It’s a great privilege (and of great professional interest) as an academic to see Convocations at other. Universities. I’m v pleased to be at the ceremony at Aga Khan University in Nairobi, with a delegation from Maynooth University. Students and staff are preparing for show time.

I am just boarding a domestic Kenyan flight from Malindi to Nairobi. As i entered by the rear door, I had a chance to look at the luggage loading procedure. I was pleased to see my checked bag in the truck patiently waiting its turn. I waved to it and wished it a good flight. 😊

The jungle in Qatar Airport brings to mind Trumbull’s amazing 1972 film, Silent Running. Although, for some reason, in this version, humanity decided to send a huge, shiny, soulless shopping mall into space, along with the plants.

One of the great privileges in a scholar’s life is the opportunity to share your research with colleagues at other universities. Vienna University Department of Anthropology are generous hosts and a v attentive audience. My sincere thanks for their hospitality and feedback. @maynoothuniversity.ie

The intellectual bankruptcy of racial nationalism is not new. “ Venal Moron” is signal not noise for Nazis. Hessy Levinsons Taft, Jewish Baby on Cover of Nazi Magazine, Dies at 91 www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/w...

Vienna in a snowstorm.

NHS struggles, as foreign-born HCPs shun UK in aftermath of Brexit. This is an object lesson for how fast Far Right nativism can handicap a national institution. Skilled foreign labor is not easily replaced, and the people who suffer most r the most vulnerable. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

The Anthropology Department and the Centre for Global Development are pleased to celebrate our recent research by launching books that have come out in the last few months. And celebrating the Holidays. @maynoothuniversity.ie

Another school shooting. This time at Brown University. There’s a grim inevitability reading about these atrocities, but the ubiquity of attacks in the US have created a new category of students: ones who were victims at earlier school shootings. Think about that… www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12...

I am not sure whether to be shocked at the theft or grudgingly admiring of the fact that some Irish farmers apparently still read Táin Bó Cúailnge less as myth and more as handbook. NOT something your see everyday. 🤷🏻‍♂️ www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/co...

At the opening of a new show “Seen” at the Lab Gallery by the incomparable Missy Brinkmeyer.

At the opening of a new show “Seen” at the Lab Gallery by the incomparable Missy Brinkmeyer.

Setting up the Anthropology Shop at the @maynoothuniversity.ie Open Day.

This wins today’s internet. The decision is final. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

An important story from NYT, 12 Hours in the Smoke, showing just how toxic the air is in a wildfire, and (as is too common in the USA) how little is being done to protect workers. It’s unconscionable to sacrifice lives for property, when risk mitigation exists. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

In honor of the spooky season, I’m reposting a @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social piece I produced some years ago on how capitalism, crisis, and appetites can be found in a century of Western speculation about the relationships between the living and the undead. Happy Halloween. www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

I’m at DataFest Africa in Kampala, Uganda, the culmination of regional satellite sessions in Nairobi, Amara and other places, under the theme of “Reclaiming Data Futures.” Today, we discuss “Framing the Data Status Quo, Shifting the Lens.”@maynoothuniversity.ie @agakhanuniversity.bsky.social

Maynooth University (MU) has officially launched its new School of Nursing, marking a significant development for both the University and Irish healthcare. 👏👏 www.maynoothuniversity.ie/news-events/...

My colleague and I @chrisbrunsdon.bsky.social from @maynoothuniversity.ie are at DataFest Africa: Reclaiming Our Data Futures at Aga Khan University, Nairobi. Maynooth University is a proud sponsor of this event.

This is a very disappointing assessment of Irish waterways. We sit on what will be the gold of the 21stC — abundant clean water. The unsustainable agricultural and manufacturing abuse of Irish waterways has got to stop. www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Norway outplays MangoMussolini. Nobel Peace Prize goes to a woman of color who is the steely-eyed opponent of a leader whom Trump despises and has built up as a strategic threat to the US. Genius. Live Updates: María Corina Machado Is Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

📻Listen back: Sean Moncrieff's interview with Brian Pennie where he mentions his upcoming lecture in MU to mark the Department of Psychology's 25th anniversary. www.newstalk.com/podcasts/hig...

US isolation on Public Health matters deepens, as MAHA Wellness Rasputin delivers a nonsensical tirade against reproductive rights and sexual minorities, during what should be an evidence-based discussion of cutting into the Global Health burden of chronic disease. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/h...

Trump Is now supporting Cancer along with Putin. The cost of chronic disease in the US is set to plummet after the great die-off. I guarantee, though, that US Robber-Barons will continue to pay for science-based medicine, rather than its “functionalist” equivalent. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/m...

📻Listen back: Prof Peter Thorne from ICARUS was on @newstalkfm.bsky.social discussing soaring temperatures affecting mortality rates, and how can it be prevented from increasing. www.newstalk.com/podcasts/hig...

