The Oxford Comment is a monthly podcast featuring insights from Oxford University Press authors, editors, and more.

The Oxford Comment

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.

Learn more about Brian Levack and "Distrust of Institutions in Early Modern Britain and America" here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/distrust-of-institutions-in-early-modern-britain-and-america-9780192847409
Learn more about Robert Faris and "Network Propaganda" here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/network-propaganda-9780190923631
Learn more about Tom Nichols and "Our Own Worst Enemy" and "The Death of Expertise" here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/our-own-worst-enemy-9780197518878 and here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-death-of-expertise-9780190865979

Please check out Episode 76 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:
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The Oxford Comment Crew:
Executive Producer: Steven Filippi
Associate Producers: Meghan Schaffer, Rachel Havard, Erin Cox
Host: Meghan Schaffer

Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

© Oxford University Press

Distrust in Institutions: Past, Present, and Future - Episode 76 - The Oxford Comment

On today’s episode, we explore two recognizable components in contemporary conversations on gender and gendered violence. First, we welcomed Robert Lawson, the author of "Language and Mediated Masculinities: Cultures, Contexts, Constraints," to share how language intersects with masculinity in media spaces and how it may be our best weapon in combatting rising misogyny. We then interviewed Iqra Shagufta Cheema, the editor of "The Other #MeToos," who spoke with us about the origins of the #MeToo movement, how it has been received around the world, and how it has changed—and will continue to change—to meet the needs of the victims for which it advocates.

For more information on "Language and Mediated Masculinities," check out: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/language-and-mediated-masculinities-9780190081058
For more information on "The Other #MeToos," check out: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-other-metoos-9780197619872

Please 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: https://oxford.ly/3xBtxaQ
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- TuneIn: https://oxford.ly/3jKR0OG
- YouTube: https://oxford.ly/2YY4iMT

The Oxford Comment Crew:
Executive Producer: Steven Filippi
Associate Producers: Rachel Havard and Meghan Schaffer
Host: Rachel Havard

Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

© Oxford University Press

Revisiting Toxic Masculinity and #MeToo - Episode 85 - The Oxford Comment

On today’s episode, we’re joined by two preeminent scholars on the history and theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as this September marks the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith's first vision of the angel Moroni. We welcomed Richard Lyman Bushman, the author of "Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates: A Cultural History," to discuss with us the legacy of Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates and the origins of "The Book of Mormon" two centuries ago. We then interviewed Grant Hardy, whose new "The Annotated Book of Mormon" is the first ever fully annotated, academic edition of the book.

For more information on "Joseph Smith's Gold Plates," check out: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/joseph-smiths-gold-plates-9780197676523
For more information on "The Annotated Book of Mormon," check out: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-annotated-book-of-mormon-9780190082208

A PDF transcript for this episode can be found here: https://oxfordacademic.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/The-Oxford-Comment-Episode-86-transcript-final.pdf

Please 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: https://oxford.ly/3xBtxaQ
- Spotify: https://oxford.ly/2JLNTTO
- Stitcher: https://oxford.ly/2R0fVNZ
- TuneIn: https://oxford.ly/3jKR0OG
- YouTube: https://oxford.ly/2YY4iMT

The Oxford Comment Crew:
Executive Producer: Steven Filippi
Associate Producers: Sarah Butcher
Host: Jack Dugan

Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

© Oxford University Press

The Revelation of the Book of Mormon at 200 - Episode 86 - The Oxford Comment

On today’s episode of The Oxford Comment, we’re joined by three OUP colleagues to discuss current changes in academic publishing and what they will mean for the future of peer review.  First, we talk with Laura Jose, a Publisher in the Owned and Product Tower at OUP, about bias reduction in peer review. Next, we speak with Dr. Amanda Boehm, scientific managing editor for "JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute" and "JNCI Cancer Spectrum," about how diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives affect peer review. Lastly, we ask James Phillpotts, the Director of Content Transformation & Standards who serves as an OUP representative for the National Information Standards Organization (NISO), about the impact of NISO's recently released document on the standard terminology for peer review.

