Best Wageningen Podcasts (2024)

1
Presenting "Less And Better?: Ep 1: Its Complicated" 34:11

2d ago34:11

34:11

It feels like one of the biggest questions of our time: what do we do about meat? Rather than choosing either extreme – business as usual, or ruling out meat altogether – some people suggest the best approach is one of ‘less and better meat’. But how much less is ‘less’? And which meat is ‘better’? How do we even begin to answer these questions? "L…

1
#6 What's next? 23:47

4d ago23:47

23:47

In the final episode of the series Bart reflects on what’s next for his polarisation framework. In a conversation with producer Andy Clark he explains why he is optimistic despite a fragmented and fractious world and calls for others to come together to help further understand the us and them dynamic. Inside Polarisation is a podcast series with to…

1
#4 The bridge builder and the scapegoat 36:56

13d ago36:56

36:56

In this fourth episode, Bart reflects on the last two roles in his polarisation framework, the bridge builder and the scapegoat. Inside Polarisation is a podcast series with tools and insights to help you learn how to navigate the tensions when polarisation strikes. Bart Brandsma is a philosopher, consultant and polarization expert. He has been stu…

1
#3 On pushers, joiners and the silent 27:46

4d ago27:46

27:46

In this third episode Bart examines the first three different roles in polarisation. Inside Polarisation is a podcast series with tools and insights to help you learn how to navigate the tensions when polarisation strikes. Bart Brandsma is a philosopher, consultant and polarisation expert. He has been studying this subject for two decades and has d…

1
#2 Gut Feeling & Truth 23:53

4d ago23:53

23:53

In this second episode Bart looks at the third basic law of polarisation - the irrationality in the dynamic of us versus -them thinking - gut-feeling. Inside polarisation is a podcast series with tools and insights to help you learn how to navigate the tensions when polarisation strikes. Bart Brandsma is a philosopher, consultant and polarisation e…

1
#1 How to fuel us-them thinking? 26:30

4d ago26:30

26:30

We live in a world riddled with tension, us versus them, or black versus white. One camp versus the other. The activist versus industry, man versus woman, nature versus the farmer. Inside Polarisation is a podcast series with tools and insights to help you learn how to navigate the tensions when polarisation strikes. Bart Brandsma is a philosopher,…

1
#5 A strategy to depolarise 35:55

4d ago35:55

35:55

In this fifth episode, Bart reflects on target group, topic, position and tone of voice. These four game changers are the bedrock of a strategy to depolarise. Inside Polarisation is a podcast series with tools and insights to help you learn how to navigate the tensions when polarisation strikes. Bart Brandsma is a philosopher, consultant and polari…

1
Women Scientists from Global South on Food Security (Part 3) 25:53

17d ago25:53

25:53

500 scientists from 60 countries gathered at the 5th Global Food Security Conference in Leuven, Belgium. Instead of saying, "you had to be there," we bring you voices and reflections from the conference. Host Matthew Kessler recorded dozens of interviews, asking experts what key messages they want to deliver to those with the power to change food s…

1
Economics of Food System Transformation (Part 2) 40:20

1M ago40:20

40:20

500 scientists from 60 countries gathered at the 5th Global Food Security Conference in Leuven, Belgium. Instead of saying, "you had to be there," we bring you voices and reflections from the conference. Host Matthew Kessler recorded dozens of interviews, asking experts what key messages they want to deliver to those with the power to change food s…

1
Is Global Food Security a Solvable Puzzle? (Part 1) 32:40

2M ago32:40

32:40

500 scientists from 60 countries gathered at the 5th Global Food Security Conference in Leuven, Belgium. Instead of saying, "you had to be there," we bring you voices and reflections from the conference. Host Matthew Kessler recorded dozens of interviews, asking experts what key messages they want to deliver to those with the power to change food s…

