Tuesday 28th April 2026
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Oxford University Press and University of Pennsylvania Press announce open access agreement

Daniela Braw-Smith
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Oxford University Press and University of Pennsylvania Press announce open access agreement

Oxford University Press (OUP) and University of Pennsylvania Press (Penn Press) have struck a two-year agreement granting University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) students open access to hundreds of OUP journals.

OUP is the largest university press in the world, publishing over 500 journals across a range of academic fields. The agreement also allows UPenn-affiliated authors to publish with open access in OUP’s hybrid and fully open journals without paying article processing charges.

According to the Royal Society, open access to published academic journals increases readership, citations, and accessibility to non-academics. OUP has described open access as a key part of their “mission to achieve the widest possible dissemination of high-quality research”, noting that open access articles have the greatest number of policy and patent document mentions, relative to volume of output, in comparison to other major academic publishers.

The University of Oxford also engages in similar “publisher deals” with presses around the world, enabling open access to articles in otherwise subscription-only journals for Oxford-affiliated researchers and students. Under these agreements with individual presses (e.g., SAGE, Taylor & Francis, and Cambridge University Press), Oxford departments pay publishing costs on behalf of their researchers.
OUP’s and the University’s partnerships with other academic presses and universities have also facilitated the growth of Oxford Academic, which brings together over 50,000 books and 500 journals on a single platform. The platform has expressed an intent to adapt to the changing landscape of academia, such as the introduction of an AI Discovery Assistant and the newly added capacity to gift limited-time access to journal articles.

The uncapped agreement places no limit on articles published open access, with Penn Libraries noting such deals have already enabled around 60% of its research output to be freely accessible.

Proctors criticise University policy on buildings, AI, and staff payment

Stanley Arlidge
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Proctors criticise University policy on buildings, AI, and staff payment

The University of Oxford’s Proctorial Team has criticised the physical decay of buildings, staff pay, and university policy on the use of artificial intelligence in their traditional end-of-term Oration shared in the Oxford University Gazette.

The Oration is given annually by Proctoral team, composed of the Junior Proctor, Senior Proctor and Assessor, as they end their year-long term. The address evaluates the issues affecting the University and the decisions made by its governing bodies. The Senior Proctor pointed to a pattern of “slow decay, masked by the wearisome efforts of those affected to find mitigations and accommodations.” He noted that “when we are finally forced to act, when the mask cannot be maintained, the remedies are costly, and the harms to the University serious, and unavoidable.”

The Oration painted a worrying picture of the University’s buildings, claiming that many have now reached a state of “planned obsolescence”. Discussing the Thom Building on Parks Road, where the Department of Engineering Science is located, the Senior Proctor said: “For many years, the decay within the building has been metaphorically masked, as damp academics did their best to keep things functioning.” Discussing the University’s “digital estate”, the Assessor critiqued Oxford’s “flagship” Digital Transformation Programme, which “has been unable to deliver new software tools as fast as new demand rises”.

They warned that without further “funding for investment”, the University’s estate could restrict Oxford’s ability to remain at the top of global University rankings.  The concern reflected a similar issue identified by the 2023 Proctorial Team, who argued: “We as an institution failed to ‘see’ what was blatantly obvious – that these buildings are simply not fit for purpose.” Oxford Estates Services did not respond to Cherwell’s request for comment.

The Proctoral team also identified concerns about faculty wages and competition. The Associate Professor position was noted as “especially challenging” in terms of pay, workload, and career structure, making the role “a predicament and not a position”. The Senior Proctor warned: “As pay continues to slide, even if we remain competitive nationally, we will cease to be so internationally.”

The team raised further doubts about the University’s attempts to tackle the growing challenge of AI, criticising Oxford’s “startling” decision to roll out access to ChatGPT Edu to all students, the first university in the UK to do so: “Oxford … is left floundering in the wake of rapid technological change, trying to adapt its activities and governance to what many of us see as a fundamental threat to higher education.

“We share the disquiet of many colleagues that the rapid distribution of such licences by the University sent a powerful signal to our students that AI usage was being promoted in problematic ways.” 

The Junior Proctor also criticised the University’s lack of a streamlined administrative response to AI use: “There is too much emphasis on not stifling local initiatives; too little concern to concentrate appropriate coordinated oversight in a single responsible senior committee.” The Proctors claimed to have seen little evidence that the University has got to grips with the threat AI poses to the teaching, assessment, and admissions processes. They describe faculties “scrambling to develop protocols” on AI that “suit their own disciplines”, while simultaneously lacking the money needed to do so. 

The Junior Proctor stated that his experience with the AI governance group (part of the University’s Digital Governance Unit) has “emphatically not reassured me that the University has appropriately got its metaphorical arms around the challenge”. 

The Assessor highlighted the “crucially important” responsibility of the proctoral team “to put discussions into a wider context, connect the dots and steer strategy and policy decisions to better outcomes, not through hard power, but through better arguments and by asking questions, sometimes uncomfortable ones.” In response, a University spokesperson told Cherwell: “As is the case every year, the demitting Proctors’ Oration makes important contributions to many issues which are being actively considered and addressed across the University.” 

‘English Pride’ protest met by counter-protest at Bonn Square

Cherwell News
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‘English Pride’ protest met by counter-protest at Bonn Square

Clashes broke out between an Oxfordshire Patriots demonstration and a counter-protest from anti-racist groups in central Oxford today, with both sides gathering in Bonn Square outside Westgate.

The Oxfordshire Patriots protest drew about ten attendees, and was outnumbered by a “Migrants Welcome” counter-demonstration of over 50 people organised by Oxford Stand Up To Racism. Counter-protests arrived shortly after the group assembled, growing quickly in number and directing chants of “Oxford is anti-fascist”, “stop deportations”, and “there’s many, many more of us than you”, towards the Oxfordshire Patriots group. Multiple counter-protests referenced Oxford’s long history as an “anti-fascist city”.

