I have to give *full* credit to @drkatewiles.bsky.social for working out what the Modern Saxon would be for 'radio'.

The NYT says today’s #NoKings protests had “no shortage of skeptics,” and then quoted exactly one of those skeptics: The chairman of the Ole Miss College Republicans (as of 2025.) But of course, the Times doesn’t ID him as such. He’s just a Concerned Youth.

To whoever did this at the #NoKings in Boston: Thank you.❤️ It made me tear up. And we must to be reminded of needless damage to humanity that results directly from the careless, bellicose bluster coming from the Pentagon and White House.

The book banning school in Manchester has now been named, the Lowry Academy. Some of the books have been returned to the shelves but not all. Glad to hear CILIP are supporting the librarian ://www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/greater-manchester-school-library-censorship-who-is-accountable/

Folks sharing the Western Journal article about an interview with Andy Weir: WJ is a right-wing rag, and the quote being attributed to Weir about “wokeness” is taken from the person interviewing the author, not Weir (it’s right in the text). The title is rage-bait. Don’t fall for psy ops.

This country is being handed over to the techbros with a grovelling apology for not doing it sooner.

When Ari is discovered by bad-boy photographer Bill Ramsey, her life changes overnight. But in the fickle world of fashion, nothing lasts forever... The "beautifully written, wise, funny, and all so true" novel by the ultimate 1960s It Girl, in paperback this summer. www.amazon.co.uk/Piece-My-Hea...

A podcast whose first episode features *Michael Gove* FFS.

Choices were Labour, Reform, NO Tories and two Greens and the Greens crushed it.

Always up for a drone swarm of unknown origin.

Detailed but spoilerless review of Loss Protocol up on the Locus magazine website. TLDR: 'surely some of the best speculative nature writing – which is to say nature writing about an ecosystem that does not exist – yet published.'

I have an article about my favourite 1970s crime fighting psychics in the newest issue of Fortean Times. Alas, it pales in comparison to mucky Bigfoot content, but hopefully it’s a solid accompaniment! #forteantimes #paranormal

Can I recommend: Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle (also, everything) Diane Duane's So You Want to Be a Wizard Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic (also, everything) Ursula le Guin's The Wizard of Earthsea (also, everything)

obligatory

Weird, I thought white working class hero voters were all racist thickos who don't believe in climate change, but what do I know? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Great piece on Project Hail Mary, which I very much enjoyed (it's not 3hr 40 mins though, I think that's a joke?)

Just realised how much this looks like Tobias from Arrested Development when he had parasitic hair implants.

Woo, ALCS website now has the March statements. Mine is firmly in the 'could have been better, could have been much worse' zone (about two and a half grand).

The biggest movie is about science bros and the power of friendship and sacrifice, the biggest TV show is about good people doing their best under impossible circumstances to help suffering people, even under our culture’s institutionalized greed and cynicism, people are desperate for fellowship.

This a hell of a read.

Really enjoyed Project Hail Mary, definitely one to see in the cinema. Any combination of Lord & Miller/Drew Goddard/Ryan Gosling would get me in there tbh, but I think I'm in full 'will see anything with Ryan Gosling' mode now, he's *so* good.

This is a great list of techniques for getting real information out of a Google search and avoiding AI slop and paid results. (One thing not included is that if you add "-ai" to a search, you block the AI summary) cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/google-has...

Got the new Fortean Times and did think, for a fleeting moment, that the headline was 'Finding Big Hooters', and wondered if it had suddenly lurched in a 90's Lads Mad direction.

Good Lord, was Saturday Night Live: UK... pretty good?

I decided a while ago that a Buffy rewatch just wouldn't be same, and couldn't, but man did it have some fine moments that will stay with me forever.

Instructive post - cutting to the chase, any call from a 'bank' on a mobile these days, it does seem best to hang up and call (from another line if possible) the actual bank security number.

The last 3.5 yrs a small, stubborn team has been rebuilding an independent bookshop, powered by tea, spreadsheets & a slightly excessive love of books. We’re now officially An Post Bookshop of the Year & our MD, Mick Finucane, has written a 5 a.m. blog about it chaptersbookstore.com/blogs/news/b...

I’m appalled to see that we are following the US in their puritanical obsession with book banning. This has to stop: support your local school librarian, folks, and push back against this nonsense wherever you can.

Yelling at the government Stop trying to do things! You aren't good at it!

Argh the 'Draft with Co-Pilot' cursor than I'd got rid of in Word for Mac is back, I hate it SO MUCH.

Cue American jokes about this becoming the longest run for any UK comedy series ever before it's even started.

This is so great, the way it slowly pulls you in and then...

Ooh, David Fincher's 'The Golem' please.

I wrote a book called Pagans! It was Waterstones SFF Book of the Month this February! It's not available in the US (sorry) and the sequel is planned to come out early next year (2027). www.waterstones.com/book/pagans/...

If there's a worse sound on God's earth that a child with a cold eating with its mouth open, I don't want to know about it.

I've written a thing and I'm going to level with you chaps: it's great and I'm a genius.

For @cemurphy.bsky.social - some maps! (available in the print editions)

The Independent review of The Hiding Season: 'A tense sexy whirlwind of a thriller.' ❤️ Out now in the US, and next week in the UK!

'Governments, Iklé observed, are remarkably adept at starting wars and dangerously inept at ending them' warontherocks.com/2026/03/drin...

Finland President Alexander Stubb: “Finland is the Happiest country in the World for the 9th year running. We also climbed up the world brand index from 7th to 5th. “I am often asked why we do well in these rankings. 1/3

So Macquarie, which loaded Thames Water with billions in debt and left the infrastructure to rot, has done the same with NCP

I am getting a new website built, as part of which I have been going through my massive blog archive (I have been doing this for 13 years argh). Reminded me of this, my most popular post of all time, in which I explain how bafflingly bad covers happen.

Increasingly thinking about activities that once seemed like dispensable luxuries but now seem like necessary neuroplastic interventions to save analogue brains from being hollowed out by algorithms: literary fiction, poetry, tabletop games, vinyl LPs...

Got an event coming up at Bath Waterstones with the excellent @avaglassbooks.bsky.social a week on Friday (27th March) if you're into crime and/or murders and/or alt history and/or thrillers www.waterstones.com/events/james...

Hello. I’ve finished The Meece’s interpretation of Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. *collapses in a heap* (If anyone can advise on iPad colour settings to put a kind of old fashioned green tinge to it I’d be very grateful because Lightroom doesn’t want to do anything for free any more.)

Something I hadn't expected from the Oscars was Leonardo DiCaprio finally completing his slow transformation into Burt Reynolds.

If you're cold, Cathy's cold. LET HER IN.

I have an idea but it's going to require a crack commando unit who were sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit, then promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground, although I appreciate that's still quite far away.

europeans when asked to help unblock the strait of hormuz

I love that Conan O'Brien is a 100% commit to the bit comedy genius but also seems like the genuinely sweetest most thoughtful guy in the industry. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJgw...