Oxford Sparks Big Questions

How do we battle the energy use and soaring costs required to keep our homes warm?

We spoke to Dr Brenda Boardman from the Environmental Change Institute about the best ways to keep out the winter chill. Did you know that draughts not only let cold air in, but they also push the warm out of your home? And that sitting or sleeping next to external walls can make you colder?

Discover simple and inexpensive methods you can try to stay toasty, starting with the idea of heating the human rather than the home. Tune in to learn more!

People have been interested in wine growing and quality vintages since the Roman times, but as the climate warms, what does this mean for the future of wine growers in the UK (and beyond)?

Andrew Wood, from the Department of Biology, has been studying the records of wine critics, which reveal much more than whether the bottle is a good vintage or not. The vintage can tell scientists what the growing conditions were like for the grapes in a given year – was it hot or cold? Was there flooding or drought? Was light more intense?

As the UK experiences more ‘BBQ summers’, we may see new grape varieties flourishing, producing new flavours of wine. But it’s not good news for all vineyards. Find out why in our latest podcast!

As we count down to the festive season and the days get colder, will we see a white Christmas this year? In the last episode of the Big Questions podcast for 2023, Dr Neven Fučkar from the Environmental Change Institute tells us more about the science behind weather forecasts and how climate change is impacting Earth’s weather patterns. Using advanced modelling, scientists can predict weather patterns to different degrees of certainty. So in a few days’ time, we should know whether we will see snow on the big day. But what do the predictions look like for the next five or ten years? Find out in this podcast!

We hope you have enjoyed getting into the science of the everyday questions you want to know the answers to. We’ll be back in the new year to share more science from the University of Oxford. See you in 2024!

Lions are iconic species, but they are threatened with extinction. In Zambia, researchers and conservationists are working together to find ways of conserving these majestic animals and preventing them from becoming by-catch of poaching. In this new episode of the Big Questions podcast, we speak to Dr Egil Dröge from the Department of Biology to share the steps involved in bringing lions back to a national park in Zambia. Careful selection of a few young female lions which are genetically similar to those lost from the national park, and collaboration with local communities could pave the way for lions to return to the area over the next decade.

As the UK government proposes new plans to reduce the number of people who smoke, we talk to behaviour change researcher Nicola Lindson from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences to find out how the plan would work. Could we see a generation that is smoke free? Would banning flavours in e-cigarettes stop children from taking up smoking? Tune in to the latest episode of the Big Questions podcast to find out more.

Welcome to the new series of the Big Questions podcast, where we ask Oxford scientists to shed light on everyday questions that you really want to know the answer to.

Remember those photos or videos online that don’t look quite right? Perhaps you’ve heard a celebrity’s voice somewhere unexpected? In this episode, we chat to computational social scientist Dr Bernie Hogan from the Oxford Internet Institute about deepfakes; media synthetically generated by technology to capture someone’s likeness. As AI and machine learning technology develop rapidly, how can we regulate the creation of deepfakes to know what is real? Tune in to find out!

About a year ago, we asked astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst why the James Webb Space Telescope is such a big deal. Her answers were pretty exciting, to say the least. So, in the months that have passed since then, what has it found out? What mysteries of the universe has it begun to unravel, and has it lived up to expectations? We got back in touch with Becky for an update. 

This is the last episode in this series of the Big Questions Podcast! We hope you've enjoyed learning about everything from Martian craters to the human microbiome. Be sure to look out for our next series, beginning in October 2023, and until then, you can find a catalogue of our episodes on the Oxford Sparks website. Have a big question that you'd like answered next series? Let us know on social media!

What might an experimental petrologist (someone who makes rocks in the lab) and an immunologist (someone who studies the body's defence system) have in common? Well, it turns out, a shared interest in iron might be one thing. And what does all this have to do with aliens, and, specifically, whether you would want to meet one? Well, you'll have to listen to find out! With Prof Jon Wade from the Department of Earth Sciences.

"Life finds a way"...This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Stephen Spielberg and Universal Studio's dinosaur masterpiece 'Jurassic Park'. A rousing soundtrack, gutsy kids, and graphics which have stood the test of time remarkably well - the film has undeniably become a classic. But - here's the big question - could it actually happen? Using today's technologies, could we actually extract ancient dinosaur DNA from blood-sucking mosquitoes preserved in amber? And then use that DNA to clone a prehistoric beast? We ask palaeontologist Dr Ricardo Pérez-de la Fuente to help us sort the science fact from the science fiction. 