The protest went ahead despite Oxford City Council not granting permission for the event. It had been promoted by organisers as a “St George’s Day Celebration”. In a statement to Cherwell, Stand Up To Racism criticised this description of the event. In a post on Facebook, Oxfordshire Patriots organisers also described the event as a “day full of music and English pride” and marketed it as a family event. 

Image credit: Zoë McGuire (for Cherwell).

Speaking to Cherwell at the beginning of the protest, the organiser of the Oxfordshire Patriots, Aidan Noble, said he wanted to “stand up to the Council”. He said he “didn’t want to spread hate” and denied being racist, insisting he wanted “to feel pride in my country”. Leaflets handed out by Oxfordshire Patriots describe the group as “protecting British values, history and culture” through “organised peaceful protests and marches”. Another Oxfordshire Patriots protester added that “we’re not racist – they can shout what they like”.

Tensions escalated during the protest with multiple incidents involving physical confrontation and allegations made by both sides.

In one incident, a protester associated with Oxfordshire Patriots fell to the ground after standing up as his mobility scooter was being blocked by a group of counter-protesters. Other participants from the Stand Up To Racism protest appeared to offer to help the individual to their feet. Speaking to Cherwell following the incident, Noble insisted he “wanted a peaceful protest”, but that it had been “disrupted” by the opposing group. 

Image credit: Zoë McGuire (for Cherwell).

In another incident, a participant who had joined the Oxfordshire Patriots crowd lunged at a woman taking part in the Stand Up To Racism demonstration – grabbing a St George’s Cross flag with the word “love” written across it. He was pushed to the ground by a member of the counter-protest, and a small fight resulted between the two men. The man who lunged at the woman was then taken aside by the police.

An activist with Stand Up To Racism also accused one of the protestors of threatening to slap her across the face after she offered them a leaflet.

Around ten police officers were at the scene of the protest, and were seen recording events on phones and body cameras. A demonstrator with Oxfordshire Patriots told Cherwell he had faced “threatening intimidation” but claimed the police “are doing nothing” and accused them of “two-tier policing”. 

Image credit: Zoë McGuire (for Cherwell).

Later, the police formed a line around the right-wing demonstrators. Stand Up To Racism supporters chanted, “Who protects the fascists? The Police protect the fascists”. 

Speaking to Cherwell, a supporter of Oxford Stand Up To Racism who asked to remain anonymous, said she hoped to “drown out” the demonstrations by Oxfordshire Patriots, and “have some great conversations” to help “people see the connections between Reform, Raise The Colours, Farage and Trump”. She described the rise in support for Reform UK as “very scary” and accused the Labour Government of “throwing people under a bus”. She praised Oxford’s migrant community, who she described as “neighbours and friends”. 

Ian McKendrick, an organiser for Stand Up To Racism, told Cherwell that the aim of the counter-protest was to challenge a “campaign of intimidation” by right-wing groups. Another anonymous supporter of Stand Up To Racism, who played the drum during the protest, told Cherwell: “Oxford relies on immigrants – there’s no two ways about it.” 

Image credit: Zoë McGuire (for Cherwell).

The protests come after Oxfordshire County Council issued a legal notice to Raise the Colours after St George’s Cross and Union Jack flags were hung across the county. In a statement, council leader Liz Leffman described the displays as “an act of intimidation and division”. 

Oxfordshire Patriots were contacted for comment. 

Additional reporting by Isaac Gavaghan, Mercedes Haas, Ned Remington, and Hattie Simpson.

World Happiness Report finds declining wellbeing amongst young people

Angelina Wu
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World Happiness Report finds declining wellbeing amongst young people

The 2026 World Happiness Report, produced by Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Gallup, and an independent editorial board, has found that wellbeing among under-25s is declining across English-speaking countries.

The report, published in March ahead of the UN’s International Day of Happiness, highlights that the trend is most pronounced among girls. For the second consecutive year, no English-speaking country ranks in the top ten happiest countries, with the UK placed 29th. 

Heavy social media use is emphasised as associated with lower life satisfaction. Whilst correlation between social media use and wellbeing is established, causation remains tentative. One international survey of 15-year-olds in nearly 50 countries associated heavy social media use with a significant drop in well-being. However, the relationship isn’t straightforward: another study cited in the report found that young people who use social media for less than one hour per day report the highest level of wellbeing, higher than those who fully abstain. The World Happiness Report acknowledges there is less consensus on a causal link between social media use and wellbeing.

The report distinguishes between ‘harmful’ and ‘healthy’ use of social media. Barry Grimes, production editor of the report, told Cherwell that platforms “designed for passive consumption of algorithmic content”, such as TikTok, tend to be negatively associated with wellbeing. By contrast, platforms promoting social connection, such as WhatsApp, are associated with more positive outcomes. Grimes added that “young people should reduce the time they spend on social media and prioritise the ‘social’ over the ‘media’”. 

The findings raise questions about how best to regulate social media use. Grimes told Cherwell that “new policy interventions must be evidence-based to reduce the risk of unintentional harm”. Emerging evidence from Australia and the UK’s pilot schemes in the coming months will provide insight into how to regulate social media use effectively.

Shoreditch and the Reinvention of the Restaurant Scene in London

External Contributor
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Shoreditch and the Reinvention of the Restaurant Scene in London

Shoreditch and the Reinvention of the Restaurant Scene in London

Shoreditch once drew people mainly for its grit, galleries, and after dark energy. Now it also draws diners who expect bold cooking and a room with a clear point of view. That shift says as much about London as it does about one district.

