“Ethics in Practice” is a new podcast funded by Wellcome and created by the University of Bristol and Quicksand exploring what it really means to be ‘ethical’ in healthcare and research, beyond checklists, and textbooks.
Ethics is often framed as something learned through guidelines, implemented through review boards, and contained within institutional processes. But for many researchers, ethics is deeply personal, shaped by lived experience, and often fraught with tension long before it is formally taught. This podcast was created to bridge that gap. Ethics in practice explores what it means to live and work ethically in the everyday, especially for researchers who find themselves navigating systems that do not always align with their values. How do scholars and practitioners balance ideals with institutional constraints? What does moral distress look like in fieldwork, teaching, systems-building, or activism? What sustains them when change feels slow or difficult? Over five conversations, ten bioethicists and researchers from around the world share how they grapple with these questions in their work. Together, they reflect on ethical complexity, power, responsibility and hope. They offer insights that are especially resonant for early career researchers.
This podcast is a space for anyone who has ever struggled with the question: “How can I do good in a system that feels wrong?”
Start by watching the teaser here: Teaser +
Listen to all five episodes: Ethics in Practice
We met a few years ago at the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research (GFBR) and got talking over lunch. THAT conversation got us HERE to Ethics in Practice. We would like to thank GFBR, Jantina de Vries (University of Cape Town), Sharon Kaur (University of Malaya) and Carleigh Krubiner (Wellcome). The podcast would not have been possible without their continued support and guidance.