Crossing Channels – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott talks to Diane Coyle and César Hidalgo about how knowledge, ideas and intangible assets are becoming central to modern prosperity. They discuss what makes intellectual capital distinctive, how AI may widen or narrow inequalities, and why some places benefit more than others. The conversation also explores the challenges of measuring intangible value and what kinds of skills, institutions and infrastructure are needed for countries and regions to turn intellectual capital into broader, long-term growth.

Season 5 Episode 3 transcript: https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Episode-3-Transcript_Final.pdf

For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/

Follow us on Linkedin and Bluesky.

With thanks to:

• Audio production by Alice Whaley
• Associate production by Burcu Sevde Selvi
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Pauline Alves

More information about our host and guests:

Podcast host

Richard Westcott is an award-winning journalist who spent 27 years at the BBC as a correspondent/producer/presenter covering global stories for the flagship Six and Ten o’clock TV news as well as the Today programme. Last year, Richard left the corporation and he is now the communications director for Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, both organisations that are working to support life sciences and healthcare across the city.

Podcast guests

Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. She is the Research Director at the Bennett School of Public Policy. Diane’s latest book is The Measure of Progress: Counting what really matters.
Her own research focuses on productivity, the digital economy and AI policy, and economic measurement. Diane is currently a member of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Council, the New Towns Taskforce, and advises the Competition and Markets Authority. Diane was awarded a DBE in 2023 for her contribution to economics and public policy.

César Hidalgo is a Chilean-Spanish-American scholar known for his contributions to economic complexity and for his applied work on data visualization and artificial intelligence. Hidalgo is a tenured professor at the Toulouse School of Economics’ (TSE) Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the head of the Center for Collective Learning a multidisciplinary research laboratory with offices at Institute for Advanced Study (IAST) at TSE and the Corvinus Institute of Advanced Studies (CIAS) at Corvinus University of Budapest. He is also an Honorary Professor at the Alliance Manchester Business School of the University of Manchester.

In this episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott talks to Jack Newman, Angélique Acquatella and Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg about the forces that shape inequality today. 

Drawing on economics, politics and public policy, our guests examine why gaps persist, look at the roles of technology and trade, explore evidence on health inequalities in the UK, and discuss the delivery gap between national ambitions and local capacity. They share examples of when place-based approaches can work, what gets in the way, and how institutions can support more inclusive growth.

Season 5 Episode 2 transcript: MS Word / PDF

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform: 

For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

With thanks to:

• Audio production by Alice Whaley
• Associate production by Burcu Sevde Selvi
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Pauline Alves

More information about our podcast host and guests:

Podcast host

Richard Westcott is an award-winning journalist who spent 27 years at the BBC as a correspondent/producer/presenter covering global stories for the flagship Six and Ten o’clock TV news as well as the Today programme. Last year, Richard left the corporation and he is now the communications director for Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, both organisations that are working to support life sciences and healthcare across the city.

Podcast guests

Angélique Acquatella is an Assistant Professor at the Toulouse School of Economics. She received her PhD in Economics at Harvard University. During her doctoral studies, she was an NBER Aging and Health Fellow and a National Science Foundation Fellow. Angélique's research looks at the optimal design of healthcare policy, within two main substantive areas: public health insurance systems and pharmaceutical payment policy. She is interested in policy designs that advance health equity, minimise risk for the most disadvantaged individuals, and incentivise socially valuable investments. 

Jack Newman is a public policy researcher specialising in decentralisation and place-based policy. He is an Affiliated Researcher at the Bennett School of Public Policy, and a Research Associate at the University of Manchester, investigating the changing spatial footprint and governance structures of the NHS. In recent years, Jack has researched spatial inequality, local institutions, and healthy urban development at the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester, Surrey, and Leeds. 

Pinelopi (Penny) Koujianou Goldberg is the Elihu Professor of Economics and Global Affairs and an Affiliate of the Economic Growth Center at Yale University. She holds a joint appointment at the Yale Department of Economics and the Jackson School of Global Affairs. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, recipient of Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and Sloan Research Fellowships, and recipient of the Bodossaki Prize in Social Sciences. Pinelopi is an applied microeconomist drawn to policy-relevant questions in trade and development.  

In this episode, Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus) talks to David Runciman (University of Cambridge), Kristin Michelitch (IAST) and Ahmed Mohamed (IAST) about the decline in democracy indexes worldwide, the cultural, technological, and institutional factors driving these trends, and whether they can be reversed.

Our experts explore the meaning of democracy and the reasons behind the decline of democracy indexes. They examine the impact of technology, media, culture, and religion on reshaping politics and shaping the future of democratic systems. 

Season 4 Episode 3 transcript

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform

For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X. 

