Bennett McKenna

If a doctor asks if you have a problem with symptom, and you answer no, because you have an entire complex series of rituals to deal with symptom... Probably just answer yes instead.

Hannah Spencer walking into Westminster, sucking her teeth, tutting, and muttering "tell you what, you've had some cowboys in here."

"Preserve your records" is a sensible message for those at the FDA, but not for the reason he seems to think.

Even though it's a silly name, kudos to the guys celebrating their platonic love for each other on Ladentine's Day. Have a nice meal! Affirm your community! Stop each other dying young!

we need to talk about that Ring Super Bowl ad

And yet you still don't enjoy Joanna Newsom!

Baron Cashman is an absolutely mensch with a long history of standing up for human rights. Not at all surprised to hear him advocating for community.

I thought that there would be an after; some sort of change, a series of trials, and I'd get to visit my American friends again.

The cancelled vaccination schedule means that after will take generations. The travel advisories will continue for decades.

Most milky coffees are watery smoothies. Vietnamese coffee is the only one to get it right (delicious juice slowly transitioning into thick smoothie).

I haven't had a cough, cold or respiratory infection since 2019. I used to spend every winter sick.

I am directing my course to port. My engines are going full speed astern.

If they try to make gochujang the new matcha, I think my auntie is going to pull their hair.

A hand holding a very small jar of gochujang, labelled Tesco Gochujang Paste. It is in front of supermarket shelves.

Tesco, why are you selling a day's supply of gochujang for £1.80 when I can get five times that much for 40p more?

Washington DC is 58% POC. The District has no voting rights whatsoever because it's not a state.

Another friend put it to me like this: "ICE has made the classic Nazi mistake. They've invaded a winter people in the winter."

IT'S THE FINAL DAY OF OUR EXTENDED WINDOW! If you're a BIPOC, trans, and/or disabled author, you have until 11:59pm Eastern Time tonight to submit original fiction or poetry 👀

othersidespec.com/guidelines/

Text reads: George Carter, the company director, told The Telegraph: "We are hoping to take back the stage from the agitprop and overly political nature of most modern theatre and stage, to a more serious form that is focused on the stage as a place to perform art." He added that much of British theatre was "navel gazing", sometimes supported with state funding distributed by the taxpayer-funded Arts Council England.

The prize page might not, but the company's director has made it incredibly clear the sorts of plays they're looking for.

Hopefully they're having fun?

When I was a teenager, it was widely acknowledged that any man using "females" as a noun was a raging misogynist. Now I'm seeing journalists using "females" to talk about women as if it doesn't make them sound like serial killers.

I'm sorry that you're having such a rough time at the mo. Your hair is still looking banging.

All currywurst is mid. Not all women smile like you.

In a fun twist on "I remember my mother being this age", this year I'm as old as my grandparents were when they became grandparents.

My personal geography of Berlin is a map of places I saw @jessglanz.bsky.social looking beautiful. (Hers is obviously more normal, and full of things like good bagel places, because she lives there and so needs a more practical geography.)

Amy is great to work with. If you're a nerd looking for a graphic design gig, shoot her a message.

Sure thing - happy to chat about sitting in the audience, prosthetic implants on, while a doctor on stage talks about how there's a limit to the number of prosthetics you can give a character before they stop being human.

Proposal: people who aren't disabled stop appearing on panels about cyborgs, implants, and transhumanism.

Farewell Henry. The last boy to board the Kindertransport. It is with great sadness that I learnt of the passing of my friend Henry Glanz.

My Zeide took one look at 2026 and decided it wasn’t for him, so this week has been a lot of travelling, funeral prep and attendance, and starting to sort through his things. I really appreciate this lovely tribute written by his friend Kate Thompson: katethompsonauthor.substack.com/p/farewell-h...

Recently listened to Dr Jagjeet Lally talk about that first one on your podcast!

Sample Contracts - OTHERSIDE Sample contracts for OTHERSIDE, including the language for nonfiction, reprints, original fiction and poetry.

So @othersidespec.bsky.social have done something fantastic and published copies of all of their contracts online. Seeing how many writers are surprised by unfair clauses, it would be great if other outlets did the same (but not surprising that they don't).

othersidespec.com/sample-contr...

Greggs have done more for veganism in the UK than any campaign group.