Tuesday 17th February 2026

Profiles

Anna Olliff-Cooper on being a 76-year-old student, her three-month prognosis, and defying time

When Anna Olliff-Cooper applied to Oxford, she had just been diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer.

Ruth Chang: ‘If we keep going down this road, we are definitely going to get AI misalignment’

How do we make hard choices? Not the choices which are hard for us to make – because the right choice is psychologically difficult – not choices between options which we have incomplete information about, or choices that are incomparable. No. Hard choices are decisions between options neither of which is better, nor are they equally good.

In Conversation with Tom McTague

Tom McTague is among the few mainstream British journalists who see politics through the lens of history and world affairs rather than just the Westminster lobby.

Anneliese Dodds on higher education, local politics, and damehood

Dodds spoke to Cherwell a few days after appearing in the New Year’s Honours list.

Sam Tanenhaus: “You can’t judge by the standards of this moment. No one will ever pass the test”

Sam Tanenhaus is best known as the incisive interpreter of William F. Buckley Jr., the most influential conservative intellectual of the twentieth century.  

Joshua Robey: Taking Company to the Oxford Playhouse

Joshua Robey is a name gaining traction within the Oxford University Drama Society (OUDS), the heart of Oxford’s theatre scene. From sold-out runs to glowing reviews from Peter Kessler, his ascent has been swift. A DPhil student specialising in contemporary theatre, Robey has staged productions across the Pilch, O’Reilly and Burton Taylor Studio.

Conor Niland on the space between Centre Court and obscurity

Conor Niland is a former tennis player and author of the book 'The Racket: On Tour with Tennis’ Golden Generation and the other 99%', which tells the story of his professional tennis career.

Neil Kinnock: ‘The power of cooperation is slow but relentless’

Neil Kinnock’s office in the House of Lords is small and tightly packed. One wall is entirely covered with books; the others are crowded with photographs, posters, and fragments from his political life.

Anastasia Bukhman on philanthropy, academia, and the role of investment in medical research

In 2025, Oxford University announced a £10 million gift from the Bukhman Foundation to establish the Bukhman Centre for Research Excellence in Type 1 Diabetes, dedicated to improving diabetes treatments and finding a cure. 

Andy Beckett on Balliol politics, Labour’s dilemmas, and culture wars

Andy Beckett is a British journalist and historian. He studied Modern History at Balliol College from 1989 to 1992, and has since written several...

Voices from North Korea on escape, language, and belonging

Earlier this year, Cherwell attended Voices from North Korea, an event organised by Freedom Speakers International (FSI), a South Korea-based NGO working with North...

Gérald Sibleyras: “The hardest part of it all is finding a good idea”

 It’s not that often that somebody tells you they first got into their profession “by accident.” However, when I began my conversation with Gérald Sibleyras, award-winning French playwright, he...

Jeremy Hunt on OUCA, Silicon Valley, and the post-war world order 

Cherwell: What was your experience of Oxford when you did PPE at Magdalen?  Hunt: They were some of the happiest times of my life, but there were lots of ups and...

Azeem Zakria: The face behind Scriptum

For anyone who has ever wandered down Turl Street, it would be impossible to miss the elaborate window displays of Scriptum, the fine stationary...

Gina Miller: “Vigilance is a civic duty for all of us”

Gina Miller is not a conventional political figure. She did not rise through party ranks, but she has altered the British constitution twice –...

Réhahn: “Photography, at its best, is an exchange of respect”

Réhahn is an award-winning French photographer, based in Vietnam and known for his portrait, lifestyle and impressionist photography. His most famous photo, The Hidden...

Dominic Sandbrook: “I want to understand the past through the past’s own eyes”

Few historians can claim household-name status. Fewer still can boast of podcast audiences rivalling chart-topping musicians. However, typing “The rest is…” into Spotify now...

Richard Ovenden: “We are guardians of facts and truth, rights of citizens, and identities of communities”

From his office in the Clarendon building on Broad Street, Richard Ovenden calls libraries “the infrastructure of democracy.” These words are spoken with the...

Interview with Mishal Husain ahead of the Romanes Lecture

Mishal Husain is an award-winning journalist, author, and broadcaster. She was a household name at the BBC for over two decades, working as the...

In Conversation with Cherry Vann, Archbishop of Wales

“I have a strongly-rooted faith that my gender and my sexuality is part of who I am and part of what God created, and...

In Conversation with Sathnam Sanghera

Sathnam Sanghera doesn’t believe in tidy or easy stories. Whether writing about empire in his award-winning books Empireland and Empireworld, or his own family...

M N Rosen on AI, impact businesses, and the importance of mindfulness

In August, I had the pleasure of interviewing M.N. Rosen, author of The Consciousness Company, a recent debut novel which explores the impact of...

James Vowles: Rebuilding the ‘Sleeping Giant’ of Williams F1

James Vowles doesn’t believe in “bad luck”. It’s a surprising stance from the leader of a Formula 1 team with nine constructors’ and seven...

Margaret Hodge on legacy, fighting the BNP, and hope for the political future

Above the Churchill War Rooms, Dame Margaret Hodge sits with the easy confidence of someone who’s been in the fight for too long to...

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