Oxford Lives
Oxford is a wonderful city in which to live, and If you have the good fortune to call yourself a resident you are probably here because you value its incredible mix of people and cultures. However, whether local or visitor, your own personal network of friends and colleagues can only touch a small proportion of the fascinating people who call this place home.
We set up this podcast to seek out some of the individuals that we find interesting and explore their lives and stories. They are not all celebrated or well-known, but what they do and what they think add another dimension to the familiar narrative of town, gown and tourism. Hopefully you will find it an insight and an introduction to interesting and unfamiliar parts of our community.
So, relax and select someone from the cast below and get to know a bit more about a particular Oxford life.
With Jeremy Allen
Produced by Graeme Fry
As a compliment to our podcast we have produced a self-guided tour where we look at Oxford’s links to fantasy literature and the many writers who have lived and worked here. So if you find yourself in Oxford prepare to be whisked away to other worlds full of Hobbits, Orcs and parallel universes!
https://voicemap.me/tour/oxford/literary-legends-and-landmarks-a-fantasy-fiction-tour-of-oxford
- Update frequency
- every 24 days
- Average duration
- 55 minutes
- Episodes
- 67
- Years Active
- 2018 - 2025
Oxford Lives - Episode 26 with Andrew Mason AKA Mani
Nobody embodies the spirit of Oxford more than Andrew Manson AKA Mani AKA The Big Orange M. You’ll recognise his distinctive art work from around the city: Cowley Road, Covered Market, New Theatre, t…
Oxford Lives - Episode 25 with Jerome Arab
Jerome Arab is a Zimbabwean rapper, singer, songwriter and entertainer with a following in 40 countries. He spends his summers in Oxford and was kind enough to pop into Oxford Lives to share with us …
Oxford Lives - Episode 24 with Liz Woolley
Liz Woolley (MSc Dist.) is a highly acclaimed local historian with a wealth of knowledge about Oxford and its multifaceted past. She is particularly interested in the “town” side of the city, as oppo…
Oxford Lives - Episode 23 with Jamal Ibrahim - Part 2
Part Two of this fascinating interview with Oxford-based artist, biochemist and teacher Jamal Ibrahim. Here we pick up where we left off, with Jamal telling us an interesting story about a Samurai sw…
Oxford Lives - Episode 23 with Jamal Ibrahim - Part 1
Jamal Ibrahim has a fascinating story. As a scholarship student back in the early seventies, he was plucked from a working class Malaysian background to win a place at an English public school. From …
Oxford Lives - Episode 22 with Paul Hobson
An integral part of the Oxford cultural landscape for the last five decades, Modern Art Oxford is renowned for its diverse and progressive artistic programme. Here Director Paul Hobson recounts the h…
Oxford Lives - One Year Anniversary Special - Part 2
Our one-year anniversary special continues with plenty of juicy topics dissected by our panel of four. Conversation veers from contentious statues, the Steve Bannon Oxford Union protests, privileged …
Oxford Lives - One Year Anniversary Special - Part 1
Oxford Lives is one year old. In this anniversary special, we invite back two of our most popular guests, poet Steve Larkin and comedy writer Richard O Smith, here to give their take on events in Oxf…
Oxford Lives - Episode 19 with David Juler
Following on from our Remember Them event at Oxford Town Hall we caught up with David Juler, Museum Development Assistant at the Museum of Oxford. The museum is in the process of refurbishment with m…
Oxford Lives - Episode 18 Armistice Event Podcast
A special live edition of the podcast recorded at Oxford Town Hall in conjunction with The Museum of Oxford. To coincide with The Armistice commemorations, Oxford Lives hosted a panel discussion to e…
Oxford Lives - Episode 17 with Caroline Roaf
In the 1960s, a series of letters were found in an attic, chronicling the WW1 experiences of Pleasance Walker, a volunteer nurse who left Oxford to join the French Red Cross. Caroline Roaf discovered…
Oxford Lives - Episode 16 with Bill Spectre
Bill Spectre's award-winning Oxford Ghost Trail has been named as one of the ten best ghost tours in the world by Trip Advisor. Here we ask Bill (real name Bill Ritchie) the secrets of a successful g…
Oxford Lives - Episode 15 with Tanya and Jason Field
In this podcast we visit the MINI plant in Cowley to interview Jason and Tanya Field. Jason started as an apprentice on the plant thirty years ago and still works there as an IT/Telecoms engineer. It…
Oxford Lives - Episode 14 with Stephen Hosking
Stephen Hosking is facilitator for the Oxford OCD Support Group which meets twice a month at the Restore Centre in Manzil Way. Here Stephen discusses the nature of the illness, its treatment and the …
Oxford Lives - Episode 13 with Susie Barker and Harley Evans
Harley Evans and Susie Barker are a pair of East Oxford creatives who have lived and worked in the city for many years. As professional photographers and designers they have worked with many celebrit…
Oxford Lives - Episode 12 with Margaret Bonfiglioli
Margaret Bonfiglioli has lived in Oxford all her life. A few years ago, Margaret discovered that a Luis Vuitton trunk on her landing contained hundreds of family letters, most dating back to The Firs…
Oxford Lives - Episode 11 with Peggy Seeger
One of folk music's most enduring icons, Peggy Seeger settled in Iffley Village in 2010. She has since been involved in local politics, most notably the campaign to save Temple Cowley Pool. Here, Peg…
Oxford Lives - Episode 10 with Steve Larkin
Internationally acclaimed slam poet, dramatist, musician, educator, force of nature. Steve is president of poetry slam competition heavyweights Hammer & Tongue, has toured two hugely successful one-m…
Oxford Lives - Episode 9 with Don Flanagan
Don Flanagan grew up in Ireland but moved to London in 1940. He experienced the Blitz and then served as a stoker with The Royal Navy in the Far East. After the war, he worked with the legendary Unit…
Oxford Lives - Episode 8 with Melrose Fernandes
Melrose Fernandes has been teaching at Kings Oxford for 24 years. In a warm and lively interview, Melrose recollects her early years, fleeing with her family from Idi Amin’s Uganda, then settling in …