Henrique Parra & Ricardo Teixeira, amplifying the debate: The role of scientists and social scientists in times of uncertainty

 [ Notice: This episode is in Portuguese. As a way of letting the interviewees express themselves fully and also to amplify the access to Brazilians, this session was recorded in the interviewee’s native language. Thus, Andrea Rozenbaum, a Brazilian anthropologist, is also joining us in this episode as a co-host. A transcript of the episode in English can be found in the podcast’s website. ]

EN Henrique Parra & Ricardo Teixeira, amplifying the debate: The role of scientists and social scientists in times of uncertainty

In this session, we continue the conversation we started in the previous episode with Ricardo Teixeira and Henrique Parra. Ricardo is a sanitary doctor, specialized in collective health, and professor at the São Paulo University (USP) in the preventive medicine department, where he develops research focusing on health communication. Henrique is a sociologist and a social sciences professor at UNIFESP, where he coordinates a technology, politics and knowledge lab called Pimenta Lab.

In this episode, we deepened our conversation, questioning the sense of responsibility and the feeling of impotence when facing a reality in which it seems hard to glimpse a positive future.

Ricardo resumed the idea of social medicine, viewing it as a social science. He highlighted the significance of taking economic, social and political measures at this point.

Contrasting the neoliberal model, in which the individual is encouraged to care for his health autonomously in several instances, the interviewees highlighted the vulnerability the pandemic brought. They debated how this makes us realize how interdependent we are, and how we need the collective, the bonds, and the affections to live.

We debated about how social scientists could act within the current circumstances, highlighting a transdisciplinary view of life in society. They reiterated the importance of allying the health and the humanities field.

We concluded this conversation by reflecting on the future, the environmental implications, and possible transformations in the perception over the individual and the collective. Finally, we talked about what we could not only learn but put into action from everything we are experiencing.