The ‘East’ has held a special place in the British cultural imagination. But how can we chart this historically? And how useful are frameworks of ‘East’ and ‘West’ within a modern world connected by technology? I’m Robert Taylor, a first-year History DPhil student at New College, researching the post-1945 British counterculture’s interest in India. Today I’m joined by Dr Christopher Harding, who completed his BA, MSt and DPhil at Oxford, and is now a Senior Lecturer in Asian History at the Unive...
Jun 22, 2025•58 min
To most, otters are those small fluffy creatures that lie back, hold hands and drift off into the sunset. In this episode, PhD student Claire Marr shakes up that expectation in conversation with 4th-year Biology student, Emily Jones, and introduces us to the giant otter: the 2-metre-long Amazonian relative of the otters we already know and love. How different are these giant otters to their smaller relatives and what is so special about their social behaviour? Host: Emily Jones Editor: Emily Jon...
Jun 15, 2025•22 min
Understanding the five senses is a foundational element of modern education, but how long has this been the case throughout history? Where did the idea originate and how did it survive when so many other conceptions of human biology from the past have been disproven? To find out more about this topic, Charlie Bowden, a History student at Jesus College, speaks to Dr John Merrington, Examination Fellow in History at All Souls College. Host: Charlie Bowden Producer: Florence Allen Looking to make t...
Jun 07, 2025•38 min
This episode explores the diplomatic strategies of Lusophone African liberation movements at the United Nations. We speak with Maria de Costa to discuss how movements in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau built international alliances and shaped their political identities to push for independence. Host: Kwame Appafram Producer: Florence Allen Looking to make the most of Oxford’s world-leading professors, we decided to set up a platform to interview these academics on the niche, weird and wonde...
Jun 06, 2025•29 min
Queer history is a relatively new addition to the lexicon of historical analysis, and questions remain about how best to approach the study of queerness in the past. To what extent can we 'find' queer identity in the past? In this episode, Charlie Bowden, a History student at Jesus College, speaks to Professor Matt Cook, the Jonathan Cooper Professor of the History of Sexuality at Mansfield College, about his forthcoming book Writing Queer History and what it says about developments in this popu...
May 10, 2025•28 min
The development of Christianity in the centuries following the death of Jesus was far from plain sailing. Which ideas and authors played the most significant roles in the shape of the religion as it entered the second millennium? To query this, Charlie Bowden, a History student at Jesus College, speaks to Dr Conrad Leyser, Associate Professor of Medieval History at Worcester College about the first thousand years of Christian history. Host: Charlie Bowden Editor: Charlie Bowden Looking to make t...
Feb 19, 2025•30 min
Climate change is understandably a current hot topic (no pun intended) that many of us care a lot about. But how good is our climate literacy, really? Three panellists from Oxford take on this topic, bringing in their expertise - from law to sustainable development. This is the perfect episode for listeners wanting to bolster their knowledge of climate change, especially in the face of seemingly rising climate change scepticism. This recording was taken in November 2024. Hosts: Charlie Soanes, E...
Feb 04, 2025•54 min
Host: Charlie Bowden Editor: Charlie Bowden In celebration of the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Regius Professorship of History at Oxford, the History Faculty organised a research event entitled ‘What is History now?’ at Trinity College. Charlie Bowden, a History student at Jesus College, speaks to a variety of attendees, from visiting professors to PhD students to employees in the heritage sector, to find out about where the discipline finds itself at present and where it should...
Nov 17, 2024•11 min
Description: The process of creolization, in which various languages and cultures mix into diverse new forms, has been an underutilised tool in historical analysis for some time. In the context of medieval Latin Europe and the development of myriad successor states after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, creolization can demonstrate some significant cultural shifts that warrant academic attention. To learn more about this topic and its potential uses, Charlie Bowden, a History student at...
Nov 03, 2024•30 min
Our final episode of the academic year! An interview with Nuffield College postdoctoral prize research fellow Vicente Valentim on the theory put forward in his upcoming book “The Normalization of the Radical Right: A Norms Theory of Political Supply and Demand.” Dr Valentim discusses how far right ideologies grow and parties with these views gain power, often at shocking speed. Valentim pushes back against the overfocus on intrinsic motivation in previous literature. He instead attributes the gr...
