Simon Parkin

Named a Best Book of the Year by Scientific American and The Economist!
The true story of the botanists who made “the heroic decision during the siege of Leningrad to guard biodiversity at the cost of human life” (NYT)
The Forbidden Garden by Simon Parkin, now in paperback! https://bit.ly/3BIYQod

I am such a huge fan of @myperfectconsole.bsky.social, because I'm such a huge fan of @simonparkin.bsky.social. Getting to be on the show was a delight, and folks are telling me it was good - I'm glad to hear.

While alive, Einstein fought all attempts to use his name and likeness as a promotional gimmick. His death, however, turned his face into a battleground, kickstarting the celebrity image rights industry.

Inside the murky world of Einstein’s rights, now in audio:

www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2...

Coming soon: A Profound Waste of Time: Issue 6 The sixth issue of A Profound Waste of Time. Kickstarter coming late 2025.

🚨 It's that time of year again! Please sign up for the upcoming ISSUE 6 campaign! 🙌🙏

www.kickstarter.com/projects/caz...

*The Audience Versus* is coming to The Pleasance, Islington next Tues, 28th Oct.

Face-off against @elliegibson.bsky.social and www.instagram.com/_ednight/ in a series of bastardised video game-challenges.

With host @thenewsatglenn.bsky.social.

Tickets here: www.pleasance.co.uk/event/audien...

The success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 caught everyone by surprise, including those intimately involved in its creation.

Join @SimonParkin.bsky.social in conversation with Lorien Testard as he recounts his journey from guitar teacher to game's composer.

Listen now: apple.co/47xkVDw

I'll be talking with @simonparkin.bsky.social today for a live recording of the @myperfectconsole.bsky.social podcast as part of the University of Chicago's amazing Year of Games Symposium. Come through if you can! www.eventbrite.com/e/my-perfect...

Chance the Rapper vs Animal Crossing - prob the best thing I made in lockdown tbh.

People are pretty furious about the goldeneye thing, Chris.

.@plante.bsky.social is one of the sharpest, loveliest people working in tech journalism, whose work at The Verge and Polygon has helped shape the way we talk and think about games. Still, there was so much about his life and journey I didn't know. Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/6tTY...

A Journey to the End of the World (of Minecraft)

In 2014 I wrote for @newyorker.com about @kurtjmac.bsky.social, a YouTuber who began walking in Minecraft and never stopped. His quest was to reach the Far Lands, a place at the limits of the algorithmic world, where the landscape breaks apart. On Saturday, after fourteen years, he arrived:

Along the way, Mac raised $490,000 for charity, and gained nearly half a million YouTube subscribers, who followed his weekly progress. On a planet meticulously mapped by satellites, uncharted virtual lands some of the last places that can satisfy a yearning for the beyond, where one can be "first".

A Journey to the End of the World (of Minecraft)

In 2014 I wrote for @newyorker.com about @kurtjmac.bsky.social, a YouTuber who began walking in Minecraft and never stopped. His quest was to reach the Far Lands, a place at the limits of the algorithmic world, where the landscape breaks apart. On Saturday, after fourteen years, he arrived:

I don’t think so! We only recorded it recently?!

Blippo+ is a handcrafted TV-channel surfing game from a past that never existed. L.A.-based actors, comedians and artists collaborated to direct and film hours of footage.

A joy to interview @theuniverse.bsky.social, one of its creators, whose career is studded with bright jewels like these.

Thrilled to have spoken to Alexander, whose translation work I have long admired, and whose influence can be clearly seen in so many games, including this week’s rerelease of Final Fantasy Tactics.

Slow Horses is back. To celebrate, listen to our episode with Daniel Pemberton, composer of the show’s theme tune (and many more), who reveals how Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger recorded the song’s vocals — using a studio on his ‘back-up’ island: www.patreon.com/posts/daniel...

this is, hands down, the best video I've seen on men's influencer content and it's not close either

This was a special conversation for me for many reasons. Was fab talking to @simonparkin.bsky.social of course. But also, talking about my childhood, my family, how game discovery was woven in to my very first job, and how these 5 games mean the world to me. If you like my stuff, do share widely.

'The Interview': What Happened to Cameron Crowe? He Has Answers. Podcast Episode · The Daily · 13/09/2025 · 52m

This NYT interview with Cameron Crowe is a great listen. At one point the interviewer shares several of his theories as to why Crowe's more recent work might be weaker than his earlier films. Ballsy! podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

For today’s Observer magazine I interviewed Brett Goldstein at the house he’s renovating in Fulham, about the secret tape that made him Roy Kent, his new film’s rejection of algorithmic love, and why, after 5 years in the froth of success, he’s ready to put down roots: observer.co.uk/culture/inte...

For today’s Observer magazine I interviewed Brett Goldstein at the house he’s renovating in Fulham, about the secret tape that made him Roy Kent, his new film’s rejection of algorithmic love, and why, after 5 years in the froth of success, he’s ready to put down roots: observer.co.uk/culture/inte...

How do you balance a career in games PR with punk stardom?

In our latest episode, @lizzietrouble.bsky.social , lead vocalist and guitarist of indie Teens in Trouble, discusses her dual life and, reveals her surprising link to Street Fighter 4.

🎧 Listen now: bit.ly/4m0JOvj

Buy your tickets here: www.pleasance.co.uk/event/audien...

Comedians x Video Games = The Audience Versus, a new live show that pits the audience against a team of comedians in a series of match-ups using silly rules.

Debuts at The Pleasance on 29th September, featuring Sarah Keyworth, @pierrenovellie.bsky.social and hosted by @thenewsatglenn.bsky.social.

How did viral indie hit Blue Prince make it from concept to reality?

In this week's episode, the game's creator, Tonda Ros, reveals the "golden goose" that made it all happen and shares the five games he'd put on his perfect console.

Listen now: buff.ly/0KlvTFO

IKR!

I spoke with Tonda Ros, creator of this year’s indie hit, Blue Prince, about how, as a child, an unexpected bequeathment - not unlike the one that powers his game - provided him a near endless supply of NES games.

The ghost in the publishing machine | The Observer As a highly successful ghostwriter, Joshua Lisec is an invisible weaver of life stories, for clients whose names he can't reveal

What happens when a ghostwriter wants to become famous? On the biographer who, for six figure sums, writes the stories of the unnotable: observer.co.uk/news/profile...