Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Profiles

Student Spotlight: Diana Volpe and Lina Osman on student activism

With an increased focus on divestment over the past year, Cherwell sat down with two student activists involved in this work, Diana Volpe and Lina Osman. They are the...

Sir Stephen Fry on mythology, knighthood, and student theatre

Acclaimed actor, writer, comedian, and new Visiting Professor of Creative Media Sir Stephen Fry...

D.J. Taylor: “The great and the good very rarely say anything interesting, because they put it in their memoirs”

D.J. Taylor is a biographer, novelist, and literary critic. He has written nearly thirty...

Gered Mankowitz: “AI is a nightmare for photography.”

Over a career spanning more than five decades, Gered Mankowitz’s lens has chronicled the...

Writing a Life: Overseeing the Evolution of Biography

It goes without saying that the significance of identity is fundamental to biography. Yet this is perhaps one thing in the analogue times past—but in an age of unique self-representation, the role of social media as a tool of pretence and unchecked self-aggrandisement casts a shadow on the biographies of coming years.

In Conversation with Jill Nalder

“It’s a bit of a whirlwind at the moment…” Jill tells me, “the response is a bit unbelievable.” She has just finished watching the...

Finn Harries: changing the climate narrative

"How can we tell a new story on the climate crisis that creates a sense of optimism - because we need optimism to tackle this crisis and not fall into apathy and despair."

In Contempt of Court: from Death Row to Guantanamo

"It would be easy to dismiss Stafford Smith’s beliefs as fantastical - representative of his self-confessed privilege, or of a life untouched by crime and terrorism. But after our conversation, no part of me felt his beliefs existed in the abstract and were anything but born of conviction and, above all, experience."

Clamorous Noise: The Music of Everyday Life

"It’s worth trying because it’s worth trying to find beauty in everything."

In Conversation with Judy Kuhn

“Here’s the thing about being an older woman…the roles are more interesting. People get more complex as they get older. And you have more life experience to bring to the role.”

In Conversation with Hannah Witton

Hannah Witton's Zoom background puts the rest of us to shame. She is sat in an armchair with a tidy but colourful bookcase to...

In Conversation with Bruce LaBruce

"'Horror movies and porn movies are structured in exactly the same way,' he begins, 'the narrative is structured as a pretext for a number of these explosive climaxes. One victim at a time, one sex scene at a time.'"

In Conversation with Colin Wilson

“Why do we care about this? Well, it's like a parallel earth. It's the same size as Earth, made of the same sort of materials formed around [...] the same amount of time ago. But it's evolved really differently with this huge greenhouse effect.”

In Conversation with Tim Webber

Going from an Oxford Physics degree to winning an Oscar for your work on Gravity seems like, strangely, a fairly linear career path. For...

In Conversation with Rebecca Black

Hey this sucks, but you’re gonna’ be famous. While not the worst thing Rebecca Black would read about herself that year, these words would come...

In Conversation with Grace Beverley

Grace Beverley is possibly one of the busiest people I’ve ever met. The day of our interview, she posted a photo of the day’s...

In Conversation with HONNE

When I met HONNE over Zoom, they’d been up late the night before working on a new music video for an acoustic version of...

In Conversation with Jihyun Park

CW: Mention of torture and abuse Within the past few months, rumours claiming the death of North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Un, have circled our news...

In Conversation with India Hicks

Although having enjoyed a varied career, India Hicks is perhaps best known for two things: her eponymous lifestyle brand (now defunct), and being Prince...

In Conversation with Ken Loach

CW: Racism, antisemitism Kes (1968) – Miner’s Working Men’s Club. Rhythmic close shots of faces, the pub is filled with big smiles and small chat. The...

In Conversation with Kris Hallenga

In 2019 Kris Hallenga posted a letter addressed to her past self on the CoppaFeel website, recognising a decade since she had been diagnosed...

In Conversation with Sir Mo Farah

It’s not easy to cover hundreds of miles when you’re stuck inside. With global sporting events cancelled or postponed for the foreseeable future and...

In Conversation with Caroline Calloway

‘Why not get actual human blood involved? I mean if I haven’t been cancelled at this point, I think it’s safe to say I’m...

In Conversation with Ted Hodgkinson

From the window above my desk I can see straight into four of my neighbours’ offices. The workspace belonging to the family opposite sits...

Follow us