So how did you become the world’s biggest exporter of caviar? Well Xi Jinping’s anti corruption campaign meant it was harder to serve at government banquets and so we had to do something with all that stock www.ft.com/content/e020...

Today the Sunday Times discusses the decline in students studying A-level and beyond. I believe this is reversible. I believe it is necessary. And I’m glad to have some of my words on the importance of the discipline and the vibrancy of our degrees in English at York in the article.

Things are going great over at X, The Everything App

Important piece here, particularly what it has to say about any notions of Scottish exceptionalism - the idea that Scotland is somehow more compassionate a society than England. Complete nonsense as social attitude studies have said for years and obvious to anyone

Over a third of GCSE, AS and A-level exam papers in 2023 made no mention of women at all.

"Of the 991 history exam questions set in 2023, 357 featured a named individual, but only 31 were women – and nine of those were references to Elizabeth I or her reign." Dr Natasha R. Hodgson of Nottingham Trent University writes this week in The Conversation bit.ly/49ZqTiq

'An updated “code for ethical university governance” has been published calling for a “clearer separation between governance and management” and greater transparency on boards.' 1/2

A blast from my past - the Medieval Soldier database takes nearly 300,000 military service records from 1369-1453 and makes them available as a searchable database. An invaluable resource for understanding medieval warfare, society and the English medieval state. Learn more in the link. 🗃️

Some excellent info here regarding employment prospects of humanities graduates. I fear, however, that the anti-humanities brigade just don’t want to know. The anti-HE and anti-humanities degree stance is an emotional and cultural one more than anything based on evidence or reason

Kemi Badenoch performatively pretending not to understand that the OBR leak had absolutely nothing to do with Rachel Reeves because she has calculated that enough people are paying little enough attention that she can get away with it as an attack line. She really is a deeply contemptible person.

I think this is a mistake and it sums up what's wrong with accountability in the British state. Why does he take 'full responsibility'? Surely the person who actually *manages the OBR's website* should take some responsibility:

Routledge is having a black Friday sale, which means the book that @matt1066.bsky.social and I put together about medieval hostageship is yours for a cool £37 paperback! Since I'm writing about hostages again, it's a happy thing. www.routledge.com/Medieval-Hos...

We are at the point when increasing welfare spending (ie two child cap) is the difficult political decision. Constant cuts has become the easy option since Osborne’s time

Never underestimate the hypocrisy of the Greens

The man clearly dislikes most Labour Party members and voters, so why on earth is he still a member?

He’s a year older than me, also born and raised in London. He went to the same university but was a year above and went on to do graduate work at EUI. He then became an academic - I suspect his conception of the industrial working class was gained from TV and history books - and studying in Florence

one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.

"My beloved working class" - i.e. the one that exists in his head, but in real life has always rejected this particularly ugly strain of 'you don't deserve commercial television, nice holidays or little luxuries' whenever Labour have taken it to the public.

"The SNP position has usually been that if England is doing something then Scotland damn well won’t. This has been self-defeating in a number of areas." 🖊️ @chrisdeerin.bsky.social

Lancaster University UCU members have beaten back compulsory redundancies. After weeks of pressure management has agreed to halt all forced job cuts until July 2026. This is a victory for jobs and every branch fighting cuts across the sector. We are the university. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Tonight’s feeling youtu.be/AcE86JmIN3E?...

Here at Exeter we are offering three fully funded AHRC PhD places in humanities subjects. Please get in touch if you are keen to come and do research with us! Closing date 23 February 2026: www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...

This is the nonsense you get when the party topping the polls doesn't actually have any coherent policies, but people are happy to go with the vibe that, if they just hate the right people hard enough, everything will be fine.

Are you a scholar of the fifteenth century and have an interest in the British Isles and its wider connections? If so, then you will want to know that @memsunikent.bsky.social will be hosting the 2026 Fifteenth Century Conference in Canterbury and the CfP is now open: www.kent.ac.uk/medieval-ear...

This is worth reading closely. The piece makes a very strong case for being very careful when embracing AI for historical research.

That renowned and respected lover of truth and journalistic integrity.... THE KREMLIN.... has stepped up to defend Trump in his battle against the BBC. SO that's Farage, Netanyahu, Putin, and Boris Johnson...

Does Britain value culture any more? Ask the striking workers at the British Library | Zadie Smith www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

We're so glad you like them! We've been lucky to work with some very talented illustrators throughout our History and the Crisis in Higher Education series

Was really impressed with these illustrations when I saw them - captures what I’m trying it say about A.I

"Historical analysis is fundamentally different and more complex than producing a mass of visualizations and statistics that are the lifeblood of many A.I. programmes." Gordon McKelvie @gordonmckelvie.bsky.social on the problematic use of A.I. within historical research.

Nowhere in the hysterical pile-on against the BBC in the British press has anyone mentioned that BBC News now has 77 million viewers & listeners in the US and has established itself as the second most trusted news source there.

Something from me on the dangers of A.I for historians and the neverending cycle of job cuts www.historyworkshop.org.uk/practice-his...

@bjennings90.bsky.social absolutely nails it. (www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...)

Which one is more English?

Osborne deserves a lot more condemnation, for not just doing austerity but doing it so cackhandedly: 1. Not borrowing to invest when borrowing costs were at essentially zero 2. Cutting spending by salami slicing every part of the public sector with no real analysis of where could take it

Though on an unrelated note - there probably is a comedy to be written about monotheisms being the result of external consultants suggesting streamlining. ‘Rather than an infinite number of combinations of Gods to worship, just focus on one which gives a very clear message to the customers’

Worth a read, particular for a hardline non-believer like myself who nevertheless hates bad history.

At @ihr.bsky.social we can now offer PhD by Publication in History! For those with a substantial body of existing published research (within past 10 years), but without a PhD, should be of particular interest to #heritage professionals and independent scholars!

Hollow laughter

You know you’ve been a UCU rep a while when you get a long service award and one of the first things you do is work out what that would mean for any statutory redundancy payout

The UAE is an authoritarian autocracy, a petro-state with no income tax for citizens, to bribe them for the lack of democratic voice or free speech It is 85% migrant, a segregated society with a ban on integration in principle and practice, few rights, equal opportunities, nor voice for incomers

No, it never existed, and then the imaginary target was scrapped by the Conservatives years ago anyway. The rise in numbers going to uni was entirely down to higher demand from students.

Nope. This is in no way a good thing. Not even remotely

Journalism is a tough gig in 2025. News desks are pared to the bone, specialists are all but gone, nobody wants to pay to consume and advertising is in a death spiral. So let's be honest about why Farage and co get so much coverage: they provide endless, cheap, easy stories and promote rage clicks.

Anyone shocked that Reform plan to deport immigrants with Indefinite Leave to Remain hasn’t been paying attention. Next it will be stripping citizenship from dual citizens, then deporting them. Who do you think Reform are? This. This is who they are.

Modern language education is probably the best educational crisis in Britain but gets very little coverage because we assume the rest of the world just speaks English as a second language

Asst'd reasons, incl that in laboratory sci subjects 1. You need buildings w labs (£££); 2. having undergrad lab classes to staff limits how bad you can make your staff-student ratios; 3. demand for sci PhDs means Unis can't staff lecture courses w casualized staff like they often do in arts/hums.

As we keep saying: when the humanities are in trouble, the sciences are, too; generally, at UK universities, the sciences are cross-subsidised by the arts and humanities. www.theguardian.com/education/20...