Save the cities, fix the planet – Ian Goldin on the power and plight of our cities

Your phone knows how many steps you’ve taken today, how long you’ve been outside, how much social interaction you’ve had... It can be scary, but what if it could be the path to a better way of managing mental health? Rates of anxiety and depression continue to rise, but even if we could double the workforce of mental health professionals, we still wouldn’t keep up. Dr Frank Iorfino says it’s time to use big data to our own advantage. He calls it ‘ambient mental health care’ - it’s a way of leveraging all that data collection already happening in the background so we can better understand ourselves and our mental health. Frank explains why the current approach to mental health care needs to change, and outlines how ambient mental health care is already being used today. +++ The Solutionists is a podcast from the University of Sydney, produced by Deadset Studios. Keep up to date with The Solutionists by following @sydney_uni on Facebook and Instagram, and @sydney.edu.au on Bluesky. This episode was produced by Liam Riordan with sound design by Jeremy Wilmot. Supervising producer is Sarah Dabro. Executive editors are Kellie Riordan, Sladjana Rstic, and Mark Scott. Strategist is Ann Chesterman. This podcast was recorded on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. For thousands of years, across innumerable generations, knowledge has been taught, shared and exchanged here. We pay respect to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Society feels more divided than ever. We seem to be talking about this all the time, but it’s exactly these discussions that are pulling us further apart. Professor Betina Szkudlarek says it’s worse than differences of opinion. Today, people are less likely than ever to even hear out someone who’s different to them in some way. So what do we do? Betina points to refugee employment as a case study – and you’ll hear from Karyna, a Ukrainian refugee who now manages a restuarant in Sydney. Businesses are now some of our most trusted institutions, and they’re the place you’re likely to experience the most diversity on a daily basis. Betina explains what we can learn from businesses who are committed to building a more cohesive society, and shares tips on how you can contribute at work, too. +++ The Solutionists is a podcast from the University of Sydney, produced by Deadset Studios. Keep up to date with The Solutionists by following @sydney_uni on Facebook and Instagram, and @sydney.edu.au on Bluesky. This episode was produced by Liam Riordan with sound design by Jeremy Wilmot. Supervising producer is Sarah Dabro. Executive editors are Kellie Riordan, Sladjana Rstic, and Mark Scott. Strategist is Ann Chesterman. This podcast was recorded on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. For thousands of years, across innumerable generations, knowledge has been taught, shared and exchanged here. We pay respect to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would you want a robot to look after you in your later years? What if it treated you like a child? That’s exactly what’s happening to some older people subject to an influx of high-tech solutions to a struggling aged care system in Australia. Our population is ageing and staff are burning out, so tech companies are trying to enter the space with their own 'fixes.’ But what if these technologies are just solutions looking for a problem? Associate Professor Barbara Barbosa Neves is a sociologist of technology who says this is all too common. When older people are excluded from tech design, the technology simply doesn’t work for them. It might be difficult to use, but it can also have adverse effects, like furthering stereotypes and deepening loneliness. She explains how inclusive design – as well looking at the bigger picture – can make a real difference. +++ The Solutionists is a podcast from the University of Sydney, produced by Deadset Studios. Keep up to date with The Solutionists by following @sydney_uni on Facebook and Instagram, and @sydney.edu.au on Bluesky. This episode was produced by Liam Riordan with sound design by Jeremy Wilmot. Supervising producer is Sarah Dabro. Executive editors are Kellie Riordan, Sladjana Rstic, and Mark Scott. Strategist is Ann Chesterman. This podcast was recorded on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. For thousands of years, across innumerable generations, knowledge has been taught, shared and exchanged here. We pay respect to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humans are constantly getting better at fighting cancer. Our understanding of the suite of diseases is more robust, our technology is more advanced, and our public health systems are more efficient. But cancer epidemiologist Professor Karen Canfell says Australia will still see more and more incidences of cancer over time. But Australia’s also on track to become the first country to eliminate cervical cancer, the fourth-most common cancer in women. Karen says that our fight against cervical cancer can teach us how to beat other diseases, too. Crucially, it can also teach us how to help our closest neighbours: cervical cancer is low on Australia’s list of most deadly cancers, and yet it’s at the top of the list in Papua New Guinea. Karen explains why Australia’s leading the world in this space, and how that gives us a responsibility and opportunity to help improve public health worldwide. +++ The Solutionists is a podcast from the University of Sydney, produced by Deadset Studios. Keep up to date with The Solutionists by following @sydney_uni on Facebook and Instagram, and @sydney.edu.au on Bluesky. This episode was produced by Liam Riordan with sound design by Jeremy Wilmot. Supervising producer is Sarah Dabro. Executive editors are Kellie Riordan, Sladjana Rstic, and Mark Scott. Strategist is Ann Chesterman. This podcast was recorded on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. For thousands of years, across innumerable generations, knowledge has been taught, shared and exchanged here. We pay respect to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our growing population has a huge number of impacts, but the simplest and most pressing is that we have more mouths to feed than ever before. At the same time, though, climate change is threatening farmland worldwide. That means crops like wheat, which account for 20% of daily calories consumed worldwide, are plateauing. Enter: Richard Trethowan and the Plant Breeding Institute. Richard and his team are working on something called hybrid wheat, which will be more robust and productive than the regular plant. They’re trying to make food that’s healthier, easier to grow, and that will feed more people. Richard explains why we’ve never been able to make hybrid wheat before, why it’s so crucial to the future of our planet, and how over a century of forward-thinking research has laid the foundation for the work he’s doing today. +++ The Solutionists is a podcast from the University of Sydney, produced by Deadset Studios. Keep up to date with The Solutionists by following @sydney_uni on Facebook and Instagram, and @sydney.edu.au on Bluesky. This episode was produced by Liam Riordan with sound design by Jeremy Wilmot. Supervising producer is Sarah Dabro. Executive editors are Kellie Riordan, Sladjana Rstic, and Mark Scott. Strategist is Ann Chesterman. This podcast was recorded on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. For thousands of years, across innumerable generations, knowledge has been taught, shared and exchanged here. We pay respect to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.