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Public Lectures and Seminars from the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford. Humanity at the crossroads: Bringing together the best minds to tackle the toughest challenges of the 21st century.

# Episode Title Description People Date
1 Africa in transformation: economic development in the age of doubt with Prof Carlos Lopes Carlos Lopes will deliver an overview of the critical development issues facing the African continent today. Carlos Lopes 13 May 2019
2 What now? Next steps on climate change The Paris Agreement was a seminal moment in the world's struggle to fight climate change, but Christiana believes that the climate agreement was just a staging post in what remains a long, hard process. So what are the next steps? Christiana Figueres 19 Nov 2018
3 'The global refugee crisis and what to do about it' - Rt Hon David Miliband At a time of heightened political tension and policy confusion about the refugee crisis, this lecture explores why record numbers of people are fleeing their homes; what conditions they are living in; and what should be done to help them. David Miliband 27 Feb 2017
4 Creative Commons Climate change: what science and the IPCC report has to say Nick Eyre and Myles Allen give a talk for the Oxford Martin School on climate change and the IPCC report. Myles Allen, Nick Eyre 18 Aug 2015
5 Creative Commons Biodiversity and climate change: what happens when we turn up the heat on nature? Dr Nathalie Seddon, Director of the Biodiversity Institute, gives a talk for the Oxford Martin School. Nathalie Seddon 18 Aug 2015
6 Creative Commons The ‘perfect storm’ revisited: food, energy and water security in the context of climate change Sir John Beddington, Senior Adviser at the Oxford Martin School, gives a talk on climate change John Beddingham 18 Aug 2015
7 Creative Commons Climate change and our oceans Professor Gideon Henderson, Professor of Earth Sciences, and Professor David Marshall, Professor of Physical Oceanography, will explore the role of oceans in climate change. Gideon Henderson, David Marshall 18 Aug 2015
8 Creative Commons Hopes and fears: why people disagree about how to tackle climate In this seminar Dr Rob Bellamy, James Martin Fellow at the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, will explore how and why people disagree about how to tackle climate change. What hope then is there for a global political agreement in Paris 2015? David Marshall 18 Aug 2015
9 Creative Commons Climate change: dealing with uncertainty In this talk Professor Tim Palmer CBE, Co-Director of the Programme on Modelling and Predicting Climate, gives a talk for the Oxford Martin School. Tim Palmer 18 Aug 2015
10 Creative Commons Rich and poor: a cause for social unrest? at the Oxford Literary Festival 2015 John Kampfner and Katrine Marçal discuss the growing gap between rich and poor and its implications for society, chaired by Professor Ian Goldin. John Kampfner, Ian Goldin, Katrine Marcal 18 Aug 2015
11 Creative Commons The future of Africa at the Oxford Literary Festival 2015 Three authors with recent books on Africa discuss the future of the continent and answer questions from the audience under the watchful eye of the director of the Oxford Martin School, Professor Ian Goldin. Martin Meredith, Jonny Steinberg, Tom Burgis 18 Aug 2015
12 Creative Commons The limits of human performance and artificial intelligence In this new Oxford talk, Garry Kasparov, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Martin School, turns his attention to the rapidly evolving relationship between humans and technology. Garry Kasparov 18 Aug 2015
13 Creative Commons Philae at the comet: a scientific adventure Professor Chris Lintott, Professor of Astrophysics, University of Oxford and presenter of the BBC’s Sky at Night will talk about the history and the science of the voyage. Chris Lintott, Ian Goldin 18 Aug 2015
14 Creative Commons The metabolism of a human-dominated planet Yadvinder Malhi, Director of the Oxford Centre ofr Tropical Forests, gives a talk for the Oxford Martin School. Yadvinder Malhi 18 Aug 2015
15 Creative Commons Living in a quantum world Vlatko Vedral, Co-=Direct oof the Oxford Martin Programme on Bio-Inspired Quantum Technologies, gives a talk for theOxford Martin School. Vlatko Vedral 18 Aug 2015
16 Creative Commons Quantum life Professor Seth Lloyd, Principal Investigator in the Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) gives a talk for the Oxford Martin School. Seth Lloyd 18 Aug 2015