Jun 12, 2024•30 min
British society was fundamentally shifted by the Second World War, and among the many transformations that took place in the post-war years, those experienced by young people in respect to their education and political engagement were among the most significant. To explore this topic further, in this episode Charlie Bowden, a History student at Jesus College, speaks to Dr Helen Sunderland, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow and Junior Research Fellow in History at Jesus College, about the paradigms ...
May 29, 2024•42 min
Pandemics of the past highlight the persistent threat of disease throughout human history. It might seem that our repeated encounters with infectious diseases should have better prepared us for such cases. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic was not without its own challenges. In this episode of Oxpods, Rithika Ravishankar, a third-year Biology undergraduate at Hertford College speaks with Dr. Sunetra Gupta, Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology at Oxford University to discuss pandemic preparedness in th...
May 23, 2024•29 min
Depression has developed from a taboo topic to one that is widely spoken about and investigated in recent years. There are several debates surrounding its heritability, symptoms whether diagnosis can have a positive or negative impact on an individual. In this episode, Aylin Gurleyen, a 2nd-year Psychologist at Brasenose, speaks to Prof. Lucy Bowes, professor of developmental psychopathology at Magdalen College to discuss depression, depressive symptoms, and resilience. Host: Aylin Gurleyen Edit...
May 22, 2024•23 min
When we read anthropological accounts, it is easy to overlook the extensive fieldwork and lived experiences that inform them. How can anthropologists interrogate the ethics of their discipline, and fundamentally, what does anthropology offer? In this episode of Oxpods, Ushika Kidd, a second-year Human Sciences student at Keble, speaks with Dr. Sophie Chao, anthropologist and academic at the University of Sydney, to discuss the ethics and practical aspects of multispecies research and research wi...
May 16, 2024•29 min
Starting in comic books and more recently appearing in movies and television shows, characters like Captain America and Superman have become household names. But where did these superheroes come from? And what do they reveal about our modern era? Examining the evolution of the superhero from its roots in ancient societies to today, join us as we explore this mythic figure throughout Western culture. In this episode, Jillian Proshan interviews Professor Diane Purkiss, as they uncover the true mea...
May 15, 2024•36 min
Traditions of political protest in Spain, particularly the practices of caceroladas and cencerradas, have frequently been conflated by modern scholars as they are both actions rooted in the production of sound. In this episode Charlie Bowden, a History student at Jesus College, speaks to Dr Matthew Kerry, Associate Professor of the History of Europe since 1870 and Zeitlyn Fellow and Tutor in History at Jesus College, about what a new approach to understanding these separate practices can tell us...
May 08, 2024•22 min
Over 3.3 billion people get almost 20% of their protein from seafood. The consumption of species from wild populations is pivotal in preventing malnutrition and improving food security, especially in developing nations. But this can leave marine populations vulnerable. One group of marine taxa which is facing continued threats due to exploitation is sharks! In this episode, 4th-year master’s student Shathuki Perera, researching the consumption of sharks and rays in Sri Lanka, meets with Trisha G...
May 01, 2024•33 min
For such a popular genre of music, Grime is too often ignored in academic musicology. When it is studied, it is often the words rather than the music itself that receives the most attention, ignoring the wealth of sound worlds and production styles that have a crucial role in defining the world's perception of both the genre and the community of artists and fans. In this episode, Florence Allen, 3rd Year Music undergraduate at Univ, speaks to DPhil John O'Reilly about his thesis examining how th...
Mar 07, 2024•35 min
Media and extremism have a complex relationship, from the evolution of fringe beliefs into mainstream discourse to the strategies extremists employ to influence public opinion. In the modern context, these issues have manifested themselves throughout the globe and across the political spectrum. Sophia Herbert, PPE finalist at New College, speaks to Dr. Julia Ebner, postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Calleva Centre of Evolution and Human Sciences at Magdalen College, and Research Affiliate at th...
Mar 05, 2024•25 min
Dire effects of climate change and biodiversity loss seem to encompass almost everything, from the news stories, documentaries, and many forms of literature. Climate pessimism highlights the narrative of planet ‘collapse’ with its natural processes and species. Even with such unprecedented environmental change, optimism can help unite people to act and drive positive change. In this episode of OxPods, 4th Year Biology undergraduate Shathuki Perera meets with Associate Professor EJ Milner Gulland...
