Chair of the Climate Change Authority, Matt Kean, op-Ed in the SMH/Age on the need to protect our weather forecasts from US cuts, with links to our earlier Conversation article. www.linkedin.com/posts/matt-k...

Angry? I got you. Seriously. Either one will do.

My nine most recent books. All except the Doctor Who novelisation are published by @titanbooks.bsky.social and all are available to order from your favourite retailer.

Today marks Earth Overshoot Day. A date that means we have used all biological resources the Earth can renew during the entire year. UN data shows the very first global #EarthOvershootDay occurred on December 25, 1971. Last year, it was August 1st. Now it's July 24th. @unep.org visual says it all.

"Any investment in new fossil fuels now is a fool’s gamble, while joining the race to renewables can only bring benefits – not just jobs and cheaper energy at stable prices, but energy independence and access where it’s needed most", says @billhare.bsky.social on @theguardian.com.

Two subsidy-free wind farms have returned over $6.5 million to ACT electricity consumers since early 2023.

This is a lovely piece that might make you cry, but it's worth it.

Always worth reading Cole's analysis of screenplays. He knows a lot about them, obviously, and I always learn something I hadn't noticed when watching the movie. His analysis of Notting Hill was amazing.

OPPENHEIMER was released two years ago (July 21, 2023). It won Best Picture and was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Let's break down how writer-director Christopher Nolan challenged form on the page and produced one of the most innovative screenplays of the decade.

found some stairs in the woods might climb ‘em with several of my old frenemies and see how it works out for me I’m sure it’s fine, if only someone had written and recently published a horror novel about this that I could use as a warning ahem ahem ahem

A collection of articles about the best way I know to learn about the craft of screenwriting - and no, how-to manuals aren't the answer.

Are you as confused as I am by the shitshow that’s the 21st century? Every week at the 5AM STORYTALK PODCAST, I’m joined by some of the world’s biggest artists and intellectuals to try to make sense of where we’ve been, where we’ve ended up, and where we’re going – all through the lens of art!

Every year a tree loses everything, every leaf carried away on the wind. But it stands tall and patient, knowing that eventually the leaves will return. The leaves forget, but the tree remembers. Be the tree, not the leaves.

Of the 20 costliest weather disasters in history, four have occurred in just the last year.

I posted this as an insta story yesterday and it seemed to strike a chord, so here it is again. I’m loving seeing the outpouring of love and appreciation for Andrea’s life and work. We’re a weird bunch, poets. But, we touch people’s souls.

If you’ve been inspired by the decency, compassion, and hope found in the new SUPERMAN film, I’d encourage you to give this conversation I had with comic book writer @markwaid.bsky.social a read. His relationship with Supes is one of the most powerful I have ever encountered.

Look forward to chatting with @danmiller999.bsky.social & @leonsimons.bsky.social this Friday 8am AEST (Thursday afternoon/evening US time). Will cover a range of topics: the 2023 North Atlantic marine heatwave, Southern Ocean circulation and the AMOC

@marthawells.com Great finale #Murderbot Also great news on S2 👏🏻 Any plans for product spinoffs? Those little secunits in the title sequence would be a great idea (low plastic content ofc). I'd buy one 🤗🦾

Signalboosting this fantastic interview w Martha Wells.

Yay! Thank you, Andrew!

#ICYMI: 'Now is not the time to put funding on ice: Australian Antarctic field programs should be ambitious as the rule, not the exception' Director, Prof. Matt King @deformedearth.bsky.social on the importance of long-term thinking for #Antarctic research ⬇️ antarctic.org.au/now-is-not-t...

Saul Eslake says Australia shouldn’t give too much away in any negotiations with the president. “Those who have gone crawling to Washington to, in Trump’s charming language, ‘kiss his arse’, don’t have too much to show for their efforts". | Paul Bongiorno

A new episode of the 5AM StoryTalk Podcast has dropped! @joebarton.bsky.social – creator of TV series like 'Black Doves', 'The Lazarus Project', and 'Giri/Haji' – discusses synthethizing his British and Hollywood influences, one of the craziest greenlight stories I've ever heard, and so much more.

Absolutely *loved* this episode. The story of how Black Doves got picked up by Netflix is flat bananas. Fantastic podcast.

To juice up the third book in the first season of my Agency series, Imma give away the first two on Kindle. All the sex, all the violence, zero dollarydoos.

