The Migration Oxford Podcast
The Migration Oxford Podcast brings together researchers from across the University of Oxford who study why and how people move. It draws on expertise from the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, the Refugee Studies Centre, Border Criminologies in the Faculty of Law, and the Transport Studies Unit, among others. Episodes explore migration and mobility research, policy questions and the human stories behind global movement. The series reflects one of the world's largest concentrations of migration scholars, all joined under the Migration Oxford umbrella.
Episodes
Asylum, free speech and social media screening
Online speech is increasingly being used as evidence in asylum and immigration decisions. We explore how social media screening policies are evolving and what this means for freedom of expression in the digital age In 2025, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expanded its social media screening policies to include loosely defined 'anti-American' activity, allowing immigration officers
Building belonging: Migrant integration in the UK
The integration of newcomers is important for broader community cohesion. But what does it take in practice to build communities where everyone can contribute, participate and thrive, and why is this a two-way process? The effective integration of newcomers, a key aspect of migration management, is important for broader community cohesion.
But what does it take in practice to build communities wh
When words decide at Europe’s borders: how language shapes rescue and responsibility
The language used to talk about migration at Europe's borders has evolved over the last decade. But how has this shift influenced how legal obligations are interpreted, how rescue responsibilities are understood, and how people on the move are treated?
In this episode of the Migration Oxford podcast:
The language used to talk about migration
Choosing the Shirt: Diaspora, Identity and Football
As the World Cup kicks off, our experts unpack why more European-born players are choosing to represent their parents' and grandparents' homelands, and what this change reveals about identity, belonging and shifting global power What can football tell us about the politics of migration?
As the World Cup kicks off, our experts unpack why an increasing number of European-born players are choosing
Detention Landscapes: Violence in Immigration Detention Centres
In this episode we discuss the realities of immigration detention across Europe, from the individual experiencing detention to the broader politics shaping the system. What is immigration detention? The Migration Observatory explains in a recent policy briefing, ‘In the UK, immigration detention refers to the Home Office practice of detaining foreign nationals for the purposes of resolving their i
Migration and Aid: As local as possible, as international as necessary
How empowering is humanitarian aid in the 21st century? We welcome an expert panel to discuss past and present localisation efforts, and how they affect migration dynamics and community building. What does the future of humanitarian aid look like in the 21st century? How empowering can humanitarian efforts be for the individuals and communities they serve? And is it possible for this work to advan
People on the Move in Mexico
In this episode, we explore how patterns of mobility to and from Mexico have changed over time, and how these shifts reflect the growing complexity of migration in the modern world. Mexico is a place of transit. It is a place where settlement, emigration, immigration, and internal displacement occur simultaneously and at an unprecedented scale within Latin America.
However, as both a border betwe
How welcoming are UK cities for newcomers?
Should we be optimistic about the future of welcoming in UK cities? In this feature episode, we navigate the policies, practices and perseverance essential to strengthen migrant welcoming and inclusion in the UK. What does it mean for a city to be genuinely welcoming? How can cities foster inclusive attitudes and how do local policies and practices shape the experiences of those who have newly arr
Pedal Power: Open City and The Bike Project
Community, refugees, and urban life: what’s cycling got to do with it? We explore refugee women’s experiences in London through the ESRC Open City initiative and a participatory film with The Bike Project. In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we explore how mobility, belonging, and everyday urban life intersect in London, and how newcomers reshape the city through movement. Our focus i
Bitter Carrots: A Restrictive Migration Agenda
Who is the anti-migration agenda actually serving, and what are the alternatives? We welcome experts from the six-year-long MIGNEX project, which gathered a range of perspectives to explore questions of migration and global develo Over recent decades, there has been a growing emphasis towards stopping migration to the EU. Policy tools that focus on return and readmission aim to control migration f
Robo-dogs and The Rise of Crimmigration
In a world obsessed with AI, what are robo-dogs and how are they deployed at border control? With the rise of “crimmigration” across the world, the lines between migration management and criminal law are becoming blurred. The rise of "crimmigration" on a global scale is seeing the lines between migration management and criminal law being blurred, often in an effort to exercise surveillance of peop
Mapping Missionary Work: Migrant Youth and Religious Movements in Northeast India
What does migration have to do with missionary work? We explore how Baptist and Presbyterian missionary work as socioreligious institutions have impacted and influenced mobility in Northeast India, both pre- and post-colonialism. What does migration have to do with missionary work? How do socioreligious collective institutions (Baptist and Presbyterian missionary work) and indigenous religious cos
Immigration Policy in Transatlantic Perspectives
Geopolitics, irregular movement, the rise of the far-right: these are just some of the buzzwords populating your morning news headlines. But where is the relationship between Europe and the U.S. heading? What are the implications In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast we host a timely discussion on the shifting political landscapes in Germany and the United States, as both nations grappl
Migration Sounds
What does migration sound like? Migration Sounds features 120 sounds of migration across 51 countries from Argentina to Australia, with personal stories from diaspora communities and people who have migrated all over the world. Note: The sound at the beginning may seem like static, but it's intentional - don’t adjust your headphones!
