Sunday 14th September 2025

Culture

Animal History: Reviewed

If an older adult has ever raised their eyebrow at your vegetarianism, then I might just have the book for you. They might be interested in knowing that even...

Hertford Archaeology Open Day: Medieval Oxford laid bare

You may have spent the last year wondering what has been going on amongst...

The Blue Trail: Reviewed

★★★★☆ The Blue Trail (O Último Azul), this year’s winner of the Berlin International Film...

Review: Sketches from a Curious Mind

In 1962, Edward Anthony wrote: “Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a...

In Conversation with Katie Melua

Where do we come from? I mean, where does it all come from, all this? – the books that we read or skim; the...

The Hegelian Dialectic of James Gunn’s Peacemaker

What links the superhero show Peacemaker with the work of 19th-century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel?

The Meaning Of Motherhood: Spencer and Parallel Mothers

Life, death, and birth are all present in Pablo Larraín’s Spencer and Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers. Both films address, in different ways, what the meaning of motherhood is.

Rubbish representation in schools, syllabuses and beyond

But it’s not good enough to leave it to often privileged tutors, canon-compilers and Education Secretaries to dictate which texts we study. Time and time again, they have failed to achieve even the remotest degree of representation, a damning outcome in a subject which is so linked to identity and the self. The texts we study at school and beyond should be chosen and shaped by the diverse populations reading them.

‘A wildly enjoyable ride’ – Review: The Importance of Being Nihilists

"We’re left with a simple truth: not everything has a deeper answer, and perhaps we shouldn’t be looking for one."

The fairest of them all? Hollywood’s problem with visually represented villainy

We know that we ought to validate and cherish visible difference. Why is cinema struggling so much to catch on?

From Emperors to Crystal Skulls: The highs and lows of the sequel

It’s no wonder that sequels have a, let’s say, less than stellar reputation when films like Grown Ups 2 exist.

‘Stirred to breathless heights’:  Wolf Alice Concert Review 

"This was the second of three successive sold-out nights for the four-piece at the London venue, and it proved one for us and the remaining five thousand people in attendance to remember."

The revival of the print book

I think there’s just something special about holding a book in your hands, something unique and timeless that isn’t replicated in a e-book.

Remembering SOPHIE

"SOHPIE’s tragically early passing froze music in time. What stands, crowned by Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides, is an impressive but truncated body of work. While we lament SOPHIE’s untimely death, we can also enjoy the music and celebrate the legacy left behind. SOPHIE continues to inspire – both as a person and as a musician – and stands as someone we all can look up to."

It’s Complicated: The Status of the Romantic Comedy

Dorothy Scarborough delves into the tangled history and complicated present of the beloved genre.

‘The modern cult of the Girl Boss’ – Review: She Felt Fear

"Surrounded by the pressure to be beautiful, to craft a beautiful life, and to appreciate beauty, is it any wonder that Kathy goes a bit crazy? She Felt Fear is a portrait of hysteria in the twenty-first century."

Behind the scenes: fashion and photography in Oxford

"A group as sartorially orientated as one named ‘The Oxford Fashion Society’ inevitably attracts those who care about what they wear. Fastidiously dressed, upright, serious-faced characters come in and sit down quickly. Tote bags are removed from shoulders. Sauntering in alongside, generally attired with less panache, are members of the photography society."

Eternals: A Structurally Misunderstood Masterpiece

Marvel’s Eternals, the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was released to somewhat middling critical reception, despite largely positive audience scores. I think it’s a brilliant film, despite the considerable body of opinion that stands in vehement disagreement.

Hope Street: A Tale of Two Cathedrals

Nestled either end of Hope Street lie two of Britain’s great places of worship. These are the (Anglican) Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool,...

‘They might just murder each other first’: A Review of Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter

"Disgusting basement? Check. No gas for the kettle? Check. Cryptic instructions from a mysteriously absent boss? Double check. The lack of workplace protection laws is appalling."

‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You’, Big Thief Album Review

In the midst of the pandemic, Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief’s lead singer) ventured into the wilderness, fresh from heartbreak, and released two new solo...

‘It leaves you in awe’, Ants From Up There – Black Country, New Road Album Review

Ants From Up There is the sophomore album from acclaimed experimental rock outfit Black Country, New Road – equal parts anthemic and introspective, the...

Eurofashion! How rock music can learn from Måneskin’s style

Since making history with their win in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, the popularity of Italian rock band Måneskin has skyrocketed. Not only is...

In Defence of the Rom-Com

Over the first lockdown, my family developed hobbies...Mine was slightly more fun: I fell into a rom-com hole.

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