The National Climate Assessment, and all special reports and past assessments, are now offline. Federal climate science is being systematically erased.

A wrote a column about megastructures for The Engineer magazine.

Iggy Pop, deer, impossibly hot curry, the Dorset landscape, book dealers, record dealers, the sea, antiques and a cat who eats human ear wax... An excerpt from my upcoming novel (and an inexpensive internationally-friendly way to pre-ordered a signed copy of it): tomcox.substack.com/p/the-reason...

A career-retrospective collection of short fiction from Gareth L. Powell, WHO WILL YOU SAVE? is coming 16 September from @titanbooks.bsky.social, including best loved classics and brand new stories. Pre-order your copy now.

Earth's energy imbalance has more than doubled over the last 20 years. Not only are we not doing what's required to reduce that imbalance, funding cuts and drastic priority shifts threaten our ability to even monitor it. @aunz.theconversation.com

More science data loss with potential impact on hurricane season: processing and delivery of Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder ends by 30 Jun. SSMIS is used by forecasters to assess tropical storm location, cloud structure, and intensity. It’ll lead to 📉 in monitoring ability & forecast skill.

Today, Joe Rogan said: “Did you see the WaPo piece? They found that we’re in a cooling period…a very ‘inconvenient’ discovery, but they had to report the data—and kudos to them for doing that.” I'd love to know how WaPo found that cooling period and, even more importantly, where they hid it.

@edhawkins.org #ShowYourStripes are in Cairns for the @amosupdates.bsky.social annual national conferenxe

One thing I have learned from spending far too much time looking at istheukhotrightnow.com is the strong skew in summer temperatures. The most common temperature for Benson at 3pm in late June is 18-19C, but the cold tail is 8C cooler while the hot tail is 14C warmer. @edhawkins.org

THREAD. After a tough few months (involving my ex-publisher Unbound ceasing to pay their authors, then disintegrating) I am enormously relieved to reveal Joe McLaren's fantastic cover for my 3rd novel. The book will be published on September 11th. I believe it's the best thing I've ever written.

Contradiction is the delicious macadamia nut in the Rocky Road we were just going to have a little taste of but then we inhaled the lot & didn’t feel like eating lunch, or dinner if we’re being honest, which we weren’t when confronted about the missing Rocky Road because… Look, just take it from me

Hundreds of scientists have signed a letter to Brazilian President Lula, asking him to reconsider plans for fossil fuel development in the Amazon region.

June 21 is Show Your Stripes Day—a time to spark conversation about how our world is warming. This video shows how @noaa.gov temperature data for the U.S. is turned into the iconic stripes visualizations you may see shared today and tomorrow. @edhawkins.org

2:41 PM - Market Analysis and Growth Opportunities Mr. Death refocused the meeting on emerging opportunities, causing Mr War to become so excited that he left the hot tub in a surge of suds and body oil, his grotesque bulk slapping against the tiles like a boiled ham escaping a bin fire.

JAWS was released 50 years ago today (June 20, 1975). Its first 14 minutes set up its world and characters so well that by their conclusion you’ve already learned more about both — and the plot — than most films manage in an entire first act.

Iowa treatment facilities are stretched thin as they combat heavy nitrate pollution from the state’s agriculture industry.

Worth checking out - it's very funny in places! And great science too.

A new ep of the 5AM StoryTalk Podcast has dropped! The remarkable epidemiologist Dr. @annerimoin.bsky.social discusses her scientific work and art’s role in our relationship to disease, pandemic potential viruses like H151 (avian flu), and what if anything we learned from COVID.

As we seem to, yet again, be talking about the hot UK summer of 1976, a reminder that the UK is not the world. Yes, it was hot that summer over our small region, but the bigger picture tells a different story. And, we've had hotter UK summers since.

Did you miss last week’s 5AM StoryTalk minisode? I discuss what you can learn from interviewing others - both the game-changing impact of it on your writing and how it enriches your personal life. There’s a reason why its title is “How to Write Better Dialogue (WHILE BECOMING A BETTER PERSON)”.

I'm teaching an intimate, online creative writing class through Varuna from 22 July. It's all about writing with humour and heart, the two great threads of life. It's not about being a comedian but having a zest for the incongruous. Apps close tomorrow! www.varuna.com.au/for-writers/...

Australia accused by international climate group of being “two-faced” in pushing to host COP31 in 2026 while also approving massive new oil, gas and coal projects