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Centre for Biomedical Ethics

C B m E & U

A Philosophy , Society & Culture and Health & Fitness podcast

#53 in Philosophy · 🇸🇬
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About the show

CBmE&U is a podcast developed by the Centre for Biomedical Ethics in the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at National University of Singapore to promote awareness and debate in bioethics. The podcast showcases CBmE researchers interviewing members, visitors, and international guests on various topics in biomedical research and healthcare. Please subscribe through your streaming service to get updates on new podcasts! If you would like to use this content for teaching purposes, you are welcome to do so, but please present the material with the following credit statement: This content is from the CBmE&U Podcast, hosted by the Centre for Biomedical Ethics in the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at National University of Singapore: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2384633/episodes 

Newest episodes

Can Nihilism Improve Your Mental Wellbeing?

45 min

Send us Fan Mail We spend much of our lives searching for meaning. Some of us look for it at work. Some in our families and friends. Some look for it at an overpriced spiritual retreat in Bali where some dude named Jonas judges you for using non-natural deodorant.  Dr. Christine Tan has a different suggestion. Drawing on her research in Daoist and Buddhist philosophies, she makes arguments in favour of Nihilism: the view that life need not have an overarching purpose or narrative.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Insurance Discrimination: Is it Fair? with Harisan Nasir

48 min

Send us Fan Mail In some insurance scheme, you might be required to pay more because you are more prone to disability. In another, you may have to pay more because you're a woman (and are statistically likely to live longer). But what if you had to pay more because you like suntanning? Or because you spend too much time sitting in an office chair everyday? Where should insurance providers draw the line when it comes to creating individual risk profiles? Together with Research Asst. Prof. Harisan Unais Nasir, we discuss the ethical principles underlying differentiation and discrimination in insurance.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Genomic Newborn Screening: Where less really is sometimes more with Ainsley Newson

55 min

Send us Fan Mail Did you know that genomic sequencing can now screen newborns for hundreds of rare conditions right at birth? That looking too closely at our DNA might actually cause more anxiety than answers? And is there such a thing as knowing too much about your health before you've even taken your first steps? Professor Ainsley Newson (University of Sydney) joins the podcast to discuss the complex ethics of genomic newborn screening programs. Ainsley shares some delightful anecdotes about her first impression of Sinead, and unpacks how looking at a baby's DNA differs from traditional biochemical tests, what it means to balance the "value of knowing" against screening-related harm, and why we need to prioritise solidarity over high-tech hype. Remember people, be savvy! 

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All episodes

Can Nihilism Improve Your Mental Wellbeing?

45 min

Send us Fan Mail We spend much of our lives searching for meaning. Some of us look for it at work. Some in our families and friends. Some look for it at an overpriced spiritual retreat in Bali where some dude named Jonas judges you for using non-natural deodorant.  Dr. Christine Tan has a different suggestion. Drawing on her research in Daoist and Buddhist philosophies, she makes arguments in favour of Nihilism: the view that life need not have an overarching purpose or narrative.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Insurance Discrimination: Is it Fair? with Harisan Nasir

48 min

Send us Fan Mail In some insurance scheme, you might be required to pay more because you are more prone to disability. In another, you may have to pay more because you're a woman (and are statistically likely to live longer). But what if you had to pay more because you like suntanning? Or because you spend too much time sitting in an office chair everyday? Where should insurance providers draw the line when it comes to creating individual risk profiles? Together with Research Asst. Prof. Harisan Unais Nasir, we discuss the ethical principles underlying differentiation and discrimination in insurance.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Genomic Newborn Screening: Where less really is sometimes more with Ainsley Newson

55 min

Send us Fan Mail Did you know that genomic sequencing can now screen newborns for hundreds of rare conditions right at birth? That looking too closely at our DNA might actually cause more anxiety than answers? And is there such a thing as knowing too much about your health before you've even taken your first steps? Professor Ainsley Newson (University of Sydney) joins the podcast to discuss the complex ethics of genomic newborn screening programs. Ainsley shares some delightful anecdotes about her first impression of Sinead, and unpacks how looking at a baby's DNA differs from traditional biochemical tests, what it means to balance the "value of knowing" against screening-related harm, and why we need to prioritise solidarity over high-tech hype. Remember people, be savvy! 

