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Oxford Sparks Big Questions

Oxford Sparks Big Questions

Written by: Oxford Sparks
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'Will my bacon sandwich kill me?', 'Is vaping better than smoking?', 'How do you become an astronaut?' - just some of the Big Questions we ask some of the brightest minds behind Oxford science. Join us in each podcast as we explore a different area of science.Oxford University 2018 Nature & Ecology Science
Episodes
  • How do you build the aeroplane of the future?
    Jun 3 2026

    In 2022, 7% of the UK's total carbon emissions came from the aviation sector - a figure that's on the rise. This means that - while a flight is often the start of a well-deserved holiday - a lot of us feel at least a sprinkling of guilt over our carbon footprint. So, what if we could reduce the carbon emissions associated with air travel? In this episode, we chat to Dr Tamsin Whitfield from Oxford's Department of Materials Science, and hear about her research developing new metals, which will ultimately allow jet engines to burn hotter, increasing their efficiency.

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    11 mins
  • Should we kill animals for conservation?
    May 6 2026

    'Killing animals' and 'conservation' sound mutually exclusive, but when it comes to managing populations that are having a negative environmental impact, is culling the answer? If so, how do people feel about it? We chat to Jessica Frater from the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford about Scotland's deer cull, exploring why human perceptions are often at the heart of conservation challenges, and how gaining deeper insight to these perspectives can support more conservation efforts.

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    13 mins
  • Should I be freaked out by the hantavirus?
    May 20 2026

    Until recently, most of us had probably never even heard of the hantavirus. Now - with memories of the global COVID-19 pandemic still fresh in our minds - it's only natural to feel slightly concerned about the new virus hitting our headlines. But are our worries justified? We chat to Dr Daniel Wright from the Oxford Vaccine Group, who develops vaccines against emerging outbreak viruses, to learn more about hantaviruses, and what they really mean for public health.

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    13 mins
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