FEATURED
‘Projecting me and my inner emotional landscape onto what I create. That’s all art really is.’ Interview with dark pop artist GG Fearn
GG Fearn is a Welsh Cambridge law graduate pursuing music. Her dark pop style is unique and visceral. Kiaya sits down with GG to discuss her music, influences and next steps.
WHAT’S NEW
Oxford University switches from BMAT to BMSAT for admissions tests for Biomedical Science
Oxford has announced a switch from the BMAT admissions test to the new BMSAT test for stem 2025 applications. Alina explores the implications of this change for future students. Image…
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“I have a thing about feminine rage”: misogyny in the media
Priya Toberman examines feminine rage in modern media and how it can be a way of liberating us from misogynistic culture. Image via Flickr by James McNellis
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The Year of the ‘Brat Summer’
On the 7th June 2024, Charli XCX’s highly anticipated sixth studio album Brat finally dropped from the Boiler Room into our ears, heralding the beginning of hot girl summer for…
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‘Political, comedic, violent, emotive and moving’, James Corden returns to the stage: Review of The Constituent
James Corden makes his return to theatre alongside Anna Maxwell Martin in Joe Penhall’s new political play ‘The Constituent’. Image by Kiaya Phillips
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“my heart is a church bell but nobody visits”: a Review of Joelle Taylor’s C+nto & Othered Poems
“The intertwining of self and other, and self as other, is something Taylor has achieved in the most devastating way.” Alice Brooker reviews Joelle Taylor’s poetry collection C+nto & Othered…
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The ‘Youth’ in the Youth Climate Movement
OxSSN, or the Oxford Sustainable Schools Network [1], brings together students and teachers into a community open to climate discussions: from issues to aspirations and solutions. Leading the Network are…
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Oxford
Oxford Climate – The year in review
In times of crisis, it can be difficult to rally support for any particular cause. While the climate movement seemed all-encompassing before the pandemic, it has been difficult to build momentum since then. This year has been no exception with the war in Ukraine continuing as a slow burning tragedy and the October 7th attacks…
The Power of Metafictional Literature
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently stated that his consumption of a novel on Chinese cyber-tech paved the way to his heavy investments in Israel’s cyber sphere. Given Netanyahu’s power, statements like this demonstrate the immense influential potential of literature. When thinking about this concept of the book as a vessel for ideology, I began…
The Dirndl
Helen Dominic explores the interesting history of the traditional Germanic dress – the dirndl.
opinion
The Podcast-ification of Politics: The Rest is Podcasts?
Ex-politicians giving their opinions on current affairs isn’t new – filling stadiums to do it certainly is. Political podcasts seem to have taken off in recent years. The frontrunner is far-and-away the confusingly titled ‘The Rest is Politics’ (TRIP), hosted by former New Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell and ex Tory MP Rory Stewart. The…
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The Invisible War: Does Oxford University need to do more to support its neurodivergent students?
Just as nature’s intrinsic dance ensures that no two individuals except identical twins share the same set of fingerprints, or that no two snowflakes are able to form the same complicated designs, the human mind is a labyrinthine of extraordinary uniqueness. If science, history, sociology, anthropology, and any other subject can teach us anything, it…
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Poison Ivy: A Black Reflection on Columbia’s Police State
“What I am still trying to wrap my head around is my new experience walking to class, a route now accompanied by more than 200 public safety officers, police, private security firms, and the FBI, with multiple drones surveilling me overhead.” George Hofstetter reports on the militarisation of campus at Columbia University.
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Global Affairs
Have the voters killed the Catalan Independence Movement?
On the 12th of May, Catalans (a region and arguably a nation in the North-East of Spain) went to vote for a new Regional Parliament in a snap election The election resulted in pro-Independence Catalan parties losing their majorities in the parliament to anti-Independence Spanish parties. Election Results The centre-left Catalan Socialist party…
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The emerging flashpoints in the South China Sea
It has become common for commentators on geopolitical conflict in the last twelve months to declare that ‘sea power is back’. There is a good reason for this. The world’s most contentious body of water is undoubtedly the South China Sea, where a growing cast of diverse nations are continuing to warm up…
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India’s truly global election
India is not at a crossroads: many of its developments for good and ill have been long in the making, and have not been shaped by Narendra Modi. Yet a better understanding of these trends, and a greater awareness of how India’s economy has underlined the success of its educated class who nevertheless…
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COLUMNS
Words of a multiple: What noise should I make to get your attention?
Evelyn discusses the importance of names and how they can act as a form of protection or be a weapon against the intricacies of their system. Image by Maggie Bao
Sublime Drizzlings: Bright Young Columnists
‘Being a columnist is a slaggy occupation.’ Chloe tackles the selfish way in which being a columnist is making her reflect on her writing. Illustration by Imogen Edmundson.
Sublime Drizzlings: Choupette
Chloe Smith takes us through how she imagines a day in the life of Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette. The absurdity of a cat celebrity is called into question. Illustration by Imogen Edmundson.
CULTURES
How Was The NHS Founded? Nye and Radical Empathy
When I entered the theatre to watch a play about the NHS, I did not expect to witness a dishevelled Michael Sheen performing a musical number. Nye is a wonderfully…
Shakespeare’s Least Performed Play: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a tale of disguises, disloyalty and, in Greg Doran’s modern-day adaptation, enthrallingly aggressive accordion. Whilst being Shakespeare’s least performed play, it truly is a…
My First Year in Looks
“Something new, something old, and something borrowed.” Jaami Al-Choudhary explores his first year in Oxford through his most iconic outfits. Photo from Jaami Al-Choudhary.
LIfestyle
Aeroplane Therapy: Conversations With the Man in the Middle Seat
Since embarking on my year abroad, I’ve seized every opportunity to travel, whether by train, bus, or plane. Typically, I find myself among average people, navigating the mundanities of life,…
Dating in the Modern Age – Why is it so hard?
He buys the first round. Two pints are placed carefully in front of us, a self-made barrier to hide behind. We awkwardly sit, avoiding eye contact and shuffling our feet.…
Kitchen: Food as a Love Language
I could not imagine my life without the kitchen. As rightfully highlighted by Banana Yoshimoto, culinary creation is like a comforting embrace that brings everyone together in times of despair.
Identity
A Room of Our Own: Putting All Your Eggs In One Basket
Over the past few months, I’ve developed a keen interest in exploring interpersonal relationships, especially now that I am firmly in my twenties (well, twenty-one). It feels like the right…
Beauty Sick: on ‘Glow Up’ Culture and the Paradox of Aspirational Beauty
“To transform yourself, then, begins from the outside in and not the inside out. But what happens to the past self, the uglier, younger self, that you leave behind?” Renée…
sports
Running: The New Fad
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We are the Oxford Blue, an Oxford University award-winning online newspaper. | A new voice for a new decade. | Est. 2020. We want journalism to be an inclusive space, open to all, no experience needed. If you are interested in writing, reading, editing, illustrating, or want to learn more, please get in touch.