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Articles by Ezra Izer
So you got rejected from your Cambridge Master’s…what now?
Picture this: you’re in the takeaway queue for Aromi pasta. As you go to Apple Pay your way to £8 pasta absolution, you see the dreaded Outlook notification, subject line “Application for Admission – Decision”. You turn to Nick who, however much he might not want to be written as such, is your friend and fellow Aromi frequenter. You mention the email, pay for your pasta, and wait beside the to-go wall of shame.
The skibidi spiral of TikTok during term-time
Short-form content platforms like TikTok are routinely accused of rotting brains, ruining productivity and damaging societies. Cambridge students, often romanticised as stoic scholars sealed away within libraries, are not immune; yet their relationship with these platforms is markedly complex. In speaking to over 40 students from across a wide range of years and colleges, I gathered a reasonably representative snapshot of how TikTok usage manifests across Cambridge.
Reframing Femininity: meet the women behind Caius’ first charity exhibition
Esther Magedera and Youni with permission for Varsity The interview began, as the best things often do, in a kitchen. Introductions drifted over lovely sourdough bread dipped in citrus-laced oil; the hum of conversation underscored by Col’s (carefully curated) Spotify playlist. It was in this atmosphere – warm, easy, deeply familiar – that I became better acquainted with one of Cambridge’s most striking student-led exhibitions yet.
Have chromosomes cracked the case?
If my time at Cambridge has taught me anything, it’s that there’s a particular comfort in returning to the arms of old fascinations. Despite my academic pivot towards the drier terrain of POLIS papers in my third year, and no matter how much I love to mock the date prospects of medievalists, History – twitching, macabre, and irresistibly pumped with blood – remains my first love, sadomasochistic matron that she is.
Controversial marking and assessment boycott regulations passed
The University of Cambridge has voted to implemented controversial new assessment regulations, allowing students to graduate without having some of their exams marked. The new regulations follow a prolonged dispute over how to prevent exam disruption. The decision was made through a Ballot of University Council, the University’s central governing body, held between 21 and 31 January 2025.
Beast Games: a dystopic showcase of precarity
Ezra Izer confronts the ethical horrors of Mr Beast’s scrollable television show Returning home for vacation, I was greeted by a surreal carnival engineered by the viral content gods. My 12-year-old brother, remote in hand and entirely unfazed by my homecoming, had commandeered the television. Onscreen, contestants in identical tracksuits flung themselves through obstacle courses seemingly designed by unmedicated AI.
How indie sleaze stumbled back into style
A decade ago, indie sleaze was at its peak: a gritty, imperfect counterpoint to mainstream fashion. It revelled in smudged eyeliner, battered leather jackets (the more pre-owned, the better), animal prints, MySpace stars, and American Apparel ads. When held up against today’s sleek pantheon of social media, indie sleaze’s rawness feels almost confrontational.
Jazz skeptic turned Clare-O concert convert
I was a jazz skeptic. There, I admit it. The mention of jazz typically conjured for me images of abstract trumpet solos and indecipherable time signatures – a genre more likely to be experienced than enjoyed. Yet, after some borderline forceful office chat with my Vulture editor, paired with the coercive charm of insistent friends, I found myself at Clare Cellars for one of term’s perpetually most buzzed-about events: Clare Jazz Night.
‘The Special One’? Pep, legacy, and the search for football’s greatest manager
Pep Guardiola’s renewal at Manchester City comes at an oddly introspective moment in his career. For a manager who has redefined the very concept of winning, the timing is ironic – fresh from his first-ever four-game losing streak, some might question whether this is the right moment to recommit. But Guardiola, like all the greats, thrives on challenging expectations. His longevity at City rekindles football’s eternal debate: who is the greatest manager of all time?
Spotify Unwrapped: Is the algorithm running out of stream?
As December edges closer, Spotify users brace themselves for the usual fanfare of Spotify Wrapped – a splashy, hyperbolic reflection on their musical year. But in 2024, the annual recap feels curiously anachronistic. The rise of apps like Airbuds, Receiptify, and Stats.fm has given listeners the ability to track their habits on demand, making the once-exciting Wrapped less of an exclusive reveal and more a predictable finale to an ongoing self-monitoring ritual.