For more information on "JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute," check out: https://academic.oup.com/jnci
For more information on "JNCI Cancer Spectrum," check out: https://academic.oup.com/jncics

A PDF transcript for this episode can be found here:

Please 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: https://oxford.ly/3xBtxaQ
- Spotify: https://oxford.ly/2JLNTTO
- Stitcher: https://oxford.ly/2R0fVNZ
- TuneIn: https://oxford.ly/3jKR0OG
- YouTube: https://oxford.ly/2YY4iMT

The Oxford Comment Crew:
Executive Producer: Steven Filippi
Associate Producers: Jenn Saboe
Host: Jenn Saboe

Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

© Oxford University Press

Supporting the Future of Peer Review - Episode 87 - The Oxford Comment

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

For more information on "Oxford Open Health and Infrastructure," check out: https://academic.oup.com/ooih
For more information on "The Politics of the Anthropocene," check out: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-politics-of-the-anthropocene-9780198809623

A PDF transcript for this episode can be found here: https://oxfordacademic.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/The-Oxford-Comment-Episode-88-transcript.pdf

Please 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: https://oxford.ly/3xBtxaQ
- Spotify: https://oxford.ly/2JLNTTO
- Stitcher: https://oxford.ly/2R0fVNZ
- TuneIn: https://oxford.ly/3jKR0OG
- YouTube: https://oxford.ly/2YY4iMT

The Oxford Comment Crew:
Executive Producer: Steven Filippi
Associate Producers: Ed Aymar, Meghan Schaffer
Host: Meghan Schaffer

Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

© Oxford University Press

Infrastructure, Public Policy, and the Anthropocene - Episode 88 - The Oxford Comment

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.

For more information on "The United States of English," check out: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-united-states-of-english-9780197647295
For more information on "Near-Death Experience in Indigenous Religions," check out: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/near-death-experience-in-indigenous-religions-9780197685433

A PDF transcript for this episode can be found here: https://oxfordacademic.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-Oxford-Comment-Episode-89-transcript.pdf

Please 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: https://oxford.ly/3xBtxaQ
- Spotify: https://oxford.ly/2JLNTTO
- Stitcher: https://oxford.ly/2R0fVNZ
- TuneIn: https://oxford.ly/3jKR0OG
- YouTube: https://oxford.ly/2YY4iMT

The Oxford Comment Crew:
Executive Producer: Steven Filippi
Associate Producer: Rachel Havard
Host: Rachel Havard

Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

© Oxford University Press

A Spotlight on Native American Language and Religion - Episode 89 - The Oxford Comment

In this episode, we welcome acclaimed writer, psychologist, and intellectual Gündüz Vassaf, whose work spans 17 published books blending literature, philosophy, and psychology. Author of the bestselling "Prisoners of Ourselves: Totalitarianism in Everyday Life" and his more recent novel "The Painter's Rebellion," Vassaf explores with us what it means to imagine Turkey, to be ‘Turkish’ and to be part of a community in the context of some of the world’s greatest challenges, such as global warming, Artificial Intelligence and an increasingly polarised political landscape.



Date of episode recording: 2025-05-19T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:35:58
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Dr. Sertaç Sehlikoglu; Meryem Zișan Köker; Hazal Aydın
Guests: Gündüz Vassaf
Producer: Dr. Sertaç Sehlikoglu; Meryem Zișan Köker; Hazal Aydın. Edited by Alexander Pymm

Transcription link:
https://www.takhayyulproject.com/takhayyul-podcast-youtube

Imagining Turkey with Gündüz Vassaf

In this episode of So Now What, host Catherine Galloway engages with Gates Cambridge scholars Julie Pham, Chris Tooley, and Robin Scott to explore the nuances of leadership in turbulent times. The conversation delves into the importance of moral leadership, the opportunities presented by crises like COVID-19, and the significance of self-leadership and community building. The guests share their experiences and insights on how to lead effectively, emphasising curiosity, respect, and the power of local action.

