Futuremakers
By Oxford University
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Description
Welcome to Futuremakers, from the University of Oxford, where our academics debate key issues for the future of society. Season Three: The History of Pandemics Season Two: Climate Change Season One: Artificial Intelligence Special Episode: A brief history of Quantum Computing
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CleanHistory of Pandemics: Coronavirus and ‘Disease X’ | Peter interviews the Oxford scientists working at the forefront of research into Disease X - a pathogen which the World Health Organization added to their shortlist of blueprint priority diseases in 2018 to represent the hypothetical cause of our next pandemic... This episode is part of our History of Pandemics season - follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Smallpox and Cholera, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics Futuremakers is created in-house at The University of Oxford, and presented by Professor Peter Millican, from Hertford College. The score for the series was composed and recorded by Richard Watts, and the series is written and produced by Ben Harwood and Steve Pritchard. | 19 12 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHistory of Pandemics: Ebola | Peter begins the final episode of the series in 2014, at the onset of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Whilst that pandemic officially ended in 2016, this virus has caused a brutal outbreak nearly every year since. After his discussion at the start of the series about whether Ebola may have been the disease that caused the Plague of Athens, has Peter arrived back where he started? This episode is part of our History of Pandemics season - follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Smallpox and Cholera, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics Futuremakers is created in-house at The University of Oxford, and presented by Professor Peter Millican, from Hertford College. The voice actor for this episode was Benjamin Morel. The score for the series was composed and recorded by Richard Watts, and the series is written and produced by Ben Harwood and Steve Pritchard. | 12 12 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHistory of Pandemics: HIV and AIDS | In the ninth episode of our History of Pandemics season, Peter leaves the perils of influenza behind, only to discover an entirely new virus: HIV. Many of you may remember the emerging panic that became the media narrative around HIV and the disease it can lead to, AIDS, and in this episode Peter follows the story from the beginning, with medical experts who’ve worked on the front line of this pandemic since the early days. This episode is part of our History of Pandemics season - follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Smallpox and Cholera, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics Futuremakers is created in-house at The University of Oxford, and presented by Professor Peter Millican, from Hertford College. The voice actor for this episode was Mike MacDonald. The score for the series was composed and recorded by Richard Watts, and the series is written and produced by Ben Harwood and Steve Pritchard. | 12 12 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHistory of Pandemics: The 'Spanish' Flu | Peter arrives in the twentieth century, during the last years of the Great War, to a pandemic which you may have read a lot about during the early coverage of our current COVID-19 outbreak. After the Black Death, the so-called ‘Spanish’ Flu has one of the most famous monikers of any pandemic, but does it deserve such notoriety? This episode is part of our History of Pandemics season - follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Smallpox and Cholera, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics Futuremakers is created in-house at The University of Oxford, and presented by Professor Peter Millican, from Hertford College. The voice actor for this episode was Anna Wilson. The score for the series was composed and recorded by Richard Watts, and the series is written and produced by Ben Harwood and Steve Pritchard. | 12 12 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHistory of Pandemics: The 'Russian' Flu | In this episode, Peter discusses a controversial outbreak... So-called 'Russian' Flu is either the first influenza pandemic we’ll be discussing, or it wasn’t the flu at all. It was either a disease which emerged from and then devastated the country it was named after, or an outbreak which the Russian people barely noticed at the time. It either deserves its place as the seventh pandemic we’re covering in the series, or it’s the pandemic that never was, an outlier in our historical narrative… This episode is part of our History of Pandemics season - follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Smallpox and Cholera, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics Futuremakers is created in-house at The University of Oxford, and presented by Professor Peter Millican, from Hertford College. The voice actor for this episode was Anna Wilson. The score for the series was composed and recorded by Richard Watts, and the series is written and produced by Ben Harwood and Steve Pritchard. | 12 12 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHistory of Pandemics: Cholera and John Snow | Peter makes it to the nineteenth century to discuss the achievements of John Snow - a man who either played a central role in the history of epidemiology, or was just one of many trying to tackle that centuries’ foremost threat; cholera. Peter discusses Snow's role, water pump handles, and how we may very well still be experiencing this devastating pandemic today. This episode is part of our History of Pandemics season - follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Smallpox and Cholera, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics Futuremakers is created in-house at The University of Oxford, and presented by Professor Peter Millican, from Hertford College. The voice actor for this episode was Benjamin