Friday 13th February 2026

Culture

Will 2026 finally kill the clean girl?

The clean girl has become ubiquitous throughout celebrity culture, magazines, and social media in recent years. Her brand prescribes a lifestyle, a kind of idealised minimalism.

Nostalgic and sincere: ‘The Glass Menagerie’ in review

Crazy Child Productions staged a genuine and thoughtful adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ classic.

Irreverent, laugh-out-loud funny: ‘My Dead Mum’s AI Boyfriend’

Aled is a chatbot, but also, more concerningly, Carrie’s mum’s AI boyfriend.

A twisted tour-de-force: ‘Bugonia’ in review

Bugonia is a triumph for director Yorgos Lanthimos and his collaborators. He has produced a cynical but rewarding reflection on the human condition.

French Pop Music Today

Rachel Coombes sorts the wheat from the Piaf

Reviews: Buried

Matt and Ben broadly agree that this is one of the tensest films of the year.

Review: Made in Dagenham

A review of one of the most highly anticipated British films of the decade

Review: Tamara Drewe

A talented cast and stylish visuals more than make up for this comedy's thin plot.

Review: The Town

Ben Affleck manages to resuscitate his career with this thrilling action flick.

Review: Catching A Tiger

Sam Pilgrim reviews the latest "indie-folk-rock-soulful-heartfelt" release by Lissie

The Brain Behind the Penis

A review of Dr. Louann Brizendine’s new book, The Male Brain

I Scream

Owain Jevons traces the various musical uses of mankind's most primal sound

The Mummification of Classical Music

Has the Classical music world stopped composing and started decomposing?

Interview: Mark Norfolk

Film director Mark Norfolk talks about his life and lessons in independent filmmaking.

Reviewed: Bombay Bicycle Club

'Flaws' is a step up from its predecessor, to say the least

Headfoes: can you trust your own earpieces?

Sam Pilgrim bears good news for the otology business

Whoa! Lad at WOMAD

Joseph King cuts through the jungle of generic music festivals to find something rawer

The best of all the year’s festivals?

Alex Dudok de Wit chews, digests and regurgitates his Bestival experience

Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Glossy effects can't hide this clunky film's glaring flaws.

Review: Reading Festival

The Libertines, Arcade Fire, Foals all reviewed

‘Imperial Bedrooms’ by Bret Easton Ellis

Growing pains for the Brat Pack star as he returns to the cast of his first novel

Enter the Dragonette?

Cherwell invites synth-pop’s perennial underachievers to apply for Oxford

Film isn’t dead

Will Self argues that film is dead, and Ben Kirby couldn't disagree more.

Review: The Secret in Their Eyes

This powerfully moving and thoroughly absorbing film is one of the year's best.

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