In this episode we discuss the realities of immigration detention across Europe, from the individual experiencing detention to the broader politics shaping the system. What is immigration detention? The Migration Observatory explains in a recent policy briefing, ‘In the UK, immigration detention refers to the Home Office practice of detaining foreign nationals for the purposes of resolving their immigration statuses. Most countries use immigration detention. When people are detained, they are ty...
Mar 02, 2026•29 min
How empowering is humanitarian aid in the 21st century? We welcome an expert panel to discuss past and present localisation efforts, and how they affect migration dynamics and community building. What does the future of humanitarian aid look like in the 21st century? How empowering can humanitarian efforts be for the individuals and communities they serve? And is it possible for this work to advance decolonisation in the migration-development sector? In this episode, recorded in early 2025, we s...
Feb 17, 2026•33 min
In this episode, we explore how patterns of mobility to and from Mexico have changed over time, and how these shifts reflect the growing complexity of migration in the modern world. Mexico is a place of transit. It is a place where settlement, emigration, immigration, and internal displacement occur simultaneously and at an unprecedented scale within Latin America. However, as both a border between the global North and South and a recipient of increasingly restrictive U.S. migration policies, Me...
Jan 15, 2026•36 min
Should we be optimistic about the future of welcoming in UK cities? In this feature episode, we navigate the policies, practices and perseverance essential to strengthen migrant welcoming and inclusion in the UK. What does it mean for a city to be genuinely welcoming? How can cities foster inclusive attitudes and how do local policies and practices shape the experiences of those who have newly arrived? Is optimism realistic and, ultimately, useful? In this special episode of The Migration Oxford...
Dec 03, 2025•33 min
Community, refugees, and urban life: what’s cycling got to do with it? We explore refugee women’s experiences in London through the ESRC Open City initiative and a participatory film with The Bike Project. In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we explore how mobility, belonging, and everyday urban life intersect in London, and how newcomers reshape the city through movement. Our focus is a participatory, arts-based collaboration with The Bike Project, an NGO that provides refugees wit...
Oct 09, 2025•40 min
Who is the anti-migration agenda actually serving, and what are the alternatives? We welcome experts from the six-year-long MIGNEX project, which gathered a range of perspectives to explore questions of migration and global develo Over recent decades, there has been a growing emphasis towards stopping migration to the EU. Policy tools that focus on return and readmission aim to control migration flows from non-EU countries while development aid in countries of origin is oriented towards preventi...
Jul 21, 2025•30 min
In a world obsessed with AI, what are robo-dogs and how are they deployed at border control? With the rise of “crimmigration” across the world, the lines between migration management and criminal law are becoming blurred. The rise of "crimmigration" on a global scale is seeing the lines between migration management and criminal law being blurred, often in an effort to exercise surveillance of people on the move. What does this mean for people at the border? Can border technologies be used for go...
Jul 07, 2025•35 min
What does migration have to do with missionary work? We explore how Baptist and Presbyterian missionary work as socioreligious institutions have impacted and influenced mobility in Northeast India, both pre- and post-colonialism. What does migration have to do with missionary work? How do socioreligious collective institutions (Baptist and Presbyterian missionary work) and indigenous religious cosmologies impinge on the youth of Northeast India? As they leave home and embark on arduous journeys ...
Jun 20, 2025•35 min
Geopolitics, irregular movement, the rise of the far-right: these are just some of the buzzwords populating your morning news headlines. But where is the relationship between Europe and the U.S. heading? What are the implications for immigration policy? In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast we host a timely discussion on the shifting political landscapes in Germany and the United States, as both nations grapple with pre- and post-election changes that are reshaping approaches to immigr...
Apr 15, 2025•33 min
What does migration sound like? Migration Sounds features 120 sounds of migration across 51 countries from Argentina to Australia, with personal stories from diaspora communities and people who have migrated all over the world. Note: The sound at the beginning may seem like static, but it's intentional - don’t adjust your headphones! In this special episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast marking the end of our 2024 series, we turn the microphone to Migration Sounds. A partnership between global...