Many of us will have had to deal with a bacterial infection at some point or another. The solution? Often, antibiotics. But as the issue of antibiotic resistance becomes more and more of a concern, might there be an alternative to tackling bacterial infections with drugs? We chat to biomedical engineer Dr Sara Keller about how sound waves could potentially be used to break down bacterial cells.

Increasing levels of CO2 in our atmosphere are a big cause for concern. So what if we could find a way to not only remove some CO2 from the air, but turn it into something useful too? That's exactly what Dr Tiancun Xiao and his team have been working on...and they've found a way to turn CO2 into jet fuel!

Forced displacement of human populations owing to conflict or natural disasters is very difficult to measure. During these crises, the traditional methods of assessing changes in populations - which mostly rely on surveys - are simply not possible. We chat to Dr Douglas Leasure from Oxford's Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science about how his team have been using social media data to assess the internal displacement of populations in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, in order to help ensure humanitarian aid is delivered as effectively as possible.

If you would like to read the original research paper about Doug's work, you can access it here: 'Nowcasting Daily Population Displacement in Ukraine through Social Media Advertising Data'.

You can find out more about the work of researchers at the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science in this Oxford Sparks micro-documentary: 'Demography: Understanding Our World'.

Demographers (researchers who study the statistics of human populations) look at factors such as birth rates, death rates, migration and life expectancy. But what exactly is meant by the term 'life expectancy'? How is it calculated, and how has it changed after the pandemic? We speak to Prof Jennifer Dowd from the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science to find out.

You can find out more about Prof Dowd's work in our micro-documentary Demography: Understanding Our World: https://www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/videos/demography-understanding-our-world/

More than half the world's population is at risk from dengue fever, a viral infection that is spread via the bite of an infected mosquito. While some cases of the disease can be mild, others can be extremely dangerous and even fatal - particularly if someone has contracted the virus previously. When cases of dengue fever are high, those at risk can take some preventative measures, such as wearing clothing that covers as much skin as possible, using mosquito nets at night, and avoiding standing water. As such, some way of predicting high levels of the virus before they arrive would be invaluable. This is exactly what Dr Sarah Sparrow and her colleagues at the DART (Dengue Advanced Readiness Tools) project are hoping to achieve - using climate data to create a forecast, similar to a pollen forecast, for dengue fever.

Our gut microbiome (that's all the microorganisms - such as bacteria, viruses and fungi - living in our gut) is really important for healthy digestion. But did you know that it's also linked to our mental health? In this episode of the Big Questions Podcast we chat to neuroscientist Prof Philip Burnet from Oxford's Department of Psychiatry about how our gut is connected to our brain, and how taking prebiotic and probiotic supplements could even help in the treatment of mood and psychotic disorders.

We've talked about a lot of different types of research on this podcast...from investigations into drought, to space exploration, to the future of food. But what about researching 'research' itself? That's right, on this week's episode of the Big Questions Podcast, we're going meta! We chat to Dr Patricia Logullo, a meta-researcher from the Nuffield Department for Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, about why it is so important to examine the practice of research itself, and how scientists such as herself help to ensure research reporting is transparent, complete and reproducible. 

Not everyone is the biggest fan of spiders...we know that. They might not be the first thing that springs to mind when it comes to romance, either! But, you've got to admit, when it comes to engineering, they're pretty incredible. Capable of making up to seven types of silk, and able to sense vibrations through thousands of 'ears' on their legs, there's a lot we can learn from spiders when it comes to new materials and sensor technologies. So, on this year's Valentine's episode of the Big Questions Podcast, we're asking arachnologist Dr Beth Mortimer how spider mating rituals could help us become better engineers.

Ask an internet aficionado what the 'next big thing' is, and they might respond with 'the metaverse'. This is the idea that we could soon be wandering in a virtual world - a kind of global, immersive video game. But are we really just one VR headset away from paradise? Or is the metaverse doomed before it's even really got off the ground? We chat to Dr Bernie Hogan from the Oxford Internet Institute to find out if Big Tech's confidence in the metaverse might be misplaced.