The Hidden Side of Birth: Injury, Trauma, and PTSD with Angela Ballantyne

47 min

Send us Fan Mail Did you know that over 80% of people who give birth experience an injury? That anywhere between 30 and 50% of people who give birth find it traumatic? And that up to 15% of people experience PTSD from giving birth?  Professor Angela Ballantyne (University of Otago) talks about what birth trauma means, who is at the highest risk for experiencing it, and why so few people talk about it despite how common it is (spoiler: it's only partially because blokes don't get it).  Remember people, be savvy! 

Brains in Jars with Insoo Hyun

55 min

Send us Fan Mail Could a blob of cells in a petri dish one day think? Feel? Have rights? In this episode, Professor Insoo Hyun (Harvard Medical School, one of the world's leading experts on the ethics of stem cell and organoid research, joins Sinead and James to discuss what organoids are, why scientists are so excited about them, and why bioethicists are watching very closely. Insoo explains who has rights over donated cells that end up being brain models, whether organoids can have moral status, and what happens when an organoid has no donor at all — or many donors at once. Would you want a copy of your brain in a jar?  Remember people, be savvy! 

To smoke or to vape? With Johannes Kniess

53 min

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, guest-host Kat Muyskens and Sinead chat with Dr. Johannes Kniess from Newcastle University (UK) about what governments are legitimately allowed to make us do, whether we like it or not. Using case studies of tobacco restrictions and vaping bans, Johannes discusses how governments must grapple with their duties to let us live our lives the way we see fit, but also their duties to protect us from harms such as poor health. When can governments override our life plans, and can Gen Z fight back?  Remember people, be savvy! 

Feminist Science: Wait what? with Deboleena Roy

46 min

Send us Fan Mail Is feminist science more than just having more women in STEM? Is science itself capable of being a form of feminism? Have you ever wondered whether there's more to science than Nobel Prizes and almost magical discoveries? In this episode, Professor Deboleena Roy (Emory University), a neuroscientist and behavioural biologist, discusses what it means to do feminist science and be a feminist scientist. In so doing, Deboleena helps Sinead find meaning in the five laborous, monotonous weeks she spent in a lab in 2018, doing what amounted to what she thought was nothing.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Therabot versus a Tic Tac with Charlotte Blease

51 min

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of CBmE & U, Associate Professor Charlotte Blease (Uppsala University) talks about the placebo process for validating and testing mental health chatbots. With James and Sinead, Charlotte discusses whether, if we don't have the means to measure whether things like ChatGBT and theratbot are making us better or worse off, are justified in letting people use them? And importantly, when you get those pesky or uncomfortable messages from people, should you use openAI to write them? Or are we doing something wrong turning to AI instead of people?  Remember people, be savvy! 

Losing and Supporting Capacity with Emily Largent

41 min

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to CBme&U! For our first episode of 2026, and the new season 3, we have Assistant Professor Emily Largent (University of Pennsylvania), a bioethics expert, trained nurse, and Harvard law juris doctor graduate. With Sinead and James, Emily discusses decision-making capacity, dementia, and how legal frameworks should adapt to recognise the whole class of people who have mild cognitive impairments who need to make decisions. Emily's research brings significant implications for governments and resource strapped healthcare systems grappling with an aging society. Remember people, be savvy! 

Who are your parents? with Hilary Bowman-Smart

46 min

Send us Fan Mail The New York Times recently published an article on a woman who is fighting for custody and legal parenthood of twin children that she is not genetically related to, whom she did not gestate and birth herself, and who have not been living with her: her only connection with the twins is that she wanted them and so (under very interesting conditions) paid for the IVF and surrogate to birth them.  In this episode, Dr. Hilary Bowman-Smart (University of South Australia) discusses the impact of assisted reproductive technologies on what we think it means to be a parent. Hilary discusses this case and answers questions such as what if the embryo that made you, was made from 4 different people's gametes? What if you could have children with your friends, instead of your romantic partner? Should James start a cult? Remember to review, subscribe, and like the podcast!  Remember people, be savvy! 

