FEATURED
John Logan’s Red at The Michael Pilch Studio: Reviewed
“The first thing I remember from my experience of watching Red was the smell.” Rohit Ghosh reviews Riptide Studio’s production of John Logan’s play Red. Image by Sasha Ranawake, used with permission.
WHAT’S NEW
2025: The Year of US-Dictated Shifts in Global Health
2025 saw the return of Donald Trump to the US presidency, and with it, a seismic shift in global affairs. As is often the case with politics, changes to domestic…
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Magdalen College School to Become Co-educational
Magdalen College School, which was ranked the 20th best independent school by The Times this year, has announced that it will be transitioning to become fully co-educational. At present, it…
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Should “Optionally Chopped” be Dropped? A Trend Interrogation
As many of us chronically online scroll-addicts may have realised, the word “chopped” has gained a lot of traction lately in internet discourse. The most notable use, in recent weeks,…
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Reflection
All is calm. The lilac lake lies softly beneath rose-tinted clouds. Without a wisp of wind, no ripple mars the glassy reflection as the lake returns the echo of the…
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The Lifestyle Lowdown: Grab a bite!
This week, we’re pointing you towards our favourite places to eat. Take this as your sign to set aside a spare moment this week where you can treat yourself to…
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Risk Appetite: On Asian Food and Matcha Lattes
“In this day and age, sharing food doesn’t just mean physically breaking apart food for others. It means influencers posting about food online – “sharing” food in the Internet sense…
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Oxford
Candidates Face Questions at Hustings for Oxford SU Elections
On Tuesday 3 February, the Oxford University Students’ Union held their hustings for the upcoming elections. Elections will be held between 9 and 12 February for a number of offices. These include 4 full-time sabbatical roles: Presidents for Undergraduates; Postgraduates; Communities and Common Rooms; and Welfare, Equity, and Inclusion. In addition, elections are being held…
National Flags on St Aldate’s Put Up by Local Group with Far-right Ties
A number of St George’s Cross and Union Jack flags have been put up around Oxford city centre over the last week, with a great number along St Aldate’s. These flags were erected by members of the organisation ‘Raise the Colours Oxfordshire’, an arm of the ‘Operation Raise the Colours’ movement. A number of flags…
Lord Hague at Oxford Politics Society: Trump, AI, and the “Fragmentation” of UK Politics
Having returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Chancellor of the University of Oxford and former Leader of the Conservative Party, Lord William Hague, spoke on Thursday evening at the Oxford Politics Society. He reflected on his time in politics, today’s crisis in international order, and the “fragmentation” of UK politics. For Hague,…
opinion
Why pubs must be protected
Roughly 1,000 pubs have banned Labour MPs from their premises, revealing something about the state of British politics. When landlords resort to gestures as dramatic as this, it suggests a frightening breakdown in the normal channels of democratic dialogue. After mounting pressure, Rachel Reeves’s climbdown on business rates for pubs has prompted legitimate questions about…
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Not Choosing London
For generations, a certain golden path was etched into the national consciousness, particularly for those clutching prestigious degrees. The trajectory was simple: graduate from Oxford, Cambridge, or another elite university, and proceed directly to London. The capital was not just considered a city; it was the destination, the sole arena for ambition, culture, fame, wealth…
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Zero shades of grey: the death of nuance
When was the last time you viewed the content on someone else’s social media feed? Last week, I was sitting behind a man on the bus. I was on one of those raised seats, providing the perfect vantage point for a good snoop at his digital activity (I won’t make a habit of this). For…
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The ‘Singapore Model’: Chasing a Red Herring
Singapore gaining independence was not part of the plan. Anyone given a civics education in Singapore will tell you that the original vision, realised in 1963 in what was known as Merger, was for a united Malaysia, consisting of what was then Malaya, Singapore and Borneo. Singapore, it was said, needed Malaysia’s hinterlands…
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Outside OX1 Week 2: Winter Olympics, India/EU and South Korea
Welcome back to another issue of Outside OX1! After the winds Storm Chandra brought, resulting in obscurely alternating days of bright sunshine and grey clouds, we have somehow arrived to Sunday and the utter shock of discovering that it is now February. If, like me, you’ve gotten so lost in the busyness of…
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A Closer Look: The Grand Egyptian Museum
It certainly is an impressive sight. Enormous pyramidal glass panels line the outside of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), a site spanning 500,000 square metres. Inside, visitors are greeted by a gigantic, striding statue of Pharaoh Rameses II, often referred to as the “Great Builder of Egypt”. The Grand Central Staircase, lined with…
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COLUMNS
Second Draft: It’s my Lucky Day
“I’d like to remind everyone (but mainly myself) that you do not have to spend your morning highlighting to-do lists for it to be worthwhile. You do not have to pomodoro. And you absolutely do not have to drink matcha” In the latest installment of Second Draft, Eleanor Davies discusses productivity and how she handling…
InterMEDIAte: The Liminality of us all
“Whenever I feel unsure about my identity I play DtMF, while Lux accompanies me when I want to explore the female experience. They both take up space not only in music, but within my identity.” Eliza Kaminska-Benadat discusses the ties between Music and identity, particularly the new releases by Rosalia and Bad Bunny, in her…
Lady Grinning Soul: Movements Festival
“According to Stewart Garden, Movements will have something for everyone. The shows at Truck Store will be slightly more acoustic and stripped back, with heavier alt and post-punk features starting later in the day.” Julia Blackmon explores Movements Festival, including interviews from the organisers and performers, in her Music Column ‘Lady Grinning Soul’
CULTURES
Stephen Sondheim’s Company at The Oxford Playhouse: Reviewed
“the most fun you will have while thinking about the loneliness that seems intrinsic to human relationships” Jas Mauj reviews Fennec Fox Production’s take on Sondheim’s Company.
Rebecca Harper’s GREYJOY at the Michael Pilch Studio: Reviewed
[This review contains spoilers about GREYJOY. You have been warned!] White. Anyone at all familiar with a hospital waiting room knows all too well the cold and uninviting atmosphere that…
Sam Steiner’s Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons at the Burton Taylor Studio: Reviewed
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons (or Lemons x5, as it has become known in the OxBlue writers’ room) is, fittingly, a play about words and how we use them. Its…
LIfestyle
Telltaylor: By a Lancashire Farm Shop, I Sat Down and Wept
“I was always a muse, a magician’s trick, bending my own image to enhance his own. He seemed to compliment me only if the words fit his rhyme scheme.” Alicia Taylor…
Telltaylor: Everything I Learnt From A Mackerel Fillet
“I suddenly became afraid of forgetting the year which may turn out to be the most important of my life.” In the debut article of her column, Alicia Taylor gives…
Proust’s Madeleine: The Hidden Power of Food.
“We have always known that food is a lot more than its taste, texture, and nutritional value. Every meal is an intense social and sensory experience that serves to nourish…
Identity
From the Inside Out: My Disability
Avani Rao reflects on how chronic back pain has affected her time at Oxford, and the stigma that is attached to people with disabilities, particularly those that are “invisible”. Image…
Oxford’s Visiting Students: Here, There, and Nowhere
Elias Mewe, a former visiting student at St. Anne’s College, reflects on the year he spent in Oxford. Image by Elias Mewe, used with permission.
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