Tuesday 10th March 2026

Profiles

In Conversation with Paul Kingsnorth

Paul Kingsnorth is an English writer and perhaps the most astute critic of technology’s impact on society writing today.

Sir Ed Davey: ‘Inevitably you make mistakes’

Multiple times throughout the interview Sir Ed Davey accidentally turned his Zoom camera off. He’d hastily apologise and search to turn it back on.

On Afghanistan, Ukraine, and honorary degrees: Christina Lamb is a story-teller like no other

Christina Lamb started her career as the Cold War was ending. She saw the fall of dictatorships in eastern Europe and Latin America, and the end of apartheid in South Africa.

Haleh Blake: A vessel for the voices of Iranians

Haleh Blake was always told she was worth half a man. “As you grow up as a girl, from very early on, you realise that you're treated as a second-class citizen”, she tells me.

‘Women don’t look like that in Algeria’: An interview with Houria Niati

"Yes, I love flowers and I love landscapes, but I am far away from that. When we talk about political art, I didn’t even...

‘Theatre is, at its best, one of the most democratic of the arts’

I had the chance to sit down with Gregory Doran, Oxford University’s Cameron Mackintosh visiting professor and the former artistic director of the Royal...

An interview with Federico Enciso, Paraguay’s First Openly Gay Politician 

I am not going to lie. I myself was pretty much oblivious to Paraguay’s existence before being introduced to the documentary, 108: Cuchillo de...

“They’re side notes in history”: In conversation with Bluestocking Oxford

Perhaps you’ve heard the term ‘bluestocking’ before. Though it came to be used as a misogynistic pejorative, its origins lie in 18th-century Britain, when...

“Everywhere we go, we ask: ‘What are the dominant narratives about the city? And what are they hiding?”

I’ve walked past the Clarendon Building on Broad Street many times – but I’d never thought to ask what it had been used for...

“If you want to understand the mess we’re in today, you need to know some history.”

Eugene Rogan, a historian of the Middle East and fellow of St. Anthony’s College is a tutor I feel slightly in awe of: charismatic...

Seeking asylum from Myanmar: an interview with Jack Sanga

He was a student when Myanmar's military launched a coup against its sitting government in 2021 and has since had to flee after protesting against...

“Poetry is political because it’s so immediate.”

In search of localised wisdom, Cherwell spoke to one of Oxford’s own. Poetry sensation, Birmingham Young Poet Laureate (2018-20), Foyle Young Poet of the...

You see that Cherwell interview? That’s your mum, that is.

David Baddiel gets asked a lot of questions. And, often, they’re all versions of each other: what was it like being the first comic...

“What you’re seeing is a distillation of millions of person hours into a two hour movie.” 

Have you ever wondered how James Bond jumps out of an aeroplane? How Interstellar’s astronaut Cooper enters a black hole? How Rocky rides the...

Wizardry, canal boats, and the Vicky Arms

“It’ll be a fucking feast,” Mother Catweazle declares. Strapping in for the second Catweazle Club of February, Common Ground is abuzz with anticipation.  Streams of...

“To know how somebody really feels about you, ignore everything they say. Look at how they touch you.”

Robin Dunbar is Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford, famous for his research on social networks and friendships. He is...

Spotlight: The Gatehouse’s Community Café

The Gatehouse must be one of the only social enterprises in Oxford where an upsurge in usage is not necessarily a good thing. Since...

In conversation with Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Laura Marks CBE

Today marks 79 years since the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Since 2001, on this day, there has been an international commemoration of...

On scouring for words, snollygosters and soaked trousers with Mark Forsyth

If you could hear my bursts of laughter through the hallways of the Glink in the summer of ‘23, I apologise. But all credits...

Adidas, Auden, and the author: on Zoom with Mark Ford

The emails I exchanged with Mark Ford had the paw prints of a poet: frequent ellipses and the sparing sign-off ‘M’, like our interview,...

“Don’t be in such a hurry. Enjoy the world.”

Kate Ewart-Biggs’ mission with the British Council is to build lasting connections between the UK and other countries through arts and language. Coming from...

Quickfire with Martha Lane Fox

Martha Lane Fox studied at Magdalen College. She co-founded lastminute.com with Brent Hoberman in 1998, offering late holiday deals online, and was a pioneer...

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