Culture

In conversation with John Kennedy, “one of the most trusted voices in music”

In a media landscape often dominated by gossip, rumours, and sometimes pure hate, it’s undeniably refreshing to listen to John, a man who never lost sight of what really matters.

The legacy of the caricature

That the ‘In Memoriam’ section of the 2026 Academy Awards is going to be a serious tear-jerker was solidified by the passing of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry over two consecutive days.

The problem with Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’

Nolan had all the tools for greatness. Instead, to my eternal frustration, his 'Odyssey' will always only be just alright.

‘One Night Only’ (2026) and the death of romance

Romance movies are, on the whole, my favourite movie genre. But good romance movies, like good romantic relationships, are hard to find, and easy to mess up.

Review: Jenny Hval – Viscera

The Norwegian singer draws out highly eroticized soundscapes on her latest recording, writes Cherwell's Music Editor, En Liang Khong

Review: Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Thomas May explores Robin Pecknold's new depths on Fleet Foxes' sophomore outing

From Rags to Rubble

Rebecca Tatlow explores three different versions of a classic - Prokofiev’s Cinderella

Review: Nine Type’s of Light

Patrick Scott reviews TV On The Radio's latest musical offering

Review: Scream 4

Mark Shand reviews the Scream franchise's latest instalment

Big budgets, scanty scripts

Harry Tuffs reviews what is possibly Hollywood's worst offering since SATC 2

Review: Spurious

Tom Cutterham finds out it's still grim up North after reviewing Spurious, Lars Iyer's first novel derived from his blog of the same name

Heracles to Alexander the Great

Cherwell visits the Ashmolean's first major exhibition since its refurbishment

Interview: Portico Quartet

Cherwell catches up with saxophonist Jack Wylie and drummer Duncan Bellamy at their East London home

Review: Cardenio

Much to her surprise, Rebecca Tatlow thoroughly enjoys the recent reimagination of Shakespeare’s lost play put on as part of the RSC 50th Birthday Season at The Swan in Stratford-upon-Avon

Review: A C Grayling at the Oxford Literary Festival

Tian Yi Zheng reviews A. C. Grayling's visit to the Oxford Literary Festival where he talks about his new work, The Good Book: A Secular Bible

Etcetera announces competition winners

Cherwell's literary supplement, Etcetera, announces the winners of their first Freestyle Writing Competition

Review: ‘Initiate: An Oxford Anthology of New Writing’

Ella Sands reviews 'Initiate', the first anthology of work by graduates of Oxford's MSt in Creative Studies

Mastering creative writing

Tom Cutterham and Ella Sands talk to Dr Clare Morgan, director of Oxford's MSt in Creative Writing, about how the course has been instrumental in encouraging students to start writing more than just essays

Review: The Pigeon Detectives Live

Penny Sarchet reviews the Oxford leg of the Pigeon Detectives' comeback tour following the recent release of their new album, 'Up, Guards And At 'Em!'

Cherwell Abroad: Paris

Cherwell visits the Musée d'Orsay on Paris' Left Bank

Cherwell Abroad: Rome

Cherwell takes a look around the Borghese Gallery

Review: Colin Stetson – ‘New History Warfare, Vol. 2: Judges’

Simon Torracinta reviews Colin Stetson's mind-bending solo album

Review: Metamorphoses – Fables from Ovid

Rebecca Tatlow finds this modern adaptation of Ovid surprisingly faithful to the original

Rave in the nave

Marques Toliver and Lianne La Havas play St Giles in the Fields Church

Follow us