Culture

What are you looking at? A reflection on the Ashmolean’s Aphrodite exhibition 

The woman crouches, nude. A gauzy blue curtain hangs where she hides her chest; behind it I can just see the other artefacts. She isn’t looking at me. Over...

The midterms and the YA novel: Impossibly happy endings

Given its intense media coverage and everything that seems to be on the line, I feel as though I have been anxiously awaiting the results of the 2026 US midterm elections for weeks, months – maybe years.

How books are burned today

It is a worrying thought that what sits on your bookshelf today could be...

The burden of the face: Why are so many singers wearing masks?

We can all name at least one musician who has performed behind a balaclava, helmet, or hood. Whether to preserve anonymity, cultivate mystery, or construct an entirely new artistic identity, masking the face is common among those under the limelight.

Review: The Human Centipede 2

Joseph Newall is under-stimulated by Tom Six's latest helping of 'torture porn'

Short and Sweet

Benjamin McEvoy reviews the short films at the Leeds International Film Festival

Where the Wild Things Are

Patrick Thorpe interviews Wild Beasts singer Hayden Thorpe

Review: Hugo

Jacob Williamson is touched by Martin Scorsese's unexpected offering

Review: Moneyball

Jacob Williamson is impressed by this intelligent sports film

Limp Pens

Christy Edwall considers the quirks of literary anti-prizes in general, and the 2011 Bad Sex in Literature Award in particular.

Review: South Pacific

James Blythe is swept away by this production at Oxford's New Theatre

Review: An Island

En Liang Khong follows Danish band Efterklang's move into cinema

Review: Curling King

Joseph Newall takes a look back at his film of the year, the Norwegian 'Kong Curling'

Review: My Week with Marilyn

Jacob Williamson is charmed by a hazy portrait of the cultural icon

Review: The Vaccines, O2 Academy

Harry Scholes expresses his disappointment at The Vaccines sell-out gig on 29th November

First Night Review : The Browning Version

Finola Austin finds Anna Stelle’s production of The Browning Version by Terence Rattigan to be an enjoyable night out but let down by the details.

First Night Review : Kafka’s Dick

Kafka’s Dick is a delightfully surreal dive into the life of the eponymous author.

First Night Review : Broken Stars

Julian Bubb-Humfryies sees 'a competant and thoughtful production' at the Wadham Moser Theatre.

Oxford Book Club

Michelle Cancellier on her recent visit to the Oxford Book Club

A fishy phenomenon

Fay Lomas pays tribute to a daring Oxford artistic feat

Better to be Popular than right

A review of Oxford alumnus Gareth Russell's new young adults' novel 'Popular'

Review: Brian Eno & Rick Holland – Panic Of Looking

Natasha Frost is bored, bothered and bewildered by Brian Eno's latest EP

Review: King Krule – King Krule

Hotly tipped seventeen year old Archy Marshall's debut EP is well received by Natasha Frost

Review: Atlas Sound – Parallax

Jake Hills examines Bradford Cox's latest album under his Atlas Sound moniker, his first full-length release since Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest

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