Share

cover art for Human Progress

What? Why? When?

Human Progress

Season 1, Ep. 11
•

In this episode of the What? Why? When? Podcast, Dr. Matt Williams is joined by Jesus College students Lara (Law, 2nd year) and Charlie (History, 3rd year) for conversation on Human Progress — from pre-civilization societies to the age of AI.


From Mesopotamian farming to ChatGPT, this episode dives into philosophy, history, law, and even space exploration in an attempt to answer the question: Have we truly moved forward?

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 7. What's the Problem?

    35:42||Season 2, Ep. 7
    In this episode, Dr Matt Williams speaks with Lewis (1st year PPE) and Ruhi (1st year Biology) to talk about problems: what they are, examples from different areas and why they are considered 'problems' in the first place, in the style of an Oxford tutorial.

  • 6. Absolutely Nothing

    31:18||Season 2, Ep. 6
    In this episode, Dr Matt Williams speaks to Oxford students Amber and Vinay (2nd year Chemists) about 'Absolutely Nothing'. What does it mean for something to be 'nothing', and how do we conceptualise it? Is dark matter 'nothing'?

  • 5. Reasons to be Cheerful

    41:08||Season 2, Ep. 5
    In this Episode Dr Matt Williams speaks to Oxford students Alana (3rd Year Law) and Arav (3rd year Mathematics) about the concepts of happiness and cheerfulness in the style of an Oxford tutorial.

  • 4. Weird and Wonderful

    31:59||Season 2, Ep. 4
    In this Episode Dr Matt Williams speaks to Oxford students Nick (3rd year PPE) and Sienna (3rd year Biologist) about all things 'Weird and Wonderful' through the lens of biology and philosophy, in the style of an Oxford tutorial.

  • 3. Beauty, Art and Taste

    28:33||Season 2, Ep. 3
    In this episode, Dr Matt Williams talks to two Oxford students Brandon and Dorothea about the concepts of beauty, art and taste, in the format of an Oxford tutorial.

  • 2. Why Are There Countries?

    35:12||Season 2, Ep. 2
    In this episode, Dr Matt Williams speaks to Oxford students Shorief and Skye to unpack the question of 'why countries exist', from a politics, history and law perspective.

  • 1. The Amazing You

    32:53||Season 2, Ep. 1
    Welcome to season 2 of the What? Why? When? Podcast from Oxford University hosted by Dr Matt Williams!In this podcast we aim to discuss a range of interesting topics in the format of an Oxford University tutorial to give you a taste of Oxbridge teaching.This episode is all about 'The Amazing You', featuring 2 of our students at Jesus College, Oxford.

  • 10. License to Kill

    34:05||Season 1, Ep. 10
    In this episode Dr. Matt Williams is joined by first-year PPE student Angus McIntyre for a deep-dive discussion that blends philosophy, politics, law, and a touch of pop culture.Does James Bond really have a license to kill? — listen on for an exploration of state power, natural vs. positive law, morality, policing, and the legitimate use of violence by governments.
Copyright Jesus College Access
Hosted with ❤️ by Acast