Bloom

In this episode, Nick Fabbri speaks with fellow MPP students Anushka Jadhav and Rafaela Viana about the 2024 Education World Forum, their personal education journeys in India and Brazil respectively, Education Policy in Oxford, and some of the major education policy issues and developments globally. Anushka and Rafaela also reflect on their time at Oxford and in the 2023-24 MPP cohort, and offer advice and inspiration to future students. *** Anushka Jadhav is an educational professional with over seven years of experience, based in Mumbai, India. As a co-founder of an educational trust (NCFW), she has engaged students and institutions in meaningful discussions about gender norms and discrimination. At Whistling Woods International (WWI), Anushka led the curriculum development and served as a faculty member. She also spearheaded India's venture into media and film education for grades 9-12 under the Delhi Board of School Education. As the Creative Director at Gaysi Family since 2016, she has worked extensively to mainstream narratives from the LGBTQIA+ community through diverse initiatives. She has also actively participated in fellowships with change.org and the British Council. Rafaela Viana dos Santos is from Sao Paulo city, Brazil and in 2021 obtained her undergraduate degree in international relations at the University of Sao Paulo. She has pursued studies and attended conferences in Taiwan, China, and Egypt. Rafaela's four years of professional experience are mainly in the ESG field, including sustainable development finance and government projects. As such, her key policy interests are ESG, sustainable development, China, the third sector, and project management. Likewise, she has extensive experience working in non-profit and non-governmental organisations. Rafaela enjoys travelling, playing with dogs, and watching movies. Rafaela is a Chevening Scholar.

Damien Shannon is a DPhil candidate in Economic and Social History at New College, Oxford. In this episode of the Oxford Policy Podcast, Nick and Damien speak about: Damien's experience in suing Oxford University over its admissions criteria, which initially prevented him from taking up his degree place on financial grounds Educational access and equity Damien's current DPhil research on the abolition of tenure at British universities and the impact on research outcomes and long term institutional performance The history of universities as institutions from their earliest roots in Bologna and Oxford Intellectual freedom and the ideal conditions for free inquiry Sir Keith Joseph and the economic and philosophical foundations of the Thatcher administration The corporatization of universities and modern employment conditions for academics

In this episode of the Oxford Policy Podcast, Nick Fabbri speaks with Bob Carr, a former Australian Foreign Minister and long-serving Premier of New South Wales. They discuss politics and embarking on a political career, the art of good policymaking and some of the major policy reforms of the Carr Labor Government, international affairs and security issues, Australia and its natural beauty, and the love and grief that Bob has for his late wife Helena Carr. *** Professor the Honourable Bob Carr was the longest continuously serving premier in the history of New South Wales, a major Australian state, from 1995-2006. He then entered the Australian Senate in 2012 and served as foreign minister for eighteen months. Since leaving politics Bob has led a distinguished career as an author and academic. Bob is also an accomplished writer and has published many books, including My Reading Life, Diary of a Foreign Minister, and Run For Your Life.

In this conversation cross-posted from the Oxford Policy Podcast, Nick Fabbri speaks with Lord Michael Heseltine, former UK Deputy Prime Minister and leading figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. In this interview, we reflect on Lord Heseltine's love of gardening, his time at Oxford University and presidency of the Oxford Union, his political career and lessons in leadership, his approach to public policy solutions including privatisation and the revitalisation of Liverpool, as well as Britain, multiculturalism, Brexit, and relations with Europe. *** Lord Michael Heseltine is a giant of British politics, having served as a Conservative Member of the Parliament from 1966 to 2001. He was a Cabinet Minister in various departments in the Heath, Thatcher and Major governments from 1979 to 1986 and 1990 to 1997, and Deputy Prime Minister under John Major from 1995 to 1997. Lord Heseltine later served as an advisor to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Growth under David Cameron's administration, and as a Commissioner on the National Infrastructure Commission (October 2015 to March 2017). He is the founder and Chairman of the Haymarket Group, and runs the internationally-acclaimed Thenford Arboretum and Gardens.