If our internal body clock is telling us it's 3am, but the external environment is telling us it's 12 noon, that's called jet lag. It's a mis-match between what's going on inside our bodies and what's happening outside. Those who have travelled abroad - particularly to somewhere in a significantly different time zone - will be familiar with the feeling, but it's not just stepping off a plane that can cause it. 'Social jet lag' is a particular problem for shift workers, for example. An out-of-sync body clock can make us feel terrible, so, is there a cure for the condition on the horizon? We speak to neuroscientist Prof Aarti Jagannath from the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences about her work investigating potential drug treatments for jet lag.

While the tradition of eating turkey at Christmas can be traced back to Henry VIII, it's really only been a staple part of our Christmas dinner since the early 20th Century. However, in the UK, it's now hard to imagine a Christmas spread without a turkey at its centre! But - with meat consumption linked to negative impacts on both our health and the planet - should we feel guilty about enjoying this part of the festive feast? In the opinion of social psychologist Elif Naz Çoker, the answer is no, you shouldn't feel guilty - turkey is a wonderful treat for a special occasion. However, we should try and reframe our attitudes towards meat consumption, and see it as an occasional indulgence rather than a daily staple. Join us for this Christmas episode of the Big Questions Podcast, where Elif shares some of her tips for making the transition to a less meat-centric diet.

Around 10% of us will experience kidney stones at some point in our life. They occur when waste products in the blood form small crystals, which gather together in the kidneys to form hard lumps. Small kidney stones (

When a space rock smashes into the surface of a planet, a hole - or crater - is formed. New craters might be relatively straightforward to identify on Earth, but what about on other planets, such as Mars? In this episode we hear from Dr Ben Fernando, a researcher from Oxford's Department of Physics and a scientist on NASA's InSight mission, about the techniques used to discover new craters on the red planet.

We often hear that we're remarkably similar to our primate relatives, both in terms of our genetics and our behaviour. We're social beings. We use tools. But only humans have come to dominate the planet - why? Could the answer lie in the small differences between the human brain and that of other primates? In this episode of the Oxford Sparks Big Questions Podcast, we talk to neuroscientist Dr Rogier Mars about what makes the human brain so special.

Please note that Dr Rogier Mars and his team work on the brains of non-human primates that have died of natural causes, and have subsequently been donated for research purposes.

Here in the UK, we have a reputation for grey, drizzly weather. But there's no denying that this summer was HOT and this summer was DRY. With soaring temperatures and little to no rain for weeks on end, it was no surprise that we found ourselves in a drought, with a ban on hosepipes declared and careful use of water encouraged. But, did you know that we're still in that drought? In this episode of the Big Questions Podcast we chat to Dr Anna Murgatroyd to find out what characterises a drought, why we're still in one, and - faced with a changing climate - how we can maintain access to a safe and reliable water source into the future.

Are we alone in the Universe? What exactly lies at the centre of our galaxy? Just like our podcast, the James Webb Space Telescope aims to answer some *very big questions*. Launched on Christmas Day 2021 and hurtling towards an orbit 1.5 million miles from the Earth, the JWST (as it's known to those in the business!) is a follow-up to the Hubble Space Telescope - and it's three times bigger. Decades in the making, the JWST will begin collecting and transmitting scientific data in July 2022, making this a really exciting time for astrophysicists such as Dr Becky Smethurst. We catch up with her to find out more.

Steel has become an essential commodity in modern society - used in everything from our cars and our buildings to the cutlery we use to eat our dinner. Unfortunately, the process used to traditionally produce steel (mining iron ore and combining it with carbon in a blast oxygen furnace) releases a huge amount of CO2. So, is there a cleaner way of producing steel? In this episode, we chat to Prof Barbara Rossi about 'green steel', and how it could improve the sustainability and resilience of the construction industry. 

How do you retrieve data from sensors embedded in underwater settings - such as those monitoring ecosystem change, for example? Well, when human divers aren't an option (which is often the case) it's over to the autonomous robots! In this episode of the Big Questions Podcast we speak to Prof Nick Hawes from the Oxford Robotics Institute about the challenges - and possibilities - that such robots bring to the field.

