A Spotlight on Native American Language and Religion – Episode 89 – The Oxford Comment
Episode 89
Tuesday, November 28, 2023 • Duration 51:32
On today’s episode of The Oxford Comment, the last for 2023, we spotlight two aspects of Native American culture that transcend tribe and nation and have been the recent focus of OUP scholars: language and religious beliefs. For our first interview, we were joined by Rosemarie Ostler, author of The United States of English: The American Language from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century, to speak about the Native American English dialect, how English became more widely spoken amongst Native Americans, and current programs to preserve Native American languages. We then spoke with Gregory Shushan, author of Near-Death Experience in Indigenous Religions, about near-death experiences, Native American myths, shamanism, and religious revitalization movements across indigenous cultures in North America.
Infrastructure, Public Policy, and the Anthropocene – Episode 88 – The Oxford Comment
Episode 88
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 • Duration 47:09
On today’s episode of The Oxford Comment, we discuss the state of human infrastructure in the Anthropocene with a particular focus on how research can best be used to inform public policy. First, we welcomed Patrick Harris, co-editor-in-chief of the new transdisciplinary journal, Oxford Open Infrastructure and Health, to speak about the aims and scopes of OOIH, how OOIH is poised to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene, and the kind of research the editors are seeking. We then interviewed Jonathan Pickering, co-author of The Politics of the Anthropocene, the winner of the 2019 Clay Morgan Award Committee for Best Book in Environmental Political Theory. We spoke with him about how the shift from the Holocene to the Anthropocene has affected our core infrastructure systems and how good governance can help us mitigate the many challenges we’ll face in the future
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Mind the Gap: The Growth in Economic Inequality – Episode 79 – The Oxford Comment
Looking Into Space – Episode 78 – The Oxford Comment
Episode 78
Tuesday, November 29, 2022 • Duration 48:06
On the last episode of The Oxford Comment for 2022, we’re looking at what the James Webb Space Telescope means to our understanding of the universe. The questions are big, the area is even bigger, and we are delighted to be joined by two eminent fellows from the Royal Astronomical Society, Claudia Maraston and Jonathan Tennyson, to review this expansive subject.
Claudia Maraston is Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Portsmouth, and an expert in theoretical astrophysics, in particular the calculation of theoretical spectra for stellar populations. She also sits on the editorial board of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Jonathan Tennyson is Massey Professor of Physics at University College London, and specialises in the accurate quantum mechanical treatments of both the spectroscopy and collision properties of small molecules, with an emphasis on the provision of data for other research areas. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Open Access Royal Astronomical Society Techniques & Instruments.
Egyptology at the Turn of the Century – Episode 77 – The Oxford Comment
Episode 77
Tuesday, October 25, 2022 • Duration 33:07
On November 1, 1922 Egyptologist Howard Carter and his team of excavators began digging in a previously undisturbed plot of land in the Valley of the Kings. For decades, archaeologists had searched for the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun with no success, and that November was to be Carter’s final attempt to locate the lost treasures. What Carter ultimately discovered—the iconic sarcophagus, the mummy that inspired whispers of a curse, and the thousands of precious artifacts—would shape Egyptian politics, the field of archaeology, and how museums honor the past for years to come.
On today’s episode, we discuss the legacy of early 20th century Egyptology to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
First, we welcomed Bob Brier—one of the world’s foremost Egyptologist, and an expert in mummies who is one of a few scholars who have had the opportunity to investigate Tutankhamun’s mummy—as he discusses his new book Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World and the 100 years of research that have taken place since the tomb’s discovery. We then spoke with Peter Der Manuelian, the author of Walking Among Pharaohs: George Reisner and the Dawn of Modern Egyptology, to discuss Reisner’s life, the rise of American Archaeology in Egypt, and the archeological field’s involvement in nationalism and colonialism.
Please check out Episode 77 of The Oxford Comment and subscribe to The Oxford Comment through your favourite podcast app to listen to the latest insights from our expert authors: – Amazon Music: https://oxford.ly/3O8bPBH – Apple Podcasts: https://oxford.ly/2RuYMPa – Google Podcasts: https://oxford.ly/38UpF5h – iHeartRadio: – Spotify: – Stitcher: – TuneIn: – YouTube:
Distrust in Institutions: Past, Present, and Future – Episode 76 – The Oxford Comment
Episode 76
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 • Duration 50:11
Research shows that American distrust in government, scientists, and media has reached new heights, and this distrust in institutions is reflected in much of the world.
In his play, Orestes, Euripides opines, “When one with honeyed words but evil mind persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.” Might we still overcome this onslaught of misinformation and preserve our trust in the very institutions that have governed and enriched us, in some form or another, for centuries?
On today’s episode of The Oxford Comment, we spoke with Brian Levack, author of “Distrust of Institutions in Early Modern Britain and America”, Robert Faris, co-author of “Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics”, and Tom Nichols, author of “Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from within on Modern Democracy” and “The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters”, to discuss the past, present, and future of institutional distrust, with a particular focus on the contentious 2016 and 2020 US presidential elections.
The Need for Affordable and Clean Energy – Episode 75 – The Oxford Comment
Episode 75
Tuesday, August 30, 2022 • Duration 52:58
High gas prices. Nuclear reactors closed forever. The growth of the electric car industry. Record-breaking temperatures, and Europe’s Dependence on Russian Natural Gas. There has been no shortage in energy-related news stories this summer, and we know that they are not going to go away any time soon.
