Guardian Science Weekly

What will the cost of living crisis do to our health?

Loading player...
Millions around the world are struggling with higher food and energy prices. In the UK inflation has reached a 40-year high of 9% in the 12 months to April, leaving many struggling to pay bills and shoulder normal living costs. When the weekly shop gets smaller and the flat gets colder, it’s our health that suffers. Madeleine Finlay speaks to health inequity expert Prof Michael Marmot about the ways poverty makes you sicker and why falling income is so bad for the country’s health. This cost of living crisis could be “austerity squared”, he warns.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
23 May 2022 English United Kingdom Science · Nature

Other recent episodes

Hantavirus update, Pentagon’s UFO files, can art slow biological ageing?

Madeleine Finlay sits down with co-host and science editor Ian Sample to discuss three eyecatching stories from the week, including an update on hantavirus. Also on the agenda is the Pentagon’s release of a tranche of never before seen documents relating to UFOs, and a study looking at the link…
14 May 21 min

Trump is backing psychedelic research: here’s why

Last month President Trump signed an executive order designed to fast track both research and access to psychedelic drugs as treatments for mental health illnesses. The most prominent in the order was ibogaine, a drug derived from the root bark of a West African shrub, that has shown some promise…
12 May 17 min

100 years on Earth: celebrating David Attenborough’s birthday

To celebrate Sir David Attenborough’s centenary, Madeleine Finlay catches up with natural history writer Patrick Barkham, who has met the celebrated presenter. They explore how the natural world has changed in the century that Attenborough has been on Earth, and how his programming has reflected his growing commitment to highlighting…
7 May 20 min

Hantavirus explained: how does it spread and who is most at risk?

Three people have died after an outbreak of hantavirus onboard a cruise ship travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde. The World Health Organization says that a total of seven cases – two confirmed by laboratory testing and five suspected – have been identified on the cruise ship so far. They…
5 May 13 min
All episodes