In this episode, host Jade Hunter is joined by UCL Professor of Anthropology, Jo Cook, to explore AnthropoloJOY, an ambitious project examining how joy is experienced, expressed and understood across different cultures. AnthropoloJOY is the first long-term qualitative research project of its kind, investigating what joy means in the UK and beyond. Professor Cook shares how the absence of joy during the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the project’s creation, and why it’s time to rethink the way we talk about human emotions. The episode explores the project’s innovative research methods, including: participant observation, micro-phenomenological interviews, and photovoice. Together, these approaches aim to deepen our understanding of joy’s role in strengthening resilience, connection and wellbeing.

Featured in this episode:
Presenter: Jade Hunter;
Guest: Professor Joanna Cook;
Producer: Decibelle Creative

In this episode, Jade Hunter explores a pioneering Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) project focused on early detection and support for university students. Joined by Dr Georgina Krebs, Dr Thomas Kador and Dr Thomas Osborn, the conversation highlights a Grand Challenges-funded project developing scalable digital tools to identify BDD symptoms and deliver accessible interventions. Co-designed with students, the project aims to prevent escalation of this often-overlooked condition and offers a model for tackling wider mental health challenges among young adults.

In this episode, Jade Hunter explores the Grand Challenge-funded project "Embodying the Social: ‘The Challenge of Urban Violence and Inequalities in the Era of the Exposome’ with the project’s co-leads: Professor Sahra Gibbon, Rosie Mathers, and Professor James Kirkbride. This interdisciplinary research initiative brings together experts from anthropology, epidemiology, and psychiatry to investigate how various exposures throughout life shape the mental health of young women living in urban settings.