Really excellent thread this - well worth reading all the way through

Got this, by @juliaioffe.bsky.social, for Christmas and just finished it. Fantastic read, albeit tragic (like so much of anything about Russia). Made me both nostalgic for the Moscow I left in 2012, and deeply sad for the Russia we might have seen.

Fun to think that 150 odd years ago and running international at the RS would have also included actual ships…

I both hate and love that this works. See also the brilliant video of Empty Chairs at Empty Tables sung to the tune of The Muppet Show…

Isn’t this also this year’s John Lewis Xmas ad?

I see the Alexa app woke up today and chose violence

My phone reminds me it’s the seven year anniversary of the University of Oxford using a picture of, er, York to advertise. I guess the CMA case by @uoylibrary.bsky.social is still pending 😃

My GP just gave me a new response the next time something goes wrong at work

There’s a chance The Economist has become self aware and is now making meta references to what were already in-jokes. Only possible explanation for this…

Peter! You’ve lost the news!

- I'm going to analyse the Welsh by-election result - Caerphilly? - Nah, I'll probably just fire off some hot-takes

Good new report from @bfpg.bsky.social looking at the role of research and science as a source of UK soft power and how it could be leveraged bfpg.co.uk/2025/10/scie...

A true World Series—the U.S. and Canada, the two countries in the world

The Dodgers are definitely going to win the World Series, and that’s probably fair enough given they have probably the greatest player in a generation on their side… … but the sole Canadian team winning the World Series would be a wonderful end to the geopolitics of 2025 😄

The @royalsociety.org Places of Science award winners would make for an *excellent* road trip

Accurate. #academia #academy #philsky #philosophysky #philosophy #science

Ambassador / Station Chief / Cultural Counsellor

Absolutely intellectually spoiled these past 2 days! At ‘A New Odyssey for Public Engagement’ in London, leading thinkers in science, diplomacy & public engagement from 4 continents came together to explore how the ODESSI framework (doi.org/10.5281/zeno...) can guide global dialogues on science 🌍✨

Huge thanks to Shaofeng Hu (UNESCO) & @francoisefrancois.bsky.social for inspiring keynotes, and to our brilliant speakers & discussants for their transdisciplinary insights 🙏 @itswiggins.bsky.social @annettemarkham.bsky.social @annetteboaz.bsky.social @davidludwig.bsky.social @gsej.bsky.social

Morning walk

Some imaginative sentencing here by the French…

A fascinating interview where it appears I once did the same job as John Sawers (General Secretary of the University of Nottingham Students’ Union…)

Putting one shoe in a safe just strikes me as a great way of losing one shoe per trip

This post and the replies making me feel marginally better about the time our solicitors simply *forgot* to pay my stamp duty to HMRC

I hope @heritage.bsky.social knows how many people are having to physically throw their phones across a room to stop them posting this brilliant article to their school WhatsApp and then exiting the group with a metaphorical flounce 😃

If I had a nickel for every time this month I’d climbed a hill called High Raise… …I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s fun that it happened twice

Unexpected Saturday: cat needed emergency eye surgery so I’m now reading the @financialtimes.com in Booths in Penrith while the cat goes under the knife and my EV charges for the journey back to York. Not saying it’s the *most* middle class weekend ever, but it feels close

Maybe the third or fourth time I’ve seen this sign this year, but tell me again how climate change isn’t a thing in the here and now…

What I love about these “one like / one opinion” threads is how they read a lot like an expanded version of Savage Garden’s Affirmation.

Deeply troubled by this take. But delighted to have an excuse to rewatch both.

Story tonight about our joint open letter to The Times We’re calling for the guidance that is preventing civil servants from participating in public and stakeholder events to be withdrawn www.thetimes.com/article/2e4f...

Looking forward to @duncanrobinson.bsky.social’s next column on what a rise of hosepipe snitches says about modern Britian

Dune 3 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Harkonnen

the system is deeply flawed, deeply unfair, and internally contradictory, but at its best the marriage of a pact to outlaw aggression, a New Deal-style arrangement for global poverty alleviation and individual freedom, and avenues to underwrite post-colonial sovereignty had a lot to recommend it

So Kremlinology for the fate of a sector which employs half a million or so people. Love that.

Fascinating conference here today. Also enjoyed the Backstreet Boys esque seating arrangement for our panel.

God I love this city so bloody much

Former official / work with lots of them regularly. This just feels patently unworkable. To say no Q&A sessions *at all* is just bonkers, so many vital technical engagements with key sectors work that way and ministers are never going to be involved in that kind of event.

“We hold diplomacy to much higher standards than bombing” Good thread this and that line in particular is spot on

Just read the very good lunch with the FT interview with Emily Bender on AI hype….. …. and then saw this 😬

Hey Wembley Stadium… hottest day of the year and using the length of the water queues as a *sales pitch* on the tannoy for a 4 bottles of water for £10 offer is pretty shameless

UK seems to have won around 30% of the ERC Advanced Grants in humanities and social sciences - great result. Good to be in Horizon again erc.europa.eu/news-events/...

As the kids would say: we are _so_ back

Counterpoint: this is a map ChatGPT just made me…

Post of the day.

DECC > DezNez Still got this mug from the first time Ed Miliband was running the department 😄

Concerned about the current state of attacks on knowledge, our role in providing access to & preserving authentic knowledge, and what would be the role of AI? Join us at the inaugural Knowledge Futures Symposium on 27th June, 9am-4pm (BST), Online/In Person conferences.leeds.ac.uk/knowledgefut...

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