Oxford Policy Pod

In this episode of the Oxford Policy Podcast, Mykhailo Kiktenko speaks with Manal Fouani, the UNDP Chief of Country Support and Oversight for the Regional Bureau of Arab States. In 2022, Manal served as the UNDP Resident Representative ad interim in Ukraine, where she led the organization's response during the full-scale Russian invasion. We discuss her leadership in navigating this crisis, transi...

Anindita (Dita) is a member of the 2023/24 MPP Cohort . In this episode, host Oluwatamilore Oni and Dita discuss: Dita's experience at the Central Bank of Indonesia and how her experiences during the MPP have influenced her new perspectives on life, work and policy How to prioritise activities and times in the swirl of Oxford Dita's top tips for incoming students to maximise their time at the Blav...

In this episode, Erik Kucherenko speaks with Professor Dapo Akande , Oxford Chichele Professor of Public International Law, Co-Director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, a Member of the UN International Law Commission. We discuss how the International Law Commission functions behind the scenes, how Professor Akande prepares for pleadings in the International Court of...

His Excellency Governor Godwin Obaseki of Nigeria’s Edo State joins MPP student Mobayo Oguntunde to discuss the policy and politics behind some of his signature achievements, creating an environment for results and how Nigeria might address some emerging policy challenges.

Lord Christopher Patten is the Chancellor of the University of Oxford, having served in the role since 2003. Lord Patten was the 28th and final British Governor of Hong Kong, who oversaw its handover to the People's Republic of China in 1997, symbolically marking the end of the British Empire. Lord Patten was also a Conservative Member of the UK Parliament from 1979-1992, where, as Conservative Pa...

In this conversation, Erik Kucherenko and Artem Shaipov speak with Oleksandr Novikov, Head of Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention between 2020-2024, about his experience of building state capacity. We discuss the implementation of Objectives and Key Results methodology, business school training for civil servants working on anti-corruption, and the role of organisational mission and...

Damien Shannon is a DPhil candidate in Economic and Social History at New College, Oxford. In this episode, Nick and Damien speak about: Damien's experience in suing Oxford University over its admissions criteria, which initially prevented him from taking up his degree place on financial grounds Educational access and equity Damien's current DPhil research on the abolition of tenure at British uni...

Denisse Salazar hosted Emeritus Professor Colin Mayer to delve into philosophical and moral discussions surrounding capitalism in modern society. They discussed why capitalism has persisted despite several attempts to diminish it and how its survival represents its moral superiority in comparison to other economic systems. *** Colin Mayer is Emeritus Professor of Management Studies at the Blavatni...

In this episode, Nick Fabbri speaks with George Brandis, former Australian Attorney-General and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. They discuss George's time at Oxford and Magdalen College as a law student, his career in the law, the philosophical traditions of liberalism and conservatism and how they might be applied to policy issues in the 21st century, some major security and social polic...

In this episode, Nick Fabbri speaks with Bob Carr , a former Australian Foreign Minister and long-serving Premier of New South Wales. They discuss politics and embarking on a political career, the art of good policymaking and some of the major policy reforms of the Carr Labor Government, international affairs and security issues, Australia and its natural beauty, and the love and grief that Bob ha...

In this episode, Denisse Salazar speaks with Karen Sichel, an alumna of the Blavatnik School of Government, about women's rights, gender equality, politics, and leadership. Karen Sichel is an Ecuadorean lawyer, and served as Undersecretary of Regulatory Affairs in the Ecuadorean Presidency in 2023. Karen was also at the forefront of Ecuador's 2023 constitutional referendum.

In this episode, MPP students Erik Kucherenko and Kseniia Velychko talk to Oleksandra Matviichuk , a Ukrainian human rights lawyer and civil rights defender, whose organisation Centre for Civil Liberties (CCL) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. In an incredibly emotional and sincere episode, Erik, Kseniia, and Oleksandra discuss the motivation behind Oleksandra and the CCL's fight for human rights...

