Greg Barradale

41) Angeball by @vincerugari.com

I was listening to the audiobook of this as Postecoglu got sacked by Spurs. It paints a fascinating, often moving portrait of someone going beyond football - using sport and achievement to bring meaning to individuals, communities, and countries

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐⭐

40) Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

First book of Adichie's I've read - entertaining, and comes together well. Ifemelu is a great character, but I didn't click with the blog posts. Gives a good glimpse into how class and wealth don't count for much in hostile environments

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐

39) Blow Your House Down by Pat Barker

A proper gem, this. The story of life and murder among a group of sex workers in a northern city. Beautifully told, poignant social realism that doesn't look down its nose.

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐⭐

38) The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The only Hemingway I've read that didn't make me feel sentimental. And that was with reading it on the beach in San Sebastian where the main character swims at the end

Goes well with sloppy tortilla, mind

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐

Daniel Morgan's murder was never solved. Can ITV's The Hack shake justice loose? Alastair Morgan's brother Daniel was killed in a pub car park in 1987. Now the murder is the subject of ITV's The Hack.

NEW: The Hack, ITV's drama about the phone-hacking scandal begins tonight. Daniel Morgan's murder tangles with the hacking storyline

His brother Alastair wasn't involved w/the show. He told @bigissue.com his thoughts- and if he blames Starmer for dropping the case

www.bigissue.com/culture/tv/t...

Thanks! Just very general top-line coverage of the stories (Guardian etc etc) helped, laying out some of the complex allegations in quite basic terms. A lot of them were quite gray, and became less so in hindsight imo. Not reading the physical book didn’t help, as only so many times you can rewind!

37) The Two Popes by Anthony McCarten

Great portrait of two fallible men in an 'infallible' post. The stuff on Francis' past is fascinating and often missing in his popular image. He's a complicated figure. But often the audiobook was so tangly I was reading news articles to clarify

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐

36) Talk to Me by Dean Nelson

Great guide on interviewing. The bits on securing interviews are really useful. Recommend for new or experienced journos

His take on calling sources back to verify quotes (thinks it's ethical and helpful) is interesting too!

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐

35) From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming

Exciting, nice to read Bond as a proper spy

Should add: I know you expect some 'this has aged badly' stuff with Bond but...I don't think that explains away the part where a female character makes Bond promise to beat her if she eats too much

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐

No, Arsenal's Declan Rice didn't donate £14m to house homeless families Google's AI summary is telling users Arsenal footballer Declan Rice donated £14m to a London housing project. But the story's not true.

Saw a proper mad Instagram reel that Declan Rice had donated £14m to a housing project in Tower Hamlets

Googled it and the AI summary backed it up, telling users about the donation

Did some journalism - it’s not true. Experts say it’s a classic case of AI dangers

www.bigissue.com/news/housing...

Happy to help @gregbarradale.bsky.social with this story for @bigissue.com.

Is it too much to expect platforms' AI summaries to at least get the big things right?

Have a read.

34/x: Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

For about half of its 270 pages, you've no idea what's going on or what the sentences mean. Then it suddenly all falls into place and it's as good as sci-fi gets. Ambitious, rich, a bit mad

Fun fact: It's the fake film they're making in Argo

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#BookSky

33/x: The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach +@trosenstiel.bsky.social

Ordering this on Vinted might be the most 'get a life' moment I've ever had

But the stuff on overlapping audiences and truth through multiple stories is dead insightful + holds up well. Useful little textbook

⭐⭐⭐

#BookSky

Back at it with my favourite benign use of social media -- short book reviews! Now with star ratings!

