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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):
➤ Oxford academics debating future societal issues • mental health: suicide/self-harm, youth anxiety, maternal care, trauma, workplace wellbeing • brain injury rehab/neuroplasticity • pandemics history/epidemiology • climate policy, energy, migration, food, finance • AI ethics, bias, jobs, misinformation • quantum computingThis podcast from the University of Oxford is built around conversations with academics and external experts about major issues likely to shape society. Across its seasons, it takes a thematic approach—each run of episodes focuses on a single broad challenge—bringing research evidence into dialogue with public policy, ethics, and real-world practice.
A substantial portion of the catalogue centres on brain and mental health. Discussions range from neurological injury and rehabilitation, including how stroke or brain damage affects cognition and recovery, to the social and clinical supports that can improve outcomes. The podcast also explores mental health across life stages and settings: maternal mental health in the postnatal period; anxiety and related difficulties in children and adolescents; and workplace wellbeing, including how organisational culture, leadership, and even physical working environments relate to life satisfaction, resilience, and productivity. Several conversations address crisis contexts and safeguarding, examining trauma, violence prevention, and resources aimed at supporting children and families during emergencies. Suicide and self-harm prevention is treated as a public health and clinical topic, including risk assessment, high-risk populations (such as people involved with the criminal justice system), and evidence-based interventions like restricting access to lethal means, alongside perspectives from advocacy and education.
Another major theme is the history of pandemics and what past outbreaks can teach about today’s health threats. Episodes trace major epidemics across centuries—plague outbreaks, cholera, influenza, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and coronavirus—linking historical accounts to scientific debates about origins, transmission, and societal disruption, and considering preparedness for future “Disease X” scenarios.
The podcast also covers climate change through multidisciplinary lenses including energy systems, food futures, migration and conflict, international agreements, litigation, and the role of markets and finance in decarbonisation. In addition, it examines artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, addressing automation and labour markets, bias and governance, AI in healthcare and finance, misinformation and propaganda, and longer-term questions about control, ethics, and global competition. A special episode extends this technology focus to quantum computing and its potential societal implications.
