It’s John Barnes’ birthday. So start your day with 35 seconds of musical bliss. “You’ve got to hold and give…”

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I did a lecture on the impact of Brexit on British politics. Watch it here if you're really bored www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztqL...

Congratulations to @beckyfrancis.bsky.social and team for producing a curriculum and assessment review that's evolutionary rather than throwing all the achievements of the last few years overboard. Lots of sensible recommendations. www.gov.uk/government/p...

The final report of the independent curriculum and assessment review is OUT. Deep gratitude to the thousands who participated. One thing that’s clear is that there’s abundant expertise and passion across our system. You can read the full thing here: www.gov.uk/government/p...

🚨The curriculum review is out! First: Government commits to a new national curriculum in 2028. Will also replace year 6 writing test, new oracy framework, financial literacy in primary Our news story on the government's response to the key review findings: (1/4) schoolsweek.co.uk/new-curricul...

Playwright and screenwriter Jack Thorne, creator of Netflix’s Adolescence, urges political leaders to recognise the scale of challenge facing the British theatre sector and to act before it’s too late. uktheatre.org/jack-thorne-... FreelancersMakeTheatreWork #UKArts #SaveTheArts

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Our PhD studentship applications are open for 2026 entry and I'm keen to hear from outstanding candidates in history of early modern conflict and/or creative histories.

It’s been a long journey from submission to publication. Huge thanks to all who read, reviewed and discussed along the way 🙏

Membership is often justified with the phrase “it’s lonely at the top.” Yet in creating exclusive spaces as a solution to that isolation, these groups only serve to reinforce separation from wider society.

I highlight 3 key social processes: • Homophily – preference for similarity • Structured reciprocity – rules ensuring mutual benefit and removing rivalry • Therapeutic cultural resources – practices that encourage members to be open and vulnerable I also explore when membership fails to appeal.

Drawing on 41 interviews with the wealthy (21 of whom were members of a CEO peer advisory group), I explore the therapeutic turn among C-suite executives and owners of major businesses. The article asks: how do these groups make and legitimate cohesion among elites?

Tracing the roots of these groups led me to some unexpected places, including counter-cultural ideas rooted in the Human Potential Movement, and more recently to the seemingly ubiquitous influence of therapy culture.

New article out now 🚨 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @sheffielduni.bsky.social While researching the wealthy business class in and around Manchester, I stumbled upon CEO peer advisory groups — little-known but powerful sites of elite cohesion. 🧵

really great new paper from @katiehiggins.bsky.social

Listen! James Scorer talks to @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about the wonderful Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame newbooksnetwork.com/latin-americ...

Review of @samwetherell.bsky.social’s terrific new history of Liverpool, a definitive study of the city‘s 20th century with clear lessons for the 21st.

‘As early as 1971, a Toxteth councillor, Margaret Simey, predicted that the police would provoke a “civil war” in the city. In 1981, her prediction proved accurate.’ Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite on how and why Liverpool got left behind. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

It's always a bit weird having a publication come out when the topic is in the news anyway, especially when it relates to the royals. If you're interested in the monarchy's relationship with celebrity, do have a look at my new article! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

@kingsmusic.bsky.social @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social is delighted to be hosting the annual conference of the British Forum for Ethnomusicology, 9–12 April 2026, on the theme Ethnomusicology and the Present. Call for Papers below; deadline for proposals 24 Nov. bfe.org.uk/conf/ethnomu...

In case you haven’t had enough of me this weekend, I wrote a longer piece for House & Home about the tax break preserving Britain’s stately homes on.ft.com/4qFoIX2

🗨️ "Those tasked with interpreting the news often come from a very narrow range of backgrounds, and there is little sign of progress" Our research found that the percentage of privately educated newspaper columnists has risen to 50%.

📉 Calling all chart enthusiasts! 📢 The Resolution Foundation is hiring 👀 This is a rare opportunity to join our senior leadership team and take forward our work on productivity and growth. Applications close in a little over two weeks ⤵️ buff.ly/x40DZV1

🚨We’re hiring! The Max Weber Institute in beautiful Heidelberg seeks a W3 Professor of Sociology (focus: sociological theory) who connects well with the department’s focus on comparative sociology adb.zuv.uni-heidelberg.de/info/INFO_FD... Happy to answer any questions! #Sociology #socsky

Work led by @vedransekara.bsky.social, Ivan Dotu, Manuel Cebrián and Manuel García-Herranz

By optimizing only for reach, algorithms leave parts of the network behind. Our new multi-objective approach balances spread and fairness, reaching almost as many people while doing so more equitably. Optimization and equity don’t have to be at odds.