Restaurants in the area do more than serve food. They shape mood through sound, lighting, layout, and the steady movement between dinner and drinks. In Shoreditch, atmosphere stopped being a backdrop and became part of the reason people book a table.

That mix matters because the audience is wide. On a single evening, a room may hold office workers, artists, visitors, and local regulars. Restaurants that thrive there usually understand both style and substance.

Why Shoreditch Keeps Setting the Pace

That change did not happen by accident. As new crowds arrived, restaurants learned to stand out in a place that rewards novelty and confidence. The result is a dining scene that keeps testing what eating out can feel like.

From Fringe Streets to Food Magnet:

Shoreditch built its early reputation on independence. Small operators could take risks there because the area welcomed ideas that felt rougher, louder, and less formal than central London. That spirit helped food follow the same path.

Visitors still come for that sense of discovery, even when the streets feel more polished than before. For anyone focused on finding the best restaurants in Shoreditch, the district works best as a living dining scene. Menus change fast, rooms get refreshed, and a favourite spot can reinvent itself within months.

That pace matters. It keeps diners curious and pushes restaurants to show personality from the first glance. In Shoreditch, standing still rarely feels like an option.

The area also rewards places that feel distinct rather than polished in a generic way. Diners want a sense that a restaurant belongs to its street, even when prices and crowds have changed. That local texture keeps Shoreditch different from a standard dining strip.

When Atmosphere Became Part of Dinner:As competition grew, food alone stopped carrying the whole experience. A meal now had to look and sound right, and the room had to signal what kind of night lay ahead. This importance of setting is documented in studies of dining atmosphere. Design became a way to tell that story quickly.

The most memorable places often build atmosphere with simple choices rather than expensive tricks. A few details can change how long guests stay, what they order, and how they talk about the meal later. Open kitchens create movement and make cooking feel part of the room, not hidden work behind a wall. Lighting and flexible seating shape mood, helping a restaurant serve quick lunches, slower evenings, solo diners, and groups without losing character.

These choices also suit a district that changes by the hour. A space may need to handle coffee in the afternoon, dinner at seven, and a busy drinks crowd later on. Shoreditch helped normalise that kind of flexibility.

This focus on mood also changed how chefs and owners present ambition. Formal signs matter less than fit. When food, service, and setting match, the restaurant feels sharper and more memorable.

How Dinner Borrowed Nightlife Energy:

Music plays a similar role. In many parts of London, restaurants once kept sound low and the energy controlled. Shoreditch embraced a louder, more social model where dinner could feel like the start of a night out.

That approach changed expectations far beyond one postcode. Diners grew used to restaurants that offered more than a plate and a bill. People came to expect a stronger sense of place through playlists, lighting, or visible kitchen action. Menus often shared attention with mood, because guests remembered how a room felt as much as what they ate. The line between restaurant and nightlife venue felt softer, especially on busy weekends.

Not every London neighbourhood copies Shoreditch in the same way. However, many borrow its confidence, its casual polish, and its comfort with experimentation. The district showed that a restaurant can chase quality and personality at the same time.

That influence reaches beyond design. It also encourages diners to expect freshness, flexibility, and a stronger identity from ordinary neighbourhood restaurants. London feels more adventurous when its dining rooms act with that confidence.

The District That Keeps Moving

Shoreditch still changes quickly, which is part of its appeal. Some places disappear, others return in new forms, and fresh ideas keep arriving. That constant motion helps the area stay relevant even as trends shift.

Its biggest legacy may be the way it widened the meaning of eating out in London. Food remains central, yet mood, design, music, and timing now matter more than before. Shoreditch turned the restaurant into a fuller cultural experience, and the rest of the city noticed.

‘My aim is to make everyone equally unhappy’: Catherine Royle on Somerville, the Foreign Office, and the importance of pragmatism

Samuel Drew
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‘My aim is to make everyone equally unhappy’: Catherine Royle on Somerville, the Foreign Office, and the importance of pragmatism

Sitting at a table in a sunny Somerville office, I get out my phone and ask Catherine Royle: “Do you mind if I record the interview?” I receive a diplomat’s reply: “I suppose not, but it will make me say different things, you know that? I have a lifetime of never saying anything you don’t want to see in print.” From the outset, it’s clear that Somerville’s principal continues to be shaped by her unique diplomatic experience. A career spent in the Foreign Office and then NATO means that Royle has lived all over the world, from Chile to Venezuela to Afghanistan. “I worked it out; until I got here, since 1997 I’d really lived in Britain for three years”.

Royle is a Somerville alumna, having studied PPE there before completing an MSc at Aberystwyth. She speaks of applying to Oxford with a casualness common to many students, yet I’m surprised by her modest dismissal of the barriers that she overcame. Her sixth-form experience at a newly converted grammar-to-comprehensive school was, she admits, “a bit of a mess, to be honest”. Her initial application to Merton College was (unbeknownst to her) doomed to fail because of “a philosophy tutor who didn’t agree with the college going mixed. He never let any women in”.

It’s clear that her time at university after being “picked up” by the then all-women’s Somerville was formative. She describes the unique experience of being surrounded by “exceptional” women, especially Daphne Park, the principal of the College at the time. In those days, Park was known for her distinguished career in the Foreign Office, but it was only when Royle joined the service herself that she learnt what Park was really doing: she was a senior spy controller for MI6. It’s clear that Park, described as both “extraordinary” and “terrible”, was an inspiration for Royle, and it’s a surprise to her that their relationship didn’t end with attempted secret service recruitment. She recalls going to speak to Park to ask for permission to become the Somerville JCR president. “Daphne Park… said ‘If you do this, you won’t get a first’. And I said ‘Well, I’m not going to get a first anyway… may as well have something good on the CV’.”

