Category: Policy

Benefits of pill testing and other drug testing

Benefits of pill testing and other drug testing

In New South Wales there have been renewed calls for pill testing at music festivals. In this short excerpt from our 2016 conversation August De Loor of Stichting Adviesburo Drugs in Amsterdam speaks about his successful campaigns testing the quality of ecstasy pills at parties and other substances at his drug testing houses where people have been able to visit without fear of police intervention. August has been a leading advisor on Amsterdam’s drug policies for 50 years.

Indonesian diplomat Bapak Hermanus Dimara

Indonesian diplomat Bapak Hermanus Dimara

A conversation about diplomacy and Indonesia including the Australia-Indonesia relationship. Bapak Hermanus Dimara is Consul for Information, Social and Culture at the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia for New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia based in Sydney. Bapak Hermanus Dimara adalah Konsul Fungsi Penerangan, Sosial dan Budaya, Konsulat Jenderal Republik Indonesia untuk New … Continue reading Indonesian diplomat Bapak Hermanus Dimara →

Aboriginal education, Dr Lynette Riley

Aboriginal education, Dr Lynette Riley

Dr Lynette Riley is a Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman from Dubbo and Moree with a long career as an educator. Lyn is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. Her doctoral research looked at conditions of academic success for Aboriginal students. Lyn has experience as a teacher and in Aboriginal education and administration within primary schools, high schools, TAFE, state offices and universities. Lyn is also a member of the National NAIDOC Committee. 

Political history and Malaysia, Dr Ooi Kee Beng

Political history and Malaysia, Dr Ooi Kee Beng

Dr Ooi Kee Beng is Executive Director of the Penang Institute which is a major public policy think tank in Malaysia. Dr Ooi explains some of the political history of Malaysia in relation to global history and international order and by critically analysing concepts of colonialism, nationalism and regionalism. Dr Ooi is an accomplished academic and author and his public commentary can be found at Wikibeng.com

Cannabinoid science, Professor Iain McGregor

Cannabinoid science, Professor Iain McGregor

More about developments in cannabinoid science as a follow on from a previous discussion about medical cannabis. Professor Iain McGregor is Academic Director of the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics which is part of the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney. As well as explaining the human endocannabinoid system and the potential medicinal uses of various components of cannabis plants, Iain comments on the current regulatory approach to medical cannabis in Australia.

Medical cannabis, Professor Nick Lintzeris

Medical cannabis, Professor Nick Lintzeris

A discussion of medical cannabis and the regulatory frameworks and market forces which impact its availability in Australia and elsewhere. Nick Lintzeris is a director of drug and alcohol services in Sydney, a conjoint professor with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney, and a chief investigator for the newly established Australian Centre for Cannabinoid and Clinical Research Excellence.

Economics of breast milk, Dr Julie Smith

Economics of breast milk, Dr Julie Smith

A discussion of human milk sharing and emerging markets in breast milk with Dr Julie Smith from the Australian National University. Julie was formerly a senior economist for Australian and New Zealand governments, an advisor to the World Health Organisation, and a breastfeeding councillor and board member of the Australian Breastfeeding Association. 

Counter Terrorism, Associate Professor Nick O’Brien

Counter Terrorism, Associate Professor Nick O’Brien

Nick O’Brien is Associate Professor of Counter Terrorism and Head of the Australian Graduate School of Policing & Security at Charles Sturt University. Nick worked for Scotland Yard for thirty years and on the day of the 9/11 terror attacks, he was in charge of international intelligence and operations in Special Branch. We discuss issues related to terrorism including the impacts of community relations and possible future implications of climate change on migration and security.

Tech public policy, Ryan James Terribilini

Tech public policy, Ryan James Terribilini

Ryan Terribilini comes from technology and public policy roles at Google and Ripple to study Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University. We discuss some of the emerging issues related to internet privacy and surveillance in a world in which we increasingly interact online and in which global finance operates using new technologies. Ryan also explains android ecosystems, bitcoin and distributed ledger technology.

Drugs policy Amsterdam, August de Loor

Drugs policy Amsterdam, August de Loor

August de Loor has been at the forefront of advising on Amsterdam's drug policy for 50 years. Here he explains the social benefits of separating soft and hard drugs through the legal communal use of cannabis in the coffeeshop system in Amsterdam. August discusses developments in drug culture and recalls his social work and community initiatives including working closely with heroin users and starting a needle exchange as well as running a drug-testing project for many years. August advocates for a "Third Way" of dealing with drugs which comes from society rather than a top-down policing or white-coat medical approach.

Water security Kenya, Johanna Koehler

Water security Kenya, Johanna Koehler

Johanna Koehler is a doctoral researcher at Oxford University specialising in decentralisation and water security in Kenya. Johanna recently returned from Kenya and she shares what it's like on the ground in local communities as well as her interactions at the governance and policy levels. We also discuss Johanna's earlier field work on the border of South and North Korea which was inspired by her family's experience being separated between East and West Germany. Johanna is a Clarendon Scholar with the School of Geography and the Environment and she works on the Water Programme at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford.

Paris climate agreement, Professor Myles Allen

Paris climate agreement, Professor Myles Allen

Oxford climate scientist Professor Myles Allen explains the Paris agreement on the day it comes into force. Professor Allen leads the Climate Research Programme at the Environmental Change Institute in the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford where he also heads the Climate Dynamics Group in the Department of Physics.

Medical overdiagnosis, Dr Jack O’Sullivan

Medical overdiagnosis, Dr Jack O’Sullivan

Jack O'Sullivan is a medical doctor who researches overdiagnosis. He explains concerns about unnecessary tests detecting cancers which might never develop into serious health problems for individuals in their lifetimes. We also discuss the invention of medical conditions for commercial pharmaceutical purposes, among other topics. Jack is a Clarendon Scholar with the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford University.

Bisexuality, gender, race, Carolyn Davis, Austin

Bisexuality, gender, race, Carolyn Davis, Austin

Carolyn Davis is co-host of the podcast Snatched! and a PhD student at the University of Texas. One of the few black people in her grad program, Carolyn discusses diversity issues in Austin as well national racial injustices with policing and the prison system. Carolyn shares personal insights as a queer bisexual woman. We also discuss her research of 18th century transatlantic literature and the class she teaches about fandom.