On today’s episode of The Oxford Comment, we spoke with Martin J. Pasqualetti, Professor of Geography at Arizona State University and author of The Thread of Energy, and Paul F. Meier, an independent clean fuels consultant and author of The Changing Energy Mix: A Systematic Comparison of Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy, on the need for affordable and clean energy (which is one of the UN’s sustainable development goals), the history of energy in the United States, and the dire implications of not changing our energy habits.
Equity in Health Care – Episode 74 – The Oxford Comment
Episode 74
Tuesday, July 26, 2022 • Duration 43:32
There are many factors that affect our ability to be healthy and we unfortunately do not all have the same access to care. Barriers can be related to cost, discrimination, location, sexual orientation, and gender identity – to name just a few.
On today’s episode of The Oxford Comment, we complement Oxford Academic’s extensive “Health Equity” collection of journal articles, book excerpts, and online resources by speaking with two medical experts, Dr. Jon Rohde, formerly of the South Africa EQUITY project, and Dr. Don Dizon, Director of the Pelvic Malignancies Program at Lifespan Cancer Institute, Head of Community Outreach and Engagement at The Cancer Center at Brown University, and Director of Medical Oncology at Rhode Island Hospital. In addition to caring for patients, they have each dedicated their careers to addressing inequity in public health.
Please check out Episode 74 of The Oxford Comment and subscribe to The Oxford Comment through your favourite podcast app to listen to the latest insights from our expert authors: – Amazon Music: https://oxford.ly/3O8bPBH – Apple Podcasts: https://oxford.ly/2RuYMPa – Google Podcasts: https://oxford.ly/38UpF5h– iHeartRadio: – Spotify: – Stitcher: – TuneIn: – YouTube:
Hong Kong 2022: One Country, Two Systems? – Episode 73 – The Oxford Comment
Episode 73
Tuesday, June 28, 2022 • Duration 01:02:18
The first of July 2022 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China. It also marks the halfway point of a fifty-year agreement between China and Hong Kong that established the “one country, two systems,” rule – a system designed to allow Hong Kong to “enjoy a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs” while still remaining a Special Administrative Region of China. What have these twenty-five years signified for Hong Kongers and the wider world?
Please check out Episode 73 of The Oxford Comment and subscribe to The Oxford Comment through your favourite podcast app to listen to the latest insights from our expert authors: – Amazon Music: https://oxford.ly/3O8bPBH – Apple Podcasts: https://oxford.ly/2RuYMPa– Google Podcasts: – iHeartRadio: – Spotify: – Stitcher: – TuneIn: – YouTube:
Oxford World English Symposium 2022 Recap – Episode 72 – The Oxford Comment
Episode 72
Tuesday, May 31, 2022 • Duration 50:08
With over 1 billion speakers, English is an incredibly diverse language. Dozens of countries around the world have their own varieties, many of which have not historically seen adequate representation in English dictionaries.
This past April, the Oxford English Dictionary hosted the Oxford World English Symposium 2022, a two-day event featuring a series of parallel sessions and panels on topics relating not only to varieties of English, but language prejudice, colonialism, and context-based English language teaching, among others.
On today’s episode, we’re featuring Lisa Lim, Phillip Louw, and Michael Proffitt, three of the Symposium’s participants, in the form of a follow-up panel hosted by Dr. Danica Salazar, World English Executive Editor for Oxford Languages.
On November 1, 1922 Egyptologist Howard Carter and his team of excavators began digging in a previously undisturbed plot of land in the Valley of the Kings. For decades, archaeologists had searched for the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun with no success, and that November was to be Carter’s final attempt to locate the lost treasures. What Carter ultimately discovered—the iconic sarcophagus, the mummy that inspired whispers of a curse, and the thousands of precious artifacts—would shape Egyptian politics, the field of archaeology, and how museums honor the past for years to come.
On today’s episode, we discuss the legacy of early 20th century Egyptology to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
First, we welcomed Bob Brier—one of the world’s foremost Egyptologist, and an expert in mummies who is one of a few scholars who have had the opportunity to investigate Tutankhamun’s mummy—as he discusses his new book Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World and the 100 years of research that have taken place since the tomb’s discovery. We then spoke with Peter Der Manuelian, the author of Walking Among Pharaohs: George Reisner and the Dawn of Modern Egyptology, to discuss Reisner’s life, the rise of American Archaeology in Egypt, and the archeological field’s involvement in nationalism and colonialism.
Research shows that American distrust in government, scientists, and media has reached new heights, and this distrust in institutions is reflected in much of the world.
In his play, Orestes, Euripides opines, “When one with honeyed words but evil mind persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.” Might we still overcome this onslaught of misinformation and preserve our trust in the very institutions that have governed and enriched us, in some form or another, for centuries?
On today’s episode of The Oxford Comment, we spoke with Brian Levack, author of “Distrust of Institutions in Early Modern Britain and America”, Robert Faris, co-author of “Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics”, and Tom Nichols, author of “Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from within on Modern Democracy” and “The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters”, to discuss the past, present, and future of institutional distrust, with a particular focus on the contentious 2016 and 2020 US presidential elections.
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