We naturally turn from the inspiration of Park to Royle’s own Foreign Office career. I ask about the decision to go abroad. Whilst Catherine was certain, her family was not, with her mother seeing it as “her idea of hell”. It’s difficult not to feel overwhelmed as Royle rattles off the countless postings, locations, and responsibilities of her varied diplomatic career. Yet it’s her very first experience in Chile that she draws out as a highlight. It doesn’t sound idyllic: she was given the placement suddenly, “had to go and learn Spanish in eight weeks”, and the lack of communication services meant that “as far as my friends were concerned, I just dropped off the end of the world”. But the experience of living through a turbulent time in Chile shaped Royle’s life. “It was a very formative experience and a fascinating period. When I arrived, Chile was a dictatorship. When I left, it was a democracy”. I get a glimpse of the extraordinary life of the diplomat, where one becomes a spectator to rare, epochal moments.

Our interview takes place only a few weeks after one such moment: Israel and the USA’s attack on Iran, which started in spite of diplomatic talks. How does Royle see the role of a diplomat in an increasingly militarised world? She defends her field: “I think it’s an absolute disgrace that the Foreign Office is cut to the bone, always underfunded… If you start with wars as the continuation of politics by other means, then you do need to do something other than fight…You need people who are able to work through the disagreements between states, it is a skillset.”

The potential drawbacks of relying on military power take Royle back to Afghanistan, where she was deputy ambassador and managed co-operation with the Afghan police during the US-led military presence in the nation. “Part of the problem of where we went in Afghanistan was that the diplomatic bit of it was really undervalued. The military were pushing things and doing things, thinking ‘well, actually we’re the policy makers here’. But they didn’t know how to do it… in particular, the American military, they don’t really think about working in partnership because they don’t have to, except that, if they did, they’d do better.” Royle feels that diplomats get a bad reputation; in her view their role as pragmatic consensus builders is essential. “My aim is to make everyone equally unhappy. Because, if I could make everybody happy, well, we’d just do that.”

Royle explains how she’s brought this diplomatic approach to her current position as principal. I ask what prompted this pivot in her career back to the world of academia, especially since earlier she contrasted the fields, claiming that, as a diplomat, “you’re absolutely not a specialist, in some ways you’re the antithesis of an academic”. The story of her return to Somerville foregrounds Royle’s straightforward attitude. Already an honorary fellow of the College, she was asked if she might apply for the role of principal. “I thought about it, what an honour, obviously, and a wonderful community to rejoin. So why not? … People in NATO were saying to me: ‘Do they know what they’ve done?’ And I said, ‘well, they know me quite well. So, it’s their own fault’.”

I ask about the strange experience of returning to her previous place of study. “Walking back in, it was really weird… But the College in many ways is similar in its approach.” How was it adjusting to the role? “There’s a steep learning curve, but I can still do things that go back to my old days… funnily enough, lots of people want to talk about the state of the world at the moment. I can still scratch that itch.” Yet grappling with the complexities of the college and university relationship hasn’t been easy. “[Oxford] is reckoned to be the best university in the world. I sort of think that’s possibly in spite of its governance rather than because of its governance.” Royle talks about the opportunities and challenges of being the principal with enthusiasm rather than apprehension. “It’s really exciting to look at the next generation, to think about the next thing coming up”.

I’m curious as to how Royle’s practical approach, useful in constantly changing international situations, might fit into a slower-moving, millennia-old institution like Oxford. Yet she’s already pushing for progress where she feels there’s a need: “The government postgraduate grants for humanities and the social sciences for Oxford have been cut 93% this year. They’re offering four for the entire University… We have had a conversation about setting up a new fund to support graduates and early career academics, because they’re under such pressure.”

To wrap up our conversation, I ask Royle what she’s proudest of in her varied life. She gives two values that she’s stuck to, neither of which surprises me. “I’m really proud of the fact that I have tried to stand up for what’s right and not for what’s easy.” Coupled with that is her desire to be a problem-solver. “I don’t tend to be somebody who comes with a problem; I tend to have a possible solution. And I think that’s so much harder.”

Throughout our discussion, it becomes clear that Royle’s approach towards her role is both pragmatic and principled; a respect for tradition combined with an excitement for the future. She unwittingly sums up her attitude best in an offhand comment: “We need to keep the important values… and value the history, but not get stuck in it. That’s always Oxford’s challenge, to keep moving forward.”

How Students Can Protect Their Laptops from Online Threats

External Contributor
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In today’s student life, a laptop is not just a device for studying, but the hub of academic, social, and even financial activity. Students use it to complete assignments and communicate with professors. They also store important documents and personal data on their laptops. At the same time, it is this versatility that makes students’ laptops a highly attractive target for cybercriminals. Online threats are constantly evolving. Even basic carelessness can lead to loss of access to accounts and data loss. That is why understanding the basics of online safety for students is becoming an essential skill. Protecting a laptop is not a complex technical task. It is a systematic approach. It combines the right tools with mindful online behaviour.

How to Build A Strong Digital Defence System

A robust digital defence starts with basic measures that are critically important. Many students underestimate their importance. They rely on luck. Yet it is these simple steps that prevent most online threats. The first thing to look for is high-quality antivirus software. Modern antivirus solutions not only detect malware. They also analyse file behaviour and block suspicious websites. They also warn users about risks. From this perspective, it’s important to understand that even macOS users aren’t immune to attacks. However, in the materials on Moonlock, you can find detailed explanations of how certain things are often part of social engineering or adware attacks. If you’re looking for an excellent antivirus for Mac and want to better understand threat scenarios, check out the practical explanations on this professional resource. Thus, you’ll develop more critical thinking and improve your overall cybersecurity knowledge.

Regular software updates

Among the most common reasons for successful attacks is outdated software. Developers constantly release software updates. These updates patch identified vulnerabilities. When you ignore them, your laptop will become an easy target. Automatically updating your operating system, browser, and applications reduces the risk of infection in a significant way. This is a simple but extremely effective step to ensure online safety for students.

