Dr Adam Levy

With seven months of the year now in, 2025 is on track to be the second or third warmest year since records began in the mid-1800s, with a slightly higher likelihood of being the third warmest.

(not that Europe is beyond comparison. our "solution" to the refugee crisis has seen desperate people rounded up, beaten, left to drown in the ocean)

‘Welcome to hell’: Inside the megaprison where the U.S. deported migrants Interviews with 16 former detainees of El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center offer the most complete view yet of conditions inside the notorious prison.

Here we are. The richest country in the world, rounding up people for the flimsiest of reasons, and treating them like filth.

And the rest of the world is more worried about which tariff they can secure in trade.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Maybe I was naive, but I always thought the challenge would be motivating a rapid enough energy transition, given the incredible inertia.

I never quite imagined the power of the force pulling us backwards.

Worth remembering that coal is the most deadly form of energy we have.

Incomparably more dangerous that renewables or nuclear.

And that's even if you ignore climate change.

What an absolutely horrific sentence.

Even more horrific that this has become commonplace.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

as someone who has been on both sides of the mic and the camera, I wholeheartedly agree!

Zuckerberg claims ‘superintelligence is now in sight’ as Meta lavishes billions on AI In advance of Meta’s quarterly earnings report, CEO says his company aims to bring powerful AI into the lives of millions

from the guy who told us all we'd be hanging out in the metaverse by now.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

for sure - that kind of response is incredibly valuable!

better for the audience and their understanding needs - two things the journalist knows about much better than the interviewee!

I'd definitely say pointing out the flaw in a question is a great and valuable response!

much more often the latter. it very often seems that the question barely registers. or that researchers answer that question (e.g. on their motivations) and then just instinctively move on with the next part of the story (e.g. their methods) rather than *stopping talking*

that said, I do think there's a place for strategically answering a tangential question, especially during confrontational live interviews.

but that's the exception, not the rule!

you would be amazed* how often researchers don't actually respond to what you've asked, and instead seem to just go on a vaguely related lecture.

* would you be amazed tho?

As a science journalist who has interviewed 100s of researchers, my #1 tip is:

➡️ answer the question and only the question.

if you do that you'll already be doing better than the vast majority. 🧪

I'm. So. Tired.

spent way too long wondering why 2023 was so cool, before realising this was just the record for first six months!

Large majority of Germans want tighter controls on arms exports to Israel Some 73% of Germans want tighter controls on arms exports to Israel, including 30% who favour a total ban, a poll showed on Wednesday, reflecting growing public unease over the government's Israel policy.

Germany has sold around half a *billion* euros worth of military equipment to Israel since Oct. 7

www.reuters.com/business/med...

Merz doubles down on gambit with German far right in combative speech Prospective chancellor takes startlingly aggressive line against those protesting against gamble with AfD

here's how Germany Merz abused the term "antisemitism" to distract from his teamwork with a party centred around hatred (including antisemitism)

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

Call me old fashioned, but maybe not selling arms would also send a signal?

But then this is the man who labelled Palestinian activists antisemitic, to distract from his own collaboration with the far right.

The hypocrisy of our leaders is unbearable. And their complicity is deadly.

A post on X by Kyle Langford, with a composite photo showing him standing outside the gates of Auschwitz, and the caption: "My zero unemployment plan", with an emoji of factory chimneys.

I know there's a risk of amplifying the fascist horror show, but I think we need to be aware of just how far things are going, especially as this man is a Republican candidate for governor of California. All the old safeguards are being deliberately torn down, and the unspeakable normalised.

Screenshot from polarportal.dk, a website that makes research on the Arctic research conducted by Danish institutions available to the public and researchers. The image shows Greenland in tan and the Greenland Ice Sheet in red and white. The red part indicates melting and covers all except about 20% in the northeast, which is roughly the area higher than 2500 m above Se level. Below the map is a chart that compares 2025 melting to the 1981-2010 average. The average melting peaks in mid-July at about 35%. For the last few days, melting has occurred over roughly 80% of the area of Greenland, with a maximum melt area of 80.6% on 24 July 2025. This is the highest value in our dataset, which starts in 1981.

Melting over 80.6% of the area of the Greenland Ice Sheet. This is the highest value in our data set, which starts in 1981.

@polarportal.bsky.social

if Trump were a small child, his antics would be insufferable.

but he's not a small child. he's one of the most powerful people on this planet.

💚

World's top court opens door to compensation from countries responsible for climate crisis International Court of Justice rules that governments have a legal duty to prevent and repair damage to the climate system

Breathtaking ruling from the ICJ.

Will this single handedly solve the climate crisis?

Of course not.

But it's a valuable new tool in the task of pushing major polluters to change their ways.

www.climatechangenews.com/2025/07/23/w...

All of this.

I don't speak up for Palestinians in spite of the Jewish values I was raised with.

I speak up because of those Jewish values.

Imagine going into journalism to argue that not enough civilians have been killed in a war crime.

We left the 20th Century saying we must learn the lessons of history. And yet here we are, discarding them once again.

I only found out about this recently. Pedestrian safety is not a factor in U.S. vehicle standards. Absolutely unhinged.