Is there anything nicer than a fresh, juicy, home-grown tomato on a summer's day? Whether you like them sliced up in a sandwich or blended into a delicious sauce, in this episode of the Big Questions podcast we reveal the secrets behind growing the perfect tomato. Let us transport you to Trap Grounds Allotments in Oxford, where Emily is joined by plant scientist Christian Norton, who is ready to reveal his five easy steps to the ultimate crop!

Misinformation about the war in Ukraine - and countless other topics, such as the pandemic and climate change - spreads like wildfire online. It aims to confuse people, make them question their own knowledge, and ultimately raise suspicion and doubt. But how exactly does this misinformation spread, why is it so prevalent on social media, and what are the various platforms doing to help prevent it? We chat to Dr Aliaksandr Herasimenka from the Oxford Internet Institute to find out.

Masks, social distancing, lockdowns. We've become intimately familiar with numerous COVID-19 control measures over the past two years. Now, with most restrictions gone (at least here in England), does that mean that the pandemic is really over? In this episode, we chat to Erica Charters, Professor of the Global History of Medicine at the University of Oxford and Principal Investigator of the 'How Epidemics End' interdisciplinary project. 

Over the past year, we've seen our energy bills reach unimaginable heights. The war in Ukraine is having devastating effects for Ukrainians and creating ripples for international fuel costs. We're now in the midst of a 'perfect storm' when it comes to energy supply - but where are we in the story? Is the energy crisis going to get worse, and what are the potential solutions to bringing those prices down? We chat to Phil Grünewald who considers the current situation a wake-up call to improve our housing stock, diversify how we heat our homes and to use new and sustainable fuels that could change the geopolitics of energy for good.

In this episode of the Big Questions podcast, we're talking about one of our favourite guilty pleasures - ordering a pizza! From the machinery required to harvest the wheat for the dough, to the cardboard packaging your finished pizza is delivered in, we're considering all aspects of a pizza's journey and asking: is ordering a pizza bad for the climate? Environmental scientists Eleanor Hammond and Dr Mike Clark are here to provide some answers, and tell us about '4 steps 4 the Earth'. (Don't worry, they're not banning pizza!)

What do you think of when someone says “the most dangerous animal in the world”? A lion perhaps? Or a poisonous frog? Well, one species of mosquito – Anopheles gambiae – is often referred to as such, owing to its enhanced ability to transmit malaria, a deadly disease which led to 627,000 deaths in 2020 alone. A. gambiae isn’t the only species of mosquito that is able to effectively transmit malaria, and each species exhibits different behaviours and requires a different management strategy. But how do you tell them apart? In this episode, we chat to Dr Marianne Sinka, Senior Researcher on the Humbug Project (https://humbug.ox.ac.uk/) which uses smartphones to identify mosquito species using their unique ‘hums’.

Did you know there are different types of pain? In this episode of the Big Questions Podcast, we chat to Dr Lydia Coxon, a researcher in the Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health at Oxford. Lydia is looking at the mechanisms that cause pain in patients with endometriosis - a common gynaecological condition where tissue that normally grows inside the womb is found outside the womb. Through her research she hopes to better understand the type of pain that endometriosis causes, so that it can be treated more effectively.

One way to delve deep into the ancient history of the Earth - or other planetary bodies for that matter - is to examine the magnetism recorded by rocks. Kind of like a fossilised magnetic fingerprint. But trying to do this in an environment where another magnetic field exists (i.e. everywhere on Earth!) is pretty challenging. Enter the 'magnetically shielded room'! Join us as we catch up with Prof James Bryson from Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences, and find out all about this very special DIY project. 

"Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose..." Many of us will be very familiar with Santa's famous antlered friend. But did you know that many reindeer actually do have red noses? But why? In this festive episode of the Big Questions Podcast, we ask Oxford polar biologist Ignacio (Nacho) Juarez Martinez to share some of the reasons we find red pigments in animals, and to explain why he thinks Rudolph's nose is so red!