With thanks to:

• Audio production by Steve Hankey
• Associate production by Burcu Sevde Selvi
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel

More information about our host and guests:

Richard Westcott is an award-winning journalist who spent 27 years at the BBC as a correspondent/producer/presenter covering global stories for the flagship Six and Ten o’clock TV news and the Today programme. In 2023, Richard left the corporation and is now the communications director for Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, both organisations that are working to support life sciences and healthcare across the city. @BBCwestcott

Kristin Michelitch is an Associate Professor of Political Science in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department at the Toulouse School of Economics and Quantitative Social Sciences (TSE), and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), France. Her research investigates sources of, and solutions to, intergroup tensions and poorly functioning democratic processes in contexts where government institutions are not adequately safeguarding democracy and delivering vital public services. @KGMichelitch 

Ahmed Ezzeldin Mohamed is an Assistant Professor of Political Science. Previously, he was a postdoctoral research scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University. =Ahmed's primary research focuses on the role of religion in the political and economic development of less democratic societies, with a special focus on the Middle East and the Muslim World.

David Runciman is a recovering academic and fully committed podcaster. He worked at Cambridge University for nearly 25 years, winding up as Professor of Politics. He has authored several books, most recently, The History of Ideas: Equality, Justice and Revolution (2024). David established the Centre for the Future of Democracy as part of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy.. David hosts the weekly politics podcast “Past Present Future” and was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2018 and the Royal Society of Literature in 2021.

In this episode, Richard Westcott talks to Gordon Harold, Anna Moore, and Olympia Campbell. about the growing rates of mental health issues among young people. They discuss the key determinants and the most effective ways to support young people's mental health.

Our experts examine whether mental health among young people is truly worsening or if we're simply getting better at identifying it. They unpack the key factors shaping mental health today, delve into the role of the digital world, and discuss how policies can evolve to expand support and access to services for young people.

This episode is hosted by Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus), and features experts Prof Gordon Harold (University of Cambridge), Dr Anna Moore (University of Cambridge) and Dr Olympia Campbell (IAST). 

• Season 4 Episode 2 transcript
• Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform: 

• For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.
• Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X. 

With thanks to:

• Audio production by Steve Hankey
• Associate production by Burcu Sevde Selvi
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel

More information about our host and guests:

Richard Westcott is an award-winning journalist who spent 27 years at the BBC as a correspondent/producer/presenter covering global stories for the flagship Six and Ten o’clock TV news as well as the Today programme. In 2023, Richard left the corporation and is now the communications director for Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, both organisations that are working to support life sciences and healthcare across the city. @BBCwestcott

Gordon Harold is the inaugural Professor of the Psychology of Education and Mental Health at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on three areas: the impact of family dynamics on child and adolescent mental health, the interaction between genetic and family factors, and the promotion of evidence-based practices to enhance youth mental health outcomes. He serves on several advisory groups, including the UKRI-ESRC’s Data and Infrastructure Expert Advisory Group and the Department for Work and Pensions Science Advisory Committee.

Anna Moore is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, Assistant Professor in Child Psychiatry and Medical Informatics in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge and Clinical Consultant in Paediatric Psychological Medicine. Dr. Moore’s group, Timely, is developing a new preventative approach for managing children’s mental health problems. To make this possible, the Timely team is building the infrastructure and systems required to enable rapid digital innovation and implementation in paediatrics. 

Olympia Campbell is a Research Fellow at the IAST. She received a PhD from University College London in 2023 prior to joining. Her research focuses on elucidating the ecological and demographic correlates and causes of gender-biased outcomes, with a particular focus on the role of marriage practices, such as cousin marriage. Her work is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing from global health, genetics, evolutionary biology, and anthropology. @OLKCampbell 

To kickstart Season Four of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus) talks to Prof Alison Liebling  (University of Cambridge), Prof Nicola Padfield  (University of Cambridge) and Prof Arnaud Philippe (University of Bristol, former IAST fellow) about the growing prison population, the prison experience, and the most effective ways to rehabilitate ex-offenders.

Our experts discuss why the prison population is growing and the similarities and differences across European countries. They share their expertise on the impact of the prison environment and the privatisation of prisons for rehabilitation. They also identify best practices for effectively rehabilitating and reintegrating ex-offenders into society. 

Season 4 Episode 1 transcript

For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST (Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse) visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X. 