Morel. The score for the series was composed and recorded by Richard Watts, and the series is written and produced by Ben Harwood and Steve Pritchard. | 12 12 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanMid-series break: a message from Professor Sir John Bell | We'll be publishing the second half of our History of Pandemics series next week; featuring episodes on Cholera, the pandemic that wasn't, the so-called Spanish Flu, HIV/AIDS, and the West African Ebola outbreak. In the meantime, here's a short message from Oxford's Professor Sir John Bell on the importance of learning from past pandemics. Please do continue to enjoy our first five stories, from the Plague of Athens to Smallpox, and tell everyone you know about the show! You can find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics | 5 12 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHistory of Pandemics: Smallpox, and Jenner | Welcome to the eighteenth century, at a point when Europe is going through another major smallpox outbreak, a disease that by this point has been plaguing populations around the globe for centuries. Peter will discover why milkmaids may be to central to the story of vaccination, how smallpox features in popular contemporary literature and what Napoleon thought of an English physician called Edward Jenner. This episode is part of our History of Pandemics season - follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Smallpox and Cholera, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics Futuremakers is created in-house at The University of Oxford, and presented by Professor Peter Millican, from Hertford College. The voice actor for this episode was Anna Wilson. The score for the series was composed and recorded by Richard Watts, and the series is written and produced by Ben Harwood and Steve Pritchard. | 28 11 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHistory of Pandemics: The Great Plague | In the final plague episode of the series, Peter talks to his guests about the last major outbreak of this horrific disease in seventeenth-century England. Along the way they dispel some myths – for example it wasn’t the Great Fire of London that finally defeated the disease – and he drops in on one of the outbreaks most famous commentators – Samuel Pepys. Stay tuned to the end for a bonus conversation on Shakespeare’s experience during the plague outbreaks which led up to this final Great Plague. This episode is part of our History of Pandemics season - follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Smallpox and Cholera, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics Futuremakers is created in-house at The University of Oxford, and presented by Professor Peter Millican, from Hertford College. The voice actor for this episode was Tom Wilkinson. The score for the series was composed and recorded by Richard Watts, and the series is written and produced by Ben Harwood and Steve Pritchard. | 28 11 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHistory of Pandemics: The Black Death | Peter arrives in the fourteenth century and meets history's most notorious plague outbreak. The Black Death is a gruesome name well-matched with a grim disease, and as you'll find out, it's not just the name which has survived to the modern period... This episode is part of our History of Pandemics season - follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Smallpox and Cholera, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics Futuremakers is created in-house at The University of Oxford, and presented by Professor Peter Millican, from Hertford College. The voice actor for this episode was Tom Wilkinson. The score for the series was composed and recorded by Richard Watts, and the series is written and produced by Ben Harwood and Steve Pritchard. | 28 11 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHistory of Pandemics: The Plague of Justinian | Welcome to the Eastern Roman Empire in the sixth century. This time, Peter discusses a plague that historians and medical experts agree was likely the first plague pandemic humanity experienced. You may not have heard much about the emperor Justinian I, or why he’s got a plague outbreak named after him, but by the end of this episode you’ll hear just how devastating and long-lasting this pandemic was. This episode is part of our History of Pandemics season - follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Smallpox and Cholera, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics Futuremakers is created in-house at The University of Oxford, and presented by Professor Peter Millican, from Hertford College. The voice actor for this episode was Liz McCarthy. The score for the series was composed and recorded by Richard Watts, and the series is written and produced by Ben Harwood and Steve Pritchard. | 28 11 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHistory of Pandemics: Athens: the first plague? | Join Peter in 5th century Athens, a crowded city in the midst of a siege, where a devastating disease had just erupted. Our guests discuss whether this really was plague, the breakdown in law and order that began to emerge, and how the historian Thucydides survived the disease that hit his city. This episode is part of our History of Pandemics season - follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Smallpox and Cholera, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics Futuremakers is created in-house at The University of Oxford, and presented by Professor Peter Millican, from Hertford College. The voice actor for this episode was Shaunna-Marie Latchman. The score for the series was composed and recorded by Richard Watts, and the series is written and produced by Ben Harwood and Steve Pritchard. | 28 11 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe Future after COVID-19 | Just before our third season starts we talk with Dr Peter Drobac, a global health physician and Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, and Dr Aoife Haney, Research Lecturer in Innovation and Enterprise, about the social, economic and environmental changes that may