Online communication channels are popular, to say the least. For instance, there are 187 million active Twitter users per day alone. Sadly, these open channels of communication also open up the potential for harm, through online hate speech. The problem is so large that we require AI to help detect it. But what about when it comes to emoji? According to some reports, ten billion emoji are sent in messages around the world every day. When the same emoji can have vastly different meanings depending on the context, how can we use AI to detect their use as hate speech? We speak to Oxford AI researcher Hannah Rose Kirk to find out.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic there was a lot of confusion, as we all tried to figure out what we should and shouldn't do to best protect ourselves and others. Fortunately, we now have more definitive answers to some of our most pressing questions - which are backed-up by data - including "umm...should I be wearing a mask?". As COVID cases are again on the rise across Europe, this is the question we're putting to demographer and behavioural scientist Prof Melinda Mills.

Satellites have been orbiting our planet for the past few decades. We might be familiar with how they can be used to track weather, or beam television and phone signals around the world. But did you know, that by capturing images of the Earth outside the visible spectrum, they're able to offer a unique perspective of the ground beneath our feet? They could even - as Earth observations specialist Maral Bayaraa tells us - provide a remote early warning system for an environmental catastrophe, dam collapse.

From California to Greece to Australia, it seems like every time we switch on the news there's another wildfire report. Some fires are natural - in fact, they're a fundamental part of many ecosystems - but the severity and frequency of the wildfires we are now witnessing is beyond natural levels. Human-ignited "megafires" are causing devastation across the planet. Climate change and inadequate ecosystem management are key contributors to the problem, but what are the possible solutions? In this special COP26 edition of the Big Questions Podcast, we ask Dr Imma Oliveras all about megafires.

Chocolate. It’s rare to find anyone who isn’t partial to a square or two of this delicious treat. But is its very existence in danger? (*Cue worried faces.*) In this episode of the Big Questions Podcast we chat to chocoholic and researcher Acheampong Atta-Boateng, who studies the relationship between cocoa trees and their micro-pollinators. We hear about how monocropping, pesticides and climate change all pose a risk to the cocoa tree and ask – could chocolate go extinct?

Nowadays, the idea of encountering robots in our daily lives isn't pure science fiction. Many of us interact with AI every day, and the use of robots in, for example, healthcare settings, is already on the horizon. But what if something goes wrong? The RoboTIPS team at the University of Oxford is developing an innovative feature - an 'ethical black box' that acts like a data recorder for use when adverse incidents or accidents occur. How would it work? Well, in this very special episode of the Big Questions Podcast, we're going to demonstrate - through the medium of theatre! That's right, we've made our very own radio play! Sit back, relax, and let us present the Oxford RoboTIPS players in "The Case of the Fall".

Do you remember when the price of fizzy drinks in the UK went up slightly a few years ago? Soda fans, perhaps you remember all too clearly...! Well, this was because the UK government introduced a sugar tax (or the Soft Drinks Industrial Levy, to be precise), requiring manufacturers to pay a tax on sugary drinks - a cost which was then passed on to the customer. Following the success of this tax (perhaps not for your pocket, but fizzy drinks now contain less sugar) we're asking public health nutritionist Dr Lauren Bandy - is a snack tax on the horizon?

An arboretum could be described as a "living library". A beautifully curated collection of woody plants from across the globe, each one carefully labelled and managed. In this episode of the Big Questions Podcast we chat to Ben Jones, Arboretum Curator at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum, about what makes an arboretum so special. 

Lockdowns, social distancing, restrictions on 'normal' activities - we've all been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. But how has it impacted on our mood and mental wellbeing? We chat to Dr Maxime Taquet from the Department of Psychiatry about 'mood homeostasis' (the interplay between people's activities and the way they feel), and how this has been affected over the past year. He also tells us about a new study into the impact of COVID-19 infection itself on mental health.

Their distinctive 'teacher teacher' call is synonymous with British gardens, but great tits are facing a big problem - climate change. As our springtime becomes warmer and begins earlier, peak caterpillar abundance is also shifting earlier. As a crucial food source for great tit chicks, this is cause for concern. In this episode of the Big Questions Podcast, we catch up with ecologist Dr Charlotte Regan, one of the scientists who monitors the Wytham Woods great tit population, which has been systematically studied since the 1960s. 

