Headlines
Oxford History Professor donates prize money to the Ukrainian Army
Oxford history professor, Timothy Garton Ash, was recently awarded the prestigious Lionel Gelber Prize 2024 and donated his prize money to the Ukrainian army. His most recent book, Homeland, which was awarded the prize, “tells the story of Europe in the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.”
Garton Ash, St. Anthony’s Isaiah Berlin Professorial Fellow and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, received approximately £29,000 in prize money. He has donated the full sum towards purchase of drones and night vision equipment...
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Features
Things can only get… worse? Why 2024 is no 1997 for the Labour Party
One of the characteristic features of the 1997 Labour Party general election campaign was their use of D:Ream’s song "Things Can Only Get Better" in their campaign video. This song was selected to conjure...
The Art of Being Bored
Today, every corner of our lives seems to be filled with never-ending streams of information and vibrant entertainment. The concept of being bored has become almost extinct. Thanks to constant access to the internet...
The 2024 BNOC List
"Here it is! After three weeks of voting, the results are in. With slight adjustments made according to which BNOCs gave consent to be on the list and the addition of some whose fame strictly speaking surpasses that of BNOC-hood, the list is true to those initial nominations."
Sharron Davies, the Oxford Literary Festival, and the place for transgender athletes in professional sport.
The bell chimed for 2 o’clock on Thursday the 21st of March and the doors closed for the Oxford Literary Festival’s most controversial talk: ‘Sharron Davies, Unfair Play: The Battle for Women’s Sport.’ I stood on the step of the main entrance wearing my ‘festival steward’ lanyard, and contemplating...
WaterTok, Stanley cups and the half-empty glass of consumerism
We all need to drink more water. A 1998 New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center survey of 3003 Americans found that 75% of those interviewed were ‘chronically dehydrated’ — a condition apparently characterised by fatigue, memory loss, irritability, and anxiety. It is no wonder that, according to a Cherwell poll,...
Philosophy and Technology: Science’s moral afflictions
On March 28th in a dingy Manhattan courtroom, unrepentant crypto-mogul Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison. This landmark sentence came after an appeal by his lawyers against Bankman-Fried’s conviction in November 2023 on seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money.
MIT-educated Bankman-Fried was co-founder...
Profiles
‘Act normal, that’s crazy enough’: In conversation with Rutger Bregman, author of Humankind
Why have humans survived as the ones to travel to Mars, create artificial intelligence and make use of the world’s resources unlike any other species? Dutch historian and author, Rutger Bregman, author of the pop history book Humankind might have the answers. Through scientific arguments supporting the inherent kindness...
Spotlight: Martian Moves
If you’re at all in tune with Oxford’s nightlife scene, I’m sure you’ve heard of “intergalactic boogie service” Martian Moves – but who are they, and what are they here to do? I spoke with three of the four-man group of St Peter’s and LMH undergrads (Michael Donlon, Louis...
Culture
RIP Dante, you would’ve loved fanfiction
Liz Lane -
When the trailer for an adaptation of Robinne Lee’s 2017 novel The Idea of You came out last month, it set the internet ablaze. Within a month, it became the most-watched trailer ever for an original streaming movie. As word of the film spread online, one question abounded. ‘Is this film based on...
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune
In 1984, shortly after the epic finale to the (original) Star Wars trilogy was in theatres, David Lynch’s Dune treated audiences to, in the words of one critic, “one of the most confusing screenplays of all time.” In contrast, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune series has received high praise from fans...
Life
Greeting the Imposter
Is an Oxford degree truly worth the stress? What really should be worn for a lounge suit dress code? (spoiler alert, reader: I still do not know). Whether it manifests in academic or non-academic form, imposter syndrome has been, and always will be a notable facet of my Oxford...
An ode to the spring onion
Content warning: discussion of eating disorders
I really do add spring onions to everything, you know. They go with my eggs, on my toast, in my tuna and on top of my bolognese. They’re the base of pretty much every pasta recipe I make and I’ve put them in more...