In this special episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast marki
NRPF and the UK Welfare System
Over 2.6 million people are locked out of the welfare state in the UK and now subject to ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF), an immigration policy restricting access to social security. How can local government respond? How can local government improve the safety net for vulnerable people locked out of the welfare system due to their immigration status?
The number of people locked out of the
Gendered Aspects of Ukraine’s Displacement Crisis
With war comes displacement. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has forced millions to flee homes and rebuild elsewhere. What role does a women's agency play in navigating the complexities of displacement and building resilience? With the full-scale invasion of Ukraine disastrously continuing into 2025, what has become of the many millions forced to flee their homes and rebuild? Often as centralis
Asymmetrical Sympathies: the Global North’s Response to Protection Seekers
Why are some countries across the Global North more open and accepting towards refugees than others? How can asymmetrical sympathies and differential treatments be better understood? We search for answers with an expert panel. The welcoming response of European countries towards Ukrainian refugees from 2022 onwards has been marked by its strength and rapidity. This recent example recalls other mo
Global Migration Data: Making Sense of the Numbers
Why does official data tell us so little about migration? Why do some migration statistics seem to clash? How can we shape this “age of migration data” for better? We welcome co-authors of Improving Migration Data for People and the Planet to this latest episode.
The global number of international migrants is estimated at 281 million, but surprisingly little is known about the people that make
Intersecting Crises: Housing and Forced Migration in Oxford
How does housing relate to migration and asylum issues? Using the City of Oxford as a case study, we consider the affordability and accessibility of housing to newcomers and the impact this has on refugee and asylum seekers. In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we explore the ongoing housing affordability and accessibility crisis in the UK, using the City of Oxford as a case study. Oxf
Diaspora Communities: Powerful Partners Driving Change
What makes diaspora communities unique? We learn about the roles of diasporas, contributions to development and humanitarian initiatives across the globe and unpack how people living in diaspora drive change in their communities. In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we unpack how diaspora communities are partners in development and humanitarian initiatives. In 2022 diaspora engagement
Artivism and Migration
Intersections of art and activism are used as a tool to promote diversity, address human rights and make calls to action in contexts of migration. What is artivism and how can it support individuals to tell their own stories? In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we discuss the role of artivism as a tool to promote diversity in contexts of migration and displacement. In the current clim
Municipal IDs and Local Citizenship
For irregular migrants, the inability to provide proof of identity affects nearly every aspect of life. We explore cities that have introduced municipal ID cards to enhance social integration and enable access to key services. For irregular migrants, the inability to provide proof of identity affects nearly every aspect of their lives. Municipal ID cards have been introduced by some cities to enha
Emptiness, War and Migration
In the UK, migration debates tend to be about the idea of fullness – concepts of arrivals, overcrowding, competition for resources – but what about emptiness? We learn why it is such an important part of understanding migration. In the UK, migration debates tend to be about the idea of fullness but the concept of emptiness is underexplored. In the small towns of Armenia, people say “there is nothi
Automating Immigration in the Digital Age
What do advancements in AI mean for immigration? We discuss the current and emerging practices of new technologies in the field, and explore developments in the use of predictive analytics, automated risk assessment and profiling. In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we discuss the current and emerging practices of using new technologies in the field of immigration, focusing on how bor
The Aftermath of Forced Return