Mar 26, 2025•35 min
Over 2.6 million people are locked out of the welfare state in the UK and now subject to ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF), an immigration policy restricting access to social security. How can local government respond? How can local government improve the safety net for vulnerable people locked out of the welfare system due to their immigration status? The number of people locked out of the welfare state in the UK has risen to 2.6 million people now subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds...
Feb 27, 2025•33 min
With war comes displacement. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has forced millions to flee homes and rebuild elsewhere. What role does a women's agency play in navigating the complexities of displacement and building resilience? With the full-scale invasion of Ukraine disastrously continuing into 2025, what has become of the many millions forced to flee their homes and rebuild? Often as centralised figures of the home and family units in traditional Ukrainian households, many women are affected...
Feb 14, 2025•36 min
Why are some countries across the Global North more open and accepting towards refugees than others? How can asymmetrical sympathies and differential treatments be better understood? We search for answers with an expert panel. The welcoming response of European countries towards Ukrainian refugees from 2022 onwards has been marked by its strength and rapidity. This recent example recalls other moments of openness from past decades: the Western response to Kosovar refugees in 1999, or the respons...
Aug 23, 2024•29 min
Why does official data tell us so little about migration? Why do some migration statistics seem to clash? How can we shape this “age of migration data” for better? We welcome co-authors of Improving Migration Data for People and the Planet to this latest episode. The global number of international migrants is estimated at 281 million, but surprisingly little is known about the people that make up this figure. Who they are, why and how they decided to migrate, what needs they have and what the im...
Jul 16, 2024•32 min
How does housing relate to migration and asylum issues? Using the City of Oxford as a case study, we consider the affordability and accessibility of housing to newcomers and the impact this has on refugee and asylum seekers. In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we explore the ongoing housing affordability and accessibility crisis in the UK, using the City of Oxford as a case study. Oxford is the least affordable UK city for housing, with average house prices over 15 times the average...
Apr 30, 2024•30 min
What makes diaspora communities unique? We learn about the roles of diasporas, contributions to development and humanitarian initiatives across the globe and unpack how people living in diaspora drive change in their communities. In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we unpack how diaspora communities are partners in development and humanitarian initiatives. In 2022 diaspora engagement was at the core of the discussions at global, regional and local levels. Through the Global Diaspora...
Mar 20, 2024•25 min
Intersections of art and activism are used as a tool to promote diversity, address human rights and make calls to action in contexts of migration. What is artivism and how can it support individuals to tell their own stories? In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we discuss the role of artivism as a tool to promote diversity in contexts of migration and displacement. In the current climate whereby political rights are being threatened, does artivism make a difference in supporting the...
Feb 20, 2024•28 min
For irregular migrants, the inability to provide proof of identity affects nearly every aspect of life. We explore cities that have introduced municipal ID cards to enhance social integration and enable access to key services. For irregular migrants, the inability to provide proof of identity affects nearly every aspect of their lives. Municipal ID cards have been introduced by some cities to enhance these migrants’ social integration, bridge the ‘official identification gap’ and enable access t...
Jan 18, 2024•28 min
In the UK, migration debates tend to be about the idea of fullness – concepts of arrivals, overcrowding, competition for resources – but what about emptiness? We learn why it is such an important part of understanding migration. In the UK, migration debates tend to be about the idea of fullness but the concept of emptiness is underexplored. In the small towns of Armenia, people say “there is nothing here” stegh vochinch chka/ban chka [ստեղ ոչինչ չկա/ բան չկա] but this phrase does not describe ac...
Nov 07, 2023•29 min
What do advancements in AI mean for immigration? We discuss the current and emerging practices of new technologies in the field, and explore developments in the use of predictive analytics, automated risk assessment and profiling. In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we discuss the current and emerging practices of using new technologies in the field of immigration, focusing on how border control, immigration and asylum policies are being impacted by the use of new technologies espec...
