Amazing nuggets in the PPE Medpro High Court ruling The company was incorporated on 12 May 2020 and referred to the Covid "VIP lane" by Michelle Mone *the same day*, despite having no track record in manufacturing PPE Who could have predicted that anything would go wrong?

The govt wants to get more disabled people into work, but isn't making full use of the tools at its disposal In my new report for @citizensadvice.bsky.social I've looked at how our social security system could do more to make sure that when disabled people want to work, work really does pay /1

"The overwhelming weight of evidence still supports paracetamol as the safest option for pregnant women when used as recommended. The real danger isn’t the medicine – it’s oversimplified claims that create fear and undermine trust in healthcare."

The best opponents of misinformation are not political journalists because they see it as part of a power game. It takes expert journalists to expose the lies and also how dangerous they are.

Autism is back on the front pages. Why not read the book that my excellent @manchester.ac.uk @manchstm.bsky.social colleague Dr Bonnie Evans has published on the history of autism? It's open access and you can read it online for free. www.manchesterhive.com/display/9781...

It is 20 years since Conor Gearty gave the Hamlyn Lectures on Can Human Rights Survive? As a mark of respect following the dreadful news of his, Cambridge University Press & Assessment has made these lectures Open Access for the remainder of the year. You can find them here: lnkd.in/e5Xrt2G5

Clickbait headlines are a major source of misinformation and misrepresentation. Useful headlines would have been: 1. Young men support Reform less than other men. 2. Age is much more important for Reform support than sex. 3. Reform is most popular party among 50+ men and women.

UK government report based on internal civil service trial finds Copilot doesn’t increase productivity, and indeed makes Excel take longer and with more errors, and requires Powerpoint users to have ‘corrective action’ applied to their outputs. www.theregister.com/2025/09/04/m...

Brilliant lads, we're getting roasted for not being normal about flags by the Northern Irish

The Government is doing its best at the moment to imply it has no problem with the ethnonationalism now rearing its ugly head. And I don't understand why. 1/5

The Afghan women's football/soccer team, who relocated to the UK to escape the Taliban's removal of female rights, including exclusion from all public life #WomensArt #AfghanWomen

OF COURSE I WOULD

I am one of the 14 authors who chose to leave the Polari Prize, and I find myself frustrated and saddened at the way this entire story has been represented. 1/

As more of us (and our universities) migrate to Bluesky, early research by @mikethelwall.bsky.social finds it is not only being used to share research but is hosting 'more meaningful scholarly dialogue' than its predecessor arxiv.org/pdf/2507.18840

On holiday, I notice that there are wind turbines on the shore of Lake Garda, which very much makes me think that residents with a view of some incredibly mid Cotswold or other can put a sock in it.

😂😂😂

David Runciman’s extended essay series on BBCRadio4 charting the victory, achievements, challenges & demise of the 1945 Labour Government is 1 of the best ever contributions to this strand. Essential listening for understanding where Britain is today www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

🧵 In February, I got a message from Anna*, a female police officer. She was a domestic abuse specialist, responding daily to calls from women abused by their partners. But she was also in an abusive marriage herself, for more than a decade - and her abuser was another officer.

🥵 Hot in #London? Find cool spaces 🥶 and water fountains 💧near you, with our interactive map: apps.london.gov.uk/cool-spaces/ 👍

New pre-print: The pursuit of equity in COVID-19 policy and policymaking: A qualitative systematic review open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/articles/5-1...

The Unvirtuous Circle @sekip.bsky.social explores the record of different far-right political parties on immigration policy, arguing that their policy failure feeds into further populist rhetoric on migration. #migration #immigration #populism #governments isrf.org/blog/the-unv...

Today, the Government launches plans to fast-track driverless vehicle trials in the UK. One of the companies involved says London presents a big challenge: “It has seven times more jaywalkers than San Francisco.” Except… it doesn't. 🧵

Culture is bad for you! Live! @edbookfest.bsky.social 19th August, all welcome, tickets here www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival...

Delighted to welcome @gracehuckins.bsky.social as the fifth @ninedotsprize.org winner today! Many congratulations 🎉 More here: ninedotsprize.org/winners/grac...

Honoured to speak at this vital and urgent conference of the UKPRP VISION Consortium on 'Mobilising a cross-government response to violence prevention' - highlighting the cost of violence. Failing to invest in tackling sexual violence is not just morally indefensible – it’s economically reckless.

