Their engaging conversation explores the major steps taken so far to mitigate the acute effects of air pollution, as well as ongoing concerns related to long-term, life-course exposure and its role in accelerating disease and inflammatory processes. Nat also highlights the risks posed by this largely invisible form of pollution, which she brought to the attention of the Environmental Audit Committee in December 2025, subsequently securing a new Parliamentary Inquiry into air pollution.

Stephen and Nat discuss emerging research frontiers, including ultrafine particles, non-exhaust emissions, indoor air pollutants, and findings from a recent study on port emissions. They also mention potential developments in air quality monitoring systems in the Southampton area. In addition, they address issues of inequity, examining how poor air quality disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities, and outline key recommendations for urban design.

This is a particularly rich episode, in which our guests share their expertise to inform and empower the public, as well as stakeholders involved in raising awareness and shaping policy on air quality and environmental change. A central theme of the discussion is how to engage effectively with policymakers, combining academic research with public policy engagement to generate meaningful impact. The episode also emphasises the importance of early collaboration, sustained engagement, and the development of strong storytelling and communication skills.

As Professor Sir Stephen Holgate reflects at the end of the episode: “It’s important not to let opportunities miss you by. There will always be opportunities along the way – whether it’s talking to school children or participating in science festivals. Whatever the particular opportunity, you can’t go wrong by having a go, because everybody fails at times. What you may consider as failure can often be viewed as success through another pair of spectacles. Don’t be afraid to go out there and project yourself and say it like you would like to say it because you will be surprised what impact it can make”.

Read more about these topics below:

Nat Easton’s pitch to the Environmental Audit Committee: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/caad4680-d514-44f8-9b31-277b7e13090e                                                   

Nat Easton’s blog on securing the Parliamentary Inquiry: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/publicpolicy/dr_nat_easton_secures_aq_parliamentary_inquiry.page

University of Southampton response to the Environmental Audit Committee call for evidence – Air Pollution in England: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/publicpolicy/Air_Pollution_in_England_University_of_Southampton_Respo…

Mums for Lungs website: https://www.mumsforlungs.org/

C-Floor explores how human activities disturbing the seafloor can affect the carbon cycle in the ocean and knock on impacts like the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. The project focuses on single activities like bottom trawling and then explores the cumulative impact of several activities, including climate change pressure, happening together.

With team members from a range of background (marine ecologists, social economists, geotechnical engineers, policy officers) the project will also explore what society values when managing the marine environment, coastal community impacts, and how we can continue fishing sustainably to deliver a tool to policymakers to support evidence-based decisions.

Read more about the project and the interdisciplinary team on the C-floor webpage. 

Read more about the related project, Bowie, investigating how fixed offshore wind (OW) farm impact the marine ecosystem: https://ecowind.uk/projects/bowie/

They discuss the fact that locally, almost 1 in 3 businesses in Southampton are part of the food system. These provide over 6,700 jobs and contribute up to £487.3 million to Southampton’s economy per year (Figures as of 2024). However, over 40% of local people have reported experiencing food insecurity (Figure for 2023) and rates of childhood obesity are significantly higher in Southampton than the average for England 2022/23. Whilst the food system is also linked to a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

The Mapping Southampton's food system: Towards a healthier and more sustainable future set out recommendations and has led to the formation of a city wide Southampton food partnership which has, since 2024, become a member of the Sustainable Food Places network.

For further information of the work discussed get in touch Email: J.Baverstock@soton.ac.uk and publichealth@southampton.gov.uk or Sotonfoodmap@soton.ac.uk

Get involved

Southampton Food Partnership welcomes new members as it is very much an evolving group. Please get in touch to be added to the distribution list and receive updates and invites to meetings. sotonfoodpartnership@gmail.com

For further information discussed in the Podcast please see the links below:

Policy brief

Tackling Childhood Obesity in Southampton

Blog posts

Southampton food partnership

Southampton data observatory

Rehabilitating Probation explores the experiences and consequences of the unification of probation services in 2021 for managers, practitioners, partners, and service users. The research team has examined the lessons that emerged about how to rebuild culture, identity, and legitimacy in a reformed public service. They have conducted 340 interviews, across three annual sweeps, and run research-led workshops in and beyond their case study region.

