Equally, bigots want you to be sad and afraid. Transphobia is a psychological war before anything else. Don't let them win the battle inside your own head. Your life is a gift. Being trans is joy. There's wonder everywhere if you're willing to see it. Make the effort to see it. Don't let them in.

Just saying.

I was such a Hairpin/Toast girlie following the demise of LJ, but also pour one out for Grantland, one of most underrated cultural websites I only came across because of hockey fandom.

I feel like I've yelled about TWoP on here half a dozen times in the past few weeks but "late morning coffee break at your desk when your boss isn't looking so you can read last night's show recaps" was such a staple of my twenties

Thank goodness Starmer is finally supporting all those Range Rover drivers by keeping their costs low www.theguardian.com/politics/202... If we cared about poorer people we'd give them money to meet their needs, not subsidise one very specific, very harmful, activity

The Office for Students has decided not to appeal against the High Court judgement that it had a ‘closed mind’ & unlawfully ‘predetermined’ the decision to penalise Sussex. Now we have to repair the reputational damage that the OfS and Free Speech Union inflicted in their right wing culture war.

Actions by Western governments to squeeze demand has a direct impact on poorer nations much more dependent and exposed to energy shocks. As well as aiding Russia and China in expanding their influence.

People love to speculate and come up with stories about what happens in inclusive churches and, like... sometimes queer inclusive Christianity just looks like a bunch of people standing in front of a Bishop in an 1100 year old church, you know? It's not special, except for the ways that it is...

why would i want to watch a podcast. podcasts are for when you are doing something else

I am reminded of Elmer the elephant by the Birmingham political map of 2026 though the quite positive patchwork of harmony message of that storybook may be challenging to emulate in city local politics

A friend of mine suddenly quit his job at BMW. There was no indication he leaving.

To simplify a complex picture: - Middle class and wealthy wards voted Lib Dem, who have a strong tradition in the city, governed it in the 00s - White working class & older demographic wards voted Reform - Ethnically diverse inner city wards & student areas voted Green Labour left completly bereft

Not at all sure how to feel about this, although I suppose compared to the rest of the North East, I guess relief is probably the closest.

A lot of racists will make snide remarks about how Birmingham doesn't look like Britain anymore, and they do have a point, it looks like Denmark.

'If there is anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always kept safe, I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me. But this was shown: that in falling and rising again we are always kept in that same precious love.' Julian of Norwich

Happy 100th birthday Sir David Attenborough! David Attenborough at the Weston Library public opening in 2015, the same weekend he was awarded the Bodley Medal.

I'm not getting any less convinced that the main current driver of British politics, showing up in various ways and to various extents across the spectrum, is people's desire to be told "Here is a category of human beings whom it is legitimate for you to hate".

Quick one. How on earth are people figuring out who to vote for tomorrow when there is barely any effort by most parties to share what they actually stand for locally? Stop making me rely on national politics/geopolitics - who is going to tell me about Social Care & ASB?

I think my most capital C Conservative position is that 'edtech' is almost always an expensive con that distracts us from what we know works best in education and that there really is absolutely no harm in a classroom looking broadly the same as it did 20 years ago most of the time.

Our aid cuts have been just as severe. It won't kill as many people because we spent less to start with, and focused a bit less on health/food programmes. But we've got nothing to be proud of here.

Times headline "Muslim voters rank Gaza over the economy in local election poll" is reporting a poll where the top issue for [some] Muslim voters was the cost of living (50%) ahead of Gaza on 25% and economy on 21% Anti-Muslim hostility on 22% Times headline gives an entirely misleading impression

1777: A pair of swifts appear at last: they usually come in pairs. Cucumbers abound.

"Scholars from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) uncovered the manuscript that contains Caedmon’s Hymn at the National Central Library of Rome." #MedievalSky #speirgorm #Spéirghorm www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...

"Why are Queer texts still marginal in English?" www.nate.org.uk/2025/09/03/w...

I’ve been hearing so much anger and disappointment from frontline workers about the BBC investigation into fraudulent asylum claims. One of the most damning responses has come from one of the experts they interviewed, solicitor Ana Gonzalez. It’s really worth reading her response in full:

This, but also: for local elections, the policies should reflect WHAT A LOCAL AUTHORITY DOES. Oh you want a tax on high earners? Not in the LA's gift. You want significant NHS reform? Not in the LA's gift. I know it is not as glamourous as national politics, but that's what you're running for.

impossible to overstate how poisonous this shit is. dudes on the street smiling and waving at your toddler are an indicator of a happy and functional community

This the way. Also true for train stations (although with notable - and indeed noble! - exceptions, they are not as well provisioned as airports).

we owe our evolutionary success to our social behavior; interdependence is our species' primary survival strategy. it's isolation that will get you killed in an apocalyptic scenario, not the other way around.

VERY COOL PERSON: It's four-twenty, you know what that means? ME: Hell yeah! [starts shoving blackbirds into a pie]

I often get the sense that American leftists write off joint Israeli-Palestinian activism as naive kumbaya shit but whenever I read something like this I am blown away by the strength of people who have endured the worst losses possible and yet still show up with compassion for the “enemy”

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding

at least it'll make England fans feel at home

"The next day was Sunday again. The caterpillar ate through one nice leaf, and after that he felt better."

Archbishop of Canterbury calls for members of the Anglican Communion to join Pope Leo in calling for peace I stand with the Pope in call for peace, says Archbishop of Canterbury “I urge Anglicans across the Church of England and the Anglican Communion to join with His Holiness in raising our…

close friends, france, 15th century

It’s genuinely staggering how little substance there is to today’s instalment of the BBC’s attempt to create a national crisis out of a few unproven allegations of immigration fraud 1/

Durham Cathedral, 1926, photo by E.O. Hoppé, German-born British photographer (1878-1972).

🎶 Your own personalized Jesus Someone who’s an AI For one ninety nine Your own personalized Jesus Coming from “Just Like Me” Used to be free Reach out and touch screen

Difficult to describe how unusual it is for @icrc.org to speak publicly like this. "Heavy explosive weapons with wide-area effects struck densely populated urban areas, including the capital Beirut, without effective advance warnings." ICRC Outraged by Deadly Strikes in Densely Populated Areas

A+

Indentured labourers typically had shorter periods of indenture than this in the 19-th century British empire.

It has been six years since the Gender Autonomy Act was passed in Iceland. In those six years, none of the usual fears that anti-trans advocates warn against have manifested - and trans people, non-binary people and intersex people have enjoyed increased rights and protections.

Italy celebrated the resurrection of Christ by making sure that innocent people continue to drown in their dozens and then threatening the samaritans trying to save them 71 people are still missing

Who ARE you people who think Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto no.2 is better than Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis???

Happy Trans Day of Visibility! Trans saints have always been with us, from St Theodora of Alexandria to Pauli Murray, to name just two we covered on the pod. Trans folks are sacred, and reveal to us the creativity that is at the heart of the image of God. Thank you for being you.

Discworld QOTD, from Feet of Clay

ULVEANGREB! KVINDE BIDT I ANSIGTET! Det giver 3 minutters indslag på DR. Hvilke billeder giver det dig? Det viser sig, at kvinden - som opsøgte ulven i forsøg på at hjælpe den udenfor igen - fik en flænge ved mundvigen. Det er imponerende, hvor stærkt et greb, det dyr har om vores opmærksomhed.

And I must also mention the Ven @revrachelmann.bsky.social, who has written a number of cracking books, also including a prize-winning collection of poetry, “Eleanor among the Saints.”