About Kathryn MacKay

I am a Senior Lecturer at Sydney Health Ethics, at the University of Sydney. My research is centred around issues of human flourishing, at the intersection of feminist political theory and moral philosophy. I am particularly interested in questions related to public health, virtue, and agency.

FAB Gab Update: handing over the reins

The latest mini-episode of FAB Gab is out now, to announce an exciting change! Emma Tumilty will be taking over as host of FAB Gab, and Kathryn is stepping back after 3 years at the helm. In this episode, Emma … Continue reading

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FAB Gab Episode 31 – Jane Dryden on the Microbiome and the Imperative of Normalcy

In this episode of FAB Gab, Jane Dryden talks about her recently-published paper about the way that microbiome research reflects and reinforces the imperative of normalcy in health and medicine. Through the two cases of obesity and of autism, Dryden … Continue reading

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FAB Gab Episode 30: Karen Davis on women’s pain and breaking through isolation

This month, on FAB Gab, Karen Davis speaks about her paper in the new Spring 2023 issue of IJFAB, which is about women’s experiences of pain and how dialogue with sympathetic others can break isolation. Karen’s work stems from her … Continue reading

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FAB Gab Episode 29: Maya Goldenberg on Vaccine Hesitancy, pre- and mid-pandemic

The latest episode of FAB Gab is out now, and this time, Prof. Maya Goldenberg discusses her ‘author meets critics’ feature in the last issue of IJFAB. Goldenberg and two critics, Miriam Solomon and Inmaculada de Melo-Martin, discussed Goldenberg’s recent … Continue reading

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FAB Gab Episode 28: feeling ashamed about c-section shame, with Michelle Meagher and Kiera Keglowitsch

It’s the first FAB Gab episode of 2023, and we’re hitting the ground running and talking about shame. In this episode, Michelle Meagher and Kiera Keglowitsch discuss their paper that explores the idea of cesarean shame shame – that is, … Continue reading

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FAB Gab Episode 27: Clock time or Stomach time? Megan Dean on the temporality of eating

The latest episode of FAB Gab, and the last for 2022, is now out! In this episode, Megan Dean discusses her recent paper on the temporality of eating, and how understanding time impacts how we understand food and our own … Continue reading

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FAB Gab Episode 26: Floor Cuijpers and Petra Verdonk on an intersectional analysis of self-silencing in clinical trials

The latest episode of FAB Gab is out now! In this episode, Floor Cuijpers and Petra Verdonk present their work on the ways in which different kinds of marginalisation intersect to influence self-silencing behaviours among clinical trial participants. The trial … Continue reading

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FAB Gab Episode 25: Claire Moore on capabilities and conscientious objection

The latest episode of FAB Gab is out now! In this episode, Claire Moore discusses her recent paper, which puts Sen’s capabilities approach to use in addressing conscientious objection to providing emergency contraception in the U.S. Claire’s approach takes reproductive … Continue reading

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FAB Gab Episode 24: Serene Ong on a pluralistic account of the family

The latest episode of FAB Gab is out now! This time, Serene Ong of the National University of Singapore discusses definitions of the family, and how we need a broader account than just a biological model to capture the complexity … Continue reading

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FAB Gab Episode 23: Keisha Ray on Black Bioethics and the Future of Health Equity

The latest episode of FAB Gab is out, and in this episode, Keisha Ray discusses her plenary address from FAB Congress in Basel, in July 2022. Here’s an excerpt from the conversation: “We’re seeing a lot of bioethicists saying bioethics … Continue reading

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FAB Gab episode 22: Jeanne Proust asks, ‘what is a uterus and, what do we want it to be’?

The latest episode of FAB Gab is out now, and in this episode, Jeanne Proust discusses her recent co-authored paper focussed on the uterus, as a concept and as a complex organ. The paper arises from the context of the … Continue reading

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FAB Gab Episode 21: Katharine Wolfe on ‘speciesism’, ablism, and the real debate about moral status

The latest episode of FAB Gab is now live! This time, Katharine Wolfe speaks about her recent paper, which seeks to rescue ‘speciesism’ from the ablism of certain interpretations of the term. Wolfe’s paper looks back on an exchange between … Continue reading

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