Remember those days when it was possible to climb aboard a plane and jet off around the world? Well, while we might be yearning for foreign shores, there's no denying that air travel comes with a big ol' carbon footprint. But is it possible to make aeroplanes 'greener'? We chat to Dr Chiara Falsetti, a researcher at the Oxford Thermofluids Institute, who is looking at ways to improve the cooling mechanisms of aircraft engines, to boost their efficiency and ultimately make flying more sustainable.

The moon may be the closest planetary body to us, but we still have a lot to learn about it. For example, what is the water-cycle like on an airless body such as the moon? How much water can be found there, and could we one day utilise this water for space exploration? In this episode of the Big Questions Podcast, we chat to Dr Katherine Shirley, a planetary scientist at the University of Oxford who is also a member of the science team for NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission. A hydroponic station on the moon? Maybe it's not just sci-fi fantasy...

We're over a year into the coronavirus pandemic, and it's affected our lives in many ways - including, for many of us, how we sleep. You may have experienced changes to your sleep pattern (particularly if you waved goodbye to your commute last March), your quality of sleep, or even had some very weird or vivid dreams! If so, you're not alone. Join us as we chat to sleep expert Prof Colin Espie about his latest research, which looks at the impact of lockdown on sleep across 14 European countries. 

If you've ever been lucky enough to hear a lion roar (whether that's at the zoo or in the wild - hopefully at a safe distance!), you'll know that it's a truly bone-shaking experience. But do lions have a unique roar, or do they all sound the same? How could knowing this help with conservation efforts? Join us for this episode of the Big Questions podcast as we chat to lion biologist Dr Matthew Wijers - a researcher who has trawled through a whopping 1440 hours of lion audio, all in the name of science!

In this year's Valentine's episode, we're exploring one of the most special relationships around. That's right - the one between us and our dogs! We often hear pooches described as "(wo)man's best friend", but for how long has this been the case? Join Prof Greger Larson, an expert in palaeogenomics and bio-archaeology, as we journey back thousands of years to explore the possible origins of this remarkable inter-species bond.   

It's a question that's on the lips of politicians, scientists and policy-makers right across the globe - who should get the COVID-19 vaccine first? Should it be the elderly and clinically vulnerable, healthcare professionals and other frontline workers, or another group entirely? We chat to Dr Alberto Giubilini, a philosopher at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, about why this decision is so ethically complicated. 

Is it possible to edit someone's genes before they are born to make them a nicer, kinder, more moral person? Not only that - but, importantly, should we do this? When it comes to gene editing for moral enhancement, there are many ethical points to consider. Join us as we chat to Tess Johnson, a Philosophy PhD student at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, about this very big question.

Most of us have probably heard of video games being described as "addictive", but is there evidence of this? Are they damaging to our mental health, or could they actually have a positive impact on our metal wellbeing? In this episode of the Big Questions podcast we're booting up our consoles, and asking Prof Andrew Przybylski, Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute, all about his latest study (fans of Animal Crossing and Plants vs. Zombies - this one's for you!).

It's that time of year - the festive jumpers are going on, the lights are going up, and we're ready to decorate our Christmas trees. But when it comes to choosing your fir, what do you go for - real or fake? Perhaps you have a trusty old family-favourite that comes down from the attic each year? Or maybe going to choose a real tree gets you into the festive spirit? Either way, have you ever wondered which is best for the environment? In this episode, we're chatting to forest scientist Henry Hung about which trees are the greenest (not literally!). 

Did you know that the winner of the 2019/2020 Fantasy Premier League, beating over 7 million other players, was Dr Joshua Bull - a researcher at Oxford's Mathematical Institute? How did he win? Turns out that 'mathematical thinking' and a strategic approach, combined with "gut instinct and a healthy dose of good luck" might just be the answer! Could you be next year's winner? Join us as Joshua shares his tips!

We've probably all heard the phrase 'Big Brother is watching you' (a reference to the fictional character in George Orwell's dystopian novel '1984') - but are we really under constant surveillance? Is it actually possible to be a fully functioning member of modern society without being tracked by some sort of surveillance system? And how is technology being used to track protestors - such as those involved in the Black Lives Matter demonstrations? We catch up with Anjuli Shere, from Oxford's Department of Computer Science and Channel 4's show 'Hunted', to find out.

Find out more on this topic with Simone Browne, Shoshana Zuboff and Ken Klippenstein.

