Monday 9th March 2026

Profiles

Sir Ed Davey: ‘Inevitably you make mistakes’

Multiple times throughout the interview Sir Ed Davey accidentally turned his Zoom camera off. He’d hastily apologise and search to turn it back on.

On Afghanistan, Ukraine, and honorary degrees: Christina Lamb is a story-teller like no other

Christina Lamb started her career as the Cold War was ending. She saw the fall of dictatorships in eastern Europe and Latin America, and the end of apartheid in South Africa.

Haleh Blake: A vessel for the voices of Iranians

Haleh Blake was always told she was worth half a man. “As you grow up as a girl, from very early on, you realise that you're treated as a second-class citizen”, she tells me.

Larry Sanders on Trump, climate change, and moral conviction

Sitting in his kitchen in East Oxford, Larry Sanders, local Oxford politician and brother of Bernie Sanders, speaks with honesty and conviction.

In Conversation with Sathnam Sanghera

Sathnam Sanghera doesn’t believe in tidy or easy stories. Whether writing about empire in his award-winning books Empireland and Empireworld, or his own family...

M N Rosen on AI, impact businesses, and the importance of mindfulness

In August, I had the pleasure of interviewing M.N. Rosen, author of The Consciousness Company, a recent debut novel which explores the impact of...

James Vowles: Rebuilding the ‘Sleeping Giant’ of Williams F1

James Vowles doesn’t believe in “bad luck”. It’s a surprising stance from the leader of a Formula 1 team with nine constructors’ and seven...

Margaret Hodge on legacy, fighting the BNP, and hope for the political future

Above the Churchill War Rooms, Dame Margaret Hodge sits with the easy confidence of someone who’s been in the fight for too long to...

In Conversation with Matt Williams

Matt Williams is an Access Fellow at Jesus College. You may recognise him from your Instagram reels or YouTube suggestions. His work with Oxford’s...

Interview: Oliver’s Oxford

Oliver never intended to become a full-time content creator. He originally created his TikTok page to market his queer fashion brand, launched in the year preceding his master’s degree at Oxford.  “I...

Lord Burrows: “If you can’t explain this area of the law to an intelligent teenager, you don’t really understand it yourself.”

Andrew Burrows, Lord Burrows is a Justice of the UK Supreme Court and one of the country’s leading legal scholars specialising in contract and...

Jonathan Coe: ‘We’ve thrown the baby out with the bathwater big time by embracing neoliberalism’

Jonathan Coe is a novelist and writer. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, and completed an MA and PhD at the University of Warwick....

Billie Marten on growing, teenage regression, and her upcoming album Dog Eared

“When people listen to your upcoming album Dog Eared, where should they imagine you writing the songs?” Musician Billie Marten, on the other end of...

Max Morgan, director of Oxford’s first feature film since the 1980s

Morgan speaks to Cherwell about his forthcoming films Breakwater and May Day!, and how he built a career in the film industry while at Oxford.

Bridget Kendall on interviewing Putin, the Russia-Ukraine war, and her path into journalism

Bridget Kendall was the BBC's correspondent for Moscow in the pivotal period covering the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Song Is Over: The Who on their farewell tour

The Who were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 - now, they prepare to take their final bow on American soil.

Alex O’Connor on God, debating, and his time at Oxford

O'Connor hosts the podcast Within Reason, with guests such as Richard Dawkins, Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris.

St John’s President Sue Black on skinning rabbits, AI, and working in a war zone

“I was up to my elbows in blood and guts and gore and I loved it."

Ocean Vuong on kindness, Buddhism, and the limitations of writing as a medium

A queer Vietnamese refugee who fled to America with his family, Vuong has won acclaim for his novels, poetry, and essays.

Oxford Spotlight: Masood Najar, the man behind Najar’s

Cherwell spoke to Najar about family, falafel and his future plans for the restaurant.

Student Spotlight: Oxford Kermit, social media sensation

Josh Nguyen, creator of the Oxford Kermit, speaks about his work in medical research; the inspiration behind the Instagram page; and his future plans.

Ex-Student Spotlight: Catherine Hoskyns, author, academic, and feminist

Hoskyns speaks about her experience in 1950s Oxford, reporting on African politics and working towards the recognition of women's unpaid labour.

Character of Mr Hitchens

I  It is a cool smoky morning in January outside Taylors deli on St Giles. Peter Hitchens padlocks his bicycle to a lamppost and accompanies...

Samantha Shannon: ‘My mantra with the series is ‘Don’t be afraid to take big risks’ and so far, I’ve stuck to it’

Samantha Shannon is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author, and an alumnus of St Anne’s College, Oxford. She is the author...

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