The Ethics of Making Babies the Modern Way with I. Glenn Cohen

44 min

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Prof. I. Glenn Cohen (Harvard University) gives us his world leading answers to some of the stickiest issues in modern reproductive ethics: What does in-vitro gametogenesis (and can Sinead pronounce it correct at least once) mean for parenthood? If there is no other means for a person to exist but with a genetic condition, is trying to select against certain embryos even good for anyone? Is there a possible way to make coffee even more gross than just instant? What is the importance of genetic relatedness in determining who our parents are, and to us as individuals? What's the difference between IVF and IVG?  Remember people, be savvy! 

Dementia and Desires: Which you is the real you? with Rand Hirmiz

37 min

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Rand Hirmiz (Singapore Management University) discusses how people with dementia can sometimes drastically change their preferences, including their long held values such as religious views or ethical standpoints. If a person then tries to go against their former views, such as by eating meat despite being a lifelong vegetarian, which views should we respect? What if their new views are less harmful or restricting than their previous views? Rand talks about the ways in which we form values, and the similarities and differences between the person pre-dementia and post-dementia. We also debate coffee (once again), and the wild concept of half-and-half milk, and that is not so half-and-half as they say.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Can AI make better doctors? with Walter Sinnott-Armstrong

43 min

Send us Fan Mail If you were a doctor, woken in the middle of the night to decide which patient should get the only available liver, would you be comfortable making that decision yourself? What if an AI device could also do it, or even do it better? In this episode, Prof. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Chauncey Stillman Professor of Practical Ethics at Duke University) gives us the reasons why AI can help people make the kinds of decisions they would make if they were the best version of themselves. Walter gives us examples of AI-judges making bail decisions and AI-doctors making medical decisions, argues that dinosaurs were killed by excessive volcanism than by an asteroid, and why you should be a vegan when you are within a 50km radius of Peter Singer.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Should we trust medicine at all? with Jacob Stegenga

45 min

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Prof. Jacob Stegenga (Nanyang Technological University), author of the book, Medical Nihilism, chats with us why we should all be more sceptical about medical interventions. Jacob discusses the placebo effect, research malleability, and publication bias. Sinead and Kat ask how we can know when we are being misled by journals and media reports, and encourage Jacob to release his music on Spotify.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Sticky & Icky: Trusting Your Moral Gut with Brandon Yip

44 min

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, James and Sinead ask Dr. Brandon Yip (Singapore Management University) whether the instinctive 'yuck' that we respond to some things is a reliable tool for evaluating moral judgements. Brendan considers the sticky and icky situations, like relationship age gaps, and asks whether we can really trust our emotions and instincts to guide our responses. As always, James and Sinead fight over which karaoke is best (at what point is the podcast just a conduit for curating a top tier karaoke list), but most importantly, we learn when and how to control our moral gut.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Happiness and Meaning: Can you have both? with Matthew Hammerton

46 min

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Matthew Hammerton (Singapore Management University) presents the ideas of happiness, well-being, and the meaningful life, to answer what it really means to live a good life. He discusses the difference between meaning in life, meaningful lives, and the meaning of life (we promise they are different!), and whether there is a point in our lives where time doesn't give us more meaning. More importantly, we discuss spiderman, Matthew turns the questions back on Sinead and James, and philosophers who don't wear pants.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Healthcare for All? with Larry Temkin

58 min

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Professor Larry Temkin (Rutgers University) proposes the initially controversial idea that expecting all countries to provide universal healthcare is more problematic than we realise. In what Larry has retrospectively described as a podcast that 'may have been my most FUN interview ever', Larry talks about his impact on Chinese healthcare systems, the social determinants of health, and our moral responsibilities to help other countries.  Remember people, be savvy! 