In addition to updates, configure the system itself correctly.

  1. Use strong passwords. Don’t forget about two-factor authentication.
  2. Restrict access to files.
  3. Disable automatic connection to unknown networks.
  4. Monitor app permissions: Many apps request access to the camera or microphone without a real need. This can create additional risks.

Practice Smart Online Behaviour

Even the best antivirus software won’t help if the user opens the door to threats themselves. That’s why the second line of defence is mindful online behaviour.

Phishing

Phishing is still one of the most effective tools in a cybercriminal’s arsenal. Students may receive emails that look like messages from the university, a popular service, or a bank.

Phishing signs include:

  • Grammatical or spelling errors,
  • Suspicious links,
  • Urgent requests for action, e.g., “confirm your details immediately.”

Phishing protection starts with critical thinking:

  • Always check the sender’s address,
  • Do not click on links if you have any doubts

Safe surfing on the Internet

Browsing is one of the main activities for students. But this is where many risks lie.

With browser extensions you may block malicious websites. But they should also only be installed from official stores. This is an important part of student cybersecurity tips that is often overlooked.

Public Wi-Fi

Public networks in cafes, libraries, and on campuses are very convenient, but also dangerous. Attackers can easily set up fake access points and intercept data.

To reduce risks:

  • Do not enter passwords on unsecured networks.
  • Use a VPN whenever possible.
  • Turn off automatic Wi-Fi connection.

These simple steps significantly improve online safety for students in everyday life.

Developing Long-Term Security Habits

Protecting your laptop isn’t a one-time task. It’s an ongoing process. Develop habits that eventually become second nature.

Cybersecurity is constantly evolving. That’s why you should stay up to date on new threats. Read specialised resources. Cybersecurity blogs and similar resources help you better understand online threats and respond to them. This is especially relevant for students who actively use digital technologies every day.

Even when following all the rules, there is always a risk of data loss. Backups allow you to quickly restore data after an attack or technical failure. Cloud services and external storage devices are reliable options for saving important files.

Conclusion

Protecting your laptop from online threats is a combination of technology and behaviour. Establish a baseline level of security. To do this, use antivirus software, perform regular software updates, and ensure your settings are correct. At the same time, attention to detail, phishing protection, and caution when using the internet form an equally important line of defence. For students, this means not only avoiding risks but also safeguarding their academic reputation. It also means protecting personal data and financial security. Develop these skills today to foster a responsible attitude toward the digital world for the future.

What Does a Yoga Ball Do for Pregnancy? Labour, Posture & Pain Relief Explained

External Contributor
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What Does a Yoga Ball Do for Pregnancy? Labour, Posture & Pain Relief Explained

One of the common questions that pregnant mothers, who are seeking natural solutions to maintain their comfort, activity, and readiness to give birth, ask is what a yoga ball does for pregnancy. It is a simple but useful tool, often referred to as a birth ball, that can help reduce back and hip pain, improve posture, reduce pelvic pressure, and help the baby to be positioned optimally. You will have a slightly active core as you sit and move on a yoga ball, which will keep you in balance and circulate your body with adaptation. A yoga ball is low-impact and safe to support you through back pain, or you can prepare to give birth in any trimester, which makes pregnancy more comfortable, and the labour process may be easier.

What Does a Yoga Ball Do for Pregnancy?

A yoga ball, also known as a birth ball, has been among the most prescribed natural aids in helping have a healthy and comfortable pregnancy and smooth labour. Designed with simplicity and effectually, this inflatable ball is known to relieve common pregnancy symptoms, improve both posture and balance, encourage an adequate position of babies, and train the body to give birth.

Most mothers are opting to use supportive products such as the Momcozy pregnancy ball that is marketed as specifically designed to be used during pregnancy by its 65 cm ergonomic size, safety measures including anti-burst, as well as its soft and anti-slip material that suggests a stable and safe support of the prenatal movement, labour preparation and postpartum recovery. Regardless of whether you are in your first trimester or you are almost at your due date, you can consider using a yoga ball as they are soft, efficient and supportive to your changing body and keep you active and comfortable.

Benefits of Using a Yoga Ball During Pregnancy

  1. Relieves Back, Hip, and Pelvic Pain: As your belly grows, your centre of gravity shifts forward, putting extra pressure on your lower back and pelvis. Sitting on a yoga ball inherently stimulates correct spinal position and engages stabilising muscles. This alleviates pressure in the lower back, hips and tailbone areas in which discomforts during pregnancy usually arise.
  2. Improves Posture and Balance: Poor posture may aggravate pain, fatigue and muscle strain during pregnancy. A yoga ball will help to train your body to sit straight with your shoulders loose and your belly button straight. This will enhance balance and posture awareness over time that will make you move more comfortably during the day.
  3. Encourages Optimal Baby Positioning: Gentle motions such as hip circles, bouncing and tilts on the pelvis help your baby to take a position which is favourable to labor and delivery, that is, the anterior position (head-down). Improved baby positioning can result in an easier labour process.
  4. Keeps You Gently Active: A yoga ball is significant in low-impact movement when you are pregnant because it can ensure that you remain on the move without putting too much strain on your joints. It promotes circulation, decreases swelling, and helps avoid stiffness- particularly in moms who sit or stand a lot.
  5. Prepares the Pelvis for Birth: The effect of sitting on a ball makes the pelvic floor flexible, making your body prepped to labour. This can help to have some more efficient contractions and a reduced pushing phase.

How a Yoga Ball Improves Pregnancy Comfort

The discomfort in pregnancy is usually caused by the pressure, muscle disproportion, and mobility limitations.