With thanks to:

• Audio production by Steve Hankey
• Associate production by Stella Erker and Burcu Sevde Selvi
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel

More information about our host and guests:

Richard Westcott is an award-winning journalist who spent 27 years at the BBC as a correspondent/producer/presenter covering global stories for the flagship Six and Ten o’clock TV news as well as the Today programme. Last year, Richard left the corporation and he is now the communications director for Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, both organisations that are working to support life sciences and healthcare across the city. @BBCwestcott

Alison Liebling is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Cambridge and the Director of the Institute of Criminology’s Prisons Research Centre. She has carried out research on life in prison for over 30 years. She has written multiple books and is currently completing one on ‘Moral rules, social science and forms of order in prison’. She was made a member of the British Academy in 2018. @AlisonLiebling

Nicola Padfield KC (Hon) is Emeritus Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice at the Law Faculty, University of Cambridge, where she has worked for more than 30 years. She has a broad research lens, engaged in both ‘hard’ law and in socio-legal-criminological research. She is a leading European expert on sentencing law, including the law and practice of release from (and recall to) prison. A barrister by training, she has published widely on criminal law, sentencing and criminal justice.

Arnaud Philippe is an Associate Professor at the School of Economics of the University of Bristol. He studies the criminal justice system to better understand the determinants of criminal behaviour, how judicial decisions are made, and the consequences of sanctions on individuals. He is currently an associate researcher at the French Penitentiary Administration, where he explores the effect of carceral experience on recidivism. @ArnaudPhilipp

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform

• Audio production by Steve Hankey
• Associate production by Stella Erker
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Kevin Sortino 

In this episode, Rory Cellan-Jones discusses the enduring legacies of colonialism on global economic inequalities, the climate crisis, and the digital space with experts Dr Stephanie Diepeveen and Prof Jordanna Matlon.

Experts, Dr Stephanie Diepeveen and Prof Jordanna Matlon share tangible examples and critical insights into a nuanced understanding of how colonial legacies continue to shape global power relations. They debate actionable perspectives on how policymakers can address these challenges and the ongoing effects of colonialism. 

This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Dr Stephanie Diepeveen (Bennett Institute for Public Policy) and Prof Jordanna Matlon (IAST). 

• Season 3 Episode 9 transcript
• Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform

For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.

With thanks to:

• Audio production by Steve Hankey
• Associate production by Stella Erker
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Kevin Sortino 

More information about our host and guests:

Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and his latest “Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC” which was published in 2023. @ruskin147

Stephanie Diepeveen is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge and a Senior Research Fellow (Digital) in the Politics and Governance Team at ODI (formerly the Overseas Development Institute). With an interdisciplinary background in politics, digital media and monitoring and evaluation, her research is focused on how digital technologies and the use of data transform democratic politics, inclusion and inequalities. Stephanie’s work brings a global perspective, having explored the nature and effects of digitalisation across diverse political and linguistic contexts, including around pressing issues of mis/disinformation, algorithmic bias and harmful content. Her book Searching for a New Kenya: Politics and Social Media on the Streets of Mombasa (CUP, 2021) looks in-depth into the politics and possibilities of discussion in the streets and online. @sdiep

Jordanna Matlon is an urban sociologist interested in questions of race and belonging in Africa and the African diaspor. She looks at the ways “Blackness” operates as a signifier, intersects with gender norms, manifests in popular culture, and illuminates our understanding of political economy. Her multiple award-winning book, A Man among Other Men: The Crisis of Black Masculinity in Racial Capitalism (Cornell University Press) investigates the relationship between masculinity, coloniality, and work in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Her new book, Blackness as Being: Black Survival in the Age of Climate Catastrophe (under contract, Polity Press), bridges literatures on surplus populations, climate change, and racial capitalism to theorize the possibilities and precariousness of species survival in the anthropocene. 

In this episode, Rory Cellan-Jones discusses with Dr Lauren Wilcox, Dr Felix Dwinger, and Dr Giacomo Lemoli why the world is protesting so much, how protesting has changed over time, and what impact protest movements are having on policymaking.

Delving into the surge of protests across democratic and autocratic regimes, they examine why people are taking to the streets. They draw on insights from historic protests to explore the factors that contribute to the success of protest movements and progressive social change.

This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features guest experts Lauren Wilcox (University of Cambridge), Felix Dwinger (IAST) and Giacomo Lemoli (IAST). 

Season 3 Episode 8 transcript

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform 

For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.

With thanks to:

• Audio production by Steve Hankey
• Associate production by Stella Erker
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Kevin Sortino 

More information about our host and guests:

Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and his latest “Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC” which was published in 2023. @ruskin147

Dr Felix Dwinger is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study in Toulouse. His research focuses on autocratic politics and democratic backsliding using game theory and causal inference from observational data. He holds a PhD from the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. While pursuing his PhD, he was a Visiting Assistant Researcher at Yale and a Guest Doctoral Researcher at the University of Konstanz, Germany. @DwingerFelix