Read all the publications from the team here and find more details about their project on their website. snip

This episode features two of the Playbook’s key contributors -  Dr Ruby Campbell, executive coach, leadership consultant, author, and chief editor and project lead of the Shaping Tomorrows project; and Dr Wassim Dbouk, marine and maritime policy research fellow at the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, project finance lead, and co-author.

Together, they discuss the Playbook’s evidence-based approach and its value for climate coaches, researchers, and anyone working at the intersection of climate science, policy, and leadership, and how our universities can support their inner development process. 

The Shaping Tomorrows Playbook introduces a structured, six-step framework designed to help readers navigate the political and organisational complexities of climate action by guiding them to develop the inner skills and capacities needed for effective leadership and change. It offers practical tools and reflective exercises grounded in current research to support impactful leadership and decision-making in sustainability contexts. The Playbook also encourages critical reflection, theory of change development, and interdisciplinary collaboration - key priorities for today’s research community. Download the Playbook here.

Whether you are a climate coach, a researcher, or a professional working to advance sustainability and climate action, we invite you to listen to this discussion to explore how the Shaping Tomorrows Playbook can enhance your engagement with policymakers, and support the translation of evidence into meaningful climate action.

• Towns and the Cultural Economies of Recovery: a scoping project examining how English towns understood the role of culture in their recovery from the pandemic
• Feeling Towns: a knowledge exchange project exploring place attachment that uses creative methods to understand what pride means to different communities
• Neighbouring Data: an interdisciplinary research project analysing the use of qualitative and creative data in local authority and community-led decision-making
• Poetry, Policy and Place: a research project assessing the role of poetry as a tool for community engagement and for representing felt and lived experience

This work has received funding from the Centre for the South’s New Things Fund, HDRC Southampton, and has been possible thanks to the goodwill of many people who have given their time and energies to the project.

Erin and Ben talk about their careers in music and academia, the challenges of demystifying academic funding processes, and how social justice played a role in their vision for the Hub.

They’re joined by Sue Barker and Victoria Thorneton-Field of Swim the Wight, a community interest company that runs regular supervised swims and promote sea swimming education, to discuss their plans for an accessible, eco-friendly tidal sea pool on the Isle of Wight. 

You can find out more about the sea pool at @isleofwightseapool on Instagram.

• Biohybrid Futures: a research project aimed at understanding the societal, ethical, and environmental implications of bio-hybrid robotics, funded by ESRC. Find more information here;
• RAI4MH, Responsible AI for mental health initiative: a collaboration between the University of Southampton and Northeastern University (US), funded by RAI UK; find more info here;
• SOUNDSCALE: an interdisciplinary research project studying the emergence of distributed acoustic sensing for smart cities, funded by the new UKRI's cross-research council scheme; find more info here.

Read his blog here.

Learn more about the project here: Multidisciplinary Ecosystem to study Life Course Determinants and Prevention of Early-onset Burdensome Multimorbidity (MELD-B)

A recent publication to read: A conceptual framework for characterising lifecourse determinants of multiple long-term condition multimorbidity

For a deeper dive into the FEVER project, make sure to visit their official website at FEVER

Background 

A growing number of people are living with several long-term health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, depression or dementia. We call this multiple long-term condition multi-morbidity (MLTC-M). Many things throughout a person’s life influence the chances of developing health conditions. This includes their biology (e.g. age, ethnicity), things that happen to them (e.g. infections, accidents), behaviours (e.g. smoking, diet) and broader experiences (e.g. the environment people grew up in, their education, work, income). People from more disadvantaged backgrounds and/or certain ethnicities are more likely to develop MLTC-M and to develop it earlier. The impact (or ‘burden’) of MLTC-M, and the order that people develop conditions, also vary. 

