Joe Deegan

"Brian Wilson, he made all his records with four tracks, but you couldn't make his records if you had a HUNDRED tracks today." "That ear – I mean, Jesus, he’s got to will that to the Smithsonian." — Bob Dylan

RIP Brian Wilson

My aunt died in near identical circumstances as this story, same time, also Yorkshire hospital. We spent months preparing for the coroner. We wanted something simple to explain it; we found bad luck exacerbated by an NHS running on fumes. I hope these families get what they need from their process.

Semicolons bring the drama; that’s why I love them Neither full stop nor comma, they symbolise a nuance that is disappearing in a polarised world

Maybe my new go-to punctuation mark, now that AI has ruined the em dash forever?

YouTube video by elledeq Grace Jones - She's lost control (long version)

She also did Joy Division! an oldie but a goodie www.youtube.com/watch?v=N64I...

Just out! Our peer-reviewed critique of the Cass Review has been published by BMC Medical Research Methodology. Please read and share. We show that the Cass Review is fatally flawed and should not be the basis for policy or practice in transgender healthcare.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Measuring the association between the opening of a new multi-national restaurant with young people's eating behaviours Out-of-home eating (takeaway, take-out and fast-foods) is associated with intakes of higher energy and fat, and lower intakes of micronutrients, and i…

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

What happens when a Golden Arches opened in a place where there wasn't anything like it nearby
So if we want to do something about obesity we have to do something about
1 Availability and accessibility
2 Marketting
3 Price
Handing out leaflet doesn't cut it

Reducing reoffending evidence synthesis This synthesis provides an overview of evidence on what works to reduce reoffending, updating evidence previously published by the MOJ in 2013 and 2014.

Interesting new MoJ report on what works to reduce reoffending. One of key findings "research shows little positive treatment effects for punitive interventions unless alongside rehabilitation". Also shocking lack good quality evidence for some commonly used interventions www.gov.uk/government/p...

Barker - Stochastic Drift Listen to Stochastic Drift on your streaming service

Had to think for a good few minutes why I thought I legitimately knew this band in the real world

Another that I love - Does this choice diminish or enlarge me?

Bon Iver: SABLE, fABLE Read Alex Robert Ross’ review of the album.

A gorgeous review of a gorgeous album

I mean, it's either trans people withdraw from public life completely, we merge single-sex spaces up and down the country, or its only a matter of time before a trans person is physically assaulted for using the facilities the judiciary and government seem to want them to.

🧵I am a woman. I do not conform however to the 'ideal' appearance of a woman. I can't help that. As a result of my appearance I have been subjected to all kinds of shit over the years. What this ruling will do is embolden some women to attack other women based on their appearance.

Sex Redefined: The Idea of 2 Sexes Is Overly Simplistic Biologists now think there is a larger spectrum than just binary female and male

My husband has taught human reproduction and development to the Cambridge medics for over three decades. When people start banging on about "only two biological sexes" he starts with "which sex: genetic, hormonal, or gonadal"?

Biological sex is not binary. www.scientificamerican.com/article/sex-...

Why I worry this Supreme Court ruling will be used to delegitimise trans people And why Parliament ducked its responsibilities

Parliament, not the Supreme Court should have decided today. I've written about why that's so problematic and why I fear today's judgment will be used to further delegitimise trans people, even though that is not what the Court intends.
goodallandgoodluck.substack.com/p/why-i-worr...

Trump is halfway to making America a police state The president’s refusal to accept a Supreme Court ruling on illegal deportation is a turning point

I haven't been able to shake Prophet Song by Paul Lynch since reading it. Hearing this news, seeing a similar decline in the real world, makes the warning all the more important. I highly recommend both the book and this article to anyone who hasn't read them yet.

(OPM)

And the byline!

Opinion | There’s a Name for What Trump Is Doing to Trans People: Denationalizing The message is that we are a threat to the nation. The subtext is that we are not of this nation.

"The reason you should care about this is not that it could happen to you but that it is already happening to others."

James Harrison, blood donor, 1936-2025 The railway worker who found his mission and saved the lives of more than 2mn babies

The man with the golden arm, as he was dubbed, gave plasma 1, 173 times over 50 years until, to his chagrin, he was forced to stop aged 81. If the rules had allowed it, says his grandson, Jarrod Mellowship, “he would have gone on until the day he died. It gave him purpose.”

a secret fifth thing

Trans People And The NHS: The Heat Of The Debate Needs The Light Of Evidence | The King's Fund Frank Rigby highlights the glaring lack of evidence on trans health care, and calls for more data and patient stories to inform policy decisions.

What do we know about trans people’s health and experience of NHS services? Not enough, says Frank Rigby, as they call for more data and patient stories to inform policy decisions.

https://buff.ly/3CCLryG

What gets me is how docile the journalism is. I really don't think these claims should face any less examination than e.g. those by RFK Jr on vaccines — the scrutiny should be equal, it's the findings that differ!

‘Deeply worrying’ rise in number of women in their 20s and 30s being diagnosed with breast cancer An increase in the number of young women being diagnosed with breast cancer has been described as “deeply worrying” by Breast Cancer Ireland.

Breast Cancer Ireland says that "education and awareness is hugely important to ensure earlier detection". Increased education and awareness will inevitably increase the diagnosis rate without any change in actual prevalence - and earlier diagnosis will especially impact younger women!

A graph from the National Cancer Registry Ireland shows the number of cases of breast cancer diagnoses per 100,000 women per year over time. The cases in women aged 0-49 show a steady flat line at the bottom of the graph, while cases in older women show a much higher proportion of diagnoses.

An article in the Irish Independent today highlights the apparent rise in women under 50 diagnosed with breast cancer. Accounting for population size, the increase disappears. The media has a responsibility to present numbers in their context. Is the point of this article to inform or to worry?

When ‘Cancer’ Gets in the Way of Treatment Some oncologists suggest that, for certain early cancers not at risk of spreading, the term “cancer” should be avoided.

"Some oncologists suggest that, for certain early cancers not at risk of spreading, the term “cancer” should be avoided."

Latest Welsh research shows minimum pricing remains a cornerstone of alcohol harm reduction - Institute of Alcohol Studies The final evaluation of Wales' minimum pricing policy has been published, with Alcohol Change UK's Wales office examining the findings.

The final evaluation of Wales' minimum pricing policy was published last week.

In this blog, @alcoholchangeuk.bsky.social Wales office look at the findings, pushing back on some of the skewed media coverage of the report.

www.ias.org.uk/2025/01/20/l...

Tobacco and Vapes Bill (First sitting) - Hansard - UK Parliament Hansard record of the item : 'Tobacco and Vapes Bill (First sitting)' on Tuesday 7 January 2025.

Chris Whitty: "Historically, the cigarette industry, despite what it claims, has always targeted children. It always deplores it in public, but if you look at its internal documents you discover that that is what it has been aiming to do"
hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2025...
@ashorguk.bsky.social