Podcast: The IDEMS Podcast

Lucie and David reflect on the 20th anniversary celebration of the West Africa Community of Practice (COP) in Niger, focusing on the broader context in which it took place. They discuss the practical and geopolitical challenges of working in the region, the importance of in-person engagement for building trust, and the contrasts between local and…

Santiago and David discuss the organisation of the 2026 International STACK Conference, marking the first time the event is held outside Europe. They reflect on its expanded format, emphasis on workshops and inclusivity, and the growing global reach of the STACK community. The conversation also highlights capacity building, new collaborations, and the potential for the…

George and David explore how the PBDM modelling approach could extend beyond agroecology into public health and epidemiology. They discuss similarities and differences between modelling ecosystems and disease systems, the potential for compositional frameworks to connect models across scales, and the broader opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration. The conversation highlights both the conceptual challenges and the…

George and David discuss the next phase of work on Physiologically Based Demographic Modelling (PBDM), focusing on efforts to scale its application in agroecological systems in West Africa. They explore the challenges of building and deploying complex ecosystem models, the interdisciplinary collaboration required, and the long-term vision of integrating deterministic models with responsible AI to…

Santiago and Kate explore the thinking behind organising the IDEMS podcast as it grows into a substantial body of work. They discuss the development of a microsite, including tagging and filtering systems to help listeners navigate diverse topics, as well as ideas like curated collections and favourite episodes. The conversation reflects on how to balance…

Santiago and David explore the gap in open GCSE and iGCSE textbooks, and the opportunity to build curriculum-aligned resources from existing open content. They discuss how tools like PreTeXt can enable “same content, different variants” across exam boards, with interactive technologies like STACK adding further value, and reflect on how current work is putting the…

Lucie and David discuss the tension between two of IDEMS’ principles: being “collaborative by nature” and “enabling opportunity” for individuals. They contrast rising Western individualism with more community-focused African contexts where personal sacrifice can support collective coherence. They argue collaboration and individual success aren’t contradictory, citing Italian cooperatives, worker-owned factories, and the importance of compromise…

Michele and David discuss humanoid robots, and argue the real question isn’t when they arrive, but how different societies will accept and use them. They push back on framing humanoids mainly as worker replacements, suggesting their biggest impact may be social—especially in contexts like Italy’s aging population and shrinking workforce, where care needs are growing.…

When does measuring the “wrong” thing produce better results than measuring the “right” one? Lily and David continue the mini-series on Research Methods Support for Climate Resilient Food Systems with a story about proxy variables from West African farmer trials: measuring millet head weight at harvest proved a more reliable proxy for grain yield than…