What happens if you criticize the Chinese government on the internet? Can the government censor any opinion that it doesn’t like or is there a line which it cannot cross? In this half of the two-part series on internet censorship in China, Zilun talks to James Griffiths about the anatomy of censorship in China and its implications on internet world-wide. If other developing countries follow the trend to censor the internet, what are its foreseeable consequences?  The speaker, James...

What laws exist in Bolivia to combat violence against women? Where did they come from? How are they used by the women that they exist to protect? In this episode of our podcast series, our South American Events officer, Maddie Whitehead, speaks to Dr. Ashley Rogers about her PhD on Violence Against Women in La Paz. Dr. Rogers completed twelve months of ethnographic research in urban La Paz about the connection between women and the law when it relates to gender based violence. She is...

When we think about those who are involved in the drug trade in Latin America, we often think of men such as those featured on shows like Narcos and El Chapo. In reality, there are lots of women who take on key roles in the drug trafficking business whose stories are often overlooked.  In today’s episode, on of our South American Events officers, Maddie Whitehead, interviews Dr. Elaine Carey about the history and stories of women in the drug trade. Dr. Carey specialises in Latin American...

Diana Fox Carney is an Oxford alumna and an expert in development and climate policy. She is known globally for her work with a wide range of organisations, from UK and Canadian think tanks to charities such as Save the Children, as well as pioneering the climate cause with her husband Mark Carney.  In this podcast, Helena interviews Diana about her career, her views on some of the greatest challenges to development, and advice for those thinking about entering into the sector. Interview by...

Yemen is currently undergoing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The most recent conflict, which has now progressed for more than 6 years, has claimed many lives and continues to deprive civilians of basic rights and needs. Our Middle East events officer Sara Al Soodi explores the reasons behind both the conflict and crisis, looking at both internal and external factors with Jared Wright, policy advisor at Mercy Corps. Jared leads the agency’s policy and advocacy work on Yemen,...

Is there more to development than economic growth? Why are East Asian countries experiencing worrying rates of depression and suicide despite their drastic improvements in GDP? In this episode, our Asia Events Officer, Zilun Lin, speaks to Dr. Kent Schroeder and Prof. Jeremy Brooks about Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness model as an alternative developmental framework. Will this be the silver bullet which brings about more holistic development? Prof. Brooks is an environmental social...

Dr Lina Abirafeh is the executive director of the Arab institute for women at the Lebanese American University. She specialises in working against gender based violence across the world. She is in conversation with Jaimini, the North America Events Officer, and Sara, the Middle East Events Officer, about her experiences helping women stricken by conflict in Haiti, Papua New Guinea and Afghanistan to name but a few places she has worked in. Interview by Jaimini Patel and Sara Al Soodi. Music...

Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has recently gone from a reformist figure of the Middle East, praised by leaders worldwide, to a suspect in the murder of a journalist, raising questions about the true nature of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Our Middle East Events Officer, Sara Al Soodi, discusses the complex nature of MBS and what that means for the future of Saudi Arabia, exploring the nature of individuals in power in the Middle East with Bradley Hope and Justin Scheck, co-authors of 'Blood...

In what sense can it be said that indigenous people are ecologists and poor people environmentalists? How are continuities and discontinuities between humans, living kinds and other objects in the world established? How have people from different cultures perceived and acted upon the material properties of the biophysical world, and how do different social groups make sense of nature? In this episode, our South America Events Officer, Jasmine Alexander, speaks to Professor Laura Rival about...

In 2008, the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip reached 71%. The Palestinian economy is endemically weak, in part due to its split geography between Gaza and the West Bank, and its challenges have been exacerbated by political instability, conflict, and the COVID-19 crisis. In this episode, our Middle East Events Officer, Shariq Haidery, speaks to Professor Bashar Malkawi about the possibilities and challenges of development in Palestine. Professor Malkawi is the Global Professor of Law at...

In this podcast with Dr Hla Kyaw, the chairman of the European Rohingya Council, we seek to understand more about the ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya Muslims and discuss the potential solutions to this devastating crisis. Thanks to Lisa Sitoh, our Events Director for Asia, for creating this podcast.

