Saturday 18th April 2026

Profiles

‘My aim is to make everyone equally unhappy’: Catherine Royle on Somerville, the Foreign Office, and the importance of pragmatism

Catherine Royle explains how a career in the Foreign Office and NATO is shaping her approach as Somerville College's principal.

‘There’s a difference between impartiality and neutrality’: Lewis Goodall on politics, podcasting, and the prime minister

Organisations like the BBC have "a completely hollow view of impartiality", says Lewis Goodall, host of The News Agents.

Professor Lee White: ‘I’d rather face Boko Haram terrorists than climate negotiations’

Professor Lee White – a conservationist, scientist, and politician – does not like talking about himself. White came to Oxford to deliver a lecture, at which I learned almost nothing about Lee and a great deal about the trees found in the Gabonese rainforest.

Dr Merritt Moore: ‘Get ready for the emotional roller coaster of failing a lot’

Dr Merritt Moore is a Harvard alumna and Oxford DPhil graduate who has successfully navigated a career as a quantum physicist and robotics specialist, whilst also performing as a professional ballerina with Zurich, Boston, and English National Ballet.

In Conversation with Hannah Witton

Hannah Witton's Zoom background puts the rest of us to shame. She is sat in an armchair with a tidy but colourful bookcase to...

In Conversation with Bruce LaBruce

"'Horror movies and porn movies are structured in exactly the same way,' he begins, 'the narrative is structured as a pretext for a number of these explosive climaxes. One victim at a time, one sex scene at a time.'"

In Conversation with Colin Wilson

“Why do we care about this? Well, it's like a parallel earth. It's the same size as Earth, made of the same sort of materials formed around [...] the same amount of time ago. But it's evolved really differently with this huge greenhouse effect.”

In Conversation with Tim Webber

Going from an Oxford Physics degree to winning an Oscar for your work on Gravity seems like, strangely, a fairly linear career path. For...

In Conversation with Rebecca Black

Hey this sucks, but you’re gonna’ be famous. While not the worst thing Rebecca Black would read about herself that year, these words would come...

In Conversation with Grace Beverley

Grace Beverley is possibly one of the busiest people I’ve ever met. The day of our interview, she posted a photo of the day’s...

In Conversation with HONNE

When I met HONNE over Zoom, they’d been up late the night before working on a new music video for an acoustic version of...

In Conversation with Jihyun Park

CW: Mention of torture and abuse Within the past few months, rumours claiming the death of North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Un, have circled our news...

In Conversation with India Hicks

Although having enjoyed a varied career, India Hicks is perhaps best known for two things: her eponymous lifestyle brand (now defunct), and being Prince...

In Conversation with Ken Loach

CW: Racism, antisemitism Kes (1968) – Miner’s Working Men’s Club. Rhythmic close shots of faces, the pub is filled with big smiles and small chat. The...

In Conversation with Kris Hallenga

In 2019 Kris Hallenga posted a letter addressed to her past self on the CoppaFeel website, recognising a decade since she had been diagnosed...

In Conversation with Sir Mo Farah

It’s not easy to cover hundreds of miles when you’re stuck inside. With global sporting events cancelled or postponed for the foreseeable future and...

In Conversation with Caroline Calloway

‘Why not get actual human blood involved? I mean if I haven’t been cancelled at this point, I think it’s safe to say I’m...

In Conversation with Ted Hodgkinson

From the window above my desk I can see straight into four of my neighbours’ offices. The workspace belonging to the family opposite sits...

In Conversation with Dame Harriet Walter

I feel pretty self-assured in characterising Dame Harriet Walter as a “familiar favourite” of British drama. With a prolific tenure at the RSC in...

In Conversation with Countess Alexandra Tolstoy

Countess Alexandra Tolstoy is the daughter of Count Nikolai Tolstoy-Miloslavsky, the current head of the noble House of Tolstoy, distantly related to Leo Tolstoy,...

In conversation with Dr Xand

Dr. Alexander van Tulleken has Covid-19. He told me as much down the phone, explaining that no other disease could explain the symptoms he...

Interview with the previous leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson

“I've previously joked it’s much harder to come out as a Tory at the BBC, than it is to come out as gay,” Ruth...

Profile: Richard Bilton

Playwright Tom Stoppard said, “I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon.” The...

Interview: Rai Kah Mercury’s Nathan De Giorgi

Rai Kah Mercury are set to break into the Oxford scene with an atmospheric gig in Hertford College Chapel on 3rd March. Known for...

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