Check out our FREE Chapter Sampler AND 35% #SALE on selected #HealthStudies, #FertilityStudies & ALL #MedicalAnthropology books. Browse: bit.ly/4nzR2aZ @drrobinhadley1.bsky.social @almiddlemiss.bsky.social @evafiks.bsky.social @drtomori.bsky.social @jamie-saris.bsky.social @drsarahp.bsky.social

There’s nothing like a little literate Conrad Brunstrom in the morning. No one is better qualified to take u on excursions to the byways of 18thC literature than he is. 👍

It’s tough to describe the Irish Ploughing Championships to foreigners, but it’s basically the collective effervescence of Rural Ireland. It should really be marketed more heavily as a tourist draw, as, in my experience, there’s nothing quite like it anywhere else. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025...

Lifton was a rare psychiatrist with a keen sense of the social, esp how institutions, ideology, and subjectivity were all of a piece in authoritarianism. Atrocity is the child of moral certainty, and such certainty was rooted in institutional authority. RIP. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/o...

Maynooth University extends warm congratulations to product design graduate Zoë O’Sullivan, who has been named National Winner for Ireland at this year's prestigious James Dyson Award for her invention Lymphia. 👏👏👏 www.maynoothuniversity.ie/news-events/...

A real treat as part of the Alumni Lunch at @maynoothuniversity.ie: the National Science Museum is open. It houses a wealth of early scientific instruments, going back to the early 19thC. One of the hidden gems on campus.

Tide is out on Dar es Salaam Bay on a beautiful Sunday.

SARAH PALIN: "There are going to be death panels!" RFK JR: "Technically, it's just me."

Zuane’s has some of the best pizza in Dar es Salaam.

The gorgeous Tanzanite Bridge on a lovely morning in Dar es Salaam.

My last day at @agakhanuniversity.bsky.social Nairobi, discussing the alliance with @maynoothuniversity.ie. I am very grateful for all the time shared with (and consideration shown to) me, but I want to especially thank Sally and Pam of the Global Engagement Office.

Lily Lake in the Karura Forest in Nairobi. Hard to believe there’s a city of over 5.5 million right outside.

If Europeans (and folks from other rational societies) want to know WHY USA is unlike other places read about “Christian Influencer”, Jen Hatmaker. From Purity rings to marriage and divorce from a drunken pastor, u find a public religion poisoning persons and society. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/m...

Since I landed in Nairobi, I have been craving goat. Thankfully, a friend recommended kienyejis.com. Great meal. You can even get termites in season. 😁

Part 3 of International Cat Day! Today we celebrate our beloved Library Cat as well as shining a spotlight on all the cherished cats of our library staff!🐈‍⬛💕#InternationalCatDay #LibraryCats #MUlibrary

Folks like Gena Heraty make me proud of my adopted country. The courage and fortitude to stay in such a situation bc you are desperately needed gives me hope for humanity. May she be found safe and sound quickly. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025...

As a cat-owner, this rings very true to me. 😊

Edinburgh is going thru a salutary (if painful) look at its past embrace of Empire, racism and colonialism. As the university goes forward, I hope simplistic arguments between “cancelling” and “losing history” r avoided. Both past and present deserve more. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

This is why QElon and the other Tech Bros hate and fear the EU. Unlike the US, the EU regulates and means it. Apple settles its antitrust case to keep their access to 450m of the globe’s richest consumers. US consumers deserve the same protection. www.irishtimes.com/business/202...

It’s hard to overstate the consequences of Shrub’s incompetent Messianism leading to the invasion of Iraq. A mortal blow was dealt to the Post WWII international order by the nation that most benefitted from it, and Democracy was discredited across the globe. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Prof Fintan Sheerin of our new School of Nursing has an Opinion piece in this morning's Examiner on the nursing home controversy. "Perhaps the most striking underlying failures for me were in respect of ‘knowing’ the other person. " www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Sociobiological theory has holes, esp how an intelligence based on symbolic thought and obligate sociality shapes “biology”. Nonetheless, E.O. Wilson has a quote that has stayed with me since I read it decades ago: “[Humans] have Paleolithic emotions, Medieval institutions, and god-like technology.”

This pretty much sums up Late-Stage Capitalism: the gentrification (or Londonization, by this article’s lights) of Manchester is assigned by savvy locals to “Only Fans and Influencers” driving up prices. Can no one else hear Marx’s infrastructure creaking here? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

A new take on a tired Wellness trope, “The Irish Diet.” 😳 A historical context of poverty/colonial extraction is now reframed as “Food is health magic.” It’s not. Try to eat fresh food and do ur own cooking. Take some exercise. And, be thankful for EU food regs. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

The sun is splitting the rocks here in Maynooth. 😁