Merry Christmas everyone

Childbirth under attack: how women and babies became targets in conflicts around the world

Kate is amazing and Novel is a lovely shop - it’s so incredibly frustrating she’s having to deal with this… 'It’s upsetting that I now have to be hyper-vigilant with people that walk through my door' www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/a-novel-prob...

A big development: the BBC is now running the story about Andrew Milne's "aggressive" letters. "I'm still losing sleep over it. This man has made my life hell." Great to see it getting pick up. And keep an eye on Look North - you may see one of our team! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

BBC vows to defend $10bn lawsuit from Donald Trump

I have spoken to many resident doctors about strike action and the one thing that always stands out for me - on an individual level it is rarely about pay. It's always about how they are treated by their employer and a lot of anxiety about training and job progression.

Starting to think that the President going completely mad might force his party to act next year. He's always said crazy things but he's moved to another, and more politically dangerous, level recently.

A selection of my favourite reads from the year just about gone

Stunning reporting. Horrific stories. “They don’t see us as human. They don’t think about whether the medication will damage our bodies or not. They just put everything into our body without thinking about our health for the baby to survive.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/m...

Great advice from @hannahfearn.bsky.social on the podcast this week. Catch the full episode on Wednesday from 8am. Just search Freelancing for Journalists on your podcast provider.

Just listened to the whole of the birth keepers podcast… that’s going to stay with me for a while open.spotify.com/show/57nEonC...

In news that will shock few parents, a review finds that special needs kids do not thrive in strict schools. Strict school 'harmful' to some pupils, review says www.bbc.com/news/article...

“Thousands of locally employed doctors trapped by insecure 'Gig Economy' contracts". The BMJ's head of journalism @rebeccacoombes.bsky.social joins @kamranabbasi.bsky.social to talk about locally employed doctors ⏯️ www.bmj.com/podcasts

Any GPs on here want to come and chat to me about ADHD referrals under the Right to Choose process. I would very much welcome your insight...

We are incredibly proud of our Y10 girls who competed in the English Schools' Cross Country Cup Final this weekend. These athletes have been a team since Y4 at Westways Primary School. A huge congratulations to them on an amazing achievement and true team spirit!

Yeeeessss girls!!!!!!! I of course would say this as my 15yo is the one on the right. They did so well! Can't quite believe the knee deep mud they had to plough through as well 🙌

@emmajourno.bsky.social @lilycanter.bsky.social rightly feature in @theguardian.com sports books of the year column yesterday! ⭐️

Aggghhhh on many levels with this one

Just spent my Friday evening at two 5-aside football matches in the freezing rain and then solving an Xbox password loop of doom which took AN HOUR 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ me and Microsoft are not on speaking terms

Just popped out to see Kevin Sinfield who was running nearby on his 7 ultras in 7 days for MND but he was too fast for everyone! Just got to the kids primary in time to hear the teacher explain they had to take their lovely banners back in because they'd missed him by 10 min - whoops!!

Hey - do I know anyone with an FT subscription who can help me out with an article (I promise I pay for a lot of journalism but I'm not on banker money)

An excellent piece by Yasmin Khan in @theguardian.com – and I’m very relieved the preposterous case against her has been dropped. www.theguardian.com/food/comment...

I already subscribe and have done for ages and it is def money well spent. Come on Sheffield folk, get signing up!

"It broke my heart," one woman told us about lawyer Andrew Milne's demands for tens of thousands of pounds. Milne stopped answering our e-mails. So we went to get some answers in person. www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/in-an-costa-...

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d... Well this has made our day, eh @emmajourno.bsky.social?!!!! Thanks you so much @jonathanliew.bsky.social 💛

I hope someone draws this wonderful story about Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the power of the arts to help us see things differently, to the attention of our Education Secretary. Do read it, it will lift your spirits.

We need 100 more members to hit our 2025 target of 3,000! Could you be one of the ones to get us there? 6 people already on the board this morning! www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk#/portal/signup

Ooh look at @thetimes.com sports books of 2025. @lilycanter.bsky.social and I did not know this was happening until I started getting WhatsApp messages as Granny had spotted it. Not bad for a book that was rejected by multiple publishers who weren't interested in women's stories.

