Fascinating research - revealing graphically how religious affiliation today bears witness to the history of empire building and colonisation. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

The importance of good surveys - with random samples: the much reported resurgence of religiosity in young adults evaporates in the face of good data…

Christians, the world's largest religious group, are more spread out than others. It takes a minimum of 12 countries to total 51% of the 2.3 billion Christians on earth. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/12/08/many-religions-heavily-concentrated-in-one-or-two-countries/

Part of a lost masterpiece for #MosaicMonday Fragment of #Roman floor depicting an arch found in #Canterbury Kent in 1758 during the construction of a cellar next to the King's Head inn Recorded in a watercolour held by the @antiquaries.bsky.social The fate of the mosaic is sadly unknown 🙁

Great to be back on tour again! Lovely crowd at Dorking tonight. I’m heading on to Tunbridge Wells tomorrow, Richmond on Tuesday, then Malvern, Ipswich, Basingstoke, Frome, Worthing & Salford in March. Signing paperbacks of Domination everywhere I go!

Congratulations Switzerland, GB and Canada on bronze, silver and gold in the curling! You have kept us all utterly entranced. Thank you.

Look everyone. If the sliding stones are just too stressful, switch to Channel 4 for a lovely trip to Rome. I’m there.

I don’t think watching stones sliding on ice should be this stressful.

Thousands of you have already told your MPs that it's time for a Royal Epstein Inquiry. We can't let off now. Email your MP, link below. #AbolishTheMonarchy #Epstein

Read @adamrutherford.bsky.social's @newhumanist.bsky.social interview with historian @davidolusoga.bsky.social about the British Empire, identity, religion in politics, education, and why rational thinking gets you nowhere on The Traitors. Available now ⬇️ newhumanist.org.uk/articles/651...

Put! It! Back!

Starting on Wednesday at 8pm on Channel 5, watch Our Hospital Through Time. Tune in to see us showing @profaliceroberts.bsky.social our collection items and discussing the history of St Bartholomew's Hospital #History #Archives #HistMed #HistNursing

There is a measles outbreak in London, which has been widely reported. Vaccination rates are low. And we have been warned that an outbreak could be large. Some of the reasons are due to misinformation and disinformation. Thankfully the Government appears to be waking up. A thread.

A wonderful set of potted biographies charting some of the network of freethinkers and scientists who inspired - and were inspired by - Charles Darwin. A belated Happy Darwin Day!

Next Tuesday, MSPs will have a final opportunity to amend the Religious Observance Bill. New data from @humanistsociety.bsky.social has found widespread Christian evangelising during Religious Observance sessions in Scotland’s non-denominational schools. humanists.uk/2026/02/13/c...

Two years ago, the #DarwinDayLecture was given by @lemoustier.bsky.social. It tackled one of the BIGGEST questions in evolution – when do humans become ‘human’ Chaired by @profaliceroberts.bsky.social. It's always cool to learn neat facts about Neanderthals! www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVuL...

Ok this is WILD 🏺 paging my repatriation community peeps www.Bloomberg.com/news/article...

This 👇 #Treasure #Archaeology #Detecting 🏺

Leaving a controlling religious group can be one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. For those who dare to question the beliefs they've been taught for years, the journey to freedom can be frightening and dangerous. No one should face it alone. @faith2faithless.bsky.social

Bonus #DarwinDay content: Six of the best grumpy Darwin quotes.

Palantir, a US spy-tech firm, has been given access to millions of NHS patient records. Its founder has said the NHS should be 'ripped up'. Join me in calling on the government to end the dangerous Palantir contract. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...

#FindsFriday The stunning head of the Capel Garmon firedog, dug up from a peat bog in north Wales in 1852 A masterpiece of Late Iron Age forging & smithing, with bull's horns & plaited equine mane representing a composite animal More here: coflein.gov.uk/en/site/800314 📷 My own, NMW St Fagans

The most disgraceful thing Queen Elizabeth ever did was pay £12m of your money to keep Andrew from being found guilty of sex offences in court.

For humanists, morality is not a divine gift. Instead, it is rooted in our evolution as a social species. Over millennia, traits such as empathy, cooperation, fairness, and concern for others helped human communities survive and flourish. humanists.uk/humanism/how...

GREANEY HAS SOLVED STONEHENGE.

I've asked several times now, what they prayed for and did it work? Anyone else interested?

Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs xkcd.com/3204/

And in other news, thanks to Storm Chandra, our colleagues from @bournemouthuni.bsky.social Maritime Archaeology have found a part of the Fame of Hoorn, an armed Dutch merchant ship that sank in 1631 #Archaeology www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Loving the 90’s vibe in the ice dance! Fabulous Spice Girls routine from Team GB - I can even admit as indie kid/goth!

