Oxford Policy Pod

• Social Protection and Climate Change: Building Resilience and Reducing Vulnerability with Jana Bischler

  Jana Bischler is the focal point for social protection and climate change at the International Labour Organization (ILO), where she works with governments worldwide to design systems that protect people from climate shocks and support long-term resilience. From a career in development consulting to shaping global social protection policy, Jana brings both on-the-ground insight and international perspective. In this episode, Jana explains how cash transfers, pensions, health insurance, and adaptive social protection programs can break the cycle of climate-driven vulnerability, protecting children, older people, informal workers, and whole communities before, during, and after disasters. Drawing on examples from Kenya, Brazil, the Philippines, China, Côte d’Ivoire, and the United States, she shows how countries with different systems can prepare, expand coverage, and respond quickly to floods, droughts, and heatwaves. The conversation also tackles financing and governance challenges from coverage gaps and debt burdens to the role of the new loss-and-damage fund while exploring how national adaptation plans and COP negotiations can bring social protection to the centre of climate action. Jana highlights why stronger coordination between environment and social ministries is key, and how growing public demand for climate action opens a window for universal, climate-ready social protection. Grounded in global evidence and practical country cases, this episode offers a clear roadmap for building resilient, inclusive social protection systems that safeguard lives and livelihoods in an era of worsening climate change.

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• From Classrooms to Systems: Scaling Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in India with Vinod Karate

  Vinod Karate is Project Director for State Reform at the Central Square Foundation where he helps drive India’s landmark NIPUN Bharat Mission to ensure every child can read, write, and count by age ten. From an early career in investment banking to shaping one of the world’s largest foundational learning reforms, Vinod’s journey bridges sharp strategy with deep community engagement. In this episode, Vinod shares how India is rethinking the very foundations of schooling and how CSF partners with states to design and scale reforms that align with India’s NIPUN Bharat goals. He unpacks CSF’s three-phase approach to state reform: strengthening teacher capacity, redesigning governance around learning outcomes, and building political and administrative coalitions, which helps make large-scale change possible. Drawing on his experience in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana, Vinod illustrates how reform really takes root on the ground. He explains how structured pedagogy, sustained teacher mentoring, and real-time data and assessment can translate policy into daily classroom practice, and how seizing windows of political alignment, unlocking budgets, and shifting decision-making from state capitals to districts ensures that change is owned and sustained at the local level. Grounded in evidence, this episode offers a clear, actionable roadmap for strengthening foundational learning and creating education systems that sustain reform and deliver lasting results for every child.

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• Climate Policy from the Ground Up: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge, Youth Leadership and Climate Justice with Archana Soreng

  From community-led forest conservation in Odisha to negotiating at the United Nations, Archana Soreng embodies how lived experience can reshape global climate policy. An Indigenous climate leader from India’s Kharia tribe, Archana served on the UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change (2020–2023), is a Skoll World Forum Fellow (2024), and sits on The Rockefeller Foundation’s Climate Advisory Council. She works at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge, youth leadership, and climate governance, advocating for policies that honour land rights, protect biodiversity, and include those most affected in decision-making. In this episode, Archana shares how her community’s traditions of forest conservation and sustainable living shaped her vision for climate justice. She explains why free, prior and informed consent and genuine participation are essential, and how poorly designed mitigation like ill-planned plantations or large solar projects can harm adaptation and livelihoods. Drawing on her experience from village gatherings to UN climate negotiations, she reflects on overcoming tokenistic representation, breaking barriers to climate finance for youth and Indigenous groups, and the importance of mental well-being in long struggles for environmental justice. From safeguarding culture and language to influencing national climate commitments, Archana offers a grounded, hopeful blueprint for policymakers, funders, and young leaders working toward an inclusive and sustainable climate future.

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• Something's Brewing with Julia

  "Something's Brewing" is a laid-back podcast hosted by MPP student Wynsey, where conversations flow freely-just like the drinks. In each episode, a member of the Blavatnik School community joins over a favourite beverage from home to share personal stories, career reflections, and the life that happens beyond policy. In this episode, Wynsey chats with Julia, an MPP student from Uganda, about the “why” that drives her. From overcoming challenges in accessing education to finding her voice as a young advocate, Julia speaks candidly about the experiences that shaped her journey. With honesty and heart, she reflects on her childhood, her path into advocacy, and the making of the strong woman she is today.

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• Politics of Climate Activism - A Possible Utopia

  Possible Utopia is the podcast exploring the intersection of politics, gender, and leadership to imagine a more inclusive future.In this episode, we speak with Vanessa Nakate, Ugandan climate activist, founder of the Rise Up movement, and author of A Bigger Picture. She shares her journey from launching Fridays for Future in Uganda to amplifying African voices in the fight for climate justice.We discuss her leadership, the challenges of being a young woman in the public eye, how she addresses online trolling, and her vision for the future of climate action.🎧 Tune in to hear what drives her, how she keeps community at the centre of her work, and whether politics might be part of her path ahead.

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