Nature can make everything better. I was meant to be on the other side of the world and then this happened (plus 4 shooting stars). I made some good wishes. #signs

Are our bodies full of #microplastics or not? There’s a way to resolve this debate, and scientists must hurry, writes Debora MacKenzie - This week’s furore is microplastics researchers’ ozone moment. If they fail, the plastics lobby will step into the breach www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

And how about some inspiration from the C18? The story of an incredible man, wise and humane and before his time: The Traveller by the brilliant @andreawulf.bsky.social

Bound proofs are in … published on 2 June … The Traveller.

It's a real thing... when the first proofs arrive, a manuscript turns into a book. „The Traveller" comes out on 2 June 2026.

Early bird events @hayfestival.bsky.social … I’ll be speaking about The Traveller on 30 May 2026

Last minute (panic) checking of a couple of manuscripts for THE TRAVELLER at the Goethe-Schiller-Archiv in Weimar. They have some of Forster's diaries here. Especially the one one for his hedonistic weeks in Vienna.

So excited to share the UK cover of my forthcoming book THE TRAVELLER ... which is about a quite remarkable human being. George Forster, a man who tried to find what connects us rather than what sets us apart - he saw unity behind our diversity, not discord and division.

Brilliant Zadie Smith on the importance of culture and British Library www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Big give away - free signed copies of Invention of Nature in German, Spanish, Dutch & Italian. Chasing Venus in Spanish, Swedish, Japanese, English, Italian & Dutch. Magnificent Rebels in English, Turkish, French & Portuguese. Only UK addresses. Email or DM me. First replies get the books.

I do spy it!

Celebrate by reading The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by the great @andreawulf.bsky.social. A fascinating portrait.

Thank you so much

Paperback edition of Das Nomadische Jahrhundert! With sehr generous endorsements from the best people! Do get yours! @andreawulf.bsky.social #NomadCentury

I'm excited that “Invention of Nature” is part of @johnmurrays classic series (with Jane Austen & David Attenborough). A new edition with a brilliant foreword by the even more brilliant @MerlinSheldrake

De Van der Leeuw-Lezing wordt dit jaar gegeven door @andreawulf.bsky.social en Theunis Piersma @globalflyway.bsky.social Ontzettend blij met deze twee fantastische sprekers/onderzoekers! vanderleeuwlezing.nl

Thanks for writing this book. It changed my life too--it inspired me to develop research projects with fantastic colleagues in Ecuador, and now it's fun to be on sabbatical here in Germany as a Humboldt fellow (named after AvH!). I even have a print of the naturgemälde on my office wall :).

Today, 166 years ago Alexander von Humboldt died (he was 89 years). He changed the way we think about nature (describing it as a web of life) & predicted climate change. Can't believe it's been 10 years since I published 'Invention of Nature'. It's change my life. In so many ways.

Good to be reminded, on this sunny morning, that the naturalist and 'father of environmentalism' Alexander von Humboldt was "fueled by his love for nature and science but also by large amounts of coffee which he called 'concentrated sunshine'" - according to @andreawulf.bsky.social

Here is my first little outing of the man I’ve spent the last 4 years with … www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/desti...

Reading many books at once, I hardly finish any. But this one was a joy; I wished it'd been longer. "Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self" by @andreawulf.bsky.social is the story of a literary 'set' and a place. But most of all it is a homage to Caroline Schelling.

1 weekend, 5 plays, Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg … Anthropolis-Marathon ... best theatre l've seen in a long time. Very topical those ancient Greeks.

Last photos … goodbye Polynesia. Loved following George Forster’s footsteps #research

A day off, snorkelling and a visit of a baby reef shark … definitely not research #GeorgeForster #FrenchPolynesia

Raiatea is the sacred homeland of Polynesians and Taputapuatea marae is where it all began. Hobbled through it with my twisted ankle but so glad I finally saw it #research

Hello beautiful Raiatea & Taha’a … and then I twisted my ankle.

Tauahi’ura - Huahine's mountains that look like silhouette of a pregnant woman on her back in profile (head, nose, chine, breasts, belly). George Forster saw exactly the same view 250 years ago #research #GeorgeForster #Huahine

Polynesian navigation #fa’afaite #Tahiti #research #GeorgeForster

Our ride out of Dusky Sound … rain, clouds & lots of mountains. Not my favourite combination 😂

Pretty small & big things #DuskySound #NZ #GeorgeForster

Two images ... 250 years apart... this is the tree the Resolution used as their gangway in Pickersgill Harbour in Dusky Sound NZ in March & April 1773. Time portal to George Forster #research

Hunkering down before the thunderstorm ... magical & eerie ... in Wet Jacket Arm, an inlet in Dusky Sound that was named by the Resolution crew after Forster and a few men got stuck here in a storm. So it feels very appropriate #research #GeorgeForster

I‘m in love with this wild place #DuskySound #research #GeorgeForster

Dusky Sound … where George Forster first encountered the Māori and New Zealand #research

Hiked at Lake Tekapo today … #NewZealand #research

Just hiked 92km in 4 days. This is the best place to forget about Trump & German election for a little moment. #NewZealand #research #GeorgeForster

That was worth the 27km hike. Queen Charlotte Sound where George Forster came 3 times in 1773 & 1774 with Cook‘s Resolution.

Patterns #NewZealand

Queen Charlotte Sound NZ … it started with a downpour … and then it was glorious… following George Forster‘s footsteps who came here in 1773 #research

Lake Taupo NZ (almost research)

Bloody marvellous … one of the best novels I’ve read in a while.

Delighted to have played a tiny part in Metropolitan Museum of Art's new exhibition on Casper David Friedrich (for the audio guide) www.metmuseum.org/press-releas...

View from my office @sfiscience.bsky.social … perfect for writing. It’s heaven here.

Would love some recommendations for books on explorers & scientists for 4 & 7 year olds. Asking for my family.

Something incredibly satisfying about sawing old branches from the garden for next winter. Wood that warms you twice - today and then in the fireplace.

Hallelujah!

Today, the UK government announced a proposal to change copyright law - for the benefit of AI companies - that would cause huge, irreversible harm to creators. More info below, but most importantly here's what you can do (wherever you live): 1. Email your MP. Template letter in 🧵 👇 1/10

Hurrah, the most magnificent biscuits have arrived here. I’m always blown away by @ellamchawk.bsky.social creations.

Every single school should have a library & a librarian, to help every single child find the books that will make them readers, and give them all the lifelong benefits of literacy. Libraries & librarians change children's lives FOREVER! #literacy #libraries #librarians

“South Sea Pavillon" at Wörlitz - built in 18th century to house objects Forsters brought back from Resolution voyage #booktours #research #GeorgeForster #Tonga