The project page: Research project: Multidisciplinary Ecosystem to study Lifecourse Determinants and Prevention of Early-onset Burdensome Multimorbidity (MELD-B)

New publication: A conceptual framework for characterising lifecourse determinants of multiple long-term condition multimorbidity

Background- 

Patient and carer access to medicines during the last 12 months of life (end-of-life) is critical for control of symptoms, including pain and distress, and for reducing urgent, unplanned use of healthcare services. However, data from our previous studies suggested that prescription, dispensing, supply and associated information given about medicines are experienced by patients as often difficult, demanding, lacking co-ordination, and involves a multiplicity of professionals. Although evidence is suggestive of patient and carer access problems with traditional service delivery systems, including General Practitioner care, little is known about this. Additionally, there are indications that critical sectors of the end-of-life workforce – palliative care nurse specialists and community pharmacists - are currently under-utilised.

Furthermore, whilst there are some promising innovations in end-of-life care models, the impact of these on patient access to medicines, as well as their cost-effectiveness comparative to more traditional delivery models, remains largely un-evaluated. Our recent research also suggests that the supply chain ‘upstream’ may be a contributing factor to the complexity and problems with access experienced by patients.  

• Peter Aldous, describes the importance of a strategic, evidence-based approach, working with communities, on the ever-evolving coastline.
• Kellie Fisher stresses the importance of community-led, place-based approaches and being honest in coastal adaptation conversations.
• Dr Helen Jay reflects on the benefits and vibrancy of our coastlines, and the importance of thinking about transformational adaptation now.  

Pod cast Hosts- 

• Dr Sien van der Plank, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Exeter / Visting Researcher, University of Southampton  
• Rebecca Walley, PhD researcher, University of Southampton  

• Tim Loughton discusses the particular challenges and exciting opportunities of coastal communities.
• Uwe Dornbusch takes the physical geographical perspective on coastal change, but also reflects on the relationship between nature and people in the coastal context, and the changing perspectives on how to best manage that interface.
• Dr Charlie Thompson describes coasts as an area of exchange, both physically and socially, a dynamic system that needs to be managed as a whole rather than controlled in parts.  

Pod cast hosts- 

• Dr Sien van der Plank, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Exeter / Visting Researcher, University of Southampton  
• Dr Wassim Dbouk, Marine and Maritime Policy Research Fellow, University of Southampton  

• Professor Robert Nicholls reflects on the history of coastal management in the UK, from defence through to resilience, and past and present management transformations.
• Professor Mike Elliott outlines the “triple whammy” of threat that coasts face, as well as talks us through the ten tenets for effective and sustainable marine management.
• Dr Jenny Brown describes her passion for the sea, and the need for sustainability to be embedded into coastal adaptation discourse and practice. 

Pod Cast hosts-

• Dr Sien van der Plank, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Exeter / Visting Researcher, University of Southampton  
• Dominique Townsend, coastal geomorphologist, PhD researcher looking at nearshore change, University of Southampton   

Bokhove C. and Pensiero N., (2022), Learning Inequalities During the Covid-19 Pandemic, The Policy Pod, University of Southampton, DOI: 10.5258/SOTON/PP0005

Additional material: Presentation: bit.ly/PPSLKIPresentation Dr Ganeshan Wignaraja: www.lki.lk/people/dr-ganeshan-wignaraja/

BMC Proceedings: bmcproc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.…9-016-0065-2 ResIn Public Policy Page: www.southampton.ac.uk/publicpolicy/w…-diseases.page

Hosted by Gareth Giles, with four influential guests; Andrew Pinnock from the University of Southampton, James Gough the director of the Southampton Cultural Development Trust, Satvir Kaur cabinet member for communities, culture and leisure and Southampton graduate Catherine Laws.

Additional material: The challenge of marketing the Arts to a university student audience in Southampton: drive.google.com/open?id=112fBFgP…IWapIf3F7K6EL1_V

The Cultural Manifesto: drive.google.com/open?id=1D-FtTHJ…7UXHAVQ5NM3LC_ic

Find more information about the project here: https://bit.ly/3m2twUe , or stay up to date with Macmillan Research group on Twitter: @MacmillanUos @HORIZONS_MSRG

Find more information on the project website: quantmig.eu, or follow the project on Twitter: @QuantMig 

The project QuantMig: Quantifying Migration Scenarios for Better Policy has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 870299.