With the help of our panel, we discuss forced return migration and the different power dynamics at play. What are the difficulties of forced returnees to home countries and what are the differences between the wealth and influence In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we are discussing forced return migration with a specific focus on returns from the US to Mexico or to Latin America. Wi
Precarious Migrants
We often think of migration in binary terms of regular or irregular migration; legal or illegal, but often people move in between these states and are left in an insecure status. How does this precarity effect a migrant’s access In this episode we discuss precarious migrants and are joined by Dr Marie Mallet-Garcia, Researcher at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), University o
Politics of Emigration
In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we are discussing the politics of emigration. All countries are countries of immigration and of emigration, yet the politics of emigration are often less obsessed over as attitudes We ask, what are the political effects of emigration on sending countries? How does understanding perceptions of emigration help us to elucidate the changing demographic
Who Counts? Data and Migration
We discuss the role of data science in migration studies, joined by Dr. Emre Korkmaz, lecturer in migration and co-author of Data Science for Migration and Mobility and Christina Pao, PhD student and co-organiser of the Measuring In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we are discussing the role of data science in migration studies. What is the importance of mixed methods, both quantitat
Gendered Migration
How does gender affect experiences of migration and communities left behind? In the age of a controversial Nationality and Borders Bill, we ask how current policies interact with gender and find out what happens when a gender lens How does gender affect experiences of migration and communities left behind? In the age of a controversial Nationality and Borders Bill, we ask how current policies inte
BONUS- Immigration to Innovation
Aditi Anand (Artistic Director, Migration Museum) takes us on an extended tour of the immersive Taking Care of Business exhibition and introduces us to the stories behind migrant businesses we often don't get to hear. To learn more about the creation of the exhibition and to find out about new research into refugee entrepreneurialism, listen to the main episode: Immigration to Innovation.
Immigration to Innovation
We take a tour round the Taking Care of Business exhibition at the Migration Museum and hear about new research into refugee entrepreneurialism. There is a rich history of migrant entrepreneurs shaping British high streets, from small, family-owned businesses to large chains turned household names. In this episode of the Migration Oxford podcast, Aditi Anand (Artistic Director, Migration Museum)
Movement of Money
As we enter a period of global instability, we ask what role remittances will play and how we can improve data collection on remittances to better understand their vital importance on a local and global scale. In this episode of the Migration Oxford Podcast, we talk about remittances—the movement of money between migrants and their friends and families—with Dilip Ratha (Head of the Global Knowledg
Rwanda and refoulement: Can the 1951 Refugee Convention survive?
In this episode of the Migration Oxford Podcast, we ask if the 1951 Refugee Convention is under attack. As states look for ways to avoid taking responsibility for refugees and asylum seekers, such as the UK's "Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda". Is the Convention still the right tool, and how can the protection it offers refugees be improved in an era where global governan
Citizenship Deprivation
As the controversial Nationality and Borders Bill works its way through parliament in the UK, we investigate Clause 9 which focuses on citizenship deprivation and the rights of the Home Secretary to take somebody's citizenship awa Joined by Zoe Gardner,and Abhishek Saha, we ask who is a citizen, and how can citizenship be taken away? We also look beyond the UK to the story of Assam, in India and h
Leaving Ukraine
We discuss the war on Ukraine and the almost unprecedented speed and size of the movement of people fleeing the country. We discuss the displacement taking place, how refugees are being received in Europe, and the impact this will In our first ever episode, Rob McNeil and Jacqueline Broadhead of COMPAS (University of Oxford Centre on Migration, Policy and Society) discuss the war on Ukraine with t
