Wednesday 4th June 2025

Features

A strikingly egalitarian meal at Rhodes House 

When I arrived at Rhodes House, someone pointed gently to my shoes – off, please – and handed me a head covering. I was then quickly led into a very tall, very ornate hall, where the first thing that struck me wasn’t even the impressive architecture, but the rows of white sheets laid neatly across the floor.

‘We need a different approach’: Students and tutors on AI in academia

From everyday tasks to academic work, AI is already embedded in university life. We asked students and academics at Oxford what they are using it for, what worries them most, and whether the current system can keep up.

Some of the most talented people here are solving problems that don’t matter

As AI rewires the job market, what’s the point of being smart if you’re not doing anything meaningful?

Too young for bops, old enough for a first

There are 237 Oxford students aged 17 and below. In the past, some have dramatically crashed out in the public eye, but many others thrive.

£3.50 meal deals, a cost-of-living crisis, and the same old story.

£3. The sacred Tesco meal deal. The bargain every Oxford student knows about. The day I walked into Tesco to see £3.50 plastered on...

UK Democracy is broken. Here’s how we can fix it.

As a new prime minister enters office after only earning 57% of the Conservative member vote and receiving the lowest vote share of any...

What’s the real deal with Oxford PPE?

Freya Jones interviews three PPE students to find out what the degree is really about.

The Guardian of the Constitution: an institutional look at the jubilee

Imagine you were asked by a visitor from another country, or perhaps even another planet, to explain the unusual activity in the UK this...

How did we get here? Democrats, political power, and the fight for American abortion rights

On the 24th of June, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, decisions which for...

Northern Ireland’s three-way split

For the first time since the foundation of Northern Ireland, a nationalist/republican party with the expressed aim of a united Ireland is the largest...

Beyond the Etonians: Simon Kuper’s Chums in today’s Oxford

"If the structure of undergraduate life then had such adverse outcomes and is so worthy of condemnation – and the structure fundamentally hasn’t changed – what does that imply for Oxford now?"

‘Doomer politics’: The death spiral of Russian civil society

"The end of doomer politics will require the ideal scenario of regime change, and then that the West actually demonstrate to Russians that there is a workable alternative to the way their country is run."

A Month of Reconnection: Ramadan Practices in a Post-COVID World

"But more importantly, the cohesion of the Muslim community, the ummah, and the congregational aspect of worship has been threatened."

Raging against the dying of the light: what the DUP’s predicament tells us about the state of unionism in Northern Ireland

"But on 5th May 2022, when Northern Ireland goes to the polls to elect representatives to its legislature, the DUP is expected to have its long shadow over Northern Irish politics substantially shortened. Polls have consistently shown the party’s leader – Sir Jeffery Donaldson – as the most unpopular of the Northern Irish political leaders, and the party has been embattled by resurgent intra-community political rivals."

“Not your best Judy”: The gay man’s misogyny

Fiónn McFadden discusses the problem of misogyny among gay men and how it relates to the stereotype of the "gay best friend".

A critique of the critique ‘industry plant’

Aarthee Pari discusses the meaning of the term 'industry plant' and its validity as a critique of musicians.

Flinching before a dead god

God is Dead, but lots of us miss him. We look for his shadow in astrological charts, turn that shadow into beams of light that...

“Now it’s just around the corner”: Impacts of the Russo-Ukrainian crisis in Romania

Jack Twyman interviews Florin Misiuc, a member of the Romanian diaspora, on the effects of the conflict in Ukraine as felt in Romania.

Voices from Ukraine

CW: War, violence, death Seeing everything going on in Ukraine at the moment, I was struck by the fact that one thing stayed constant, the...

A letter from Lviv, Ukraine

CW: Mentions of violence, trauma, death. This article was written on the 26th of February. As I am writing this, millions of people in Kyiv are...

Chiang Kai-shek must fall: An introduction to fallism in Taiwan

Charlie Croft discusses the legacy of Chiang Kai-shek and the dispute about whether his statues should be taken down in Taiwan.

The 2022 Midterms: An oversimplified guide to why Democrats are (probably) screwed

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an American politician in possession of a House or Senate seat must be perpetually engaged in campaigning....

The rise, fall, and ambiguous resurgence of Lin-Manuel Miranda

Even if you’ve never heard of Lin-Manuel Miranda, you’ve likely heard of at least one of his works: In the Heights, Bring it On:...

Hindi and Urdu: A language divided, or a shared history destroyed?

CW: Violence I was in Tesco last week, looking at the tomatoes. A man to my right commented on the ripeness of the peppers. I...

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