I will not fail you, 2025 books thread, even if there is a backlog to clear

32/x: Berlin Diary by William L. Shirer

The diary of a foreign correspondent in Berlin as the Nazis take power and wage war. A gripping piece of history, and a touchstone account of journalism under pressure

Bonus points for descriptions of drunk diplomats as 'in their cups'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#BookSky

A black copy of The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

31/x: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

I really thought it was going to turn out that the butler was a robot. Not sure why Lovely, understated, deft book that unfolds wonderfully at the end. Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way, and all that

⭐⭐⭐⭐

#BookSky

Scotland grapples with growing nitazene deaths Scotland is Europe's drug deaths capital. But a new threat from synthetic opioids like nitazenes is making it harder to save lives

🚨Over 100 people have died in Scotland after taking nitazenes, a synthetic opioid contaminating the drugs supply

But even more could have died if it wasn't for one innovation: the UK's first safer consumption room

Staff tell me how it's saved lives in near-misses

www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

FWIW here was Zack Polanski's take on 'the boob thing' when I (dutifully, like a good little reporter) asked him a few months ago

On the ground with Kneecap fans as Mo Chara returns to court on terror charge Kneecap are able to rally hundreds of fans to protest outside a court on a Wednesday morning. What's bringing them out?

People queuing for Westminster Magistrates this morning looked bewildered as hundreds gathered and waved placards. But then again, their names weren’t on the signs: Mo Chara’s was

My report from the scene as a terror case becomes a vehicle for something bigger

www.bigissue.com/news/activis...

Premier League clubs land new deals with gambling sponsors despite looming ban 11 of the Premier League's 20 clubs will start the new season with a front-of-shirt gambling sponsor, and no club has abandoned betting firms.

NEW: Premier League clubs strike new gambling shirt sponsor deals in last year before voluntary ban

11 clubs have gambling firms on front of shirts for 25/26

It's led to the ban being called a "cynical ploy"

No Big Six team has a gambling sponsor

www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

they're not interacting with other kids, they're watching youtube

NEW: Islington Council has dropped its court bid to evict a food bank from a space it says is vital to operations

Islington Foodbank feeds 46k people in country's 4th highest child poverty area

Agreement now reached and food bank say future is secure

www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Reform-run councils once known for green policies expected to scrap climate pledges Former Durham county council climate lead calls motion to rescind climate emergency declaration ‘reprehensible’

Reform-led Durham County Council is expected to rescind its climate emergency declaration tomorrow

In December the council won a national award for its work to cut emissions over the last 15 years www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Twelve months ago GMP revealed 'life saver' scheme.... it never happened A Greater Manchester MP has called for GMP to change its policy and the region's Deputy Mayor, Kate Green, is to demand an explanation from the force over its stance. Neal Keeling reports on a growing...

Manchester Evening News have picked up the story too - reporting a tough new approach to policing from GMP's chief constable

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater...

Why do some UK police forces stop officer carrying this life-saving drug? Police offers have used naloxone more than 1,200 times to reverse opioid overdoses. But as drug deaths rise, two police forces hold out.

Earlier this month we reported just two police forces - Suffolk and Greater Manchester - refuse to allow frontline officers to carry naloxone, a drug which can reverse overdoses

It's kicked off a row. MPs are demanding change and answers.

www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Manchester deputy mayor 'encourages' police to carry naloxone Just two police forces in the country refuse to give their officers naloxone. Big Issue reporting has sparked politicians to act

NEW: Greater Manchester Police 'encouraged' by dep mayor to carry naloxone after Big Issue reporting

It's also emerged a trial of naloxone publicly promised by GMP last year never happened - but the force hasn't explained why

www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

NEW: Government has chosen not to reduce time given to newly-recognised refugees before eviction from asylum hotels

Had been due to revert to 28 days after June, but 56 days extended till Christmas

But campaigners say it should be made permanent as 28 days drives homelessness

Another pointless football social media gripe: why do clubs themselves say “for an undisclosed fee”?

You’re the ones choosing not to disclose it! Just don’t say it.

@footballcliches.bsky.social

Pressure grows on police forces to equip officers with life-saving naloxone Exclusive: MP urges Manchester police bosses to give officers naloxone and deputy mayor is "carefully examining" the decision.

👮In Norfolk, police officers have used naloxone 16 times. That represents 16 opioid overdoses potentially reversed, possibly 16 lives saved.

🚓 Across the border in Suffolk, the police force refuses to give its officers naloxone

It's a life-or-death lottery

www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

✍️ Here's the letter from Tom Morrison MP: "I urge you to reconsider this position and align GMP's strategy with best practise, ensuring officers have access to every available means to save lives"