Takeaways

Leadership is about bringing people with you, not telling them what to do.
Curiosity can transform workplace dynamics and leadership styles.
Crisis often creates opportunities for innovation and transformation.
Moral leadership is crucial in times of flux and uncertainty.
Local leadership is essential for meaningful change.
Self-leadership involves being open to learning from others.
Community building can counteract polarization and division.
Radical honesty in leadership fosters trust and collaboration.
Cultural forms of leadership can have transformative potential.
Leadership should be shaped by lived experience and engagement.
Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Leadership in Turbulent Times

09:50 The Role of Moral Leadership

20:05 Crisis as Opportunity: Leadership During COVID-19

30:09 Self-Leadership and Community Building

Moral leadership in a time of crisis

This week we’re looking at AI and public services. How far could AI tools help to tackle stagnant public sector productivity? What dangers are associated with AI adoption? And how can these dangers be addressed? 

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being touted as a game-changer across various sectors, including public services. But while AI presents significant opportunities for improving efficiency and effectiveness, concerns about fairness, equity, and past failures in public sector IT transformations loom large. And, of course, the idea of tech moguls like Elon Musk wielding immense influence over our daily lives is unsettling for many. So, what are the real opportunities AI offers for public services? What risks need to be managed? And how well are governments—particularly in the UK—rising to the challenge? 

In this episode, we dive into these questions with three expert guests who have recently published an article in The Political Quarterly on the subject: Helen Margetts – Professor of Society and the Internet at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, and Director of the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Institute. Previously, she was Director of the School of Public Policy at UCL. Cosmina Dorobantu – Co-director of the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Institute. Jonathan Bright – Head of Public Services and AI Safety at The Alan Turing Institute. 

Mentioned in this episode: Margetts, H., Dorobantu, C. and Bright, J. (2024), How to Build Progressive Public Services with Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. The Political Quarterly.

Transcription link:
https://uncoveringpolitics.com/episodes/ai-and-public-services/transcript

Date of episode recording: 2025-02-13T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:42:48
Language of episode: English (UK)
TAGS: AI, government, politics, bureaucracy, political quarterly, efficiency
Presenter:Alan Renwick
Guests: Helen Margettes, Cosmina Dorobantu, Jonathan Bright
Producer: Eleanor Kingwell-Banham


AI and Public Services

This week we ask: could the University be a wild place? A resilient ecosystem of biodiversity, interdependent relationships, entanglements and emergence? What would it look like if we let go of command, control and management, and allowed the University to grow and thrive in ways that can't be predicted in advance but might exceed our wildest dreams? 

Join us to celebrate the achievements of Prof. Cathy Elliott. Recorded one day after her inaugural lecture, marking a significant milestone in her distinguished career, Cathy talks about her wild approach to education. Cathy is one of those rare educators who always strives to focus less on grades and more on inspiring her pupils. She has spearheaded un-grading campaigns at UCL, as well as inclusive curriculums and student-led projects on inclusivity, belonging, political philosophy and international relations. She is a co-director of UCL Centre for the Pedagogy of Politics, a co-convenor of the Political Studies Association Teaching and Learning Network, and Vice-Dean Education for UCL Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences. 

Cathy has made history as our department's first academic on the teaching track to be promoted to Professor. This in itself reflects Cathy's thoughts on education - if we remove some of the boundaries and change some of the criteria , wonderful things might happen (inc. it might be easier for teaching track academics to progress to prof)! 

Mentioned in this episode: Cathy Elliott. Against anonymity: relational marking and awarding gaps. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. Special Edition of Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education: Liberating Learning Inclusive Curriculum Project

Transcription link:
https://uncoveringpolitics.com/episodes/rewilding-the-university-prof-cathy-elliots-inaugural-lecture/transcript

Date of episode recording: 2025-04-10T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:37:34
Language of episode: English (uk)
TAGS: teaching, universities, pedagogy
Presenter:Emily McTernan
Guests: Cathy Elliott
Producer: E Kingwell-Banham


Rewilding the University - Prof Cathy Elliott's inaugural lecture

Dr. Bzhar Othman Ahmed, history lecturer at the University of Soran, Kurdistan, Iraq, discusses his research on the Jewish community in Koya, Iraq from 1918 to 1951.

