New article written by Uyi Omoregie and me for the LSE’s Impact Blog: blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci... @lseimpactblog.bsky.social

Been offline for a bit, but this made me chuckle enough to want to share: johnfinnemore.substack.com/p/welcome-to...

Creating this tasty play on Hannibal Chew’s line in Blade Runner gave me far more enjoyment than it probably should have!

I discovered Deborah Bass’s newsletter thanks to Caroline Crampton. Always lovely to read and directs me to other sites, books, programmes, artists: stillsketching.substack.com/p/the-missin...

"I think there's one over there, mate. Stick around, I'm sure you'll get a good shot eventually"

I enjoyed this article by Kate Wagner. Some good, solid advice on writing an essay that should stand the test of time. Could easily apply to writing a book. And the ‘writer’s block’ advice is definitely worth trying. www.late-review.com/p/some-essay...

What a lovely story! @larryandpaul.bsky.social

Love this article. I need to learn me the art of ‘unpacking’! www.experimental-history.com/p/face-it-yo...

‘I feel more and more that technology doesn’t liberate me as much as it diminishes me. Technological innovation has always had this darker side…But lately, the stakes feel higher.’https://electricliterature.com/ai-cant-gaslight-me-if-i-write-by-hand/?ref=carolinecrampton.com

The Dark is Rising sequence of books by Susan Cooper is brilliant. And, I still have my original copy. As well as Cooper’s writing, I love the illustrations that accompany it. It’s lovely to learn more about the artist who created them, Margery Gill. stillsketching.substack.com/p/the-forgot...

Here's a free site.. "Pl@ntnet" for identifying plants and info on them. identify.plantnet.org/k-world-flor... I now know this is 86.2%"Nicotiana plata Link & Otto". ...I can sleep well tonight. 😉 #NaturePhotography #Photography #Flowers

How wonderful.

The beautiful Floribunda 'Pink Martini' (aka Pink Flower Circus; Kordes, 1999). The colour is astonishing. Described by Peter Beales as "a breathtaking treasure for every garden" & he is not wrong! A pale salmony mauve pink, unlike any other pink rose I have seen. Gorgeous. #Roses 🌱 🌹

This did make me laugh out loud 😂 both the situation and the man’s attempt at an apology…

Two governments took The News Agents to secret court for two years via a constitutionally unprecedented superinjunction to stop you from hearing this story. The MoD is responsible for a data leak that put up to 100,000 Afghans at risk of death. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdc6...

NEW: The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE ProPublica has obtained the blueprint for the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to turn over IRS records to Homeland Security in order to speed up the agency’s mass deportation efforts.

Why? Because her music is beautiful, that's why. 'It feels freeform in structure, soaring like a hawk in flight, tracing graceful patterns in the air and climbing to the heavens.' www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...

If you haven't read it (or even if you have) here's the chance to win a lovely new hardback edition of the book I Who Have Never Know Men. www.penguin.co.uk/discover/art...

Just 204 signatures in the home of world leading Parkinson’s research? Cambridge you can do better! petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...

So unbelievably wrong. And, honestly, insulting to all creatives.

Tonight:

I'll be @romanpalace.bsky.social next week with the @remade-uor.bsky.social team for the Meet the Experts event. We'll be showing off some of the amazing artefacts we've analysed, discussing results & striking some replica #Roman coins! Should be a great #FestivalOfArchaeology event!

NEW: Microsoft told @propublica.org that it disclosed details of the escort program to the U.S. government. But the Pentagon’s IT agency was unaware until reporter @reneedudley.bsky.social asked for comment. “Literally no one seems to know anything about this,” a spokesperson said.

Coming up on Saturday, 26 August: If you're on #Dartmoor, or within travelling distance, please join me and my good friend Rima Staines for a discussion of myth, magic, creativity, and enchantment. For more info & tickets: www.greenhillarts.co.uk/calendar/202.... To see Rima's work: rimastaines.com

In English, if you're very hungry you could say "I could eat a horse." A Polish phrase that goes even further is zjadłbym konia z kopytami, which means "I could eat a horse with hooves." And an old phrase about being hungry from Aussie slang is "I could eat the crutch out of a low flying duck."

Love, love, love Jodi Taylor's St Mary's and Time Police series. Always a joy when another book comes out.

If you use WeTransfer, you’ll want to take notice of its changes to terms and conditions. (Same if you use CapCut.) Another company thinking it has the right to take & use other people’s stuff to make profit. 😒 WeTransfer, this isn’t on👇🏾 Thanks to @justinleeanderson.com for the heads up

Chamboi the rhino and Twiggy the giraffe have been walking buddies for a long time. This evening stroll reminded us of a similar scene from exactly a year ago: Chamboi has grown outwards and Twiggy upwards over the past 12 months, but they still enjoy each other’s company enormously!

Chuckle

“‘What a strange thing to happen to a little boy’ [George Oppen]. I love how this evokes the subjectivity of a bewildered child trapped inside an aged body; a boy staring at his wizened hands and wondering what on earth is going on.” www.ian-leslie.com/p/27-notes-o...

A lot of people dismiss those whose beliefs are rooted in misinformation as uneducated. As Uyi Omoregie and I discovered researching our book, Misinformation Matters, even a PhD is no protection against conspiracy theories: you're convinced your intellect makes you better able to see what is 'true'

Here’s a heartwarming story for your Thursday, featuring my pal @birdchick.bsky.social. www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0...

I do love me a bit of Leonora Carrington

10 Groundbreaking Legal Milestones from the Middle Ages That Shaped Modern Justice www.medievalists.net/2024/07/lega... #MedievalHistory

This is a fantastic exhibition. Well worth visiting if you get the chance before it finishes on August 30th.

Love this.

I use the lists option on Amazon to note down what books I want...and then I buy them from Bookshop.org, local bookshops, second-hand bookshops, or get them out the library. And then take great pleasure removing them from my Amazon list, knowing Amazon has made no profit from my joy of reading!

There is still time to get your hands on a ticket to How I Write, with Mary Beard, this Thursday (10) at Our Spring/Summer season of events is drawing to a close with two How I Write sessions with the fabulous Mary Beard (10 July) at 2:30. societyofauthors.org/event/how-i-... #SoAatHome

If not more!!

Sigh…

Epic vandalism.

Deadline: 30 May 2025 Now open for applications. It will supplement 2 apprenticeships (1 England, 1 Scotland) – with a £12k salary contribution + a £6k grant to compensate the employer for the reduction in their earnings during the training period. www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/apprenticesh...

One year has passed since The British Mountaineering Council launched our film 'Access Land', and started explicitly arguing for a rules-based system of access. /THREAD www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOSY...

Lake - A Snowdonia mountainside with waterfall tumbling to the lake, or Llyn, below. Woodcut by North Devon artist and printmaker, Judith Westcott More of this artist's stunning artwork, here: judithwestcott.co.uk #art #woodcut #printmaking #landscape #snowdonia

Seems apt right now.

Made me laugh. Love that the French are luring Pooh with the aid of a big pot of miel!