Critical Edge

Critical Edge hosts and best mates sit down with Robin Carhart-Harris, leading psychedelic researcher and all round good bloke.

We discussed the ethical and philosophical questions attached to psychedelics: such as how a drug can change how we see ourselves and the people around us, or what psychedelics might reveal about consciousness and the universe. Robin takes a pragmatic approach, and advocates for the potential upside in mental health treatment.

To find out more about Robin's new book: https://www.carhartharrislab.com/upcoming-book

Critical Edge hosts and best mates Ollie and Lukas sit down with rockstar philosopher Nigel Warburton, co-host of Philosophy Bites.Ollie, Lukas and Nigel had a great chat about whether art is subjective, how cultural beauty standards shape us, Nigel's favourite books and paintings, and what it is about art that is so essentially human. Critical Edge is a multi-media community started by two friends seeking to learn how to think, not what to think. Subscribe or check out our other platforms to join the team :)

Critical Edge hosts and best mates Ollie and Lukas sit down with Canadian-American astronomer Wendy Freedman, one of Times 2025 Top 100 most influential people in the world.Hardly experts on the topic, Ollie and Lukas had an open discussion with Wendy about the universe and its expansion, whether it really began with the big bang, and if we can ever know anything about dark matter. Lukas and Ollie open the chat talking to Wendy about why the universe reminds everyone about.Critical Edge is a multi-media community started by two friends seeking to learn how to think, not what to think. Subscribe or check out our other platforms to join the team :)

Critical Edge hosts Ollie and Lukas sit down with philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah to explore what classic thought experiments reveal about identity, morality, power, and the future of human connection.

Across these puzzles—and the real-world examples they illuminate, from political power to dating apps and artificial intimacy—the conversation asks what truly anchors a good life: honor, authenticity, continuity, truth, connection. Philosophy here isn’t abstract; it’s a lens on how we live now.

Hosted by two passionate Oxford students, Critical Edge aims to bring you engaging discussions with influential personalities, delving into topics that matter to our society and the world at large. Subscribe for more!

Critical Edge hosts Ollie and Lukas sit down with philosopher David Edmonds to explore how discrimination, identity, and group psychology shape the way we see ourselves - and each other.

Hosted by two passionate Oxford graduates, Critical Edge brings rigorous, accessible conversations with influential thinkers on the ideas shaping our world. Subscribe for

Critical Edge hosts Ollie and Lukas sit down with Professor John Curtice, the UK's leading authority on public opinion and electoral behaviour, to examine how Britain's political landscape has been transformed over the past decade.

We explore how class has evolved as a marker of political identity, why age and education now structure voting behaviour more than any other factors, and how these shifts have redrawn the electoral map. Professor Curtice unpacks the evidence: how Labour and Conservative coalitions have changed, what the data actually shows about "realignment," and why voters are behaving less predictably than ever.

Finally, we look ahead: electoral reform, the prospects for party competition, and how the next decade of British politics may unfold.Hosted by two passionate Oxford graduates, Critical Edge aims to bring you engaging discussions with influential personalities, delving into topics that matter to our society and the world at large. Subscribe for more!

Critical Edge hosts Ollie and Lukas sit down with Professor Mark Blyth, an expert in political economy, to unpack how economic ideas shape the world we live in.

We explore why being wrong is essential to learning, drawing on Nassim Taleb’s ideas of uncertainty, fragility, and “skin in the game.” From there, the conversation ranges across bubbles (AI, housing, finance), the commodification of time and everyday life, and why economics can’t be treated as a value-free hard science.

We dig into inequality, trickle-down economics, wealth and taxation, austerity, and the concentration of power in today’s tech-dominated capitalism—before turning to one of the most contentious issues in politics: immigration. Blyth offers a characteristically blunt and nuanced account of why immigration debates provoke such intensity, how economics, culture, and media manipulation interact, and why avoiding these discussions only deepens the problem.

Hosted by two Oxford graduates, Critical Edge aims to help you learn how to think, not what to think, through serious but accessible conversations with leading thinkers. Subscribe for more.

Critical Edge hosts Ollie and Lukas sit down with Frank Turek, an American Christian apologist. We had some interesting and nuanced discussion about the interrelation of faith and doubt, the problem of evil, and the reliability of scripture. We got into some more tough territory when discussing contradictions in scripture, the New and Old Testament, and homosexuality. There's a lot to stick your teeth into here.

Ollie and Lukas sit down with Anthony Scaramucci for a fast, candid conversation about power, populism, and political renewal. Anthony is former White House Communications Director, and co-host of The Rest Is Politics US.

Today, he discusses why he has changed his mind on Bitcoin, what finally pushed him to break with Trump, why MAGA is beginning to fracture, and how the Epstein files are reshaping American politics.

Hosted by two passionate Oxford graduates, Critical Edge aims to bring you engaging discussions with influential personalities, delving into topics that matter to our society and the world at large. Subscribe for more!

Ollie and Lukas sit down with historian, author, and co-host of The Rest is History, Dominic Sandbrook — one of Britain’s most influential public historians. Can pride in one’s country ever be “healthy"? How should we teach the British Empire in schools? Listen in.