Katrien Devolder interviews Erica Charters, Professor of the Global History of Medicine at the University of Oxford In this 'Thinking Out Loud' episode Professor Charters explains why the end as well as the beginning of a pandemic are murky, and what past pandemics can and can't teach us.

When does (or did) the Covid-19 pandemic end? 

Professor Peter Railton presents his take on how to understand, and interact with, AI In this Thinking Out Loud interview with Katrien Devolder, Professor Railton talks about how AI can have moral obligations towards us, humans, and towards each other, and why we, humans, have moral obligations towards AI agents. He also stresses that the best way to tackle certain world problems, including the dangers of AI itself, is to form a strong community consisting of biological AND AI agents.

How to understand, and interact with, AI 

Katrien Devolder and Dominic Wilkinson explore reasons why some parents are vaccine-hesitant Many who had no doubts whatsoever about getting a COVID-vaccine for themselves, are much more hesitant when it comes to vaccinating young children. Is such hesitation justified? In this Thinking Out Loud interview, Katrien Devolder (Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics) talks to Dominic Wilkinson, Consultant Neonatologist and Professor of Medical Ethics at the University of Oxford, about what sort of ethical considerations are at play when considering whether to vaccinate young children.

Should we give COVID vaccines to young children? 

Katrien Devolder and Julian Savulescu discuss the ethics of lockdowns Should lockdowns and other restrictions of liberty during pandemics be imposed on part of the population only? Many people accept that, to protect public health, it is sometimes acceptable, or morally obligatory, to restrict people’s liberties. But there’s a lot of disagreement about how far these restrictions should go, and whom they should apply to: everyone, or certain groups of people only? In this Thinking out Loud interview, Professor Julian Savulescu (Uehiro Chair of Practical Ethics, University of Oxford) defends the view that we should only restrict the liberties of the vulnerable during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Defending the selective restriction of liberty during pandemics 

Katrien Devolder and Jonathan Pugh discuss vaccine nationalism High income countries have been criticised for hoarding covid-19 vaccines: they have been accused of 'vaccine nationalism'. But what exactly is vaccine nationalism? Is it really wrong to prioritise one's own citizens? How can we do better when the next pandemic strikes? In this Thinking Out Loud interview, philosopher Dr Jonathan Pugh (Oxford) discusses these questions with Dr Katrien Devolder.

Is vaccine nationalism justified?  

Katrien Devolder and Aaron Gross discuss the link between factory farm and zoonotic diseases. In this interview with Dr Katrien Devolder (University of Oxford), Professor Aaron S. Gross (University of San Diego) explains why factory farms are breeding grounds for pandemics, and what we, as individuals, can do to help end factory farming (even if we don't feel ready yet to become a vegan...)

Factory farms are breeding grounds for pandemics 

Katrien Devolder and Josh Milburn discuss whether it's ethical - and possible - to feed our pets a vegan diet. There are plenty of good reasons to avoid consuming meat from factory farms. However, WE may well do so, but what about our pets? Should we feed our cat or dog a vegan diet? In this interview with Dr Katrien Devolder (Oxford) for @Practical Ethics Channel​ ,  Dr Josh Milburn (Sheffield) explains what options there are for feeding our companion animals an ethically acceptable (or preferable) diet - from vegan food, to pet food made from invertebrates, and in vitro meat  (and, yes, even in vitro human flesh!)

Should we feed our pets a vegan diet? 

Katrien Devolder and Jeff Sebo on factory farms as breeding grounds for pandemics Covid-19 is very likely a zoonotic disease, which means that it was transmitted from animals  to humans. Other dangerous infectious diseases, such as SARS, MERS, Ebola and HIV originated in animals too. In fact, of all emerging infectious diseases in humans, 75% are zoonotic. In this new interview series, Katrien Devolder interviews philosophers and other experts to explore how we might prevent future pandemics.  In this episode, Jeff Sebo, Professor of Environmental Studies at NYU, talks about factory farms as breeding grounds for pandemics, and why, if we want to prevent future pandemics, we should consider human and animal health together, and end factory farming.