Originally published with transcript at: https://www.nickfabbri.com/bloom/paulmonkpoetryscienceandclassics In this podcast, Dr Paul Monk and Nick Fabbri discuss the relationship between poetry, science, and the classics, and how these subjects inform Paul’s poetry, and what it means to live poetically. This conversation includes readings of a number of Paul’s poems from Red Ochre for the Moon Goddess, The Three Graces, and Wine on the Flames. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Dr Paul Monk is a poet, polymath and highly regarded Australian public intellectual. He has written an extraordinary range of books, from Sonnets to a Promiscuous Beauty (which resides in former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s library), to reflective essays on the riches of Western civilisation in The West in a Nutshell, to a prescient 2005 treatise on the rise of China in Thunder from the Silent Zone: Rethinking China.

Shane Fitzsimmons currently leads Resilience NSW - the peak disaster management and recovery agency in NSW - as its inaugural Commissioner, following a long and distinguished career with the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS). Shane came to national prominence in Australia through his role as Commissioner of the NSW RFS during the 2019-2020 bushfires, where he led NSW’s response to the fires which raged across South Australia, Queensland, Victoria, and most severely in NSW and the ACT. These fires tragically caused the loss of 33 lives, destroyed over 3000 homes and damaged thousands more, burnt 30 million hectares of land, and caused over a billion animals to perish. Shane’s leadership throughout the bushfires received universal acclaim for his empathy, calmness, trust, care, and clarity of communications as the nation endured unprecedented natural disasters.In this podcast, Nick and Shane discuss: Shane’s early life in Sydney’s northern beaches, and how he found his way to volunteer firefighting His 35 year career with the NSW RFS, the modernisation of the emergency management sector, and the remarkable spirit and humanity of volunteers and staff working in disaster management Shane’s experience of the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season: its devastating scale and impacts, and the remarkable stories of hope, spirit, and community resilience that emerged through shared hardship Leadership qualities, including authenticity, humility, care, and communication The creation and work of Resilience NSW, and how communities are faring amidst the compound disasters of drought, fires, floods, storms, and mouse plagues How government agencies can ensure that recovery is community-led How to ensure community groups who are disproportionately impacted by disasters, such as women, First Nations peoples, the elderly, and migrants, are able to participate in resilience and recovery activities The outlook for the 2021-22 bushfire season, and how organizations can look after their fatigued and exhausted workforces after years of continuous responses to disasters

Originally published with transcript at https://www.nickfabbri.com/bloom/paulmonklyricpoetry In this podcast, Nick and Paul discuss: Poetry’s Touch by Professor William Waters and its influence on Paul’s approach to lyric poetry The ‘addressable you’ in poetry Reflections on communicative intimacy and the idea of authentic understanding between people in romantic or other relationships A number of Paul’s poems from his published works Lyrical Epigrams, All The Bad Things, and Delphic Deixis Paul’s relationship with Claudia Alvarez Artwork in the Chauvet Caves, and human civilization and beings across time Paul’s experience of being catfished, and the creative inspiration that this generated New infatuations, muses and poems Dr Paul Monk is a poet, polymath and highly regarded Australian public intellectual. He has written an extraordinary range of books, from Sonnets to a Promiscuous Beauty (which resides in former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s library), to reflective essays on the riches of Western civilization in The West in a Nutshell, to a prescient 2005 treatise on the rise of China in Thunder from the Silent Zone: Rethinking China. Follow Paul on Twitter

Originally published with transcript at https://www.nickfabbri.com/bloom/paulmonkmortalityandmeaning In this podcast, Nick and Paul discuss: The commemoration of the dead through religious rituals, such as the Kaddish Representations of mortality, death, and dying as expressed in poetry and literature Why death exists in the world at all, as a function of life and natural selection The intersection of the biological process of death and religious rituals around and for death Concern for the dead in classical works such as The Iliad and Antigone Paul’s journey with metastatic cancer and contemporary literature on mortality Reviewing one’s priorities after confronting one’s mortality Reflections on death and dying through everyday encounters with our built environment, such as cemeteries Oliver Sacks and gratitude for the gift of life and consciousness Dr Paul Monk is a poet, polymath and highly regarded Australian public intellectual. He has written an extraordinary range of books, from Sonnets to a Promiscuous Beauty (which resides in former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s library), to reflective essays on the riches of Western civilization in The West in a Nutshell, to a prescient 2005 treatise on the rise of China in Thunder from the Silent Zone: Rethinking China. Follow Paul on Twitter