The BBC is the biggest thump of soft power the UK has and its reach and influence to the benefit of the country is extraordinary. Destroy it, hugely damage the UK. The same people who helped weaken us over Brexit are seeking to do it again.

#librarians @cilip.bsky.social

This is the real threat to BBC impartiality. A weekend read by me setting the shambles of the last fortnight in proper context www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...

This article by @naomialderman.bsky.social in the Guardian today gives a flavour of the book (I assume - not read the book yet). www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...

yes. this is the reason. the reason is not "it is always right". the reason is "it will always be better to have the BBC than to be relying on Musk, Truss and X for news".

We’re in era of information crisis. @naomialderman.bsky.social , in this excellent new short nonfiction book, examines what this means for us as individuals, and for humanity. Well-informed, important, lucid & highly relevant. Overwhelmed & unsettled by the internet age? Read this! #books 💙📚💡

very very good piece and yes, like the bank of England, the BBC now needs to be totally independent from any particular government, with its own independent board to which it is accountable for upholding its own values

Incredible piece of data journalism here from @wsj.com. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

The clearest proof that the UK is *not* the destination of choice for asylum seekers comes from the Home Office data showing the UK is not the destination of choice for asylum seekers

This excerpt from Jonathan Lassiter’s book makes me want to read his book. Powerful and mind-wrenching. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/doctor-minority-white-people-crazy_n_6909099de4b0c4a0f50a51fb

The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say. Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA#microbiome @wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social

Right. Hitler's DNA. Brace yourselves for a deluge of misinformation and bad science. I'm in Australia, so do get in touch if you want some expert debunking.

1/ cOAlition S announces its 2026–2030 strategy, guided by a refreshed, shared vision: a scholarly communication system that enables rapid, open, transparent & equitable sharing of trustworthy scientific knowledge. www.coalition-s.org/coalition-s-... #OpenScience #ScholarlyComm #Plan_S #OpenAccess

Great to have Priya Moorjani visit UGI and give a talk on inferring Neanderthal ancestry in ancient individuals, and to share a bit about her work on Indian genetics, including insights into the evolution of lactase persistence.

This looks worth a read - and it is "free online from 11th November 2025 - 25th November 2025".

You may have missed this gem yesterday. From which we learn that: 1. Betting shops are really good for the mental health of isolated people. 2. Most drug-takers are not a problem. 3. Kids put tuppence in slot machines in the hope of getting rich. 4. Farage probably has a gambling industry donor.

Still fuming they are using the Lovelace name to give themselves licence to bring together five dudes to discuss the future of the UK’s research system #AdaWashing

It takes an obscene amount of hubris to lecture the BBC when you have The Telegraph’s record on truth-telling. Some of the paper’s errors this year are so bad they’re almost laughable 👇🏻

SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten. "I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA

#r4today #wato #bbcpm The first step towards saving our precious BBC: remove Robbie Gibb from the board | Ed Davey www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

10am November 17 deadline! One week to go! >>

Goodreads getting competition from Musk’s new site, “Pathetic Manchild Reads”

The theme for LGBT+ History Month UK 2026 is ‘Science and Innovation’. The new badge is available from our website (lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/shop/). Find out more about the month and our five figures at: lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/lgbt-history... #LGBTQIA #LGBTplusHM #lgbthm26

People gossiped about JD Vance and Erika Kirk. Then, inevitably, came the "don't gossip" scoldings. Screw it! Let's defend wild speculation. First, these two deserve it. Second, the gossip tells us a lot about JD Vance's political future. An analysis. www.salon.com/2025/11/10/w...

Spent the morning filling in a multitude of forms from my solicitor linked to sale of my flat. Just have to print/sign/scan and send them off. Hoping there’s no more to come.

Well well well. Finally, in the light of the resignations of DG and BBC news CEO, the BBC is reporting about the entryists on its own Board, and their agenda to force the BBC's editorial position to the right, even the far right. Step into the spotlight, Robbie Gibb. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New DG, a shoo in

Good to see someone involved in the field describing the techbro fantasies as “bullshit”. But note the link between this nonsense and eugenicist ideas from Altman. These people are rich, stupid and influential, which = dangerous.

"[I]t will be critical to maintain a human in the loop even as we seek to incorporate the strengths of #AI-based review in our editorial process." Read this Editorial from the editors and staff of JAMA and the JAMA Network journals. ja.ma/4oXjl3H

This Historian of Life Sciences three-year position at Cold Spring Harbord Lab, NY is worth a look. #HistSci www.schooljobs.com/careers/cshl...

I've been on a few panels/podcasts lately & a point raised as been how much people actually use specialised ai research tools like Elicit, Undermind, or even ai from established players like Scopus Ai Vs using chatgpt/Gemini maybe+ deep research. After all we see much more use of Google scholar (1)

spot the difference #FascistAmeriKKKa #Theocracy #ChristianTaliban

View from a fascinating new exhibition at the Foundling Museum - read more about it on our blog: iaml-uk-irl.org/hallelujah-a...

“For nine months, Sky News' Data and Forensics team has been investigating whether X's algorithm amplifies right-wing and extreme content. It does.” Still intrigued not as to why folks still post there (each to their own, etc), but whether X still actually works? 🤷🏾‍♂️ news.sky.com/story/the-x-...

"So a major driver of immigration becoming such a central societal and political issue is a growing concern about asylum seekers perceived as coming illegally – but this is built on an extraordinarily wrong view of their scale" @bobbyduffy.bsky.social & @elielcohen.bsky.social write for the LSE

AGI is so difficult. The LLMs valiantly try to guess the context but they get it wrong very often. #ArtificialGeneralIntelligence #NotThereYet

Honestly TELL THE STORY. Won’t someone just tell the fucking story of how Brexit created this economic hardship, how a Muslim immigrant just saved the lives of those commuters on that train, won’t someone in politics or even media just connect the fucking dots and TELL THE STORY. IT’S RIGHT THERE

@altmetric.com - I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think you need to start capturing LinkedIn shares for academic publications. That's rapidly becoming the most active platform in my experience.

"a magisterial new biography" - congrats @matthewcobb.bsky.social! #histSTM

Sad and infuriating to read of yet another ignored and under-diagnosed condition womens health issue. #irondeficiency #womenshealth #medicalmisogyny www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Tory Chris Philp shamelessly attempting to politicise Huntingdon attack, by talking shite about stop-and-search and knife crime on #bbctoday #r4today 🤮 bsky.app/profile/lond...

Chris Philp using the stabbings by someone who boarded a train in Peterborough to attack the Mayor of London. Opportunistic is his middle name. #r4today

Chris Philp completely making up his own figures on BBC Radio 4 Today right now despite this.

Saw a news report yesterday about children as young as 9 being given weight loss jabs on the NHS, and I think it shows just how utterly bullshit the “lack of research into long term impacts” excuse for banning puberty blockers for trans kids really was. It’s purely ideological.

UK people, I've uncovered a scam website (orthopulse.co.uk) mis-selling healthcare products. Wish I'd looked on TrustPilot before parting with my money. Anyone know how we might get this company formally investigated? Address based in France, tat sent from China. uk.trustpilot.com/review/ortho...

That headline and tagline just literally made me shout ‘FUCKING HELL’ so loudly that my wife and cat jumped. I run a book club and I teach literate subjects and this is absolutely, positively the wrong thing for the government to do. @athenakugblenu.bsky.social ‘s suggestions on the other hand 👏👏👏

I honestly think our only hope is regional news media.