Amazing day at the William Hill Sports Book of the Year awards yesterday! Our book Ultra Women definitely made an impression and it was fantastic to make the final shortlist.

Amazing update from @sheffieldtribune.bsky.social about the impact of their reporting on Andrew Milne. Doesn't seem like he's going to be getting away with his leasehold scamming any more. Particularly enjoyed this part.

Fave pic from yesterdays @bookieprize.bsky.social ceremony. @lilycanter.bsky.social and I are thrilled we made it as far as the shortlist and it was hilarious to be collectively referred to as the Ultra Women for a day 🤣

'Around 70% of children living in poverty have at least one parent in work.' www.cnn.com/2025/11/24/u...

We just wanted to flag up our Black Friday Sale. You can get 30% off annual subscription to the Freelancing for Journalists newsletter before Dec 5th. That’s just £28 for the whole year. You can also gift it to a friend for Christmas🎄 freelancingforjournalists.substack.com/subscribe?co...

Imagine if adults fidgeted in the same way as children. Here’s where the 10yo absentmindedly ended up while telling me about the laser quest party he’d just been to. Literally climbing the walls (cabinets).

This should be a much, much bigger story than it is playing as so far. Is it the 'Wales' bit that's distracting? Just because it's a devolved administration is hardly the point. This is a corrupt operator that Reform embraced. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

This piece has stirred up a lot of debate. There is clearly much work to do in oversight of how trusts are treating their locally employed doctors, the contracts they are on and training offered. Here’s a rapid response from the @rcphysicians.bsky.social www.rcp.ac.uk/news-and-med...

4/ Meanwhile, an expose in the BMJ brought the experiences of these locally-employed doctors, in short-term, non-standard "gig economy" contracts, into sharp focus. You can read that one here: www.bmj.com/content/391/...

As a health journalist I often come across scams/grifts where there has been a complete failure of regulation. This is magnitudes above that.

Anyone who's read me ranting about screening will know I'm all for thinking critically about health care. But there's a reason maternal mortality has more than halved in the last 40 years. There's a reason maternal mortality is used as a proxy for health care quality globally.

1/ The medical workforce and the #SASsix, a Saturday morning thread... The eagle-eyed among you may have spotted two related publications relating to workforce this week. Taken together, they paint a stark picture of the current medical workforce.

This might be one of the most disturbing pieces I’ve ever read. Staggering investigative work from Sirin Kale and Lucy Osbourne www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

BMJ finds that thousands of locally employed doctors are being ‘exploited’ by NHS Trusts using contracts that deny them training, progression and nationally agreed benefits. Many of these doctors are international graduates and from ethnic minorities www.bmj.com/content/391/...

A new #BMJInvestigation finds that thousands of locally employed doctors are trapped in insecure NHS contracts with no access to training, career progression, or national safeguards. Experts warn that the NHS is effectively “behaving like a gig economy employer” www.bmj.com/content/391/...

Fascinating and disconcerting. That person standing in front of you in hospital saying "I'm one of the doctors" may have a wildly different experience of working in the NHS, depending on a labyrinth of inconsistent contract terms.

I spoke to doctors across England for this @bmj.com investigation. Senior medics leading services and training others but stuck on insecure contracts. Others with no supervision, training or progression - just filling rota gaps. Many egs of poor practice from NHS trusts. www.bmj.com/content/391/...

Ultra-processed food linked to harm in every major human organ, study finds. By MJA member @andrewgregory.com www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

📚 | 2025 Shortlist @lilycanter.bsky.social and @emmajourno.bsky.social: Ultra Women "Shedding light on why female athletes are outperforming men in endurance events, despite the obstacles put in their way." — WHSBOTY 2025 Reading Panel Check out our full shortlist here ⬇️

Having listened to @standardissueuk.bsky.social for a long time, it was really genuinely exciting to go on and chat about Ultra Women open.spotify.com/episode/0mg4...

This cloudfare thing (said like I have any clue what it is) is a bit of a pain. Various websites I need bits of information from down.... www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Warning NHS could become ‘overwhelmed’ amid rise in emergency cases, by MJA member @ellapickover.bsky.social www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...