When sitting on a ball rather than a chair, the pelvis is tilted slightly forward. When you sit on a ball instead of a chair and take a little less weight off the tailbone, you sit in a better position and improve the position of the column of the spine. When blood circulates, tight muscles are relaxed and perform soft rocking movements that eliminate pelvic pains, sciatica and stiffness.

Spending time in front of a TV, sitting in an office, and lying between the activities with the assistance of a yoga ball could really help to leave the working day without the feeling of soreness. Light bouncing on the ball is also a popular method of relaxing restless legs and a heavy pelvis, especially during the third trimester, for moms.

Its relaxing movement can even help in relaxing the nervous system, tension and stress, and sleep better.

Yoga Ball Exercises to Support Pregnancy Health

The following are safe and easy yoga ball workouts that can be performed during pregnancy, provided your medical practitioner approves them:

  1. Pelvic Tilts: Sit upright on the ball, with feet on the floor. Tuck your tailbone in and out against your pelvis by gently tilting forward and back. This relieves the back and increases the flexibility of the pelvis.
  2. Hip Circles: Rotate your hips slowly in big circles on the ball after several rotations, and then change the direction. This enhances blood flow and decreases the stiffness of the hips.
  3. Gentle Bouncing: Light bouncing assists in relaxing the pelvic floor and relieving pelvic pressure, as well as the posture of the baby. It also enhances blood circulation, and swelling is minimised.
  4. Cat-Cow Stretch: Get on the floor and put your hands on the ball. Bend the back (cow) and round it (cat). This is a stretch of the spine, lessens tension in the back and aids in flexibility.
  5. Supported Squats: Keep the ball in between the lower back and a wall. Bend slowly on your knees and get back. This makes the legs stronger and prepares the body for labour postures by opening the pelvis.

Using a Yoga Ball for Labour Preparation

The yoga ball is an effective labour-prep tool as your due date approaches.

  1. Encourages Cervical Engagement: When sitting upright on the ball, your baby has his head assisted to move in the pelvis by gravity, which can help in cervical dilation.
  2. Reduces Labour Discomfort: When women are engaged in early labor, they realise that sitting, rocking, and bending over the ball decreases the intensity and pressure of contraction in the lower back.
  3. Supports Active Labour Positions: Forward bends, kneeling, and squatting are also practiced on a yoga ball, as these positions are known to make them more comfortable and aid in the progression of labour.
  4. Helps with Breathing and Relaxation: Light rocking movements and deep breathing lead to relaxation of the nervous system and contribute to more effective contraction patterns.
  5. May Shorten Labour: The use of yoga balls on a regular basis can also lead to a shorter period of labour and enhance the efficiency of pushing, as it promotes more effective positioning, relaxation, and opening of the pelvis.

Conclusion

One of the most effective and simple tools that can help to support the pregnancy in terms of comfort, mobility, and labour preparation is a yoga ball. It can alleviate daily pains and tension, enhance posture and position the baby in the most preferred manner or even prepare your pelvis to deliver a child; its values are felt throughout the trimester and even during labour. Non-violent, painless, and convenient in the home, a yoga ball gives moms the power to be active, relaxed and at ease as their bodies prepare to take their next biggest step in life, welcoming the baby to the world.

‘There’s a difference between impartiality and neutrality’: Lewis Goodall on politics, podcasting, and the prime minister

Stanley Smith
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‘There’s a difference between impartiality and neutrality’: Lewis Goodall on politics, podcasting, and the prime minister

Lewis Goodall is a very busy man. Between co-hosting the hit daily podcast The News Agents, starring in LBC’s flagship Sunday radioshow, and winning awards for exposing government cover-ups, the journalist and broadcaster has very little spare time. So I’m grateful when he squeezes in a half hour Zoom call with me in the middle of his work day. He may be on a break but he remains professional; his demeanour as we make small talk before the interview is the same as when he presents a podcast to millions of listeners. Energetic and conversational, you get the sense that he is always firing on all cylinders.

Goodall, aged just 36, has already had a distinguished career, being at the centre of what is often described as the ‘podcast revolution’ in British media. In 2022, Goodall left a prestigious job as policy editor of the BBC’s Newsnight in order to start The News Agents with veteran journalists Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel, a decision he says was regarded by many at the time as “a little fringe, a little eccentric”.

Nearly four years later, you can tell that he is happy with the gamble he made. In his view, not only have podcasts become “utterly central” to the way in which we consume news, but individual hosts “have become enormously influential, way more than a lot of legacy shows”. When you compare the dwindling viewership of Newsnight to the success of The News Agents, which boasts four million monthly listeners, it’s hard not to agree. Nonetheless, Goodall hasn’t entirely thrown his lot in with the ‘new media’ format. Regularly working with Sky and Channel 4, he keeps one foot firmly planted in the more traditional media world, giving him a unique vantage point from which to assess the shifting sands of British journalism.

Goodall, however, doesn’t view his career in terms of clear distinctions. “All these barriers between media are dissolving, integrating, coming to nothing”, he tells me. He points to the fact that podcasts are increasingly mimicking traditional news shows, with hosts shelling out enormous amounts to pay for cameras and professional studios. “Apple and Spotify, in the last three months, are moving to basically video-first platforms for podcasts”, he points out. “You’re watching TV news, it’s just taking a different form.”

To him, the key developments in the industry are less to do with the format, and more to do with the constant demand for news that social media has created. Instead of producing work for regularly scheduled deadlines, journalists now have to be constantly on it, ready with a special report or ‘emergency podcast’ whenever news breaks. “You are everything, everywhere, all at once”, he says. “That’s what modern media shows have to be. It means you have to have a visual offering, an audio offering, a social media offering in each and every direction, because it’s an utter competition for eyeballs in the attention economy in which we live. 

