Dr Mai Musié (ሙሴ)

Arts & culture highlights of the week: interviewing the inspiring & talented @danhicks.bsky.social
again but this time in Bristol @bookhaus.bsky.social . @ncace.bsky.social work visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum (cannot believe this was my first visit!!). So much to celebrate & fight for!

Bectu, the biggest union in the BBC, has written to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Chair of the BBC Board Samir Shah demanding the removal of Robbie Gibb from the BBC Board.

"Many BBC staff are concerned that Gibb is a direct block to the BBC maintaining its chartered objective of independence."

Catherine Connolly, socialist, former Leas Ceann Comhairle, Independent TD, ppl with disabilities advocate, therapist, barrister, pacifist, LGBTQ supporter & evangelist for the Irish language has just been sworn in as Uachtarán na hÉireann. A great day for Irish freedom & democracy. In the …

Cop28 is a farce rigged to fail, but there are other ways we can try to save the planet | George Monbiot Inaction and self-interest are built into climate summits. Instead, we need a voting system that can’t be subverted by fossil fuel producers, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Two years ago, I wrote this about how the COP climate summits are designed to fail, and how they could be designed to succeed. Sadly, nothing has changed.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Let's just take a moment to reflect on the self-sacrifice and hope this person embodies - not the evil, hateful monsters thirsting for violence.

A perfect autumn 🍂 read. If you’re a fan of magical realism, the otherworldly of #Oxford , and the pull of the ancient world 🏺then dive right in to Dr Lorna Robinson’s gentle and poignant story of loss, living, love, and embracing life’s mysteries. 🌙 ✨

Caerphilly shows Nigel Farage’s Achilles heel Tactical voting could lock Reform out of power

Caerphilly shows Nigel Farage’s Achilles heel – tactical voting could lock Reform out of power. www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

Plaid smash Reform to win in Caerphilly These are the key takeaways from a massive night in Welsh politics

"As I drove into Caerphilly for the count there was a giant electronic billboard that read “only Labour can stop Reform”.The last minute attempts to suggest that a vote for anyone other than them was a vote for Reform was divorced from reality"
open.substack.com/pub/willhayw...

The Caerphilly result is what we need to see everywhere at the next election: people coordinating to vote tactically for parties which seek a fairer, kinder, greener country.
Pushing out both those who have betrayed our trust AND those who seek to exploit that betrayal.

The Public Wants to Ban ‘Politician Presenters’ Like Nigel Farage But Ofcom Isn't Listening The broadcasting watchdog is refusing to act despite research suggesting a majority of viewers oppose politicians like the Reform leader being allowed to host current affairs shows

🔴The Public Wants to Ban ‘Politician Presenters’ Like Nigel Farage But Ofcom Isn’t Listening

The broadcasting watchdog is refusing to act despite research suggesting viewers oppose politicians like the Reform leader being allowed to host current affairs shows

bylinetimes.com/2025/10/24/b...

"Amazing result for Plaid Cymru, so here's a guest from Reform anyway..."

Poor take by Curtice.

This is a disaster for Farage. Polls had RefUK closely winning. Losing by 11% signposts Plaid to all of Wales as THE tactical choice for Senedd Elex and drains RefUK momentum.

"Something is happening out there", alright. People are uniting to tell Farage to feck right off.

We must act now: without a written constitution, Reform UK will have carte blanche to toxify our nation | Goerge Monbiot It means breaking with hundreds of years of tradition, but it can’t wait. As hard-right figures spread division and laud autocrats, a fail-safe is vital, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

We're facing a political emergency: a high likelihood of an shamelessly authoritarian government in 2029. So we urgently need this basic safeguard: a codified constitution.
This week's column explains what we're missing and why it's so important.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"Original and captivating."

The #WolfsonHistoryPrize judges on why they have shortlisted Kieran Connell's (@kieranconnell.bsky.social) 'Multicultural Britain: A People’s History' (@hurstpublishers.bsky.social) for the 2025 prize.

Overlooking an ocean inlet, the forest is a riot of green and red and orange and yellow and gold

bright red blueberry bushes in the foreground, green forest in the background

It is one of my great sorrows that I am never home for the utter majesty of autumn, when the blueberry bushes turn the hills fuchsia and the maple and birch are a riot of yellow and orange and gold and red.

Thousands of Orthodox Jews protested around the Israeli consulate in New York City over Israel’s military draft rules.

People are just realising that we had a better grip on immigration within the EU They gave us bar staff and builders - we gave them sunburnt pensioners and seaside property booms. It was win-win.

'It’s almost poetic that the loudest voices now decrying Britain’s immigration numbers are the same ones who fought hardest for Brexit’

www.thelondoneconomic.com/opinion/peop...

It's the guns 💯%

Standing with Maccabi’s football hooligans against local police – is that what patriotism looks like now? | Jonathan Liew Tommy Robinson is said to be going to Villa Park as a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan. Do the politicians jumping on this bandwagon care what they are doing, asks Guardian columnist Jonathan Liew

Both Tommy Robinson and Keir Starmer want a load of openly racist football fans to be allowed to travel to Birmingham, a city with an “ethnic minority” majority. What does that tell you?

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Standing with Maccabi’s football hooligans against local police – is that what patriotism looks like now? | Jonathan Liew Tommy Robinson is said to be going to Villa Park as a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan. Do the politicians jumping on this bandwagon care what they are doing, asks Guardian columnist Jonathan Liew

My god, the sheer relief of reading a piece by someone who knows something about this football match and didn't just learn to spell Maccabi two days ago www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

YouTube video by Arts, Humanities and Cultures - University of Leeds Study Classics and Ancient History at Leeds

Missed out October Open Days? Find out more about our Classics and Ancient History undergraduate courses:
youtu.be/WEXe-BJxgyw?...

Reform UK reviews if it underpaid VAT on tickets and merchandise Nigel Farage’s party reported to have exceeded £90,000 threshold due to ticket sales for Birmingham conference

What was that you said about Angela Rayner not paying tax Nigel? One rule for one and one rule for FarageUK.

Tory MP criticised after demanding legally settled families be deported Katie Lam said move would make UK ‘culturally coherent’ and that a large number of people ‘need to go home’

Tough on Katie Lam's dad, who is the son of a German refugee.

Will he be deported too, I wonder?

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

EU criticised for pausing sanctions on Israel in response to Trump Gaza efforts Pause on move to freeze preferential trade pact comes amid scramble to shore up fragile ceasefire

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Thrilled to say I'm a judge for the first ever Inspiring History Teaching Awards, in association with Historic Royal Palaces. Do you know a great history teacher in the UK who deserves to go down in history? Nominate them here bit.ly/42yhGZP

One benchmark of a democracy is whether it is willing to hold those who have served at the very highest levels to account.

Can you imagine the United States ever doing something like this?

Oh yes! Will definitely 💯!

Reform UK accused of sowing division in Wales in rowdy TV byelection debate Party leading latest opinion poll comes under fire for ‘weaponising’ immigration as candidates in Caerphilly clash

Once again, the BBC television audience doing the job that the British press and media should be doing.