17 Creative Commons The fight for women's rights: learning from success Baroness Helena Kennedy QC gives a talk for the Oxford Martin School on women's rights. Helena Kennedy 24 Feb 2015
18 Creative Commons Capital failure - restoring trust in the financial system Professor David Vines gives a talk onthe financial system. David Vines 17 Feb 2015
19 Creative Commons Oxford and the next-generation of mobile health David Clifton, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, gives a talk for Oxford Martin School. David Clifton 17 Feb 2015
20 Creative Commons The butterfly defect: how globalization creates systemic risks, and what to do about it Professor Ian Goldin gives a talk on globalization and systemic risk. Ian Goldin 17 Feb 2015
21 Creative Commons Is the Planet Full? Charles Godfray, Ian Goldin, Sarah Harper, Toby Ord and Yadvinder Malhi discuss whether the planet is full. Charles Godfray, Ian Goldin, Sarah Harper, Toby Ord 17 Feb 2015
22 Creative Commons Well fed? The health and environmental implications of our food choices Mike Rayner, Susan Jebb and Tara Garnett give a talk about food and feeding the population. Mike Rayner, Susan Jebb, Tara Garnett 17 Feb 2015
23 Creative Commons World population and human capital in the 21st century Andrew Dilnot, David Coleman, Francesco Billari, Sarah Harper and Wolfgang Lutz give a talk about world population. Andrew Dilnot, David Coleman, Francesco Billari, Sarah Harper 17 Feb 2015
24 Creative Commons Eradicating Hepatitis C and HIV: progress and challenges for the next ten years Dr John Frater, Principal Investigator, Institute for Emerging Infections and Dr Ellie Barnes, Principal Investigator, Institute for Emerging Infections. Ellie Barnes, John Frater 17 Feb 2015
25 Creative Commons New strategies for disease prevention and management from infancy to old age Professor Terry Dwyer, Executive Director, The George Institute for Global Health and Dr Kazem Rahimi, Deputy Director, The George Institute for Global Health. Kazem Rahimi, Terry Dwyer 17 Feb 2015
26 Creative Commons Why do we need to reconstruct drug discovery? Dr Javier Lezaun and Professor Chas Bountra give a talk about drug discovery. Chas Bountra, Javier Lezaun 17 Feb 2015
27 Creative Commons Strategies for vaccines for the 21st century Professor Susan Lea, Professor Christoph Tang, Professor Jeffrey Almond and Dr Ian Feavers discuss strategies for vaccines for the 21st century. Susan Lea, Christoph Tang, Jeffrey Almond, Ian Feavers 17 Feb 2015
28 Creative Commons Superintelligence: paths, dangers, strategies Professor Bostrom on his book, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. Nick Bostrom 17 Feb 2015
29 Creative Commons Science and the future: Death - nothing more certain? - Oxford Literary Festival From Neolithic burials to Mozart's Requiem and the novels of Martin Amis, humans have fashioned cultural responses to the inevitability of each individual's demise. Donna Dickenson, Adam Rutherford, Anders Sandberg, Georgina Ferry 18 Jun 2013
30 Creative Commons Innovation or stagnation - Oxford Union Debate The Innovation Enigma - Is the current growth crisis a result of decades of technological stagnation in a risk-averse society? Ian Goldin, Peter Thiel, Seung-yoon Lee, Mark Shuttleworth 22 May 2013
31 Creative Commons The Transformation of Humankind With Dr James Martin, Founder, Oxford Martin School. Andrew Hamilton, Ian Goldin, James Marrow 22 May 2013
32 Creative Commons The Future of Energy and Transport With Elon Musk, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and the CEO/CTO of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). Elon Musk 22 May 2013
33 Creative Commons Ethics and infectious disease - navigating the moral maze of pandemic control With Professor Paul Klenerman Principal Investigator, Institute for Emerging Infections. Paul Klenerman, Bennertt Foddy 22 May 2013
34 Creative Commons Ethics and plant science - improving food yields in a changing environment With Professor Liam Dolan and Professor Jane Langdale, Co-Directors, Plants for the 21st Century Institute. Liam Dolan, Jane Langdale, Julian Savulescu 22 May 2013
35 Creative Commons Resource stewardship - can we develop a new common sense morality? With Professor Myles Allen, Co-Director, Oxford Martin Programme on Resource Stewardship. You can show people all the evidence in the world about climate change, but if the policy debate is framed in an intractable way, it won't make any difference. Myles Allen, Ian Goldin 22 May 2013