TCM Again? Can! with Michael Stanley-Baker

48 min

Send us Fan Mail Why do people judge getting Traditional Chinese Medicine as pointless, or even as bad? Is your grief related to your lungs? In this episode, Dr. Michael Stanley-Baker from Nanyang Technological University discusses the history and ethics of Asian medical practices with Kathryn and James. Michael talks about the value of meaning for patients in understanding the role of medicine, whether medical care is really just a relative practice, and if the only benefit is merely placebo, is it really ethical to sell it to someone?  Remember people, be savvy! 

Discrimination Against Men?? with David Benatar

58 min

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Kat and James interview world famous David Benatar on his controversial work, 'The Second Sexism', a book that argues that we need to understand how men are also, and uniquely, discriminated against, including conscription and men's mental health. Some people have said David is just anti-feminist, but we get to the bottom of it, and Kat and David bond over their shared hatred of karaoke.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Wrongfully Alive with Sreenivasan Chambers LLC

48 min

Send us Fan Mail Should children be able to sue their birth parent? Is not being genetically related to your parents really that bad? And is every child always a blessing? In this episode, Sreenivasan Narayanan and Sathya Narayanan from Sreenivasan Chambers LLC talk about what should happen when children are conceived because someone was negligent, and how this has played out in Singapore’s courts.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Choosing Who Lives with Edmond Awad

45 min

Send us Fan Mail Is ethics really just mob rule? Could ethics really be solved with asking millions of people what they think is right? Should an automated car get to decide who lives and who dies? In this episode, Dr. Edmond Awad from the Uehiro Oxford Institute and the Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities at Oxford University to talk about morals and machines, moral machines, and what people's preferences really are about the trolley problem.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Religion & Bioethics with Anantharaman Muralidharan

42 min

Send us Fan Mail Should religious views be a part of bioethics debates? Should doctors be able to conscientiously object on religious grounds to abortion or assisted dying? And would excluding religious views be discriminatory or sometimes okay? In Episode #5, Dr. Anantharaman Muralidharan from the Centre for Biomedical Ethics discusses his research on religious bioethics, how we can distinguish religious from moral views, and the gods of philosophy.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Daoism & Doctors with Alexa Nord-Bronzyk

43 min

Send us Fan Mail What is Daoism? What is to be in harmony with Dao? Is it just to roll with the punches or go with the flow? How can doctors use Daoism to better help their patients live with chronic illnesses? Is Daoism just jazz or does James just love scatting? Dr. Alexa Nord-Bronzyk from the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at NUS talks about her research on ancient Chinese philosophy and its relationship with bioethics.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Democracy in Bioethics with Lucy Frith

45 min

Send us Fan Mail What, if any, is the role of the masses in deciding who gets which kidney? Why should the public be involved in these ethical dilemmas? Should the public get to decide whether bioethics researchers keep their jobs? In episode #3, Professor Lucy Frith (Centre for Social Ethics & Policy, University of Manchester) answers these questions with Sinead and James the role of the public in bioethics. Remember people, be savvy! 

Human Genetic Enhancement with Sinead & James

54 min

Send us Fan Mail In episode 2, and series first, James and Sinead banter their way through the ethics of human genetic enhancement. Many people think of this as designer babies, but whether we should genetically modify people requires us to ask deeper questions: what is it to live a good life? Is wanting a better life for your child always a good reason to change your child? Where is the line between wanting a better life for someone, and trying to control too much? Is it fair to others to become a superhuman? What karaoke song is best?  Remember people, be savvy! 

Controversial Ethics with Peter Singer

1 hr 3 min

Send us Fan Mail In the first episode of 2025, Julian and Sinead interview Professor Peter Singer on his life's work and controversial ideas in bioethics and ethics more broadly. Peter discusses his favourite karaoke song, his legacy as a philosopher, utilitarianism, what morality requires of us, and how is views have changed over time. Peter discusses various topics including euthanasia, animal ethics, altruistic organ donation, and human enhancement.  Peter has his own podcast, Lives Well Lived, which can be found here: https://www.petersinger.info/podcast  Remember people, be savvy! 