In this conversation, Nick Fabbri speaks with Lord Michael Heseltine , former UK Deputy Prime Minister and leading figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. In this interview, we reflect on Lord Heseltine's love of gardening, his time at Oxford University and presidency of the Oxford Union, his political career and lessons in leadership, his approach to public policy solutions...

In this episode, we are joined by Kaya Axelsson , Research Fellow and Head of Policy and Engagement at Oxford Net Zero, an interdisciplinary climate change mitigation research programme at the University of Oxford. Kaya reflects on her work in the field, common challenges of net-zero policymaking for governments and non-state actors, what makes a good net-zero strategy, and how universities c...

Mariana de Lucio , a Mexican lawyer and an MPP student, joined us to delve into the complex reality of being a woman in Mexico and confront the pervasive issue of gender violence plaguing the country. We explored the alarming statistics surrounding gender violence in Mexico and discussed the urgent need for action from both civil society and government entities. Throughout our conversation, Marian...

Erik Kucherenko talks with Mychailo Wynnyckyj, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine responsible for higher education reform. We discuss best practices in the domain of higher education, compare different higher education systems and their advantages. We examine the details of Mr. Wynnyckyj’s and his team’s reform agenda, ranging from merger of universities to harnessing economic met...

Erik Kucherenko talks with Kostiantyn Koshelenko , Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine responsible for digital transformation. We talk about the importance of digital transformation in public sector, Ukraine’s achievements in e-governance, including Diia application, which Ukraine now helps export to Columbia, Kosovo, and Zambia. We also discuss how innovations in social policy helped Mr....

Erik Kucherenko talks with Lubomyr Chabursky, Lesya Granger, Mark Paine, founders of Mriya Aid , a Canadian NGO that has provided close to $10 million of non-lethal military aid to Ukraine. In the first part of the conversation (00:00-1:01:03), we discuss how Mriya Aid has succeeded in winning trust of its donors and of the Canadian government, how it evolved in the last 2 years and how it manages...

In this episode, Nick Fabbri speaks with Grace Fox , a student of the Master of Public Policy at Oxford University, about her personal story, the history of the Native American Seminole Nation, her family, identity, and belonging. Grace also reflects on her work with the US Department of the Interior in the Bureau of Indian Education in Native American policy, and her wider work in education, equi...

In this episode of the Oxford Policy Podcast, Nick Fabbri and Dr. Paul Monk discuss the crises facing the liberal democracies today, and the lessons that the Roman Republic and Greek democracies may hold for the 21st century. We cover Paul's recent papers delivered to the Institute of Law and Strategy, and his tours of Finland, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia discussing the wars in Ukraine,...

Erik Kucherenko talks with Ema Grajcarová, a Master of Public Policy student student from Slovakia. In this episode, Ema talks about her personal and academic journeys, from studying at LSE and working on the use of European Union funds in Slovakia, to studying the Oxford MPP. The conversation traces the internal evolution of Ema's interests and goals, discussing in detail her research in gender m...

Welcome back to another season of the Oxford Policy Podcast. This is our first episode of the academic year 2023-2024. It is also the start of a new series called “People of the Master of Public Policy”. In this first episode of this series, we have Shuab Gamote as our guest. Shuab is a current MPP student and a passionate advocate for educational equality. This episode is about Shuab’s personal s...

We are back from follow-up from our last episode on youth employment policy. We have Dr. Kate Philip again to discuss more in-depth Social Employment as a policy. Dr. Philip is the lead of the Presidential Employment Stimulus in South Africa, and the programmes she leads have employed more than 300.000 youth as social workers. As we deep dive in the concept of Social Employment, Dr. Philip discuss...

Governments worldwide face major challenges such as homelessness, education access, and healthcare support and there is wide recognition that governments can’t tackle these issues alone. Governments need to work effectively with non-profits, with social enterprises, business, and philanthropies to achieve better social outcomes. In recent years, outcomes-based partnerships (cross-sector partnershi...

In a country with 55% of the youth unemployed, the pandemic was simultaneously a threat and an opportunity. The Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) of South Africa encompassed several programmes to create and protect jobs against the effects of closures and lockdowns. One of those programmes employed as many ass 300.000 youth as social workers in school in South Africa and continues to expand....