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PODCAST

OxPods

The podcast by Oxford students and their professors. OxPods aims to create thought-provoking and easily digestible podcast episodes, made for anyone with an interest in the world around them. Each episode entails an Oxford student interviewing one of their world-leading professors on the niche, weird, and wonderful of their subjects. With episodes exploring the nooks and crannies of the Natural Sciences, English, History, Human Sciences, and PPE, OxPods has something for everyone. If you would

education courses

All Episodes

00:36:16

From Hercules to the Hulk: Examining the Superhero

OxPods ·

2024/05/15

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 meaning

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00:22:04

Pot-Banging and Protest in Twentieth-Century Spain

OxPods ·

2024/05/08

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

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00:32:57

Shark on the Menu: Balancing Consumption and...

OxPods ·

2024/05/01

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

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00:34:45

The Sound Worlds of Grime

OxPods ·

2024/03/07

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

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00:24:30

Echo Chambers: Dissecting Media's Role in Cultivating...

OxPods ·

2024/03/05

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 the

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00:30:10

Conservation Optimism: Shifting Perspectives in...

OxPods ·

2024/03/04

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, a

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00:50:55

‘Discomfortable Bodies’ in Renaissance Literature.

OxPods ·

2024/02/23

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

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00:23:56

Late Medieval Nostalgia

OxPods ·

2024/02/22

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 at

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00:22:32

The Depression Question

OxPods ·

2024/02/21

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,

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00:44:54

Superconductors

OxPods ·

2024/02/19

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 hypothetical

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00:53:25

The Afterlife of Classical Literature

OxPods ·

2024/02/09

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,

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00:54:04

Postmodern Historiography

OxPods ·

2024/02/08

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

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00:26:41

When We Weren't Human: Discussing the Last Common...

OxPods ·

2024/02/07

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,

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00:34:29

Making International Institutions Work

OxPods ·

2024/02/06

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

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00:31:21

The Island Syndrome

OxPods ·

2024/02/05

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 OxPods,

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00:24:37

Shakespeare Today

OxPods ·

2024/01/26

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

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00:22:41

The Evolution of Intelligent Life on Earth

OxPods ·

2024/01/25

Intelligent life on our planet arrived relatively late on a geological timescale, but why did life take so long to evolve and how have major catastrophic events, such as meteorite impacts, shaped the evolution of complex life? In this episode, Elyse Airey, a biology undergraduate at Queen's College, speaks to Mike Bonsall, Professor of Mathematical Biology and Fellow at St. Peter's College, to learn more about the emergence of complex life on Earth and why life appears to be so rare in the

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00:39:01

The Church in Tudor England

OxPods ·

2024/01/24

England was mired in the political and theological pressures of the Reformation under the Tudor dynasty, but popular perception of its monarchy and people have often obscured the true nature of religious change in the sixteenth century. In this episode, Charlie Bowden, a History student at Jesus College, speaks to Dr Lucy Wooding, Langford Fellow and Tutor in History at Lincoln College, about the twists and turns of the direction of the Tudor church. To learn more about OxPods, visit our website

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00:20:25

The Power and Pitfalls of Expertise in Politics

OxPods ·

2024/01/23

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, medical experts ranging from statisticians and demographers to virologists and consultants were depended upon by politicians. Their advice had serious implications for the country: but what is and ought to be the role of experts in governance, national and international? Sophia Herbert, a Third-Year PPE student at New College interviews Dr Jan Eijking to uncover what exactly we mean by expertise, and how the way politicians translate and communicate expert advice

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00:31:00

The Enigma of Sex

OxPods ·

2024/01/23

Sex is so widespread that you could assume it’s essential for life as we know it, playing a central role in the evolution and development of animal and human societies. However, it’s not the only way of producing offspring, and compared to asexual reproduction, sex actually entails a number of costs. Because of this, ‘Why sex?’ is one of the most fundamental questions in biology that has puzzled scientists for many years. In this episode of OxPods, biology PhD student Joe Woodman will be

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