Transcription link:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/nahrein/media/podcasts/transcript-conversation-bzhar-othman-ahmed

Date of episode recording: 2025-02-01T00:00:00Z
Duration: 38:13
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Mehiyar Kathem
Guests: Bzhar Othman Ahmed
Producer: Mehiyar Kathem

THE WORK AND HERITAGE OF THE JEWS OF KOYA - A Conversation with Dr Bzhar Ahmed

In January 2025, the release of a new model and chatbot by Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company, DeepSeek, sent shockwaves through the tech industry in the US and elsewhere. DeepSeek’s launch was only one milestone in the ongoing AI competition between China and the US which has seen the US try to restrict the exports of key components used in AI development to other countries.

In the second episode of The Ballpark’s miniseries on AI and the US, the Phelan US Centre explored the ongoing AI competition between China and the US with Angela Zhang, Professor of Law at the Gould School of Law of the University of Southern California. Professor Zhang is an expert on AI regulation, both in China and globally.

They spoke about China’s current approach to AI regulation, and how this compares with the US, and why China may be content with being a “close second” in the AI race.

Further reading and resources

•	High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy by Angela Huyue Zhang (Oxford University Press, 2024)
•	The Promise and Perils of China’s Regulation of Artificial Intelligence, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, 21 January 2025


LSE: The Ballpark | The US-China AI race with Professor Angela Zhang

Read by award-winning narrator Jeff Harding.

**NOW A MAJOR PRIME TV SERIES STARRING ALAN RITCHSON**

Jack Reacher jumps off a bus and walks fourteen miles down a country road into Margrave, Georgia. An arbitrary decision he's about to regret. Reacher is the only stranger in town on the day they have had their first homicide in thirty years.

The cops arrest Reacher and the police chief turns eyewitness to place him at the scene. As nasty secrets leak out, and the body count mounts, one thing is for sure. They picked the wrong guy to take the fall.

Although the Jack Reacher novels can be listened to in any order, Killing Floor is the first audiobook in the internationally popular series. It presents Reacher for the first time, as the tough ex-military cop of no fixed abode: a righter of wrongs, the perfect action hero.

"This was the first Jack Reacher novel and with its lean, spare prose it has one of the most intriguing heroes of our times and displays a gift for explosive drama." (Daily Express)

‘Jeff Harding’s [...] narration captures Reacher’s character perfectly [...] you have to savour every minute.’ The Sunday Times

Killing Floor by Lee Child, read by Jeff Harding - Chapter 1

How can the history of enslavement be recognised in the way we shape and regenerate cities today? In this special episode marking 20 years of the Bartlett’s Sustainable Heritage MSc, we explore how cities can confront the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade, the role of community-led projects, and how heritage can drive more inclusive and meaningful urban change. MSc, Professor Kalliopi Fouseki is joined by Helen Paul, director of the Memorial of Enslavement and Freedom in Deptford and an economic historian at the University of Southampton, and Marie Xypaki, Head of Learning and Teaching Enhancement at SOAS.

Date of episode recording: 2025-06-23T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:34:52
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Kalliopi Fouseki
Guests: Marie Xypaki; Helen Paul
Producer: Adam Batstone


The Bartlett Review - Recognising Slavery’s History in City Regeneration

Read by award-winning narrator Jeff Harding.

**NOW A MAJOR PRIME TV SERIES STARRING ALAN RITCHSON**

Never forgive, never forget.

Jack Reacher lives for the moment. Without a home. Without commitment. But he has a burning desire to right wrongs - and rewrite his own agonizing past.

Never apologize. Never explain.

When Reacher witnesses a brutal kidnap attempt, he takes the law into his own hands. But a cop dies. Has Reacher lost his sense of right and wrong?

Although the Jack Reacher novels can be listened to in any order, Persuader is seventh in the series.

"Ballsy, dynamic and not for the faint-hearted." (Daily Mail)

‘Jeff Harding’s [...] narration captures Reacher’s character perfectly [...] you have to savour every minute.’ The Sunday Times

Persuader by Lee Child, read by Jeff Harding - Chapter 1

Oxford University Press’s academic insights for the thinking world combine authority, innovation, and excellence.  We share audio resources for students, scholars, and researchers.

Distrust in Institutions: Past, Present, and Future - Episode 76 - The Oxford Comment

Oxford Academic (OUP)

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