“It’s exhausting, and it’s frustrating, and it’s relentless sometimes. But it’s also very exciting because we’re at a genuine moment of evolution in a media landscape which doesn’t come along very often.”

Goodall’s ability to be at ease with this rapid change is likely the product of having lived a life defined by seismic political and economic transformations. Goodall was raised by young parents on an estate in southwest Birmingham, experiencing a childhood shaped by de-industrialisation and the constant threatened closure of the Rover factory which employed his father. He was 7 when the Blair government came to power, ending 18 years of Tory dominance in British politics. For Goodall, this altered the direction of his life. Encouraged by Labour’s programme to increase the number of first-generation university students, he secured a place at Oxford University, studying History and Politics at St John’s College.

It’s clear that Goodall largely enjoyed his time at Oxford. “Look, as anyone who’s been there knows, it’s a deeply unusual place and a deeply unusual university experience”, he says. “There aren’t many times in your life where your job is to think about Thomas Hobbes, right? That’s a kind of really unique moment, which I realised about 18 months in, I think I enjoyed it a lot more when I did that.” 

As was inevitable for a student from a working class background in the 2000s, Goodall encountered the prejudices of his more privileged peers. He recalls an instance where a “very charming guy” turned to him and declared “Oh Lewis, I love having you about. You’re the college’s bit of rough”. Goodall is remarkably relaxed about these run-ins, laughing the whole thing off: “That was the only time in my life, before or since, that I’ve ever been described as a bit of rough.”

If anything, Goodall’s background was a source of pride for him, rather than alienation. “I think what it gives you is just a license to be confident”, he reflects. “You’re gonna come across, both there and afterwards, some absolute chancers who, quite frankly, were it not for the circumstances of their birth, would probably not be where they were or are today.

“Sometimes they will realise where you’re from and try and intimidate you. I think, what Oxford does, it just gives you that iron clad confidence to be like: ‘No, I’m not going to be intimidated by you because I might not be where you’re from, but I’ve gotten where you’ve got to, at least on equal terms, if not actually with one hand behind my back’.”

After graduating in 2010, Goodall worked as a question writer for University Challenge, and then at the Institute for Public Policy Research, before landing a job at the BBC in 2012. He once again found himself at the centre of tumultuous change, as the BBC sought to get to grips with a news ecosystem being redefined by social media. “I remember when I started working in news because I was 24 and the editor was like: ‘So, I’ve done this thing called Facebook Live right? We thought maybe you could, like, be in charge of that.’”

So how exactly did these changes affect day to day reporting? “Without getting too History and Politics at Oxford about it, it’s just structure and agency”, he says. Social media, he recalls, enabled young reporters to build their own brand independent of their employers. “If I’d been a journalist 20 years before, and I wanted to do my story… I’d go through the processes. I’d pitch to my editor and then eventually the piece would appear on Newsnight. But of course, I was then coming through at a time where you were initially encouraged… to go directly to the viewers. So, by definition, you end up being more of a player and you yourself become part of discourse rather than the organisation you’re working for, who previously controlled all of that.” 

After a while, he explains, the BBC sought to rein this in. Before long, Goodall found himself being called to meetings with higher-ups to discuss his social media presence. He tells a story of one instance in which he posted a run down about an election that had taken place in Norway and had to explain why he did so to his bosses. “I wasn’t being quizzed about the rights and wrongs of it, I doubt the BBC executive could even identify Norway on a map. It was more like, ‘why are you talking about that?’”

This is an issue which, to Goodall’s mind, the BBC still has not resolved. “Places like the BBC, they want to put the brand first, always. But people, intrinsically, for good or ill, when they’re going online now, look to individuals they identify with, and they like, and they respect. And the BBC, I think, in particular, has never been able to reconcile or find an accommodation between having those tall poppies, and letting them sit comfortably within the brand itself… My argument was always that organisations need to be able to harness that energy and harness that phenomenon, whether they like it or not.”

To Goodall, the BBC’s inability to get to grips with social media is an existential problem; one that reveals flaws in its model of impartiality. “I think these organisations have not thought enough about how to shift and change their journalism in this age in which everybody can have an opinion, in which everybody can complain to you absolutely instantly.” With the BBC, he says, “it became a question of ‘we need to manage perception’”, in which accusations of bias against reporters made on social media were automatically taken as valid, rather than investigated to see if they had any substance.

“There’s a difference between impartiality and neutrality. Anybody who is genuinely neutral is a block, you know, you’re brain dead. It would be bizarre if you went into journalism, particularly political journalism, to have no views, and no judgements about the political world around you. That makes you a worse journalist, a way worse journalist.” 

As he speaks, Goodall becomes more and more animated, leaning into his laptop camera with his arms outstretched in front of him. It’s no wonder that his feelings are so strong on this matter, given the number of times he’s been at the centre of impartiality rows himself. Some of these were easily dismissed – he laughingly recalls when, while working at Sky News between 2016-2020, he was accused on social media of bias because he had served as a Youth Officer for the local Birmingham Labour Party when he was 15. 

Others, however, were far more threatening to his career. In 2020, BBC board member and former conservative party communications chief Robbie Gibb publicly suggested that Goodall had a left-wing bias. Goodall clapped back, tweeting “thanks for this Robbie. Maybe one day, if I’m as impartial as you, I can get a knighthood too”. Goodall later stated that the failure of his editors to stand up for him, instead allegedly warning him to “be careful: Robbie is watching you”, motivated him to leave the BBC in 2022. 

Our discussion comes only a few months after another impartiality controversy at the BBC, in which the BBC’s director general and as its head of news resigned after a memo by a former external advisor accusing the organisation of a left-wing bias was published in the press. I ask Goodall what he made of this episode, particularly in the light of his own experience at the organisation. To him, the BBC allows “impartiality to be a stick that is used to beat them, and they allow that because they basically subscribe to what I would describe as a completely hollow view of impartiality”.