Mar 04, 2024•30 min
The literature of the Renaissance is full of fascinating undercurrents, and using different approaches to these works opens conversations around some difficult themes, indeed certain works of literature from the 16th and 17th centuries create feelings of ‘discomfort’. This term can be used to discuss themes of transformation, translation, creation and generation, summarised in the concept of ‘discomfortable bodies’. In this episode, Amelia Glover-Jewesbury interviews Lynn Robson, considering the...
Feb 23, 2024•51 min
Nostalgia is often framed as a uniquely modern phenomenon, but scholars have increasingly noticed that a longing for ‘the good old days’ stretches much farther back in history than you might think. Some time periods are perceived as hotbeds of nostalgia due to fast-paced social change, and the late medieval period is one such era. In this episode, Charlie Bowden, a History student at Jesus College, speaks to Dr Hannah Skoda, Associate Professor of Medieval History and Fellow and Tutor in History...
Feb 22, 2024•24 min
Depression has developed from a taboo topic to one that is highly spoken about and investigated. There are a number of debates surrounding the theme: its heritability, its symptoms, and whether diagnoses can have a positive or negative impact. Aylin Gurleyen, a second-year psychologist at Brasenose College, discusses these questions with professor of developmental psychopathology, Dr Lucy Bowes. Host: Aylin Gurleyen Editor: Taylor Bi Looking to make the most of Oxford’s world-leading professors,...
Feb 21, 2024•23 min
Superconductors are fascinating. When sufficiently cooled, they lose all their electrical resistance, becoming an effective perfect conductor of electricity. This intriguing property already sees use in MRI machines and particle colliders (like CERN’s particle collider). However, currently known superconductors are either too brittle to be stretched into wires, or they require significant cooling, down to around -270oC. Hence, for many decades, the search has been on to try and find a hypothetic...
Feb 19, 2024•45 min
The Literature of the Classical world can seem distant to us, separated by 2000 years and all the changes that came during those years. But throughout that time, Classics has been understood and used in ways which enrich our understanding of these original texts as well as our understanding of the time at the point of reception. Reception studies attempt to work with this idea and think about the interesting and important afterlife of these classical cultural models. In this episode of OxPods, C...
Feb 09, 2024•53 min
Postmodernism - the idea that human language can never fully capture reality - has been a buzzword since the second half of the 20th century. But how have postmodern ideas influenced historiography - the writing of history? In this episode, Minh Nguyen, a 2nd-year history undergraduate at New College, talks to Prof. John Marriott, Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College to explore how postmodernism has changed (or perhaps not changed?) the way historians approach the past. Looking to make the most of...
Feb 08, 2024•54 min
Within evolutionary anthropology, a persistent yet pervasive question is that of the traits of the LCA. The LCA is the last common ancestor shared by the humans, or the Homo genus, and chimpanzees and bonobos, otherwise known as the Pan genus. Learning about the LCA can inform us of what it really means to be human. What traits are unique to the hominin lineage? And how did these traits contribute to the success of our species? Izzy Rycroft, a third year Human Scientist at St Hugh’s College, dis...
Feb 07, 2024•27 min
In a time of great global challenges and injustices, international institutions are vital in tackling these shared problems. Yet, while positive in intention, many international institutions have been worryingly ineffective in practice. So why is this the case? Why do some international institutions fail in their stated aims, while others succeed? In this episode, Jack Morrin, PPE 2nd year at New College, speaks to Ranjit Lall, Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International ...
Feb 06, 2024•34 min
The trajectory of evolving species is strongly affected by the environment in which they exist, and one particularly interesting example of this is when organisms evolving on islands differ predictably from their continental counterparts through a suite of morphological and behavioural traits, known as ‘The Island Syndrome’. But what is it that’s so special about islands that leads to this process, and what can biologists learn from the species that exhibit the syndrome? In this episode of OxPod...
Feb 05, 2024•31 min
The works of William Shakespeare are synonymous with English identity, but why is this? Why is a 16th-century playwright still considered relevant today? And why are some of our favourite rom-coms based on his plays? In this episode of OxPods, English Language and Literature undergraduate Freya Radford interviews Dr Carla Suthren, a Lecturer in English at St Catherine’s College Oxford, whose research focuses on Renaissance literature and the interchange of different literature between eras, in p...
Jan 26, 2024•25 min
