Culture

One f**king thing after another: ‘The History Boys’, revisited

Grab your motorcycle helmet. Sharpen up on the subjunctive. And cue the synthetic pulses of ‘Blue Monday’. The History Boys is back. Alan Bennett’s 2004 play followed a cast of...

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;...

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...

French Pop Music Today

Rachel Coombes sorts the wheat from the Piaf

Reviews: Buried

Matt and Ben broadly agree that this is one of the tensest films of the year.

Review: Made in Dagenham

A review of one of the most highly anticipated British films of the decade

Review: Tamara Drewe

A talented cast and stylish visuals more than make up for this comedy's thin plot.

Review: The Town

Ben Affleck manages to resuscitate his career with this thrilling action flick.

Review: Catching A Tiger

Sam Pilgrim reviews the latest "indie-folk-rock-soulful-heartfelt" release by Lissie

The Brain Behind the Penis

A review of Dr. Louann Brizendine’s new book, The Male Brain

I Scream

Owain Jevons traces the various musical uses of mankind's most primal sound

The Mummification of Classical Music

Has the Classical music world stopped composing and started decomposing?

Interview: Mark Norfolk

Film director Mark Norfolk talks about his life and lessons in independent filmmaking.

Reviewed: Bombay Bicycle Club

'Flaws' is a step up from its predecessor, to say the least

Headfoes: can you trust your own earpieces?

Sam Pilgrim bears good news for the otology business

Whoa! Lad at WOMAD

Joseph King cuts through the jungle of generic music festivals to find something rawer

The best of all the year’s festivals?

Alex Dudok de Wit chews, digests and regurgitates his Bestival experience

Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Glossy effects can't hide this clunky film's glaring flaws.

Review: Reading Festival

The Libertines, Arcade Fire, Foals all reviewed

‘Imperial Bedrooms’ by Bret Easton Ellis

Growing pains for the Brat Pack star as he returns to the cast of his first novel

Enter the Dragonette?

Cherwell invites synth-pop’s perennial underachievers to apply for Oxford

Film isn’t dead

Will Self argues that film is dead, and Ben Kirby couldn't disagree more.

Review: The Secret in Their Eyes

This powerfully moving and thoroughly absorbing film is one of the year's best.

Follow us