How fair are the algorithms that decide who gets information online? Our new paper in PNAS Nexus shows that maximization algorithms, the ones used to pick “influencers” in social networks, unintentionally deepen inequality. 🧠 Sekara, Dotu, Cebrian, Moro & García-Herranz 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/pnas...

Celebrating the publication of our very own @sophiebishop.bsky.social's first book, 'Influencer Creep'! 🎉 We are hosting a book launch on the 19th November (followed by a drinks reception), and everyone is welcome: ahc.leeds.ac.uk/media/events... 📚 Order the book: www.ucpress.edu/books/influe...

So because of various personal and toddler related reasons I missed my pub date post (Influencer Creep was out on the 28 October). Here's a pub week round up because nice things happened! I was thrown a pub day dinner, gave a talk for @digitalculturekcl.bsky.social & matched my nails to the book.

A reminder that The Hunt for Red October is the best movie about academic book reviewing ever made

CCC is available today in Ebook format 📚 Still prohibitively expensive, unfortunately. But the paperback is on the way… www.bloomsbury.com/uk/culture-c...

Congratulations to this year’s SRO Sage Prize winners, Susie Scott and Nina Lockwood! Read 'Nested Narratives: Biographical Accounts of Unlived Experience Across Three Narrative Orders' below: doi.org/10.1177/1360... @bsmspcph.bsky.social, @bsmsmedschool.bsky.social, @sussexfss.bsky.social

Interested in the history of Seven Dials or London or the 1920s and 1930s? I'm doing some walking tours of the Dials with @stanfordstravel.bsky.social on Sat 15 Nov. There's loads to see, but Seven Dials is so small you don't need to walk far. manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/events/songs...

Through our Innovation Fellowships we help policymakers get academic insights. Dr Nisreen Ameen has worked with Skills England to produce this report on AI Skills for the UK workforce which includes an AI skills framework and skills adoption pathway model www.gov.uk/government/p...

@socialpolicyuk.bsky.social Please share this Lecturer job opportunity at University of Glasgow

Listen! @timb-m.bsky.social talks to @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about the excellent "Critical Games: On Play and Seriousness in Academia, Literature and Life" newbooksnetwork.com/critical-games

Looking forward to this - join us!

@britsoci.bsky.social Please share this Lectureship in Sociology opportunity, to join @uofgsociology.bsky.social

Was incredibly lucky to see him with the standards trio. A wonderful musical legacy

Come and work with us in #Sociology at University of Glasgow! #Lecturer in the Sociology of Social Justice and Inequalities, LTS 2 year post. Teach to change societies! #SocialJustice #Inequalities @uofgsociology.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social @uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofglasgow.bsky.social

British Library workers are sick of poor pay, overwork, and feeling the fallout of a cyber-attack which left them vulnerable to identity theft and blackmail. Now, they are going on strike for a fortnight. tribunemag.co.uk/2025/10/from...

Want to find out more about Critical Games? About how games can get serious, whether played by academics or by authors of fiction and non-fiction? Listen to this new @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast with @drdaveobrien.bsky.social about my book. @manchesterup.bsky.social @artshumsucl.bsky.social

Excerpt from #AdvanceBritannia which is released in the UK on 6 November, preorders appreciated! uk.bookshop.org/p/books/brit...

📚 The Divine Feminine: Women & the Rise of the Right Join authors Lois Shearing & @emmahcasey.bsky.social for a vital talk on women’s roles in #farright movements, radicalisation & tradwife culture. 🗓 Mon 10 Nov 6.30-8pm 🎙 Chair: Dr Rachel O'Neill ✅ Register: forms.office.com/e/twwa0D0VaR

BEYOND, the UK's leading conference for creative R&D, comes to Greater Manchester, November 24-26! Join us for three days of inspiration, innovation and connection. Explore the ideas shaping the future of the creative industries and meet the people making it happen. beyondconference.org/tickets

📣 The BEYOND 2025 schedule is LIVE! Here are just some of the sessions you'll not want to miss on Day 01 - 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲 𝗜 𝗔𝗺 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘅 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 + 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 Find out more in the full schedule: beyondconference.org/b25/schedule/

THIS WEDNESDAY! calling all parents, teachers/lecturers of young people in #greatermanchester this event, part of #ESRC #FESTIVALOFSOCIALSCIENCES offers a great route into thinking about rights at work & combining work &education. Places limited, so please register! Weather looks better too on weds!

Such a pleasure to talk with @drdaveobrien.bsky.social about my book, Criticsl Games for @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social Do have a listen! newbooksnetwork.com/critical-games

This is a brilliant book and you should all buy it!