1
IndiaBioscience with Dr. Karishma Kaushik | The Living Revolution 39:01

2M ago39:01

39:01

IndiaBioscience is an organisation serving as the bridge between the ivory towers of academic research, clinicians, and the wider public, It serves to take the science funded by public money and give it back to the community, whether it is through outreach programmes, mentorship schemes or getting people in the same room for fruitful discussions. E…

1
Is cultivated "meat" unnatural? Is meat today natural? 36:03

2M ago36:03

36:03

While many wonder about the technological hurdles preventing cultivated meat from entering commercial markets, fewer ask a more basic question: will people actually eat it, or will they find it too unnatural? In this episode, we're joined by Cor van der Weele, emeritus professor in philosophy from Wageningen University, who has had a front-row seat…

1
Does CRISPR make our food unnatural? 29:38

3M ago29:38

29:38

If more and more gene-edited foods become common on our plates, is that a sign of a promising or worrying food future? With Dr. Lauren Crossland-Marr, food anthropologist and host of the podcast A CRISPR Bite, we unpack whether it’s fair to call CRISPR a natural way of "speeding up the breeding" process, whether technological innovations such as ge…

1
What's a natural diet? (with Richard Tellström) 18:43

3M ago18:43

18:43

What influences the meals we enjoy today? Meal historian and cultural researcher Richard Tellström from Stockholm University suggests that the surrounding natural environments and ecosystems only play a minimal role. Instead, he argues that our choices are primarily shaped by cultural, political and economic forces. This episode dives into the dram…

1
The Wastewater Treatment Nexus: Energy, Nutrients and Water with CEO of ThinkTIM Marc Wehmeijer | The Living Revolution 39:26

3M ago39:26

39:26

Wastewater is a gold mine for energy, nutrients and water. Marc Wehmeijer dispels myths about breaking in to the wastewater industry, and takes us on a tour of the global wastewater treatment landscape from the deserts of Durango, Mexico to the Swiss Alps. Marc Wehmeijer is the CEO of ThinkTIM, a company that designs, manufactures, installs and ser…

1
What's a natural diet? (with Amy Styring) 25:37

3M ago25:37

25:37

Around 6000 years ago in Northwest Europe, our ancestors transitioned from hunter-gatherer societies to sedentary farming. How did their diets change during this time? The field of archaeological sciences and chemistry teamed up to shed new light on this question. In this episode, we ask Amy Styring, archaeological chemist at the University of Oxfo…

1
Can we eat enough white-tailed deer to restore forest ecosystems? 31:08

3M ago31:08

31:08

Is it possible to eat enough white-tailed deer to keep their populations low enough to restore ecosystems? We posed this question to Bernd Blossey, professor at Cornell University who specializes in the management of invasive species and the restoration of disrupted ecological relationships. In this episode, we look at the history of white-tailed d…

1
Cultivating algae | Peter Mponzi with The Living Revolution 54:36

3M ago54:36

54:36

Algae is a high potential and high protein food. Learn how engineers and entrepreneurs like Peter Mponzi are using algae to cultivate the future of nutrition. Peter Mponzi is a chemical process engineer by training and current entrepreneur in algal production. He has eight plus years experience in the renewable fuel industry, and is currently focus…

1
Eating invasive crayfish - a solution to our ecological mess? 21:15

4M ago21:15

21:15

Are invasive species natural? If we introduced them, do we have some responsibility to manage them? What if we could reduce their numbers through the natural process of eating? In this episode, Jackie Turner (TABLE) joins crayfish trapper Bob Ring to see if we can eat our way out of one of the environmental problems we’ve created - the spread of in…

1
Grasshoppers - agricultural pest or sustainable food? 25:06

4M ago25:06

25:06

What if we shifted our perspective from seeing some animal species as a problem to seeing them as an abundant and tasty source of food? Over the next few episodes, we’ll hear three "problems" in three regions: grasshoppers as pests in Mexico, invasive crayfish in London and overpopulated white-tailed deer in the United States. With a rising trend f…