He says that, during his time at the BBC, there was an obsession with the criticism coming from the right that “they were a bunch of liberal metropolitan elites or whatever. That was the bias of which they were most aware, and they were constantly guarding against. I can’t remember anybody being terribly worked up if we were being biased about the Green Party, or the Communist Party, or the Socialists, or whatever it happens to be”. 

Goodall believes that the BBC continues to be far too deferential to criticisms levied at it in bad faith. “It got inside their heads far too successfully. They didn’t have a genuine theory of impartiality. Their theory of impartiality was defined by their worst enemies and continues to be. And guess what? They get no credit for that, none. Because their worst enemies continue to be their worst enemies. All day long.”

One gets the sense that Goodall could talk about this topic for hours, but with my allotted time fast running out, I steer the conversation towards another British institution which seems unable to adapt to a changing media landscape: the government. How well does he think the Labour Party has spread its message in the age of podcasts, reels, and social media? “I don’t think Labour have been very good at it partly because they’ve been worried about pissing off the newspapers too much”, he says. “I think it’s ridiculous, by the way, the power of the lobby and some of the established newspapers continues to be very strong, despite the fact that their readership has never been less.”

“For Labour, this current media environment actually should be a real opportunity for them”, he says. “Because one of Labour’s big structural problems historically has obviously been the dominance of the right wing press in British political media.” This, he argues, left them with two options: either reject it (à la Corbyn) or pander to it as Blair did, both of which have proved problematic in the past. “Now they’ve got a third option, which is that they can help create a new news ecosystem which is, if not more intrinsically favourable to them, at least less hostile to them… I have been surprised by how little those at the top of the Labour party, over the last couple of years, have been interested in developing that new media space to their benefit.”

This brings us to the topic of Goodall’s latest project; a Channel 4 documentary exploring why Keir Starmer’s government, less than two years after a historic landslide, is so unpopular. So, what exactly is it that interests Goodall so much about Starmer, a man that many describe as profoundly uninteresting? “I think there’s a sort of personal paradox… This is a man who’s reached the apex of our politics, who is clearly driven by a deep sense of personal ambition. And yet, he’s also a man who, in so many ways, I know this from personal conversations with him, loathes politics, abhors politics, is, in some ways, very anti-political.”

He points to the fact that even Morgan McSweeney, the former Downing Street Chief of Staff, supposedly could never reliably predict what Starmer’s thoughts on an issue would be, as a result of the prime minister’s lack of instinctual political beliefs. “That fascinates me. You have a man willing to make profound personal and familial sacrifices, because being Prime Minister is basically horrible, for all the glory of it, it’s basically vile, like day to day. So what sustains it? He’s a deeply unusual political figure, sphinx-like in that way.”

It is certainly an interesting time for this documentary to come out. Many had assumed, in the absence of Starmer’s own political beliefs, that McSweeney was setting much of the policy direction of the government. But with Starmer’s right hand man booted out of No. 10 earlier this year, no-one is quite sure who is now setting the agenda. “There’s a horrible cliche in politics”, Goodall says, “which like most cliches in modern politics, basically comes from West Wing: ‘Now you can let Starmer be Starmer’. 

“But that’s the question, is there a Starmer to be Starmer? Without getting too Shakespearean about it, is there an authentic, real Starmer? I think it remains to be seen, the extent to which he’s just going to be moulded again, or whether he’ll try and finally do the moulding.”

It’s hard to know how all the ongoing transformations that we have discussed will play out. Will the government take a new direction? How will the media landscape continue to evolve? Will broadcasters like the BBC adapt, or end up on the scrap heap? One thing, however, is clear: Lewis Goodall is no stranger to rapid change and, as ever, he plans to make the most of it.

‘Keir Starmer: where did it all go wrong?’ is available to watch now on Channel 4.

New face-to-face centre for homelessness services to open on George Street

Ned Remington
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New face-to-face centre for homelessness services to open on George Street

Oxford City Council have announced plans for a new face-to-face centre on George Street to tackle homelessness. 

In a press release, the council said the new site would “strengthen the focus on homelessness prevention” and “enhance support for residents, particularly those experiencing homelessness, while delivering projected savings of £150,000 a year”. 

Currently, most homelessness assessments are conducted over the phone, but the new centre will aim to provide more in-person services. Face-to-face homelessness services will be scaled from two days a week to five days a week to “enable more tailored support” and “better identification of health and wellbeing needs.” 

The centre will relocate homelessness services from Westgate Library to “improve service accessibility.” In a press release, Cllr Nigel Chapman, Cabinet Member for Citizen Focused Services and Council Companies at Oxford City Council, described the development as “real value for money” and “a positive step forward for both residents and staff”. 

Data from the UK Government’s latest ‘snapshot’ survey of homelessness in UK local authorities, taken in Autumn 2025, shows a 30% drop in those thought to be rough sleeping on the surveyed night in Oxford, from 46 in 2023 to 32 in 2025. The fall comes after a 140% increase in rough sleeping in Oxford recorded by snapshot surveys from 2020 to 2023. 

Cllr Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, told Cherwell: “The number of individuals rough sleeping in the city has remained stable for the last few years and is credit to continued good partnerships.” Snapshot surveys record “only those seen, or thought to be, sleeping rough on a single ‘typical’ night”, and do not incorporate local authority data for those in temporary or insecure accommodation. 

In their 2023-2028 Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, Oxford City Council pledged to develop “services and partnerships that are focused on preventing people losing their homes, [that] rapidly rehouse who become homeless, and end the need to sleep rough”. The council has also launched a public consultation on an updated countywide Oxfordshire homelessness and rough sleeping strategy for 2026-2028. 

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