Precision Medicine with Saumya Shekhar Jamuar

44 min

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of CBmE, Sinead and James interview Associate Professor Saumya Shekhar Jamuar (Senior Consultant in the Genetics Service at KK Women's Children Hospital & Director of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Institute of Precision Medicine). Saumya answer questions about what precision medicine is, whether you should use smart watches to track your health, sharing genomics data in Chinese New Year,  Saumya's favourite gene (hint, not boot leg), and an exciting carrier screening test funded by Temasek Foundation, designed to help couples make informed choices in family planning. Remember people, be savvy! 

Moderate Compassionate Antinatalism with Marcus Teo

49 min

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 8, Sinead and James interview CBmE Doctoral Candidate Marcus Teo on his PhD analysing the ethics of having children (or not). Marcus answers questions about the antinatalist movement, his unique approach, and the difference between a life worth continuing from a life worth starting. Marcus asks us to consider whether we can truly ensure a child's life will contain more good than bad, and how we deal with the uncertainty of future planning. Remember people, be savvy! 

Palliative Care & Dealing with Death with Neo Han Yee

50 min

Send us Fan Mail In Episode #7, Dr. Neo Han Yee (Senior Consultant and Head of the Department of Palliative Medicine at Tan Tock Seng Hospital) discusses his experience, learnings, and philosophies on palliative care and end-of-life practices. Han Yee answers questions about the meaning of death and life, whether suffering is valuable, the importance of intentionality in palliative care, and how medicine ought to be better prepared to provide palliative care across the board.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Traditional Chinese Medicine with Kathryn Muyskens

31 min

Send us Fan Mail Episode #6 explores with Dr. Kathryn Muysken (Research Fellow, Centre for Biomedical Ethics) the ethics of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Kathryn shares her expertise on what counts as TCM, the importance and humanity of TCM as distinct from Western medicine, whether the inexplicability of TCM is ethically problematic for patient autonomy and consent, and the vulnerability of humans whilst eating mala hotpot.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Accountability & AI with Simon Chesterman

37 min

Send us Fan Mail In Episode #5 of CBmE&U, Professor Simon Chesterman (David Marshall Professor and Vice Provost (Educational Innovation) at the National University of Singapore) chats with Sinead and James about the black-box problem with AI. Simon answers questions like, should we use beneficial AI even if we do not know how it made a decision? Who should be responsible if we do not know what went wrong? Should we put computers and pigs in prison if they do harmful things and should we say please and thank you to Siri?  Remember people, be savvy! 

LLM's & Bioethics with Sebastian Porsdam Mann

31 min

Send us Fan Mail In Episode #4 of CBmE&U, Sinead and James interview visiting fellow Dr. Sebastian Porsdam Mann (Center for Advanced Studies in Bioscience Innovation Law, University of Copenhagen) on the use of large language models (LLM's) in bioethics. Sebastian discusses how and why to use LLM's in bioethics research and for incapacitated patients to provide consent, and how to write 14 academic papers in a year (Hint: use LLM's).  Remember people, be savvy! 

Heart Health in Asia with Roger Foo

38 min

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 3 of CBmE&U, hosts Sinead and Julian chat with Professor Roger Foo (Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at National University of Singapore) about Project RESET. Roger answers questions about heart health issues in Asia, the positive and negative impacts of personalised medicine, bridging racial gaps in knowledge, and whether we have free will.  Remember people, be savvy! 

Medical AI & Health Law with Barry Solaiman

31 min

Send us Fan Mail In the second episode of CBmE & U, Sinead and James interview Dr. Barry Solaiman (Associate Professor from Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar). Barry answers questions such as how is AI being used in healthcare? What are the main ethical concerns with using AI in healthcare? And, can the law ensure the ethical implementation of AI in healthcare? For those interested in Barry's work, see his newly published book titled AI, Health and the Law (Edward Elgar, 2024).  Remember people, be savvy! 

Bioethics & Cultural Differences with Julian Savulescu

34 min

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the first episode of CBmE&U! In this episode, together with guest Professor Julian Savulescu (Chen Su Lan Centennial Professor in Medical Ethics and director of the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at National University of Singapore), hosts Sinead and James discuss questions like what is ethics? Are there universal ethical values? How do we solve cultural differences in ethics? And why discuss bioethics in Singapore?  Remember people, be savvy! 

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