From anti-vaxx propaganda to partisan political news and wild covid conspiracies, social media is awash with dodgy, even dangerous (mis)information. Who is pushing this content online, what are they trying to achieve and how can we stop it - without censoring free speech? David is joined by a panel of info-warriors fighting for a less toxic and more truthful online ecosystem: Chloe Colliver is a specialist in disinformation and extremism online. She’s the Head of Digital Policy and Strategy at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Laura Edelson co-leads the Cybersecurity for Democracy project ..read more

Excess deaths, vaccine harms and lockdowns: how should experts communicate about these complex, politically explosive issues? Michael Blastland quizzes statistical duo David Spiegelhalter and Anthony Masters on what they’ve learnt while writing a weekly column for the Observer. They explore the importance of context and comparison, the trustworthiness of sharing uncertainty and the power of a good analogy. The graphic discussed in the episode - which compares the potential harms and benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine - can be seen here: https://wintoncentre.maths.cam.ac.uk/news/latest-data-mh ..read more

Politicians and civil servants are hungry for data to help design effective policy. How do we best collect and communicate this evidence - to support good governance and public accountability?  Joining David to explore interactive dashboards, misinformation and what’s not in the data are:  Professor John Aston - former chief scientific adviser to the Home Office, now Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life Dr Laura Gilbert - Chief Data Analyst at No. 10 Downing St Professor Diane Coyle CBE - Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy *** Views to share? Get in touch o ..read more

Statistics need care and context - but journalists are under pressure to craft engaging stories. Is there a way of doing both?  Joining David to explore how you turn data into a clear and compelling story are: Caelainn Barr - Data Projects Editor at The Guardian Tom Chivers - Science Editor at UnHerd and the author of How To Read Numbers: A Guide to Statistics in the News (and Knowing When to Trust Them) Paul Milner - Programmes Director at National Numeracy Check out Tom’s Statistical Style Guide at howtoreadnumbers.com and sign up to the campaign! *** Views to share? Get in touch on Twi ..read more

Communicating about vaccines has never been higher stakes. How do we do it well? Joining David to explore the importance of scientific rigour, listening and building relationships are: Professor Heidi Larson - Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project and the author of Stuck: How Vaccine Rumours Start — and Why They Don’t Go Away. Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and creator of the Vaccine Knowledge Project. *** Views to share? Get in touch on Twitter @RiskyTalkPod or email riskytalk@maths.cam.ac.uk Risky Talk is produced by Ilan Goodman for the Winton Centre for ..read more

Chemical spills, food scares, terrorist attacks and, of course, pandemics: How can we help manage and reduce the impact of these frightening events with good communication - even while evidence is scant and uncertainty predominates? Joining David to share their experience from the frontlines are: Professor Brooke Rogers OBE - Behavioural scientist at KCL, and SAGE participant advising the UK government on the coronavirus measures and risks to national security. Professor Lord John Krebs - former head of the Food Standards Agency where he dealt with BSE in sheep, dioxins and a series of food sc ..read more

Chemical spills, food scares, terrorist attacks and, of course, pandemics: How can we help manage and reduce the impact of these frightening events with good communication - even when evidence is scant and uncertainty predominates? Joining David to share their experience from the frontlines are: Professor Brooke Rogers OBE - Behavioural scientist at KCL, and SAGE participant advising government on the coronavirus measures and risks to national security Professor Lord John Krebs - former head of the Food Standards Agency where he dealt with BSE in sheep, dioxins and a series of food scares ..read more

The public appetite for scientific evidence during the coronavirus pandemic has been voracious. But communicating it well is a fiendish challenge. How can governments give clear advice while also acknowledging uncertainty? How can scientists debate complex evidence while supporting strong interventions? And how can the media scrutinise public health measures without undermining them? Joining David to navigate the principles and pitfalls of communicating evidence in a pandemic are: Victoria Macdonald, Health and Social Care Editor for C4 News Tracey Brown OBE, Director of Sense About Science P ..read more

The public appetite for scientific evidence during the pandemic has been voracious. But communicating it well is a fiendish balancing act. How can governments give clear advice while also acknowledging uncertainty? How can scientists debate complex evidence while supporting strong interventions? And how can the media scrutinise public health measures without undermining them? Joining David to navigate the principles and pitfalls of communicating evidence in a pandemic are: Victoria Macdonald, Health and Social Care Editor for C4 News Tracey Brown OBE, Director of Sense About Science Professor ..read more

For leading climate scientist Dr Tamsin Edwards, probabilities and possible futures are part of her everyday work. She joins David to explore uncertainty in different aspects of her life: as a statistician and mathematical modeller, as a communicator about possible climate futures, but also as a cancer patient faced with a life-changing decision. Tamsin and David explore Why 'all models are wrong but some are useful' How Tamsin engages with climate change skeptics and Extinction Rebellion campaigners Communicating projections for different scenarios - with climate change and Covid-19. What sh ..read more