'Influencers' are here like never before...log on to social media, and there will be someone there to tell you what to cook or what to wear...But what about when it comes to wildlife conservation? For instance, how much impact can a celebrity have when it comes to saving an endangered species? In this episode of the Oxford Sparks Big Questions Podcast, we're asking zoologist Alegria Olmedo "Can celebrities save the pangolin?"

We're back with a brand new series of the 'Oxford Sparks Big Questions Podcast'! And - in the Autumn of 2020 - where else could we start but with an episode answering a big question related to COVID-19?

We're all used to hearing a lot of pandemic terminology now, but it can be difficult to get to grips with exactly what all these terms mean. For instance, what does the 'R Rate' really mean? We asked Emmanuelle Dankwa, a statistical epidemiologist from Oxford's Department of Statistics, to help us bust some myths!

For a transcript of this episode, please go to: https://www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/content/what-does-r-rate-really-mean

We all feel pain differently. What to one person may be the worst pain in the world, might be a mild irritation to another person; but why? At the moment, we don’t have a thorough understanding of how pain is processed, meaning it is difficult to devise treatments for chronic pain. In this episode of the ‘Big Questions’ podcast, we are lucky enough to join Dr Andy Segerdahl – a neuroscientist at the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN) and the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford – for one of his experiments, where he is examining pain response (in a willing volunteer!) using an fMRI scanner. As he explains, if we can fully understand which parts of the brain and spinal cord are involved in pain response in a healthy individual, we can begin to understand how this response becomes dysfunctional.

Things have changed a lot over the past few months – including, for many of us, our daily routine. But how has this impacted our energy usage? In this week’s episode of the Big Questions podcast, we chat to Dr Philipp Grünewald from Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute about his ‘JoyMeter’ survey, which has given a fascinating insight into how our daily schedules, energy usage, and even our enjoyment of a cup of tea, have changed during lockdown.

Established in 1621, the Oxford Botanic Garden was the first botanic garden in the UK. It has been - and remains – an invaluable resource for education, scientific research, and conservation. But recently it’s added another feather to its cap, teaming up with The Oxford Artisan Distillery to produce a ‘Physic Gin’. So what exactly is this gin, and what inspired Prof Simon Hiscock, Director of the Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, to take on this new endeavour?

As we search for a way out of the global coronavirus crisis, there’s been plenty of discussion surrounding a potential COVID-19 tracing app. Many of us carry a mobile phone with us wherever we go, so it seems logical to use this pre-existing infrastructure in the transition towards a ‘new normal’. But how tricky is it to make such an app? What’s more, what challenges must be overcome for it to be an effective measure of preventing virus transmission? In this episode of the Big Questions podcast, Dr Grant Blank from the Oxford Internet Institute, who studies the social and cultural impact of the internet and new media, offers some thoughts.

Just one mosquito bite is enough to infect someone with malaria. Tackling this serious – sometimes fatal – subtropical disease is a key priority for the World Health Organisation; but how can we move forward in the fight against it? Specifically, how could a small team of researchers, taking to the roads in a custom-built ‘Landrover Lab’, help in the fight against it? Listen to hear how Dr George Busby and his team took genetic sequencing techniques into the field, on a 7350km journey, to work alongside front-line researchers in Africa.

Much less is known about the Indian Ocean than either the Atlantic or Pacific. It's also the least protected. What secrets lie beneath the waves? What new species wait to be discovered…? Dr Paris Stefanoudis tells us all about the Nekton project, its past and planned missions, and the role it’s playing in helping us to find out “What’s in the Indian Ocean?”.

We’re living in extraordinary times, where graphs and statistics are splashed across newspaper front pages, and misinformation is rife. How do we know which sources of information are reliable? How do scientific researchers go from having an idea to publishing their findings, and advising on policy? In this week’s episode of the ‘Big Questions’ podcast, we’re asking Brian Earp, a Research Fellow at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, ‘Should we trust scientists?’.

When it comes to mass-producing food, it’s important to make sure the taste is consistent, and good! But how can we detect the taste of something without eating it ourselves? Prof Richard Compton and his team in the Department of Chemistry are experts in electrochemical sensors, and in this episode of the Big Questions podcast he tells us all about their new sensor…to detect the strength of GARLIC.