1
Should food systems be more natural? 44:05

4M ago44:05

44:05

“Is a microbe less natural than a cow?” This season we ask scientists, farmers, technologists and philosophers about how natural our food systems should be. In this age where industrial technology has profoundly transformed our eating habits and the landscapes around us, we explore whether we should let nature be our ultimate guide or fully lean in…

1
Sofia Wilhelmsson on pig transport and human-animal relations (rebroadcast) 31:52

5M ago31:52

31:52

Sofia Wilhelmsson researches a very specific and stressful time for farmed pigs: the loading and transport of pigs on their way to slaughter. She not only considers the welfare of the animals, but also the well-being of the pig transport drivers. In our conversation we chat about the relationships that humans have with animals; what food systems ac…

1
What is rewilding? (rebroadcast) 30:26

5M ago30:26

30:26

Imagine a world where nature reclaims its place in the landscape. What would that mean for food systems? Walter Fraanje joins Feed co-hosts to talk about his new publication, "Rewilding and its implications for agriculture" co-authored with Tara Garnett. The explainer introduces the concept of rewilding, compares different rewilding strategies acro…

1
Neena Prasad on the power of ultra-processed foods 41:32

6M ago41:32

41:32

People across the world are consuming more ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Will Latin American countries and elsewhere follow the path of the US and the UK, where over half of calories consumed now come from UPFs? Dr Neena Prasad, director of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Food Policy Program, joins us to talk about the power of and the power behind UPFs.…

1
Jessica Duncan on COP28 and who shapes food policy 54:43

8M ago54:43

54:43

Food systems are finally getting more attention at global climate conversations. But who is at the table shaping our food futures? We caught up with Jessica Duncan, Associate Professor on the Politics of Food Systems Transformations at Wageningen University, to hear her thoughts and concerns about COP 28. Then we re-air our conversation with Jessic…

1
Presenting A CRISPR Bite: Wine 23:47

8M ago23:47

23:47

Is CRISPR the solution to controlling the pest plaguing California’s wine industry? In this episode of A CRISPR Bite, we take you to a lab where researchers are using CRISPR technology to genetically modify a frightening insect called the Glassy-winged sharpshooter responsible for spreading a bacteria and killing vines. CRISPR bites is five-part po…

1
Will you join the insect revolution? 27:33

9M ago27:33

27:33

There are over 2,000 types of insects that people eat across the world. Some of these species could have the potential to be cultivated at scale using less land, less water, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions while supplying a nutritious protein source to many. But what does scaling insect production look like, and will people actually eat them? In…

1
Narrowing the yield gap in Sub-Saharan Africa 39:29

10M ago39:29

39:29

The yield gap refers to the difference between the potential agricultural yield that could be achieved under ideal conditions and the actual yield that farmers harvest. In sub-Saharan Africa, the yield gap is in some cases 80% meaning that farmers have the potential to double, triple or even quadruple their harvests. The causes of the yield gap are…

1
Presenting M4F: Ep8. Looking back, looking forward 36:44

10M ago36:44

36:44

Presenting the Meat: the four futures series final episode. -- Over the last few months, we explored what the future of meat and livestock could look like. We’ve talked about how our values, ethics and where we live in the world can impact our desired futures for meat. And we did a deep dive into four potential futures - efficient meat, alternative…

1
Modern agriculture and Synthetic biology | The Living Revolution with Wageningen iGEM 2023 36:47

10M ago36:47

36:47

Join us for a whirlwind tour of the key problems with modern agriculture and the alternative emerging technologies. In this final episode with Agata the biocontainment researcher and Simon, Head of Human Practices, from the Wageningen iGEM team, we discuss how synthetic biology can be used as a technology to prevent crop frost damage. We reflect on…

1
Presenting M4F: Ep7. Health, biodiversity, animal ethics 53:57

11M ago53:57

53:57

We continue featuring the Meat: the four futures series with episode 7. -- We've heard four distinct visions for the future of meat and livestock. But realistically, won't they all play a role? As we wrap up the series in the next two episodes, we’re going to review what’s in conflict between the four futures and how parts of them might co-exist. I…