well be heading our way after our current pandemic. Coming soon... Follow Professor Peter Millican as he talks to researchers from around the world about some of the devastating pandemics humanity has experienced. Peter and his colleagues will discuss ten major outbreaks: from the Plague of Athens to the West African Ebola outbreak, via the Black Death, Cholera and Smallpox, and ask how these outbreaks have shaped society, what we may be able to learn from them today, and where we might be heading? Find out more at https://bit.ly/TheHistoryOfPandemics | 21 11 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanLive Special: Artificial Intelligence Q&A | Originally recorded back in September 2019 at the AI@Oxford Conference held at the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School, this 'live' episode sees Prof. Millican joined by: Mitchell Baker (Chairwoman, Mozilla Foundation); Mike Wooldridge (Professor of Computer Science, University of Oxford); Safiya Omoja Noble (Associate Professor, University of California Los Angeles), and; Jim Wilkinson (CFO, Oxford Sciences Innovation). In it, they revisit a number of topics from the first season of Futuremakers, from the automation of jobs to algorithmic bias to AI and so called 'fake news'. For more information on the conference, visit: https://innovation.ox.ac.uk/innovation-news/events/aioxford-conference/ainextsteps/ | 22 3 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWill climate migration lead to conflict? | Climate migration hit the headlines in January, when the United Nations made a landmark ruling (https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/01/1055671) about the legal rights of those displaced by a climate crisis. The UN High Commission for Refugees has warned that millions of people could become climate refugees in the coming years, and meanwhile, tensions over scarcity are stoking fears of conflict. With temperatures and anxieties rising, how do we prepare for changing human mobility and new kinds of conflict? Joining Prof. Millican in this episode is Lisa Thalheimer, a DPhil student whose research focuses on quantifying the impacts of human mobility and extreme weather events, linked to climate change. You can find Lisa online @ClimateLisa (https://twitter.com/ClimateLisa) . | 15 3 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanClimate change: What is the future of our food? | The world is getting hotter, drier, and more crowded. By 2050, there will be ten billion humans across the globe, while at the same time there may be far less land suitable for growing food. There's also a growing awareness that our diet and food choices can have a significant impact on our carbon footprint: while innovations like lab-grown foods may provide lower emission options, and new technologies may make our food supply more adaptable and robust, there are clearly many challenges ahead. Put simply: what is the future of food? Joining Prof. Millican in this bonus episode are Dr Monika Zurek and Dr Jim Woodhill, from the Food Systems Group at the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute. You can find out more about their work here: https://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/research/food/ Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at: http://bit.ly/trueplanet | 8 3 2020 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanCOP 25 – what happened? | In this bonus ‘reaction’ episode, we chat to several Oxford academics who were either at, or closely following the recent events at COP 25. We ask them what (if anything) was decided at the meeting in Madrid, whether enough action was taken, and where we might go next - ahead of COP 26 in Glasgow, Scotland (2020). Interviewed on this episode were Professor Fredi Otto, Professor Nathalie Seddon, Dr Helen Gavin, DPhil students Alex Clark and Lisa Thalheimer, entrepreneur Charmian Love and lawyer Bill Clark. Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/TruePlanet and keep an eye on this feed, for more bonus episodes in the new year. | 19 12 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanMark Carney on Climate Change | In this special bonus episode, originally recorded on 25th November, Professor Millican travels to the Bank of England to interview its Governor, Mark Carney. This episode was recorded before it was announced that Mark Carney will become the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance in 2020. The interview covered a range of topics, but focused in particular on the challenges that markets may need to overcome if we hope to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees C, how federal banks are working to prepare for these, and if an even more fundamental change to our economic and political system is needed. Can markets provide a tool to promote necessary action? Is it possible to find a middle ground of sustainable economics? Can we be green, and capitalist? Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/TruePlanet and keep an eye on this feed, for more bonus episodes in the new year. | 14 12 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanSolving climate change... nature or technology? | Solving climate change can involve either mitigation – reducing the greenhouse gases we’re putting into the atmosphere – or adaptation – the process of adjusting to our changing environment. In the last episode of series two, we wanted to learn more about how these solutions are developing, what form they take, and where we should be applying them. We were particularly interested in the contrast between two climate change solutions: engineering approaches (such as technical methods of carbon capture, novel methods of building, or physical climate defences), and natural approaches (such as reforestation, changes in farming patterns, or restoring wetlands). With the stakes so high, how far can we harness nature to help tackle climate change, or will technology provide a solution? With Peter to discuss this are; Nathalie Seddon, who having trained as an evolutionary ecologist is now Professor of Biodiversity and Director of the Nature-based Solutions Initiative, Jim Hall, originally an engineer and now Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks, who is an expert on climate risks to infrastructure, and who for ten years sat on the UK independent Committee on Climate Change, and Dr Helen Gavin, Oxford Martin Fellow, an environmental scientist and sustainability professional bringing 18 years of experience in both industry and education. Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/TruePlanet | 7 12 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanIs climate conflict inevitable? | In 2010, Jeffrey Mazo outlined in his book ‘How global warming threatens security and what to do about it’ four ways in which climate and environmental change could produce security threats: · a general systemic weakening, · boundary disputes, · resource wars, · and by multiplying instability in already fragile or weak states. Yet so far in our second series, with conversations around energy use, international treaties and individual choices, talk of conflict has received much less attention. Is this a fair reflection of the relative threat, or should people be paying far more attention to these potential future developments? Is global conflict due to climate change inevitable? With Peter to discuss this are; Kate Guy, from the Centre for Climate and Security in Washington DC, a doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford specialising in International Relations, who focusses on the intersection of climate change and national security; and Dr Troy Sternberg, from Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment, whose research has explored how environmental and climate changes in the Gobi region of northern China and Mongolia, have impacted on security in the Middle East. Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/TruePlanet | 30 11 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanClimate change: Who should we sue? | To date, there have been climate change legal cases in at least 28 countries. From Greta Thunberg leading a group of young people in filing a lawsuit against five countries at the UN to the Hague Court of Appeals upholding a historic ruling against the Dutch government, increasing numbers of people are taking legal action together to demand governments do more. And with various oil and gas companies being sued by US cities for costs of climate-related damages, today on Futuremakers, we’re asking: what does this rise in litigious climate action mean for society as we race to meet climate targets? Joining Peter Millican on the panel today: Fredi Otto, Acting Director of the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford, and a lead author on extremes in weather in the ongoing assessment report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC) Liz Fisher, Professor of Environmental Law at Oxford and General Editor of the Journal of Environmental Law Myles Allen, Professor of Geosystem Science, and a lead author on the IPCC’s Special Report on 1.5 degrees Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/TruePlanet | 23 11 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanCan we be green and capitalist? | Many of our panellists in season two have described barriers that are standing in our way if we hope to restrict global warming to the 1.5 degrees C limit that the 2018 IPCC report outlined, and some have advocated how our current economic system could be used to overcome them. But can markets really provide a tool to promote necessary action? In this episode we ask; can we be green AND capitalist? Joining Professor Millican on this latest episode of Futuremakers are: Thomas Hale, Associate Professor in Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, Charmain Love, ‘Entrepreneur in Residence’ at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at our Saïd Business School, and Ben Caldecott, Associate Professor at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and founding Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme. And at the end of this episode there's a bonus conversation between Peter and Johan Rockström, joint director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany, who in 2009 led an international group of twenty eight leading academics, in proposing a new framework for government and management agencies as a precondition for sustainable development on the planet Earth. Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/TruePlanet | 16 11 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanShould nuclear power be part of our energy system? | Nuclear energy is still a controversial idea for many people, with dangerous accidents and destructive bombs being at the top of their minds when they hear the words, yet other renewable energy sources are not without their critics, and arguably are not yet at a place where they can entirely replace our current energy systems. So what role can, or should, nuclear be playing in the UK energy sector as we move towards a sustainable future? Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores this topic with Professor Nick Eyre, Director of the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions, who in 1997 wrote the first published study on how the then Government’s 20% carbon emission reduction target might be achieved; Dr Sarah Darby, Acting Leader of the Energy Programme at Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute, who has a particular interest in how energy systems might develop in more environmentally and socially-benign ways; and James Marrow, James Martin Professor of Energy Materials, whose work is focussed on the degradation of structural materials. Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/TruePlanet | 9 11 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat did the Paris Climate Agreement change? | On the 12th December 2015, at the 21st COP in Paris, representatives of 196 states reached an agreement to combat climate change that was celebrated around the world. With the long-term goal of keeping global temperature to below two degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels, and covering areas such as nationally determined contributions and global stocktakes, Paris was heralded as a huge break-through. But four years on, and against the backdrop of the United States announcing its intention to withdraw from the agreement, what did the politicians at Paris actually achieve? Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores this topic with Fredi Otto, Acting Director of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute and a lead scientist on the World Weather Attribution project; Richard Millar, a Senior Analyst for the Committee on Climate Change, whose research spans the physical and economic consequences of climate policy; and Sugandha Srivastav, a researcher on the post carbon transition, who’s previously worked at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/TruePlanet | 3 11 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanClimate change: do individual actions matter? | With a lot of Government work relying on geo-political understanding between nation states and large multinational corporations, is there still potential for actions on an individual level to shape the future of the planet? Do actions such as changing our diets, varying how we commute or even joining in with mass demonstrations, have the possibility of being anywhere near as effective as changes that can be made on an international level? Can one person save the planet? Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores this topic with Professor Susan Jebb, a nutrition scientist who is co-director of the Livestock, Environment and People (or LEAP) project, Dr Tina Fawcett, a senior researcher at the Environmental Change Institute, who works on the ECI’s energy programme, and Tristram Walsh, President of the Oxford Climate Society, a student society dedicated to developing informed climate leaders. Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/true_planet | 27 10 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow do you build a greener country? | What does the current infrastructure in the UK look like, and how far is it from where we need to be to meet our international commitments, or even our own challenge to be Net Zero by 2050? How much do our working practices and lives contribute to how ‘green’ the country is, and how can we promote and preserve biodiversity across the globe? How do we compare to other countries, and what can we learn from them? Finally, how do you build a ‘greener’ country? Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores this topic with Professor Cameron Hepburn, Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, who has provided advice on climate policy to a number of governments; Alison Smith, a senior researcher at the Environmental Change Institute, who’s worked on a number of EU climate projects and is the author of ‘The Climate Bonus: co-benefits of climate policy’ (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Climate-Bonus-Alison-Smith/dp/1849713413) ; and April Burt, who has spent the past eight years working in conservation management in the western Indian ocean and is now part of Oxford’s Environmental Research team. Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/true_planet | 19 10 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanClimate change and politics - why haven’t we done more? | With the IPCC warning that policymakers have limited time to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5° C, beyond which the climate-related risks to humans and natural systems rise quickly, it’s clear that we need to act sooner rather than later. This may be why we’re seeing increasing public action from the likes of Extinction Rebellion and the Youth Strikes for Climate, but what action have we seen from governments in the UK and beyond since this stark warning was delivered? What confidence can we have in our leaders to bring about the changes we need over the next decade? Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores this topic with Caroline Lucas MP, Green Party politician and Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion, Dr Ryan Rafaty, a political scientist at the University of Oxford working with our Climate Econometrics project, and Tristram Walsh, President of the Oxford Climate Society, a student society dedicated to developing informed climate leaders. Find out more about Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/true_planet You can find the cartoon Caroline mentions at http://aries.mq.edu.au/images/Copenhagen-Pett.jpg [Please note: this episode was recorded in July, at a time of extraordinary movement in UK politics – some people have changed jobs and some references have dated, but the themes remain as urgent as ever. One of our guests for this episode is Caroline Lucas, a Green MP, who we invited in her capacity as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Climate Change – members from other parties were invited and could not attend.] | 12 10 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanTwelve years to climate disaster? | The IPCC’s 2018 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C broke into the public consciousness through media reporting that we only had twelve years to limit climate change catastrophe. But was this really the conclusion of the report? If it was, do we really only have twelve years to fix our climate, and if not, how soon should we take action? Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores this topic with Professor Myles Allen, Coordinating Lead Author on the IPCC’s Special Report on 1.5 degrees, Professor Helen Johnson from Oxford’s Earth Sciences Department, whose work focuses on understanding ocean circulation and the role in plays in the climate system; and Dr James Painter from the Reuters Institute at Oxford, who focuses on the portrayals of climate change in online and offline media. Find out more out Oxford’s climate research at http://po.st/true_planet | 5 10 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanTrailer: Futuremakers season two coming soon... | Rising sea levels? Burning forests? 