Coronavirus has been hitting the headlines since late 2019, and is now at the forefront of many people’s minds. We have a lot of questions, and it can be difficult to find answers. In this episode of the Big Questions podcast, Emily is asking her family what they would like to know about coronavirus, and Prof Christl Donnelly (an expert in modelling the spread of disease) is on-hand to provide some answers.

With one person admitted to hospital every five minutes in the UK because of a heart attack, the ability to diagnose and treat them quickly is vital. In this episode of the ‘Big Questions’ podcast, find out how Dr Tingting Zhu is using a machine learning algorithm, trained on 15,000 ECGs, to diagnose heart attacks faster, potentially eliminating the need for time-consuming blood tests.

Looking for ‘The One’, or maybe just a date for Valentine’s Day? The dating scene has changed significantly over the past ten years, not least because of the increasing popularity of online dating websites and dating apps. In this special ‘Valentine’s’ edition of the Big Questions podcast, we’re asking Patrick Gildersleve from the Oxford Internet Institute - can data find me a date?

Much of post 1920s astronomy rests on her shoulders. Without her, we wouldn’t have a three-dimensional sky. Leavitt’s Law allowed us to measure distances in other galaxies as early as 1912. But how many people have ever heard of Henrietta Leavitt? We wanted to know about this ‘hidden woman’ of astronomy, so in this episode of the Big Questions podcast we ask Dr Becky Smethurst from the University of Oxford’s Department of Physics “Who was Henrietta Leavitt?”.

We’re pretty obsessed with the concept of ageing. Ancient civilizations supposedly sought an ‘elixir of life’, and today many of us get hung up on finding a way to ‘younger looking skin’… But what’s the science behind ageing? What determines the life expectancy of a species and – time for the 'big question' – can we stop ageing? We ask Alison Woollard, Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford, just that - and even sneak a peek in her lab...

It's a new year (and a new decade!) and many of us will be looking to turn over a new leaf when it comes to diet and lifestyle. But - as anyone who's tried one will know - diets are VERY difficult to stick to. In this episode of the Big Questions podcast, we ask Professor Heidi de Wet from the University of Oxford's Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics "Why do diets fail?". Don't worry - she also provides some great tips for a healthier lifestyle along the way!

We know it as the home of Father Christmas, but why is Lapland of interest to geologists?

In this festive episode of the Big Questions podcast we ask Anna Bidgood from the University of Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences "What's under Lapland?". Join us as we find out why the minerals found in the region are important, and what it's like to be a field scientist in the frozen north...

According to the much-loved 'Back to the Future' franchise, we should all be zipping around on hoverboards by now. As we come to terms with our disappointment that they STILL haven't hit the shelves, Dr Clara Barker from Oxford University's Materials Science department discusses the technology that would be required to build one, and we learn all about superconductors along the way.

What do you do when a city outgrows its 150 year old sewer system? Build a super sewer of course! Join University of Oxford engineer Dr Brian Sheil as we go underground, and learn how his innovative sensors are revolutionising the Thames Tideway Tunnel Project – and the construction industry.

The Big Questions podcast is back with a new series, and we start with a special Halloween edition! Join University of Oxford evolutionary virologist Emilia Skirmuntt as we learn all about the weird and wonderful world of bats, and ask the question 'Are bats villains or superheroes?'

It’s considered one of the hardest athletic challenges. 21 day-long stages covering around 3,500 kilometres (2,200 miles) - it’s the Tour De France.

A Tour de France rider will burn enough calories during a six-hour mountain stage to fuel an average person's activity for two to four days. So how do these athletes compete day in, day out?

On this episode of the Big Questions podcast we are asking the question: Why are athletes using ketones?

This week we visited Kieran Clarke, Biochemist at the University of Oxford to find out…

There is a whole world of things out there that want us dead – we are talking microscopic invaders that want to get inside our bodies and kill us. Lucky for us we have a secret weapon to keep us alive…ANTIBODIES

In this episode we are taking a deep dive and looking at these teeny tiny antibodies and asking….why aren’t we dead? 

To find out we met up with the Head of the Department for Statistics at the University of Oxford, Charlotte Deane…