In this podcast with Dr Hla Kyaw, the chairman of the European Rohingya Council, we seek to understand more about the ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya Muslims and discuss the potential solutions to this devastating crisis. Interview by Lisa Sitoh. Music by Lorcan Cudlip Cook. Learn more about the Oxford Society for International Development at oxsid.org

OxSID President Caitlin Smith speaks with Ruby Weaver co-founder of Our Generation for Inclusive Peace – a new youth-led research and advocacy initiative seeking to revolutionise how we conduct peace and security negotiations.

Middle East Events Officer, Caitlin Hennessy, speaks with Dr Sa’ed Atshan Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore College and who is currently on sabbatical a Visiting Scholar in Middle Eastern Studies at University of California, Berkley about his recent publication ‘Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique’.

Middle East Events Officer, Caitlin Hennessy, speaks with Dr Sa'ed Atshan Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore College and who is currently on sabbatical a Visiting Scholar in Middle Eastern Studies at University of California, Berkeley about his recent publication 'Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique'.

Africa Events Director, Priyan Selvakumar speaks with Matthew Page, Chatham House Associate fellow for the Africa programme. He is also the former US intelligence Nigeria expert as well as former deputy national intelligence officer for Africa on the National intelligence Council. Since this interview we’ve seen a major development in the situation in Nigeria as protests against police brutality. We hope this podcast provides some useful context to understand both the country and political...

Africa Events Director, Priyan Selvakumar speaks with Matthew Page, Chatham House Associate fellow for the Africa programme. He is also the former US intelligence Nigeria expert as well as former Deputy National intelligence Officer for Africa on the National Intelligence Council. Since this interview we’ve seen a major development in the situation in Nigeria as protests against police brutality. We hope this podcast provides some useful context to understand both the country and political...

Europe Events Director, Timea Iliffe, speaks with Catherine Woollard, Director of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles.

Europe Events Director, Timea Iliffe, speaks with Catherine Woollard, Director of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles.

In this podcast with academic and author Professor Cathryn Costello, we discuss the significance of refugee and asylum law for human rights, and investigate the ways that systems of international law have been put into question during COVID-19. We use migration as a lens of analysis to interrogate assumptions that law is fixed in order to recast it as flexible and at times negotiable. In exploring the issues associated with migration control and border policies, we consider how domestic and...

In this podcast with academic and author Professor Cathryn Costello, we discuss the significance of refugee and asylum law for human rights, and investigate the ways that systems of international law have been put into question during COVID-19. We use migration as a lens of analysis to interrogate assumptions that law is fixed in order to recast it as flexible and at times negotiable. In exploring the issues associated with migration control and border policies, we consider how domestic and...

Join us for a conversation with Jonathan Watts, the Global Environment Editor at The Guardian Newspaper. Jonathan has been a journalist at the Guardian for 24 years, taking up roles such as North Korea visiting reporter, Asia Environment correspondent, East Asia correspondent, Disaster coverage, and Latin America correspondent, writing extensively on environmental degradation, deforestation and climate change. In this episode we discuss how and why Jonathan decided to pursue a career in...

Join us for a conversation with Jonathan Watts, the Global Environment Editor at The Guardian Newspaper. Jonathan has been a journalist at the Guardian for 24 years, taking up roles such as North Korea visiting reporter, Asia Environment correspondent, East Asia correspondent, Disaster coverage, and Latin America correspondent, writing extensively on environmental degradation, deforestation and climate change. In this episode we discuss how and why Jonathan decided to pursue a career in...

In this episode, we speak to Kolbassia Haoussou MBE, co-founder of Survivors Speak Out a national network of torture survivors connected with the charity Freedom From Torture. A survivor himself, Kolbassia has been through the journey of life after torture and shares his insights about policy issues surrounding torture survivors and asylum seekers both in the UK as well as in the international community. In particular, we discuss how the rise of populist leaders in recent years has impacted...