Sep 29, 2023•27 min
With the help of our panel, we discuss forced return migration and the different power dynamics at play. What are the difficulties of forced returnees to home countries and what are the differences between the wealth and influence of certain states? In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we are discussing forced return migration with a specific focus on returns from the US to Mexico or to Latin America. With the help of our panel, we will discuss the different power dynamics at play an...
Jun 27, 2023•24 min
We often think of migration in binary terms of regular or irregular migration; legal or illegal, but often people move in between these states and are left in an insecure status. How does this precarity effect a migrant’s access to services in cities? In this episode we discuss precarious migrants and are joined by Dr Marie Mallet-Garcia, Researcher at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), University of Oxford, Shams Asadi, Human Rights Commissioner and head of the Human Rights O...
May 19, 2023•24 min
In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we are discussing the politics of emigration. All countries are countries of immigration and of emigration, yet the politics of emigration are often less obsessed over as attitudes toward immigration. We ask, what are the political effects of emigration on sending countries? How does understanding perceptions of emigration help us to elucidate the changing demographic dynamics including population decline, ‘brain drain’, aging populations? We disc...
Feb 21, 2023•22 min
We discuss the role of data science in migration studies, joined by Dr. Emre Korkmaz, lecturer in migration and co-author of Data Science for Migration and Mobility and Christina Pao, PhD student and co-organiser of the Measuring Migration Conference 2022 In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we are discussing the role of data science in migration studies. What is the importance of mixed methods, both quantitative data and qualitative analysis? The way that we collect data is changing...
Jan 19, 2023•24 min
How does gender affect experiences of migration and communities left behind? In the age of a controversial Nationality and Borders Bill, we ask how current policies interact with gender and find out what happens when a gender lens on migration is ignored. How does gender affect experiences of migration and communities left behind? In the age of a controversial Nationality and Borders Bill, we ask how current policies interact with gender and find out what happens when a gender lens on migration ...
Oct 05, 2022•22 min
Aditi Anand (Artistic Director, Migration Museum) takes us on an extended tour of the immersive Taking Care of Business exhibition and introduces us to the stories behind migrant businesses we often don't get to hear. To learn more about the creation of the exhibition and to find out about new research into refugee entrepreneurialism, listen to the main episode: Immigration to Innovation.
Sep 13, 2022•13 min
We take a tour round the Taking Care of Business exhibition at the Migration Museum and hear about new research into refugee entrepreneurialism. There is a rich history of migrant entrepreneurs shaping British high streets, from small, family-owned businesses to large chains turned household names. In this episode of the Migration Oxford podcast, Aditi Anand (Artistic Director, Migration Museum) takes us on a tour of the immersive Taking Care of Business exhibition and introduces us to the stori...
Sep 06, 2022•23 min
As we enter a period of global instability, we ask what role remittances will play and how we can improve data collection on remittances to better understand their vital importance on a local and global scale. In this episode of the Migration Oxford Podcast, we talk about remittances—the movement of money between migrants and their friends and families—with Dilip Ratha (Head of the Global Knowledge Partnership for Migration and Development and Lead Economist for Migration, Remittances and Social...
Aug 08, 2022•28 min
In this episode of the Migration Oxford Podcast, we ask if the 1951 Refugee Convention is under attack. As states look for ways to avoid taking responsibility for refugees and asylum seekers, such as the UK's "Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda". Is the Convention still the right tool, and how can the protection it offers refugees be improved in an era where global governance of any issue is vexed at best? We speak to Dr Catherine Briddick, Departmental Lecturer in Gender...
May 16, 2022•22 min
As the controversial Nationality and Borders Bill works its way through parliament in the UK, we investigate Clause 9 which focuses on citizenship deprivation and the rights of the Home Secretary to take somebody's citizenship away. Joined by Zoe Gardner,and Abhishek Saha, we ask who is a citizen, and how can citizenship be taken away? We also look beyond the UK to the story of Assam, in India and how the National Register of Citizens has played out there. Zoe Gardner is Policy and Advocacy Mana...
Apr 08, 2022•25 min