How to prevent future pandemics 

Katrien Devolder interviews Alberto Giubilini. After healthcare and some other essential workers, it might seem the most obvious candidates for a Covid-19 vaccine (if we have one) are the elderly and other groups that are more vulnerable to the virus. But Alberto Giubilini argues that prioritising children may be a better option as this could maximise the benefits of indirect immunity for elderly and other vulnerable groups.

Covid-19: who should be vaccinated first? 

Katrien Devolder interviews Associate Professor Carissa Véliz. Are contact tracing apps safe? Philosopher Carissa Véliz (University of Oxford), author of 'Privacy is Power',  explains why we should think twice about using such apps. They pose a serious risk to our privacy, and this matters, even if you think you have nothing to hide!

The Risks of Coronavirus Contact Tracing Apps  

Thinking Out Loud provides audio-podcasts based on a series of videos produced by Katrien Devolder in which she talks to leading philosophers from around the world on topics related to practical ethics. The podcast and videos are meant for a non-specialist audience. You can watch the videos on the Practical Ethics Channel. Katrien is a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.

Katrien Devolder interviews Moti Gorin. With Moti Gorin (Colorado State University) on which patients we should treat, if we can’t treat them all. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought questions about how to allocate scarce medical resources to the forefront. In this Thinking Out Loud interview with Katrien Devolder, Philosopher Moti Gorin (Colorado State University) argues that parents (or primary caregivers) of a dependent child should (sometimes) get priority. A controversial position that nevertheless has some intuitive appeal!

Why Parental Status Matters When Allocating Scarce Medical Resources 

Philosopher César Palacios-González talks about how corruption and racism in Mexico created serious hurdles for developing federal guidelines for deciding who gets to access scarce medical resources. In Mexico, widespread corruption and racism create extra challenges for tackling the coronavirus pandemic: how can one prevent that affluent people buy their way into ICU or that people from certain ethnic groups are given priority acces to treatment? How can one prevent that the perceived social value of patients (e.g. the fact that they have children, are prisoners, have 'good' jobs...) determines whether they get treatment? Philosopher César Palacios-González (University of Oxford) talks about how these challenges affected the development of the federal guidelines for who gets to access scarce medical resources.

Fair Access to Covid-19 Treatment in Mexico 

Katrien Devolder interviews Dominic Wilkinson. Some countries are now past the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, and new ethical issues are arising: the healthcare system continues to be under enormous pressure: because of safety measures, it works much less efficiently than before, there will continue to be Covid-19 patients, and there is an enormous backlog of patients whose treatments have been put on hold. Who should now get treatment first, and who will have to wait? OUCs Dominic Wilkinson, Professor of Medical Ethics and Consultant in Newborn Intensive Care, sheds some light on this important and extremely urgent ethical question, and proposes a practical solution.

Past the Peak of the Coronavirus Pandemic: Triage of Non-Covid-19 patients 

Katrien Devolder interviews Udo Schüklenk. In the UK, more than 100 health and social care workers have died of Covid-19. Some of these deaths could have been prevented if these workers would have had better access to personal protective equipment (PPE). But there is a shortage. Do health and social workers have a moral obligation to continue to work if they lack access to PPE? Katrien Devolder Talks to Udo Schüklenk, professor of philosophy at Queen’s University, about this important issue.

Is it Permissible for Healthcare Workers to Stop Working if They Lack PPE? 

An interview with Dr Agomoni Ganguli-Mitra. Dr Ganguli Mitra talks with Katrien Devolder about how pandemics increase existing inequalities in societies, and how this may result in even more victims than those from the disease itself. She urges governments and others to take social justice considerations much more into account when preparing for, and tackling, pandemics.

How the Coronavirus Pandemic Exacerbates Existing Inequalities 

An interview with Dr Marco Vergano. Katrien Devolder talks to Dr Marco Vergano,  intensive care specialist and Chair of the Ethics Section of the Italian Society for Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine (Siaarti) about triage in the ICU during the coronavirus pandemic, and the moral burden this causes.

Triage in an Italian ICU During the Coronavirus Pandemic 

An interview with Professor Peter Singer. In this Thinking Out Loud interview, Katrien Devolder talks to philosopher Peter Singer about the causes of the coronavirus outbreak and what ought to be done to prevent future pandemics.

Tackling the Cause of the Coronavirus Pandemic 

Thinking Out Loud: leading philosophers discuss topical global issues

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