Thursday 30th April 2026

Opinion

We need to talk about Oxford’s gossip problem 

Gossiping is an innately human pastime, existing long before our generation, and a beloved form of social interaction that teeters on the boundary between harmless fun and cruelty. Yes,...

When I met Peter Mandelson

In October 2024, during the Oxford Chancellor election, one of my responsibilities as Deputy Editor of Profiles at Cherwell was to interview Peter (then Lord) Mandelson, who was among the five frontrunners contesting the election.

There really is no smoke without fire

Preoccupation with one’s appearance is to be expected when starting at University. New wardrobes...

I was wrong. Oxford needs a ‘reading’ week.

In passing, friends often bemoan how their partners at other universities get a week...

Where do the IMF’s new forecasts leave us?

"When compared with Europe and America, the UK’s historic ‘greatness’ seems to be faltering."

A Very French Protest

The beginning of a cure must be the restoration of those democratic habits and practices that had served us well

A Laughing Matter?

I don’t think Andrew Tate is a joke; I think he is a threatening reminder that crime can go unanswered when using the defence of comedy.

Sunak, Braverman, Progress, Regress, Coconuts, and Gaslighting

Braverman and Sunak, for all their faults, aren’t stupid. Their rhetoric is a move in the ever escalating culture war that pervades Western politics.

25 years after the Good Friday Agreement, is it still working?

"On Easter Monday, the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) turned 25 years old- but there is bitter irony in the celebrations"

£2 cocktails and a side of guilt

"Getting excited about £2 cocktails and feeling the tangible benefits from foreign spending power came with layers of guilt as we watched many of our Argentine friends and acquaintances live the full consequences of the country’s financial struggles."

Do we want public figures to be like us?

This dynamic is, I would suggest, characteristic of our basic human lack of self-reflection and our instinctive willingness to accept double standards for ourselves and public figures respectively.

Solidarity: What we can Learn from Strikes in Hilary

"A student-staff alliance would go a long way to defending against the common, invisible enemy of inflation"

Our planet is in crisis; can we save it?

"We are at a crossroads for humanity."

New asylum laws aren’t just impractical and illegal: they are abhorrent

'The reality is that this, like many of this government's policies, is pure showmanship.'

Dahl in the Dock; or, the publishing industry and its consequences 

"Modern editors aim to unanchor texts from their historical moorage."

Phones have taken over. Can we switch off?

"Social media is using the population as free labour, collecting our data after we produce it for free."

Oxford, the 15-Minute City, and the Birth of a Lie

"It was impossible to miss the commotion of February 18th."

Will we no longer accept religious views in political positions?

'Would it have been better for Forbes to be dishonest in the face of questions over her views?'

“State of the Art”: Why the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities is a Revolutionary Project for the Future of Oxford

"The Centre has the potential to cement Oxford’s position as the leading destination for humanities not just in the UK, but in the World."

Say Yes to NUS: The Case for Remaining Within the National Union of Students

Oxford’s storied place in the creation of NUS means you would be especially missed.

Crossing the Pond: Thoughts of a Prospective Transgender Studies PhD Student

"The state of my field, trans studies, is pretty dire in the UK."

Hilary: The ‘Grey’ Term?

"Hilary feels like there is no end in sight." 

Dear Oxford Union: What was the point of that?

"Your belief is a belief, but my existence is reality"

I hate to love Love Island, but even I will be switching off this time

Jack explores Love Island's sinister undertones; body image, gender roles, relationship and diversity.

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