12 years to act? These are the issues that will come to define our time. Join us as we bring together leading experts from Oxford and beyond to discuss the existential threats from climate change, and how we should rethink our governance, infrastructure, working practices and lives to help prevent them. As Futuremakers returns for its second season, we're looking at the cutting-edge research into climate, energy, food, waste, water and biodiversity, and exploring the debates around how and where global climate action should be taken. Join the discussion with host Professor Peter Millican and take a seat at the table for Futuremakers season two. Coming October 2019. Find out more at http://po.st/true_planet | 21 9 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanCould quantum computing change the world? | Once we believed that the world around us behaved according to the laws of classical mechanics, and it took us hundreds of years to work out that actually something else was going on. Quantum computing offers what we believe to be the best way to proce. | 7 4 2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanSeason Finale: AI selection box | In the final episode of our series, we’re looking back at the themes we’ve discussed so far, and forward into the likely development of AI. Professor Peter Millican will be joined by Professor Gil McVean, to further investigate how big data is trans | 23 12 2018 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanIs China leading the way in AI? | In the penultimate episode of series one, we’re looking at the development of AI across the globe. China has set itself the challenge of being the world’s primary innovation centre by 2030, a move forecast to generate a 26% boost in GDP from AI rela | 16 12 2018 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat does AI mean for the future of humanity? | So far in the series we’ve heard that artificial intelligence is becoming ubiquitous and is already changing our lives in many ways, from how we search for and receive information, to how it is used to improve our health and the nature of the ways we | 9 12 2018 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHas AI changed the way we find the truth? | Around the world, automated bot accounts have enabled some government agencies and political parties to exploit online platforms in dispersing messages, using keywords to game algorithms, and discrediting legitimate information on a mass scale. Throug | 2 12 2018 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanFrom Ada Lovelace to Alan Turing – the birth of AI? | Many developments in science are achieved through people being able to ‘stand on the shoulders of giants’ and in the history of AI two giants in particular stand out. Ada Lovelace, who inspired visions of computer creativity, and Alan Turing, who co | 18 11 2018 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanShould AI have gender? | As chatbots and virtual assistants become an ever-present part of our world, and algorithms increasingly support decision-making, people working in this field are asking questions about the bias and balance of power in AI. With the make-up of teams des. | 11 11 2018 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanIs AI good for our health? | With AI algorithms now able to mine enormous databases and assimilate information far quicker than humans can, we’re able to spot subtle effects in health data that could otherwise have been easily overlooked. So how are these tools being developed | 4 11 2018 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanIs the banking sector about to change for ever? | AI is already playing a role in the finance sector, from fraud detection, to algorithmic trading, to customer service, and many within the industry believe this role will develop rapidly within the next few years. So what does this mean for both the pe. | 28 10 2018 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAre all algorithms biased? | Our lives are increasingly shaped by automated decision-making algorithms, but do those have in-built biases? If so, do we need to tackle these, and what could happen if we don’t? Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores this topic .. | 21 10 2018 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow will the automation of jobs progress? | In 2013 two Oxford academics published a paper entitled “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?”, estimating that 47% of U.S. jobs were at risk of automation. Since then, numerous studies have emerged, arriving at ver | 21 10 2018 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanTrailer: season one launching 22nd October! | Down winding streets, beyond the dreaming spires, inside the college walls, debates are happening - in every study room and lecture theatre - about the future of society. Futuremakers, from the University of Oxford, invites you to that debate. Join... | 12 10 2018 | Free | View in iTunes |
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Customer Reviews
Please get rid of the underscore!
This is a great podcast. I’ve listened since series 1 but series three—otherwise excellent—has prompted me to write a review BEGGING the maker to ditch the distracting underscore. I, a musicologist who cannot screen music out as so many people can, and many neurodiverse people, find it too much to try to listen to unrelated music and talking at the same time. I want to hear the words here, not the unimpressive meaningless, repetitive and distracting’music’ underneath. Especially when listening on headphones. Had to abandon ep.5 as the faux brass farting was unbearable...
Crackin podcast
So interesting to hear from knowledgeable people debating critical issues. I love learning from this podcast.
Excellent
Such a well-informed and well-balanced debate on climate change and exactly the type of thing people need to listen to to educate themselves on the reality rather than through the mainstream media or activist groups. Academics were excellent not only with their knowledge but in their communication as well. Thoroughly enjoyed.
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