Missing from the coverage of redundancies at Edinburgh: this was done in such a haphazard, uncoordinated way, there are now core teams who have gone from 5 people to 1 with no change in workload or pressure and huge loss in knowledge of institutional process. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2576321...

Spinal Tap.

Job Opportunity! Lecturer in Medieval Studies Birkbeck, University of London - School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQB312/l...

30,000 roles across three years. This should be big national news about one of our historically most successful sectors. And yet.

Also…

Plese repost & share: "The risks of using generative artificial intelligence to educate children and teens currently overshadow the benefits, according to a new study by the Brookings Institution's Center for Universal Education." www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...

Reform should buy the whole album in one go because its cheaper than buying individual tracks.

The Reform pitch is increasingly “the last government was terrible, so we’ve hired everyone who was in it”.

Oh give me a tiny moment to enjoy the prospect of Farage saying 'no thanks-fooled you' and Jenrick sitting around in his pants crying and watching old tick tock videos of himself saying racist things. Just a day or two to relish this prospect. Even an hour or two...

Luckily VPNs haven't been invented.

Our researchers (@sotonoceanearth.bsky.social) have found vast areas of densely populated deltas are sinking even faster than sea levels are rising, placing millions at risk of flooding. Read more 👉 https://tr.ee/TujCXP

"we are on an inevitable path to AGI"

I am glad they are retreating but... How bad is this government?! I knew obvs about the performative cruelty, but this is just being shit at your job. Also interesting to hear the Google lady admit that why yes, of course they have to train on (likely) illegal material. Laws are for little people.

🧵A political/media guide to the "truth" about net-zero 1) Add up costs to install & run a net-zero energy system 2) Pretend fossil-fuelled alternatives wld be free 3) Do say "eco zealots are bankrupting us" 4) Don't say "free cars if we scrap net-zero" cos it sounds ridiculous 5) That's it! 1/10

“England’s education system is good and moving towards being great.” Really? You seem not to be giving much weight to pupil wellbeing findings then, @steverollett.bsky.social schoolsweek.co.uk/new-powers-t... www.theguardian.com/society/arti...

New series of #EnglishCreates beginning now. @ies-sas.bsky.social @englishassociation.bsky.social @engmediacentre.bsky.social @readingagency.bsky.social @britishacademy.bsky.social @lrb.co.uk @profsarahdillon.bsky.social @bobeaglestone.bsky.social @jennyrichards.bsky.social

This is obvious; I'm really glad it's getting a wider audience. We need to recognise that after a brief illusory bump in productivity caused by Gen AI, real productivity will probably drop.

Our upcoming spring term events are now live on our website and detailed below on our term card! Join us for more Making Space sessions, and our special 1st Birthday celebrations 👇

Why am I listening in every news bulletin on BBC 6 Music to Peter Mandelson's self-justification over Epstein, with no pushback?

I don’t think people realise how awful it is in Ukraine right now. Yesterday my friend posted how it’s -9 and because of the power cuts - due to Russian attacks - she has no heating. This is in Kyiv. And this is the day after a mass missile & drone strike killed four people.

“What the hell kind of Christian is this guy anyway?” From the new Private Eye, out now.

Every single university in the country should be deleting or locking its accounts now. It’s negligence to be posting photos of students, faculty, or staff on the site.

It would be good if the dehumanising and abusive way migrants still get treated in the UK got even half the coverage and attention as what is happening under Trump in the States bylinetimes.com/2026/01/09/1...

Calling all fifteenth-century scholars: if you have not yet submitted your proposal for this year's conference hosted by @memsunikent.bsky.social, now is the time to do so. CfP open until 31st January.

Scoundrels and liars, and not even competent ones.

This! 👇

The US government is now freely killing people at sea, in other lands, and on its own streets. It is difficult to see what more is needed for Congress and the Supreme Court to exercise their constitutional duty to check and balance what is now a rogue state abroad and a gangster state at home.

I might save this skeet just to look at every now and again when I need a giggle.

OH made this remarkable discovery in the local record shop's January sale. The singing reminds me of Father O'Sullivan's woeful efforts at a sung liturgy at mass as a child. It's on Caedmon Records though!

These new courses, on a similar model to our @ihr.bsky.social Summer School, are going to be really exciting! Teaching, trips and guest experts, then the option to add a (free) extra day with bespoke research guidance from our colleagues @ihrlibrary.bsky.social, to work on your own current project.

It is extraordinary how the law is being treated as not applying to AI companies, and specifically X. Ofcom has apparently posted on X that it has contacted X to determine whether an investigation is warranted. I. What other area of crime does this happen? There are laws! National specialist CSE

'A recent report by the University of Bristol found that schools had become the biggest provider of foodbanks across England, with 4,000 across the country.'

Well now. I am feeling rough as old dogs today but this beauty from @lusignanmermaid.bsky.social has cheered me right up! Wonderful to see it in print, and with such a gorgeous cover!

At some point in all these articles you reach the bit where the so-called AI genius says 'turns out that reality isn't like SciFi' and you realise that these people are at root just clowns. We should be laughing like drains at their idiocy, not trying to bend our economy and society to it.

First cold/ RSV/ sore throat nasty of 2026. Bleurgh.

Another exodus from the other site, from the sounds of it? If you're looking for the #EarlyModern gang, we've got three starter packs that compile a bunch of them. I can keep adding to the third, just poke. Here's the OG: go.bsky.app/VQeQbbF 1/3

Why not start your new year with an extra spring in your step by joining us at The EA ! 😊Much to gain from membership in 2026 ! Find out ! ⬇️⬇️⬇️ englishassociation.ac.uk

American food standards are genuinely grim, both from human health, environmental health, and animal health and welfare perspectives.

Eating my late breakfast to the sound of @cathamclarke.bsky.social reading Caedmon's hymn - one of Cerys's picks of 2025 on 6 Music...

Holy shit. This is nuts.

Semiotic paradox alert!

It reads like Goodall might have had a disinhibiting sherry or two over the festive season and I am here for it! As far as I can tell this lot get wheeled in every now and again to vote against hunting bans and for benefit cuts. They should have been out years ago.

I’m currently studying equity and trusts, concerned with many of the issues that form the legal spine of Austen’s plots. Austen does a better job of setting out the issues than some judgments I’ve read!

Punctuation is important

Rememeber Supertram?

RG universities might be tempted to think 'this could be good for us', but it won't be. To be honest we let the principle go when 2* stopped being funded. If we accept 3* not being funded we've basically accepted the principle that nothing should be, and the point of this is really just...

'An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the Russell Group university “does not have appropriate arrangements in place” for managing workplace stress and was unable to demonstrate that it is managing the risks associated with excessive workloads.' 1/2

I would ask anyone who says this whether they walked through the boarded up city of Salisbury after the novichok attack. The death of Dawn Sturgess was terrible. Yet we must look in the face the fact that we are just lucky that many more did not die. The perfume bottle contained enough...

If shooting estates can't make their businesses work without persecuting raptors, we should legislate to make game shooting illegal. I am sick to death already about them getting round the restrictions on releasing birds outdoors that apply to everyone else to stop bird flu.