Public Health Disrupted

Public Health Disrupted - Series Trailer

Public Health Disrupted

Show Notes

Presented by Doctor, writer and TV Presenter Xand van Tulleken and community health psychologist and Professor of Global Mental Health and Social Justice at the UCL Institute for Global Health, Dr Rochelle Burgess.

This podcast is about public health, but more importantly, it’s about the systems that need disrupting to make public health better. In each episode, we’ll be challenging the status quo of this field, asking what needs to change, and why and how can we get there. Each month we’ll be joined by activists, scholars, artists, comedians and industry professionals to offer perspectives from the UCL community and beyond.

We’re calling this podcast Public Health Disrupted because that’s exactly what we want to do. We are going to be breaking down disciplinary, sectoral and geographic boundaries to really understand the diverse and complex issues impacting our health. Issues as complex as structural racism and as broad as the role of tech in public health.

If there’s a question you’d like our hosts or guests to answer, please email us at [email protected].

New episodes will be made available via Spotify, Apple Podcast and Transistor. Production Credits: Public Health Disrupted with Rochelle Burgess and Xand van Tulleken is a podcast from UCL Health of the Public.

More from Public Health Disrupted

Sep 17, 2026

From the moment we are born, microbes begin to shape our development. But what role do these early microbial communities play in our long-term health? In this episode, Professor Rochelle Burgess is joined by Professor Meghan Azad and UCL Professor Nigel Field to explore the science of the infant microbiome and what it can teach us about lifelong health.

Aug 3, 2026

To mark UCL's bicentenary, Public Health Disrupted comes to a live audience for the very first time. Hosts Xand van Tulleken and Rochelle Burgess are joined by medical historian Dr Cristiano Turbil for a conversation that challenges some of the stories we tell about public health progress.

Jul 15, 2026

Xand van Tulleken and Rochelle Burgess explore a deceptively simple question: what role does love play in our health and wellbeing?

Jun 11, 2026

Global Mental Health: Rights, Care and the Global Landscape

Apr 21, 2026

In the first episode of Season 6 of Public Health Disrupted, Dr Xand van Tulleken and Professor Rochelle Burgess explore why younger generations are drinking less, and what that shift means for public health.

See all episodes →