36 Creative Commons Killing with computers - the ethics of autonomous and remote controlled weapon Remote controlled and autonomous robotic weapons are bringing new levels of complexity to modern warfare. It's when such robots are designed as lethal weapons that the threshold for moral justification gets higher. Alex Leveringhaus, Dapo Akande, Bennett Foddy 22 May 2013
37 Creative Commons Reviving the Spirit of Innovation With Kary Kasparov, world chess champion, writer and political activist. The world we live in now is very different from the one that was imagined 50 years ago. Gary Kasparov, Ian Goldin 22 May 2013
38 Creative Commons Pandemics - Can we eliminate major worldwide epidemics? Larry Brilliant, President of the Skoll Global Threats Fund, gives a talk for the Oxford Martin School. Larry Brilliant 06 Nov 2012
39 Creative Commons Doing capitalism in the innovation economy William H. Janeway CBE, Senior Advisor and Managing Director at Warburg Pincus, gives a talk for the Oxford Martin School. William H Janeway 06 Nov 2012
40 Hybrid reality: the emerging human-technology co-evolution Parag Khanna and Ayesha Khanna; Directors of The Hybrid Reality Institute, gives a talk for the Oxford Martin School public lecture series. With Professor Ian Goldin; Director, Oxford Martin Institute. Parag Khanna, Ayesha Khanna, Ian Goldin 19 May 2012
41 Creative Commons Catastrophic dehumanization Professor Thomas Homer-Dixon gives a talk on Dehumanization for the Oxford Martin School Public Lectures series. Introduced by Professor Ian Goldin. Thomas Homer-Dixon 19 May 2012
42 Can Globalization work for the Poor? Panel discussion on whether Globalisation can benefit the poor with Alex Gennie, Ian Goldin, Rushanara Ali MP, James Drummond and Nick Gowing. Alex Gennie, Ian Goldin, Rushanara Ali, James Drummond 21 Mar 2012
43 Creative Commons The War and Peace of the Nuclear Age Dr James Martin, Founder of the Oxford Martin School and founder of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. James Martin 21 Mar 2012
44 Global governance, local governments Distinguished Public Lecture. Globalization has created a more interconnected, interdependent and complex world than ever witnessed before. Pascal Lamy, Ian Goldin, Lord Patten of Barnes 09 Mar 2012
45 The price of civilization Sachs argues that for the U.S. to regain sound fiscal health the country must also reform its politics. Jeff Sachs 16 Dec 2011
46 A Global Community Search for Evidence of Extraterrestrial Technologies Dr Jill Tarter, Director, Center for SETI Research, SETI Institute gives a talk for the Oxford Martin School Seminar Series. Jill Tarter 24 Aug 2011
47 Creative Commons Rethinking Geoengineering and the Meaning of the Climate Crisis Professor Clive Hamilton delivers a critique of the consequentialist approach to the ethics of geoengineering, the approach that deploys assessment of costs and benefits in a risk framework to justify climatic intervention. Clive Hamilton 02 Aug 2011
48 Creative Commons Who speaks for climate? Mass media serve vital roles in communication processes between science, policy and the public, and often stitch together perceptions, intentions, considerations, and actions regarding climate change. Maxwell T. Boykoff 28 Jul 2011
49 Creative Commons A new capitalism for a big society Bishop and Green led a discussion based on their recent book, "The Road From Ruin: A New Capitalism for a Big Society". Matthew Bishop, Michael Green 03 Feb 2011
50 Creative Commons Assessing the economic rise of China and India The recent economic rise of China and India has attracted a great deal of attention--and justifiably so. Pranab Bardhan 03 Feb 2011
51 Dealing with The New Normal: Resilience in systems that must cope with uncertainty Part of the School's intergrative seminar series. Delivered by Professor Patricia Hirl Longstaff, James Martin Senior Visiting Fellow, Professor, Syracuse University, Research Associate, Harvard Program on Information Resources Policy. Patricia Hirl Longstaff 03 Feb 2011
52 Creative Commons Integrating Technology, Science, Law, Economics, and Politics: Development of Practical Policy for Carbon Capture and Storage Dr Kenneth Richards, James Martin Senior Visiting Fellow on how carbon capture and storage (CCS) provides a potentially promising approach to mitigating carbon dioxide emissions. Kenneth Richards 24 Nov 2010
53 Creative Commons Working with the crowd : 21st century citizen science Galaxy Zoo PI and James Martin Fellow Chris Lintott will review the technologies available to researchers seeking to rescue themselves from drowning in data by recruiting the help of tens or even hundreds of thousands of volunteers. Chris Lintott 27 Oct 2010