We pride ourselves on being a democracy and yet there’s a medieval theocratic anachronism in the heart of parliament: 26 bishops with automatic seats in the House of Lords. (The only other country in the world with clerics automatically entering a government is… Iran).

Very pleased to have @bournemouthuni.bsky.social research on Geoffrey of Monmouth featured in the new TV series *Lost Grail* with @profaliceroberts.bsky.social See it on Sky History or stream the series on NOW TV www.history.co.uk/shows/lost-grail-with-alice-roberts 📷 © 9 of Cups Productions

How can our Labour government claim to be "making every effort to eliminate discrimination" while allowing state schools to discriminate against children on the basis of their religion (or lack of it )? Both the Greens and the Lib Dems have made manifesto commitments to stop this discrimination. 👏🏼👏🏼

Very important! If you support the #AssistedDyingBill and are frustrated with the Lords running down the clock, thereby subverting the democratic will of the elected chamber... The most important thing you can do right now is sign this parliamentary petition. Sign! 👇 humanists.uk/2026/02/06/p...

Hello everyone! If you’re watching Channel 4. If not, why not? ALL NEW ROMAN EMPIRE BY TRAIN ON RIGHT NOW!!!

Zona Vallance, a founding figure of Humanists UK, was born #OnThisDay 1860. Zona was our inaugural secretary – a role equivalent to today’s Chief Executive, held by @andrewcopson.bsky.social – and a suffragette, writer, and powerful public lecturer. 🧵 heritage.humanists.uk/zona-vallance/

Finally, North America gets some spinosaurs! OK, OK: North America finally gets _Spinosaur Tales_, by @davehone.bsky.social and me, from today. It's been out in the UK since Nov. and reviews have been v. positive. All your usual book vendors will stock it. Info: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/spinosaur...

This is such exciting news for the prehistory & early history of western Britain & the wider European seaways, providing further firm evidence for the tin trade documented by classical authors 👇

Faith school shut children out of their local schools because they’re the 'wrong' religion – and the Government doesn’t even collect the data to know how often this happens. As Baroness Burt told the Lords: transparency is a basic first step toward fair admissions. humanists.uk/2026/02/04/m...

For most of human history, evolution shaped us. Now, we shape it. This 12 Feb, join us for the #DarwinDayLecture, as @matthewcobb.bsky.social explores how genetic engineering has transformed medicine, agriculture, and now threatens ecosystems and even humanity itself. 🧵 humanists.uk/events/darwi...

BREAKING: Religious Education (RE) in Northern Ireland is set for significant overhaul. It will no longer be exclusively Christian or controlled by the four largest churches, and will be subject to a comprehensive review led by education professionals. A huge success for our campaign! 🧵

From the NE, the ramparts of Flowers Barrow Iron Age hillfort, atop a cliff at the seaward end of a ridge overlooking Worbarrow Bay, give a great idea of how the enclosure originally dominated the land 🤩 It's one of our favourite #Dorset hillforts (just don't tell the others) #HillfortsWednesday

Balm to the mind for my creaking knees! “noise alone is not a reason to stop being active…Movement is essential for joint health. Cartilage relies on regular compression and release to receive nutrients, as it has very limited blood supply.” theconversation.com/why-do-our-j...

The story the evolution of height in populations of Europe has been a bit of rollercoaster, veering between natural selection or admixture with populations who had a higher genetic propensity to be taller by chance. This preprint goes back to natural selection... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Two years ago, the #DarwinDayLecture was given by @lemoustier.bsky.social. It tackled one of the BIGGEST questions in evolution – when do humans become ‘human’ Chaired by @profaliceroberts.bsky.social. It's always cool to learn neat facts about Neanderthals! www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVuL...

Archaeologist Duncan Sayer on the significance of weapon burials - and the child buried with a sword at the site he led in Kent, which I was lucky enough to discuss with him on the latest series of Digging for Britain. theconversation.com/four-early-m...

As night fell, the rain abated and I had my Imbolc fire. The spring is coming.

My friend Faith said “It's good it's raining because the hag of winter can't collect her firewood. Therefore winter cannot continue for much longer” There’s always a silver lining!

How am I meant to have my Imbolc bonfire in this weather?!

Dr T reckons this is the symbol of the 13th/14th century Lionesses? What do we think? @profaliceroberts.bsky.social

Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers. This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder. Auschwitz took time.