Gates Cambridge podcast: So, now what?

  • January 26, 2024
Gates Cambridge podcast: So, now what?

The new monthly podcast will cover eight different areas, from climate economics to global healthcare.

We are very excited to be bringing people a flavour of some of the stimulating, multidisciplinary conversations that Gates Cambridge has enabled and to celebrate the impact that our scholars are having when it comes to tackling some of the world’s toughest issues today.

Professor Eilis Ferran

Gates Cambridge’s podcast So, now what? is for anyone looking for ideas, vision and optimism about how we can practically tackle some of the world’s most complex and challenging problems. Scholars from a range of different backgrounds and disciplines share the actions they are taking to change the world for the better.

The first podcast series, launched in 2024, focused on impact in eight different areas, from economics and environment to culture and global health. Each episode saw scholars in conversation with each other about a wicked global problem, hosted by international journalist Catherine Galloway. It ended with the question So, now what? – with scholars suggesting ways we can all contribute to moving the dial away from despair and towards the kind of practical action that will make a positive difference.

The second series in 2025 had a broader focus, beginning with an episode on the challenges facing young people today and ending with how to address the issues linked to an ageing world. In between were episodes on everything from astronomy to gender equality.

The third series, launched in January 2026, is focusing on different questions relating to leadership, tying in with our Leading with Purpose programme. Episodes have focused on leading ethically, leading for the longer term in a short-term world, leading a bunch of leaders, leading in a 24/7 media world and leading with hope.

So, now what? generally airs on the last Tuesday of the month.

Professor Eilis Ferran, Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust, said: “We hope people will enjoy and be inspired by So, now what? We are very excited to be bringing people a flavour of some of the stimulating, multidisciplinary conversations that Gates Cambridge has enabled and to celebrate the impact that our scholars are having when it comes to tackling some of the world’s toughest issues today.”

* You can listen to the first ever episode here:

.

For more information and to listen to other episodes click here.

Latest News

Combining fundamental Physics and start-up leadership

Viviana Gomez Ramirez [2026] likes to focus on the big questions in Physics, seeing it as a form of Philosophy. Her PhD, which she starts in the autumn, aims to […]

New UN role for Gates Cambridge Scholar

Impact Prize winner Emma Houiellebecq has taken up a new role as a Senior Analyst with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) at its headquarters in Copenhagen where she […]

Using podcasting as a research method

Simone Eringfeld has written a unique hands-on guide to how to use podcasting in academic research which is published this month and precedes her new podcast on the soundscape of […]

Gates Cambridge announces Class of 2026

What do the founder of a children’s health centre, an award-winning Nigerian author and a theoretical cosmologist have in common? All have been selected as Gates Cambridge Scholars in 2026. […]