Led by the Science
Seriously...14 Aug 2020

Led by the Science

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic the UK government has stated that its decisions have been “led by the science”. This pithy phrase implies there is a fixed body of knowledge from a consensus of scientists that provides a road map of what to do to stop the pandemic. But there isn’t.

And if decisions made by politicians turn out not to work, then who gets the blame? Is it the science?

While some scientists have willingly appeared in support of the actions announced, many researchers are furious with the way that the government has used science. They point out that scientists from different disciplines have different expertise to bring to the discussions about what to do in a pandemic caused by a novel virus. Public health doctors say that their experience of local communities has been ignored in favour of mathematical models. Virologists feel their knowledge of how infection works has been sidelined. And psychologists believe the government has taken the idea of nudge as the only way to understand the behaviour of the population. Scientific knowledge changes through debate and discussion, in particular when we are confronted by a novel situation.

Philip Ball explores the relationship between science and political decision making in the pandemic.

Producer: Alex Mansfield for BBC Radio 4

Avsnitt(484)

A Dentist's Life

A Dentist's Life

In February 2024, the NHS dental crisis hit the headlines as hundreds of people queued outside a dental practice in Bristol to register as NHS patients. It was the latest sign of the severity of the n...

3 Maj 202428min

Counterfeit Characters

Counterfeit Characters

What do Artificial Intelligence and digital technology mean for actors and their relationship with audiences?Leading acting coach Geoffrey Colman, who has spent his working life on the sets of Hollywo...

26 Apr 202429min

Home Fires

Home Fires

Richard King explores the past and present of the second homes debate in Wales, revisiting the story of Meibion Glyndwr – active terrorists on British soil for almost 15 years. The proliferation of ...

23 Apr 202428min

Mila’s Legacy

Mila’s Legacy

How many medicines can you think of created for just one person? The likelihood is none - which is why the world hasn’t heard of milasen yet. But its creation, and the efforts behind it, could build...

16 Apr 202428min

Protein: Powerhouse or Piffle?

Protein: Powerhouse or Piffle?

Take a trip around the supermarket and you'll see shelves of products claiming to be 'high in protein'. Scroll through your social media and you'll find beautiful, sculpted people offering recipes and...

12 Apr 202428min

Rwanda Thirty Years On

Rwanda Thirty Years On

Victoria Uwonkunda makes an emotional journey back to Rwanda, where she grew up. It’s the first time she’s visited since the age of 12, when she fled the 1994 genocide with her family.Victoria retrace...

9 Apr 202428min

Dehumidified

Dehumidified

One baffling online scam – involving a £138 dehumidifier – and a humiliated BBC producer who will not rest until she has a return address for it.January 2024. Polly Weston’s toddler has a terrible cou...

5 Apr 202428min

Do We Still Need the Pips?

Do We Still Need the Pips?

To mark the centenary of the Greenwich Time Signal on the BBC, Paddy O'Connell asks the unaskable - Do We Still Need the Pips?First broadcast at 9.30pm on Feb the 5th 1924, the six pips of the Greenwi...

2 Apr 202429min

Populärt inom Samhälle & Kultur

en-mork-historia
podme-dokumentar
gynning-berg
p3-dokumentar
svenska-fall
aftonbladet-krim
skaringer-nessvold
mardromsgasten
hor-har
creepypodden-med-jack-werner
killradet
kod-katastrof
flashback-forever
blenda-2
p3-historia
rss-nemo-moter-en-van
vad-blir-det-for-mord
historiska-brott
rss-brottsutredarna
rss-mer-an-bara-morsa