Dr Giacomo Lemoli is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse. He holds a PhD in Politics from New York University and a MSc in Economic and Social Sciences from Bocconi University. His research studies the construction and change of group identities, and their implications for political competition, mobilization, and development in contemporary societies. He is particularly interested in how political elites and mass media shape the salience of ethnic and linguistic boundaries, and in how collective memories affect behavior. He uses econometric tools for causal inference on contemporary and archival data, as well as original surveys. His research has been funded by UNU-WIDER and the Institute for Humane Studies. @giacomolem

Dr Lauren Wilcox is Associate Professor in Gender Studies, Director of the University of Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies, and a fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge. Lauren researches political violence, subjectivity, and embodiment from the perspective of feminist and queer theory. Lauren’s first major work, ‘Bodies of Violence: Theorizing Embodied Subjects in International Relations’, addresses a deep irony in war/security studies: that while war is actually inflicte

In this episode, Rory Cellan-Jones  (former technology correspondent for the BBC) chats with Verity Harding (Bennett Institute for Public Policy), Gina Neff  (Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy), and Lawrence Rothenberg  (IAST and University of Rochester), about artificial intelligence (AI) and the fine balance between innovation and regulation. Together, they explore what makes 'good' regulation and the crucial role of global collaboration in shaping the future of AI.

They share the latest developments of AI regulation in the UK, US and EU, emphasising the need for effective regulation to address the risks of AI. They also discuss what regulators can learn from past tech revolutions, like in vitro fertilisation, and highlight the critical importance of collaboration to ensure AI improves people's living and working conditions. 

Season 3 Episode 7 transcript

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform

For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/

Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse

With thanks to:

• Audio production by Steve Hankey
• Associate production by Stella Erker
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Kevin Sortino 

More information about our host and guests:

Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and his latest Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC which was published in 2023.

Verity Harding is a globally recognised expert in AI, technology and public policy. She is currently Director of the AI and Geopolitics Project (AIxGEO) at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy. She is also Founder of Formation Advisory Ltd, a tech consultancy firm. Her debut book is AI Needs You: How we can change AI’s future and save our own  (Princeton University Press 2024).

Professor Gina Neff is the executive director of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on the effects of the rapid expansion of our digital information environment on workers, workplaces, and our everyday lives.  Her books include Venture Labor (MIT Press 2012), Self-Tracking (MIT Press 2016) and Human-Centered Data Science (MIT Press 2022).

Lawrence Rothenberg is a member of the Scientific Council of the IAST and has been a member of the faculty at the University of Rochester for roughly three decades (1989-2002, 2005-present). He began his career in the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences at Cal Tech, and from 2002-2005 was the Max McGraw Distinguished Professor of Environmental Management in the Department of Management and Strategy and the Co-Director of the Ford Center for Global Citizenship at the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University.

This episode asks why are women disadvantaged in the workplace? Experts explore why women are underrepresented in certain professions. Why is the motherhood wage gap so persistent? How does flexible work impact women's careers? And what does policy need to do to reduce gender inequalities in the workplace?

Podcast host, Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), discusses these issues with leading academics Emmanuelle Auriol (IAST), Nina Jörden (Bennett Institute for Public Policy) and Francesca Barigozzi (University of Bologna). 

Season 3 Episode 6 transcript

For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

Tweet us with your thoughts at @BennettInst and @IASToulouse.

With thanks to:

• Audio production by Steve Hankey
• Associate production by Stella Erker
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor

More information about our host and guests:

Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. He has also written multiple books, including “Always On” (2021) and “Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC” (2023). 

Emmanuelle Auriol is a full professor at Toulouse School of Economics. Her work, which combines theoretical and empirical approaches, focuses on industrial organization and development economics. She is the author of two award-winning books and a fellow of different scientific societies. 

Francesca Barigozzi is a Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics of the University of Bologna. She is an applied microtheorist and her fields of research include family economics, public economics, information economics, health economics, and behavioral economics. She holds a PhD in Economics from Toulouse School of Economics. 

Nina Jörden is a research associate at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy and a member of The Productivity Institute. Her work focuses on questions about the future of work in the public and private sectors.

Relevant links

• Auriol, E., Friebel, G., Weinberger, A., & Wilhelm, S. (2022). Underrepresentation of women in the economics profession more pronounced in the United States compared to heterogeneous Europe. PNAS.
• Barigozzi, F., Cremer, H., & Roeder, K. (2020). Having it all, for all: child-care subsidies and income distribution reconciled. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 176, 188-211.
• Barigozzi, F., Di Timoteo, C., & Monfardini, C. (2023). The Gender Gaps in Time-Use Within Italian Households During 2002–2014. Italian Economic Journal, 9(3), 1263-1296.
• Barigozzi, F., Cremer, H., & Roeder, K. (2020). Caregivers in the family: daughters, sons and social norms. European Economic Review, 130, 103589.
• Barigozzi, F., Cremer, H., & Monfardini, C. (2019). The gender gap in informal child care: theory and some evidence from Italy.