly paid and unsustainable. Ben Harrison, Director of Lancaster University’s Work Foundation discusses why their mission is as important today as it was 100 years ago, and how at Lancaster we’re pushing for positive changes in employment policy and practice

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Blue Skies science tackles forest fires

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 13:30:09 GMT

From exploring the raw beauty of the Northern Lights and a passionate belief in the pursuit of scientific knowledge for its own sake, space scientist Professor Michael Kosch takes us on a dazzling journey through his career filled with excitement, discovery, and adventure. Tune in to hear how space weather experts harnessed knowledge of theoretical physics and turned it into an extraordinary social and economic good when they produced a spin-out company capable of detecting a smoke plume as small as a BBQ 10 miles away in a forest, saving billions of pounds worth of trees and Carbon Dioxide.

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Inside the Amazon

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 14:36:04 GMT

Lancaster University‘s Dr Erika Berenguer gives a deeply personal account of observing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest – a region full of mystery that inspired a scientific career dedicated to understanding and protecting this crucial tropical ecosystem.

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Racing the virus

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 12:28:59 GMT

The impact of losing livestock to disease in his rural childhood in Punjab, Pakistan gave Professor Mohammed Munir an early insight into the devastating impact of infectious diseases and sparked a lifelong fascination with virology. From studying Coronavirus in bats in Brazil to developing a nasal spray vaccine to combat COVID-19, Professor Munir explains that with hundreds of animal viruses in circulation, and human activities encroaching on wildlife, understanding the spread of viruses has never been so important.

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Transforming the NHS: Improving patient care through compassionate leadership

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 14:17:16 GMT

As stress levels for NHS staff reach an all-time high “far beyond the need for mindfulness and yoga”, Professor Michael West from Lancaster University says there’s a need to change workplace culture and conditions to retain the staff it has, to help fill the 100,000 vacancies across NHS Trusts and to improve the quality of patient care.

In this episode, Professor West talks about the workforce crisis plaguing the NHS and how his research, which saw the NHS staff survey introduced back in 2003, is helping to reshape leadership teams across the NHS and improve patient care.

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Caught Red Handed

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 14:11:11 GMT

Professor Dame Sue Black explains how the astonishing bravery of a child sexual abuse survivor led her on a path to developing pioneering research into forensic hand analysis that would stand up in court. Thanks to Professor Black and her team, Lancaster University is now home to the world’s largest searchable database of the anatomy and variations of the human hand and their work is set to make a difference to those attempting to bring abusers to justice. Here she offers a fascinating glimpse of her research career and talks about her plans for the future.

‘A quick warning: This episode contains discussions about traumatic events, including sexual abuse.

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Discovering Wordsworth

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 14:10:57 GMT

From the benefits of getting out of the house and into nature, to his thoughts on the place of poetry in response to tyranny, Professors Sally Bushell and Simon Bainbridge of Lancaster University’s Wordsworth Centre share the lessons they have learned from William Wordsworth - a poet they both came to appreciate ...despite some early hesitation.

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A Good Death

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 14:10:42 GMT

Seeing people die without the best in pain relief and care, drove Professor Nancy Preston to seek ways of improving end-of-life experiences for the dying and their families. Talking to her colleague Professor Sheila Payne, the pair discuss their pioneering work which sets out to improve the way we die - making it as pain-free as possible and taking the best possible care of those that are left behind.

‘A quick warning: This episode contains frank discussions about end of life care, death and grief.

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Sugar highs and the human brain

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 14:10:25 GMT

Next time you reach for a sugary snack, you might want to think about Professor Sunram-Lea’s work examining the impact of sugar highs on the human brain. Her work exploded the myth that sugar improves human performance and instead exposed a more troubling connection between human cognition and the blood sugar roller-coaster.

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Families at the sharp edge of justice

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 10:59:00 GMT

Families at the sharp edge - in this episode social scientist and former social worker Professor Karen Broadhurst of Lancaster University describes how she stepped into academia to 'change the world' for women and children in the justice system. 'When we take a child out of a family and a community what kind of a scar does that leave?' Professor Broadhurst and her colleagues are making the case for better help and justice for struggling families, so that fewer children need to come into care.

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