54 Creative Commons Climate Shocks: Turning Crisis into Opportunity Thomas F. Homer-Dixon, CIGI Chair of Global Systems, Balsillie School of International Affairs; full Professor, Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo on Climate Shocks: Turning Crisis into Opportunity. Thomas Homer-Dixon 15 Oct 2010
55 Creative Commons Climate change and marine ecosystems: have dangerous changes already begun? Special seminar from the James Martin 21st Century School: Climate change and marine ecosystems: have dangerous changes already begun? Ove Hoegh-Guldberg 07 Sep 2010
56 Creative Commons The Plundered Planet Paul Collier, Oxford Professor and author of The Bottom Billion, launched a discussion based on his latest publication, The Plundered Planet. Paul Collier, Charles Badenoch, Jamie Drummond, Gideon Rachman 17 Jun 2010
57 Creative Commons A Panel Discussion with George Soros Lessons from Financial Crises: Paradigm Failure and the Future of Financial Regulation. Paul Beaudry, Ian Goldin, Roger Goodman, Anatole Kaletsky 17 Dec 2009
58 Creative Commons Geoengineering the climate Geoengineering the climate: Science, Governance and Uncertainty: The Royal Society Study - John Shepherd (NOCS). John Shepherd 19 Nov 2009
59 Creative Commons The End of Business as Usual Distinguished Public Lecture: The end of business as usual by Dr Mohamed El-Erian, Co-CIO of PIMCO. Mohamed El-Erian 18 Nov 2009
60 Creative Commons Dealing with doctrines: time to outlaw nuclear weapon use? Achieving an end-state of "zero" has emerged as an important policy goal for a number of 21st Century challenges. The most prominent example is the "Global Zero" campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons. Rebecca Johnson 11 Nov 2009
61 Creative Commons Repairing Economic Governance Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and internationally renowned economic advisor, talks about the need to take a systematic long view in repairing international economic governance structures. Jeffrey Sachs 23 Oct 2009
62 Blueprint for a Safer Planet Professor Lord Nicholas Stern, a world renowned economist and leading authority on climate change, came to the 21st Century School on Thursday 7 May to give a lecture about his "Blueprint for a Safer Planet". Nicholas Stern 08 May 2009
63 Ian Goldin at University of Cape Town Speaking at the Vice-Chancellor's Open Lecture, Dr Ian Goldin asked: Are the world's leading thinkers anticipating the risks and opportunities of the 21st century, or will humanity be overtaken by its own medical, technological and scientific successes? Ian Goldin 18 Mar 2009
64 21st Century Challenges: Humanity at the Crossroads? Dr Ian Goldin provides an overview of the work of the James Martin 21st Century School and looks at the challenges facing humanity in the 21st Century. Ian Goldin 15 Oct 2008
65 What is Science for? What is science for, what good does it do and should it do good? John Sulston, John Harris, Richard Dawkins 10 Jun 2008
66 Stiglitz on Credit Crunch - Global Financial Debacle: Meeting the Challenges of Global Governance in the 21st Century The global financial crisis reflects a failure of global economic governance. The failure of America's regulatory system has not only ramifications for the American economy, but for the global economy. Joseph Stiglitz 10 Jun 2008
67 Target Earth: The Grand Scale Problems of the 21st Century At the start of the 21st century, humankind finds itself on a non-sustainable course - a course that, unless it is changed, will lead to catastrophes of awesome consequences. James Martin 10 Jun 2008
68 Freedom from Oil Based on his book, Freedom from Oil, Sandalow gives a public lecture which draws on both his government experience and energy expertise to explore options, shape solutions and create national policy to address the United States' oil addiction. David Sandalow 14 Apr 2008
69 The Bottom Billion Based on his book of the same name, in this lecture Paul Collier will point out how global poverty is actually falling quite rapidly for about eighty percent of the world. Paul Collier 14 Apr 2008
70 Craig Venter on Genomics: From humans to the environment In the second of the Distinguished Public Lecture Series run by the James Martin 21st Century School, Dr Craig Venter will discuss his work at the J Craig Venter Institute and its implications for the future of our culture, society and science. J Craig Venter 14 Apr 2008
71 Economics of Climate Change Professor Sir Nicholas Stern, HM Treasury: The economics of climate change Introduced by: Dr John Hood, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Chaired by: Dr Ian Goldin, Director of the James Martin 21st Century School. Nicholas Stern 14 Apr 2008