Verstapp’ed speaking? Flagging the ‘F’ in F1
As a sport founded on the adrenaline of speed and the drama of split-second decisions, Formula 1 has always thrived as much on its unscripted human moments as on its meticulous engineering. Yet, recent headlines have shifted the focus from trackside heroics to a different kind of showdown—one between Max Verstappen and the FIA. Known for his fearless driving and equally bold remarks, Verstappen has become a lightning rod for debate over the limits of driver expression.
From screen to bin: On the rise of YouTuber musicians
YouTube, long the playground of internet personalities, has increasingly become a launching pad for music careers that blur the lines between mainstream artists and digital content creators. Figures like Joji, who traded the slapstick antics of his alter-ego Filthy Frank for a haunting, introspective sound, have shown how creators can pivot from the platform and into the Billboard charts.
Big Budder is watching you
Despite being two years old,Airbuds has recently experienced a meteoric rise, drawing in thousands of new users with its distinctive blend of music-sharing and real-time social interaction. Boasting over 47,000 reviews and a glowing 4.8-star rating on the App Store, the app has clearly struck a chord with a young, music-obsessed audience by transforming the solitary act of listening into a shared, public event.
Even Oasis can’t Live Forever: Liam Gallagher and the death of rock relevance
Liam Gallagher stands as a figure carved into the very eyelids of British musical history. With his snarling vocals, attitude-laden presence, and a repertoire that defined the Britpop era, he symbolised a moment when rock music was a cultural lodestar. Yet, his recent live performance at Wembley Stadium on 21 September 2024, ahead of the Anthony Joshua vs.
Varsity’s Michaelmas mixtape
Welcome back to Cambridge, where your real soundtrack begins. We’ve curated the perfect mix to power your Michaelmas term — whether you’re braving Freshers’ Week or pretending to catch up on reading. Hit play, and let this mixtape carry you through every all-nighter, library dash, and night out you won’t remember. Roan’s infectious tune perfectly embodies the Freshers’ Week frenzy.
I think he’s with it: The Dare debuts with What’s Wrong With New York
On What’s Wrong With New York, Harrison Patrick Smith, known as The Dare, does more than revisit the sweaty electroclash and indie sleaze sounds of early-2000s New York. While comparisons to LCD Soundsystem are inevitable, Smith twists those familiar beats into something fresh, capturing the turbulence and disconnection that define today’s youth.
A masterful remastering: Will Wood’s The New Normal!
‘Remastering’ is a word that can evoke anticipation, indifference, or doubt — often all at once. For some, it holds the promise of revival, a chance to breathe new clarity into a cherished favourite. For others, it reeks of commercial exploitation, a slick repackaging that risks sacrificing the original soul of an album at the altar of modern polish. But what does it truly mean to remaster a work? And more intriguingly, what does it take to do it well?
The Rise and Fall of an East Anglican Princess
Ezra Izer considers how Chappell Roan’s bold sound and introspective lyrics resonate with the Cambridge queer community If we are to see the genre of modern pop for the overpacked, over-eyelashed colosseum that it is, then Chappell Roan has managed to somersault herself straight into the Imperial Box. While many expressed initial confusion at the artist’s breakneck takeover, the release of her debut album last September satiated many sceptics with its electric slumber-party feel.
When money talks too loudly…the case of ego-billionaires
Elon Musk at the Neuralink launch in 2020wikiimages When it comes to the pantheon of twenty-first century tech magnates, Elon Musk has certainly emerged as a uniquely polarising individual. His alarming metamorphosis over recent years, from economic titan to dictator of the digital sphere, provides us with the perfect specimen for deconstructing what it means to be a billionaire in the modern age.
The Cambridge cocktail: ethanol and elitism
Every single Cambridge student, no matter how loudly they proclaim that they are in fact ‘the natural predator of the Union hack’, will flirt with some internalised feelings of Cambridge exceptionality eventually. A young adult simply cannot have their dinners served to them at the tables of a mediaeval dining hall multiple times a week and maintain that they have not found themselves even a little bit romanced by the stained glass.
Head to head: how to spend first year
Regardless of how you spend first year, you'll still see some pretty sights. Who cares whether you see them at 5am from the club or at 9am going to lectures? Eliza Pepper with permission for Varsity Izzy Apparently, it takes 28 days to form a habit – so hopefully, as the first half of Michaelmas draws to a drizzly, dark close, you have already mastered the art of having fun in Cambridge.
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