1
Presenting M4F: Ep6. Plant based 1:18:31

11M ago1:18:31

1:18:31

We continue featuring the Meat: the four futures series with our fourth and final exploration of four different futures for meat - Plant based no meat. -- Should we remove animals from agriculture and our diets altogether? What if all the land that produces animal feed now could instead produce human food--or be rewilded? Would this be a planet fri…

1
Presenting M4F: Ep5. Less meat 1:09:45

12M ago1:09:45

1:09:45

We continue featuring the Meat: the four futures series with our third exploration of four different futures for meat - Less meat. -- What if we had a more compassionate approach to farming animals, where we raised and ate fewer animals - and so meat cost more? We speak with farmers, researchers and campaigners who don’t see farmed animals only as …

1
Biobricks, GMOs, IP and the art of DNA detection | The Living Revolution with iGEM Wageningen 2023 29:00

12M ago29:00

29:00

In an iGEM competition, open source interchangeable parts of genetic material (BioBricks) allow hundreds of teams of students to create synbio solutions to real world problems. Joined by captain Johannes and treasurer Niko from the 2023 Wageningen iGEM team, we discuss their challenges and ideas about creating novelty, using non-model organisms, an…

1
Presenting M4F: Ep4. Alternative "meat" 56:35

12M ago56:35

56:35

We continue featuring the Meat: the four futures series with our second exploration of four different futures for meat - Alternative "meat". -- What do some entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, animal activists, and environmentalists have in common? They each envision a future where meat alternatives can tackle the environmental impacts and animal s…

1
Preventing frost damage, joining iGEM and what it takes to make a team | Wageningen 2023 35:33

1y ago35:33

35:33

The Wageningen iGEM Team is developing a solution to prevent frost damage using synthetic biology. Listen to find out more about how frost damage affects farmers, markets and us as consumers, and how Wageningen plan the scientific aspects of their project. Get an insight into the dynamics of team work and the attitudes of aspiring scientists. If yo…

1
Presenting M4F: Ep3. Efficient meat 53:29

1y ago53:29

53:29

We continue featuring the Meat: the four futures series with our first exploration of four different futures for meat - Efficient meat 2.0. -- Today we farm and eat meat at a scale not matched in human history. We raise 80 billion animals a year for food at a really low cost to the consumer. Here we look at how technology, research, and innovation …

1
Presenting M4F: Ep2. A complicated relationship with meat 41:55

1y ago41:55

41:55

Today we are presenting the second episode in the Meat: the four futures series. What are your first thoughts when you see a piece of steak on a plate or a big pot of chicken soup - healthy meal? piece of animal flesh? comfort food? In this episode we explore how our values, ethics and where we live impacts our relationship with meat and livestock.…

1
Protecting Biotechnological Breakthroughs: A Discussion with IP Specialists | Sara Holland and David Holt 1:04:22

1y ago1:04:22

1:04:22

Can you patent a newly discovered protein? Does getting a patent depend on the application? What does intellectual property encompass? Our guests, IP specialists Sara Holland and David Holt from Potter Clarkson, join us to shed light on these topics and explore why protecting biotechnological innovations is crucial. Get ready to expand your knowled…

1
Presenting M4F: Ep1. Meat the four futures 33:20

1y ago33:20

33:20

Here we present the first episode of a podcast that Feed co-host Matthew Kessler has been creating with TABLE and the SLU Future Food over the last year: Meat the four futures Food has this incredible ability to bring people together. But it can also divide us. And how can it not? The same foods that some find so nutritious, that give us such a str…

