I’m a broken record on this, but — there are so many examples of famous people radicalised by midlife career/personal knockbacks. Ant Middleton was on yday’s march. He got done for tax offences and lost his TV work. Now he’s mates with Tommy Robinson.

“Nuanced, layered and poetic…” tomorrow night’s BBC Radio 4 Illuminated ‘Where the Distance Shimmers’ is @radiotimes.bsky.social documentary pick of the week www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... Presented by @ladymissbarton.bsky.social Produced by Alan Hall

O Captain! My Captain! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

'Somewhere on the playing fields of England are a handsome boy and a joyful girl who know what to say in their university interviews and already have the confident charm that will mark them out for the rest of their lives. Manners makyth man, as Winchester College’s motto boasts.'

With country music newly resurgent, @ladymissbarton.bsky.social asks: are the US charts having their own Sydney Sweeney moment?

My forthcoming talk, at the National Gallery of Scotland, about the stories & glories of graveyards is fully booked. But you are welcome to join us online, for free, if you like. It's at 12.45pm on Tuesday August 5. Here is the link for booking: www.nationalgalleries.org/event/peter-...

Been discussing the Making of Five Leaves Left with Cally Callomon from the Nick Drake estate and @ladymissbarton.bsky.social for tonight's BBC Front Row. Also Petra Volpe on Heldin/Night Shift & Richard Stilgoe on Tom Lehrer & Cleo Laine 715pm R4 or link after: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Broadcast Kneecap from Glastonbury, but voiced by an actor

When a fan sent musician Nick Cave AI-generated lyrics in his style, he replied: “With all the love and respect in the world, this track is bullshit and a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human.” @ladymissbarton.bsky.social on what AI might do to songwriting. www.prospectmagazine...

Not many people know that e e cummings was actually born t-mobile cummings

Here's a playlist of seven great versions of Roadrunner going back to 1972. Roadrunner Thrice is a particular fave youtube.com/playlist?lis... And this article by @ladymissbarton.bsky.social about "rock's most thrilling song" is a fantastic read (THREAD) 👀 www.theguardian.com/music/2007/j...

And in case anyone else was confused about this, I was not in any way saying that Christine Feldman-Barrett was not an expert on the Beatles

I wrote about men and the Beatles for @the-independent.com www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...

When industry falls silent, more than jobs are lost… @ladymissbarton.bsky.social on how a nation’s cultural identity is forged alongside its steel: www.prospectmagazine...

Like a middle-aged version of the Telegraph’s A-level results day coverage

I am on here facing down my arch nemesis @ladymissbarton.bsky.social and stinking up the “airwaves” on Radio 4. From 2hrs 56 minutes. Already 45 people have cancelled their licence fee in protest at the BBC giving me “the oxygen of publicity”. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Hat tip to @ladymissbarton.bsky.social for this wee gem to remember Val Kilmer. We all know Lou needed it.

Will Oasis’s return help bring about a much-needed cultural kind of devolution? ✍🏼 @ladymissbarton.bsky.social www.prospectmagazine...

the sky is a scratchedtofuck record

The work of musician and writer Pierre Boulez, who would have turned 100 this week, ends our current series of Afterwords on BBC Radio 3 tonight Produced by Alan Hall with @phoebemcindoe.bsky.social

I spoke to Jeff Bridges for today’s @theguardian.com and he was every bit as excellent as one would hope: www.theguardian.com/music/2025/m...

“Not for me,” said Ben Folds as he resigned from the Kennedy Center after Trump’s takeover. @ladymissbarton.bsky.social explores how both men built careers as outsiders—with vastly different visions for American culture. www.prospectmagazine...

This was exceptional radio: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Pick of the day in @radiotimes.bsky.social, Robben Island’s Hallelujah airs at 4pm on BBC Radio 4 Produced by @catherineboulle.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

On this month’s Allender Calendar I had the great pleasure of talking to the comedian Josie Long about her brilliant book of short stories Because I Don’t Know What You Mean and What You Don’t pod.fo/e/2ab3ec

"At the age of 37, she knew she'd found forever, as she rode along through Paris with the warm wind in her hair." So long, Marianne x www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jNr...

I love writing for this magazine

Bonnie “Prince” Billy for @the-independent.com - what a joyful, fascinating conversation: www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...

Happy 80th to Robert Wyatt! Back in 2012, Alan Hall created this radio portrait with him… www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

I absolutely loved speaking to Joe Boyd for this piece about A the Roots of Rhythm Remain - what a life, what a book! Pictures by the peerless @sarahmlee.bsky.social

🎶 @ladymissbarton.bsky.social’s list of the top 10 albums of 2024 is short n’ sweet... and so is one of its entries. www.prospectmagazine...

I interviewed the incredible Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory for the latest Uncut - it’s a particularly brilliant edition of the magazine this month. Available in shops or order online!

"There is an intimate moment when a digger finds something, when it is just them and the object and the hovering ghost of whoever touched it last." Delighted to write about @nessofbrodgar.bsky.social for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social. Pictures by Kieran Dodds. www.smithsonianmag.com/history/disc...

"Without this program, I would not have been exposed to the global tapestry of audio alchemists and sculptors... to lose it is like having a precious node suddenly switched off, phantom-searching for a home frequency..." podcastthenewsletter.substack.com/p/sad-to-say...

“This is a moment in radio history and not a good one, as the final episode of Short Cuts on Radio 4 airs. After 40 series of extraordinary, groundbreaking audio…” - @radiotimes.bsky.social Pick of the Week 🌙 Listen to ‘Midnight’ - the last edition of @josielong.bsky.social's Short Cuts on Radio 4

Really wish Meghan’s new Netflix show had been a celebrity version of My Drunk Kitchen

It’s the night before the night before Christmas so we’ll be listening to Seymour Sarnoff’s story of his decades-long quest to write the perfect festive song… Made by @alexjrlewis.bsky.social for the first ever @josielong.bsky.social Short Cuts Christmas special - www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

This morning I’m joining the Winter Solstice pop-up on Amateurism Radio, from, erm, RIGHT NOW til 11:30am: www.amateurism.co.uk

Impeccable radio: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand...

I fucking love being a middle class woman of a certain age

I wrote about fentanyl, homelessness, mental health care, Portland, Oregon and my friend Evan B Harris, for @theguardian.com amp.theguardian.com/society/2024...

Some of audio’s finest have put together this open letter urging BBC Radio 4 to reconsider their position on Short Cuts. You can sign it here: tinyurl.com/34pn38m4

At last night's Audio Production Awards, Josie Long, host of Short Cuts, won bronze for presenter of the year. Short Cuts alum @taliaaugustidis.bsky.social won bronze for producer of the year. Short Cuts head producer Eleanor McDowall won silver for her work on another doc — Lights Out: Dust.

#r4today @fallingtreeprod.bsky.social

I think this is one of the stupidest, most short-sighted decisions imaginable. Short Cuts has reliably delivered the best, most beautiful, most innovative, most moving audio on the BBC, or anywhere. Please enjoy the wonders of the archive here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

Perfect late November mizzly weather music: www.youtube.com/watch?v=invn...

I loved this piece beyond measure. Thank you @helenpidd.bsky.social & Lexy Topping (who I can’t yet find on here) www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...