Issue 99

When is it OK to laugh? Who gets to make the jokes? When is enough? What is never funny? Modern comedy might tussle with what is and isn’t appropriate, but it’s got nothing on the 18th-century Great Laughter Debate.

British ignorance of Irish history and politics is legendary (it’s a topic of academic study and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar even commented on it in public). Indeed, phrases such as the ‘Irish’ question and ‘Irish’ borders bizarrely leave out any suggestion of British involvement. So, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, CAM delivers a piece of emergency education, asking leading Cambridge experts to give us their views on the issues that matter.

Everyone’s path to Cambridge is different and, as a stepping stone to study, the Foundation Year programme is giving outstanding students a chance they might not have expected.

The material of the future is here… though chances are you’ve never heard of it. Gallium nitride has the potential to transform energy use through its incredible efficiency, and Professor Rachel Oliver has dedicated her life to the cause.

A £2bn turnover. Global reach. More than 30,000 brilliant – and independent – thinkers. And a governing system that has evolved over 800 years. As new Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice takes up the reins, we ask: what does it really take to lead one of the greatest universities in the world?