Evolutionarily speaking, it makes sense to have a lot of children. At the very least, we might expect a population to replace itself, with each couple having an average of two children. However, this evolutionary logic is not mirrored by current data: birth rates are falling in the UK, with many people choosing to either have one child, or no children at all. We speak to evolutionary anthropologist Dr Paula Sheppard about the drivers, and consequences, of this observed trend.

Chances are, you didn't notice the week-long wind drought that the UK experienced towards the end of 2023. However, this period of low wind speeds, combined with a cold snap, drove up our energy prices - something that may have caught your attention. So, what exactly do we know about wind droughts, and how can we apply this knowledge to plan for the low-carbon energy systems of the future? We chat to Matthew Wright from Oxford's Department of Physics to find out.

Welcome back to the new series of the Oxford Sparks Big Questions Podcast! We are here to answer weird and wonderful questions about our world, with the help of science. And we’re starting with a very big question! How do you sequence the genomes of 70,000 species?

Dr Liam Crowley, from the Department of Biology, tells us about the ground-breaking Darwin Tree of Life project, which aims to sequence the genomes of over 70,000 species in Britain and Ireland. Discover the challenges and technological advances that make this monumental task possible, and explore the potential applications in fields like conservation genetics and evolutionary biology.

Tune in to find out how this project could revolutionise our understanding of biodiversity and the future of life on Earth!