Exclusive: Oxford Union announces Michaelmas term card

Cherwell can exclusively reveal that actress Rebel Wilson, Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark, Bridgewater Associates CEO Nir Bar Dea, and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao are all set to speak at the Oxford Union this term.

Wilson rose to fame in Bridesmaids and the Pitch Perfect films, and has since made her directorial debut with The Deb. Clark, who is from Brighton, began his career as a journalist for The Register and Bloomberg, and later joined OpenAI as a policy director. In 2021, he co-founded Anthropic, the company behind the chatbot Claude, which is now preparing what could be the largest-ever public offering at $2 trillion. Clark also writes the AI newsletter Import AI. 

Bar Dea began in the research department at Bridgewater Associates – the world’s largest hedge fund – before being appointed Deputy CEO in 2021. He has led the transition from the company’s founder, Ray Dalio, who spoke at the Union last year, and has served as CEO since 2022. Zhao, meanwhile, founded Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and in late 2023 pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme. After serving four months in prison, US President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2025. 

Cherwell understands that Zhao, the world’s 17th-richest person with a net worth of $114.6 billion, is the wealthiest person ever to speak at the Union.

The Union will also host a debate on the motion “This house believes that the Church of England’s days are numbered.” The proposition will feature religious figures such as the former Archbishop of the Anglican Church of North America, The Most Revd Dr Foley Beach, and the presiding Bishop of the Anglican Network in Europe, The Rt Revd Andy Lines. 

They will be joined by solicitor Richard Scorer, who has worked on abuse cases involving religious institutions, and Jayne Ozanne OBE, an evangelical Anglican and LGBTQ+ rights activist.

Opposing the motion are the Bishop of Chester, The Rt Revd Dr Mark Tanner, and the Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, The Revd Dr Sam Wells, alongside director of Church Society Dr Lee Gatiss and sociologist of religion Grace Davie. 

Cherwell can also reveal the motion of another Michaelmas debate, which will feature an all-women lineup: “This house believes that the institution of marriage still harms women.” Arguing for the motion are barrister and family law specialist Dr Charlotte Proudman, divorce lawyer Ayesha Vardag, and journalist and Loose Women panellist Jane Moore.

The opposition will include journalists Melanie McDonagh and Dr Joanna Williams, as well as Director of Research and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies Dr Wendy Wang.

Regarding the Michaelmas term card, the President of the Oxford Union, Gareth Lim, told Cherwell: “Each term, the Oxford Union platforms different ideas from different speakers. The force that platforms those ideas has always been the curiosity of our members. Just like the University, our community of members is becoming increasingly more diverse over time, and with that, so are their interests. People like different things, and there is an increasing number of ideas to hold and things to like. My community and I have aspired to unite those differences in our term card. 

“When deciding our motions and inviting our speakers, we have gone in as many different directions as possible. Our debates try to identify the issues that affect the vast majority of our members. The Union is a diverse and international institution, and we are proud of that. But at its core, it exists in the United Kingdom, with a history and traditions tied to the United Kingdom. We want to reflect this in our debates this term. We have chosen topics that are directly relevant to the UK, and some of those topics are UK-specific motions.

“Our individual speakers also represent our effort to platform as many different topics as possible. I am confident that those who enjoy the sciences, technology, or film — or many other topics relevant and important to young people — will all find something that sparks their curiosity at the Society this Michaelmas term. Our primary ambition has always been to curate a term card that has something for everyone. I am very excited to introduce our diverse approach to our diverse community.”

The full Union Michaelmas term card will be released 1st October.