Delighted to welcome @gracehuckins.bsky.social as the fifth @ninedotsprize.org winner today! Many congratulations 🎉 More here: ninedotsprize.org/winners/grac...

Beautiful everyday Ladybird things. The best seat on the bus (1964) Artist: Harry Wingfield

The quant analysis found only a very small impact on fertility, Headline conclusion: the two-child limit's main impact is to push up child poverty (something we've sadly seen in technicolor in recent years) [analysis w/ @jdportes.bsky.social & Mary Reader] www.iza.org/publications...

More generally, this is a moment where we need a _lot_ more social scientists writing clear explainers in the public space. There is enormous value in turning social science abstractions into practical frames for explaining the complexities of the world and what is changing to regular citizens.

I had to read this several times as “prioritise growth” and “hit universities over the head” are so mutually contradictory

🏆 ARSENAL ARE CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE 🏆

We are just two weeks away from announcing the winner of The Nine Dots Prize 2024/25. Be sure to keep an eye out on our social pages for the winner announcement and sign up to our newsletter. ninedotsprize.org

New briefing out today from me + @craigpberry.bsky.social shows government's claim disabled people affected by cuts will be better off in work is false For many, full-time work would only bring a small income boost + in some cases, leave people worse off www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Researchers paid $9 billion over 5 years for their findings to be freely accessible. This is based on a study of the global expenditure on article processing charges (APCs) paid to six publishers for open access between 2019 and 2023. arxiv.org/abs/2407.16551

We’ve had an incredible range of entries to the Prize this cycle, full of originality and out of the box thinking. We’re excited to share that the winner of this year’s prize will be announced on Tuesday 3rd June. Don’t miss the announcement, sign up to our newsletter today.

This obsession is with “young men turning to the right” is everything that is wrong with the discussion about the far right. It is not just an inadequate read of what is happening, and a bias towards the male norm, but it also normalizes the far right and obscures support for inclusive politics. 🧵

Useful life advice in my view is to never find yourself in a position where you have to explain that, no, you are in fact not quite like Enoch Powell. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Absolutely abhorrent, morally, and counter-productive, politically. Center-left parties will never profit from "control immigration" policy as long as they buy into, and strengthen, the far-right "immigration is a threat" narrative. Decades of academic research don't lie!

Peer-reviewed study finds "methodological flaws and unsubstantiated claims" in research that Cass Review is based upon. Labour should suspend legislation and rules based on report, which demeans and excludes trans community, and start comprehensive and independent scientific review.

Pancreatic cancer has a five-year survival rate of 13 percent; in an ongoing study, an mRNA vaccine has prevented the cancer from returning after four years in some patients. Some lawmakers want to ban mRNA therapies and the US government is cutting funding. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/u...

The 2025-26 Wasafiri Essay Prize is open for submissions until 30 June, 2025. If you're an early career researcher (including PhD) in the field of international contemporary literature, submit your paper to us and tick the box for Essay Prize consideration to automatically enter: buff.ly/SHEn1JT

So delighted to see the contribution of the talented Jane Wheeler credited in the beautiful transformation of the Granada cinema to the new Soho Theatre Walthamstow observer.co.uk/culture/arch...

The Papal conclave is expected to start between the 6th and 12th of May. Eurovision is between the 13th and 17th of May. Social media is about to get very confusing.

Under rules introduced by Lansley reforms and built on by successive Govts, companies don't need contracts with NHS areas. Coupled with optometrist referrals it's an ideal model to "drive patient flow" to their clinics. @chpithinktank.bsky.social found 84k ops done without contracts in 3yrs

In a rare bit of good news for everyone, the number of new podcasts being created is going down. on.ft.com/4ihZp86 Presumably because everyone already has one

We're thrilled to announce @ashleybarr.bsky.social as the winner of the 2024 Wasafiri Essay Prize. In a first for the prize, we have additionally awarded Highly Commended to Simar Bhasin. Read about their winning essays here: www.wasafiri.org/news-and-eve...

Bluesky has overtaken its flailing rival X in hosting posts related to new academic research, indicating the platform is fast becoming the go-to place for scholars to share their work #AcademicSky #EduSky

@lseimpactblog.bsky.social one for your readers?

Interesting from David Runciman from @ppfideas.bsky.social on what he learnt about universities when becoming a podcaster. “But it is still true that vanishingly few of these successful podcasts are university products, and the ones that are do their best to hide it.”

Hello Bluesky! We are looking forward to expanding our audience of innovative thinkers, problem-solvers and writers, whether you have been published before or not. #writing #AcademicSky #AcWri