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Institute accused of ‘eugenics on steroids’ shut down by Oxford University

The Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) at Oxford University was shut down on April 16 after 19 years of research and operation. Research carried out by FHI included developing controversial ethical theories such as effective altruism and ‘longtermism’.  Professor Nick Bostrom, founder of FHI, traced its closure to “administrative headwinds” from the University and, in particular the Faculty of Philosophy, outlining a “pressure to conform”. A former Senior Research Fellow at the Institute, Anders Sanberg, similarly maintained that FHI was “affected by a gradual suffocation...

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Features

Flights to Rwanda? Navigating political, economic, and moral turbulence 

“Batshit crazy”, was how one cabinet minister (James Cleverly) described the Rwanda policy.  In his former role as chancellor, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was characteristically more reserved, saying “it won’t work”.  Human rights organisations...

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...

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,...

“Diesmal schweigen wir nicht!” (“We won’t be silent this time”)

Germany’s right-wing factions push forward In another spectacular repeat of European history, a group of right-wing politicians met with an Austrian neo-Nazi last November in a small German town called Potsdam, known for being the seat of residence of Prussian kings and the German Emperor until 1918 The meeting ignited...
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Oliver Twist, a Sceptical 9th Grader, and an Orthodox Monastery: The Making of a New Generation in Northern Kosovo

Eager hands reach toward the ceiling as children at the Ismail Qemali school in Mitrovica, northern Kosovo, desperately try to attract the attention of an author who has come to talk to the pupils about her new book. They want to know more about the central character - a...

Tristram Hunt: the Politics of Repatriation

If you came here for a vicious takedown or a strident defence of Tristram Hunt’s position on “colonialism and collecting”, you might be slightly disappointed. Now, it’s clear that  the important conversation over decolonisation has continued to ring out across this university’s faculty and student body – reverberating strongly...

Profiles

‘Theatre is, at it’s best, one of the most democratic of the arts’

I had the chance to sit down with Gregory Doran, Oxford University’s Cameron Mackintosh visiting professor and the former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, to talk all things Shakespeare, contemporary theatre and the importance of accessibility in the Arts. Greg Doran is Oxford University’s Cameron Mackintosh visiting professor...

An interview with Federico Enciso, Paraguay’s First Openly Gay Politician 

I am not going to lie. I myself was pretty much oblivious to Paraguay’s existence before being introduced to the documentary, 108: Cuchillo de Palo. Set during Stroessner’s dictatorship, it goes in search of the truth surrounding the director’s uncle, a gay ballet dancer who was found dead in...

Culture

Freida Toranzo Jaeger’s Prophetic Glitter

Freida Toranzo Jaeger names her paintings like items in a manifesto: Extinction is the price we pay for our existence (2023), Open your heart because everything will change (2023), For new futures we need new beginnings (2022), Create to Destroy, Destroy to Create / On Taste and Poetry. Fuego...

Film around the world: Italy’s Suspiria

The first time I heard about Suspiria, I was nine and my babysitter was telling me I couldn’t watch it, shouldn’t even - that it was the most terrifying film she’d ever seen. Years later, when I finally watched it, I was surprised to find myself describing it to...

Life

Byte-sized buzz: The craze for short-form media 

It feels essential to state that ‘short-form’ media, in its clips and images, is inevitably never a short-term experience. We’ve all opened our phones searching for some momentary respite, only to look up after what feels like seconds to see the hours have flown by, a deadline has been...

Sushi Bowl: A sensational start

There is a new sushi restaurant in town! More than just another Wasabi and Itsu, Sushi Bowl in the Covered Market is a well-located new spot for a roll or poke bowl on the go. On the corner of the Covered Market, next to the fruit stand and Sartorelli’s,...