1
What did we learn about power? (with Tara Garnett and Sigrid Wertheim-Heck) 49:59

1+ y ago49:59

49:59

For our last episode of the second season of Feed, we speak with TABLE director Tara Garnett of the University of Oxford, and TABLE strategic director Sigrid Wertheim-Heck of Wageningen University to reflect on our past 15 episodes. We talk about what surprised us, what we learned, and what we missed across the season. Our wide ranging conversation…

1
Food in prisons (with Lucy Vincent and Linda Kjær Minke) 1:05:23

1+ y ago1:05:23

1:05:23

As this season on power in the food system comes to a close, we wanted to focus on how food is consumed in institutions - places where people typically have less agency over their own food choices. In this episode we’re focusing on food in prisons in the United Kingdom and Denmark. We're joined by Lucy Vincent, Chief Executive and Founder of the ch…

1
Sampling from the ocean, Mischief and Misery, curiousity-driven research | Sebastian Cocioba 20:56

1+ y ago20:56

20:56

Sebastian Cocioba is an amateur scientist pursuing his scientific curiousities from his home lab and mentoring young scientists via Binomica Labs. His mission is to enable agency through building open source tools and allow anyone to explore the world around them. Coming up in this episode, we talk oceans, what lives in different benthic zones, and…

1
An Ecosystem of Open Source Directed Evolution Robots | Sebastian Cocioba 29:52

1+ y ago29:52

29:52

Sebastian Cocioba is an amateur scientist conducting research from his home lab. In our previous episode, we discussed how he's building tools for the future molecular florists. Here and now, we take this topic further, starting with the example of a DIY directed evolution machine made cheaply. If you're an engineering student, we encourage you to …

1
Molecular Florists, Binomica Labs, the M9 Media, Photobiology | Sebastian Cocioba 31:38

1+ y ago31:38

31:38

Sebastian Cocioba is a scientist and researcher building open source tools to make research easier and cheaper. Do you, by any chance, know where the M9 media comes from and what it was originally used? Sebastian takes us on a two year journey to discover the origin paper of this medium and how he ended up falling in love with photobiology, better …

1
Ken Giller on the Food Security Conundrum (rebroadcast) 35:04

1+ y ago35:04

35:04

Why does agricultural research often fall short of addressing food insecurity challenges in sub-Saharan Africa? In this conversation with Ken Giller, we explore this wicked problem from a systems perspective examining the diverse drivers and experiences of smallholder farmers and the socio-ecological systems in which they are embedded. Ken provides…

1
DIY Biology | Sebastian Cocioba 31:26

1+ y ago31:26

31:26

Sebasian Cocioba is an independent researcher, conducting the discovery, research and more from his own home lab. This is part one of our conversation with Sebastian. He details his first experiences in science from seeing a maple leaf and thinking "I need to understand" this, to being recruited for a start-up and learning how to build a lab from g…

1
Philip McMichael on the "Corporate Food Regime" 51:28

1+ y ago51:28

51:28

What is the corporate food regime? And are we still living in it? We put these questions to our guest Phliip McMichael, emeritus professor at Cornell University who, alongside Harriet Friedman, coined the term Food Regime in 1989. In our conversation we talk about how a historical sociologist thinks about power, what voices were included and exclud…

1
Jason Clay on "Building and flying the plane as we go" 48:32

1+ y ago48:32

48:32

Jason Clay is the Executive Director of the Markets Institute at World Wildlife Fund. He comes with decades of unique experiences and a big picture view of global food systems. In our conversation we ask him how power needs to be shifted to transform the food system, what the future looks like for small farmers, and whether we should be intensifyin…

1
Tae Seok Moon | SynBYSS| EBRC bioengineering into sustainability | Probiotics | Scientific collaborations 1:43:45

1+ y ago1:43:45

1:43:45

Doing science is not a lonely endeavour. It involves collaborating with others, using your shared knowledge to find solutions to pressing problems, and pushing past the boundaries of what is known. As an EBRC council member, professor and founder of the Synthetic Biology Young Speaker series (SynBYSS), Tae Seok Moon has dedicated his time to empowe…

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