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Welcome to Futuremakers, from the University of Oxford, where our academics debate key issues for the future of society.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Mental health and brain research • suicide/self-harm prevention • youth, maternal, workplace wellbeing • trauma in crises, parenting support • anxiety treatments • neuroplasticity, rehabilitation • pandemic history and epidemiology • climate policy, energy, food, migration • AI ethics, bias, automation, misinformation • quantum computing raceThis podcast from the University of Oxford brings academics and practitioners into conversation about major forces shaping society, with each season focused on a broad theme and approached through research-led debate and explanation. Across the episodes presented here, the show spans brain and mental health, the history and future of pandemics, climate change, and the societal implications of artificial intelligence, with an additional focus on quantum computing as an emerging technology.
In the mental health strand, discussions centre on evidence and interventions across different contexts, including suicide and self-harm prevention, depression and anxiety in young people, maternal mental health after childbirth, trauma in crisis and humanitarian settings, and brain injury recovery and rehabilitation. Guests address how risk is assessed, which populations are most vulnerable, and what prevention and support can look like in schools, workplaces, health systems, and wider communities, drawing on epidemiology, clinical practice, and large-scale survey data.
The pandemics material takes a historical lens on major outbreaks—from ancient and medieval plagues through cholera, influenza, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and coronavirus—linking medical understanding with social disruption, public policy, and lessons for preparedness, including the idea of a future “Disease X.”
Climate change episodes examine mitigation and adaptation options, energy choices, legal and political levers, economic and financial systems, food and land use, migration and security risks, and international negotiations such as COP meetings. The AI content explores automation and labour, algorithmic bias and governance, misinformation, global competition, and applications in health and finance, alongside ethical and regulatory questions raised by increasingly powerful data-driven systems.
