Steve Brown

Matt is a genius:

URGENT 🚨 We have just one week to stop Sex Matters infiltrating a vote to ban conversion therapy.

We must stop them. Use our tool and tell the MPs to stand up for what's right ✊
https://goodlaw.social/945cd5

The US granted visas to Jews but only allowed 30,000 in from Germany a year. You had to wait for your number to come up.

Meet Robert Smallbones. An unassuming British diplomat who 'hacked' this system so effectively (saving 48 THOUSAND Jews) the UK government kept his scheme secret for decades /1 🧵

I know I'll never pay mine off. It's impossible.

The angering thing is that combining my undergrad and masters I'm now having to pay a 15% additional tax. My rate is basically 50%, and my salary is not insane.

It has been a political choice to plunder the poorest generation, from taxes to housing.

Government’s housing agency fails to mention accessible homes in new five-year strategy The government’s housing and regeneration agency has failed to explain why its new five-year strategy fails to mention disabled people, or the need to address the accessible housing crisis. Homes E…

The government’s housing and regeneration agency has failed to explain why its new five-year strategy fails to mention disabled people, or the need to address the accessible housing crisis.
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/governments-...

This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter

In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career.

I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters.

Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B

Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.

Trump in the stupid medal fifa have just given him.

There aren't many times when Trump is the least morally bankrupt man in the room.

WORLD AIDS DAY DECEMBER 1

Remember those we’ve lost and those living with #AIDS. #WorldAIDSDay 💐

Heartbroken family of trans teen speaks out about how bullying led to his death The family of trans Iowa student Miles Phipps has spoken out about bullying following losing their son to suicide. He was just 15-years-old.

A trans teen in Iowa completed suicide after severe bullying by classmates and teachers.

"Miles’ death came a day after a substitute teacher refused to use his preferred pronouns."

It's the type of bullying @thefireorg.bsky.social and @aricohn.com support.

www.thepinknews.com/2025/11/17/m...

[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.] JANET: Ugh... LIZ: What's up? JANET: I am so bored of cooking peas! LIZ: Have you tried... AI peas? JANET: AI peas? LIZ: They're peas with AI! [Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI]. LIZ: Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas JANET: What LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines] Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas? [Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it] LIZ: Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine [Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas] LIZ: With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas! JANET: What LIZ: Shut up LIZ: Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow From opening the bag of peas to boiling the peas to eating the peas To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means. JANET: Is it really necessary to- LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]: THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET [Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan: AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas. [Ends]

Every ad now

A reminder to visit the Post Building’s free public roof garden Consider this a pleasant reminder that just a few minutes from Oxford Street is a free roof terrace with some wonderful views of the local area.

Consider this a pleasant reminder that just a few minutes from Oxford Street is a free roof terrace with some wonderful views of the local area.

www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/a-r...

50 years ago, the Edmund Fitzgerald, a 'rock star' ship, sank in Lake Superior Twenty-nine sailors drowned when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in the Great Lakes' icy waters on Nov. 10, 1975. The ship was immortalized in a surprise hit 1976 folk ballad by Gordon Lightfoot.

Twenty-nine sailors drowned when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in the Great Lakes' icy waters on Nov. 10, 1975. The ship was immortalized in a surprise hit 1976 folk ballad by Gordon Lightfoot.

Photo: A single tree stands centered in a newly-harvested cornfield, ablaze in orange foliage. The sky above is an ominous dark grey, portending a storm. The edge of woods, out of focus, appears in the background, in autumn colors.

A perfectly-timed autumn thunder storm ~ Every year, I hope for a day like this, & sometimes I get very lucky. This was more spectacular in person. #stunday #orangesun #eastcoastkin #artchallenge #autumn #autumnmood #fallfoliage #treephotography #autumntrees #landscapephotography #autumnlandscape

Early splendour

Early splendour

9th November 2025 07.30

Gravel track leading uphill through autumnal trees.

Stream flowing through forest with autumnal shades of yellow and gold in the surrounding trees and bracken.

Lovely day for cycling through the New Forest today. Just about missed a shower at the end.
#trees #autumn #nature #woodland #forest #cycling

Yeah. Definitely nothing Nazi-ish here... 👀

Blue sky reflected in Burgess Park Lake with reeds and a small jetty in the foreground, trees on the far side of the lake.

Sun shining through a large plane tree in Kennington Park against a clear blue sky with leaves fallen onto grass below.

Glorious day for a stroll in South London today including Burgess and Kennington Parks.
#sky #trees #walking #urbanwalking #london #walworth #kennington

Autumnal shades of yellow and gold in the trees against a clear blue sky

Gloomy skies in London this morning so here's one I took last Monday in Brenchley Gardens for #BlueskyMonday

Cycling is a totally normal sport where you can win a piglet and take it home.

'Peckham Fruit Juices' by Mark Pearson
markpearsonartist.com

Who kills who chart showing most road fatalities are killed by cars. Most car casualty fatalities don’t involve another vehicle

Just one pedestrian killed by a pedal cyclist in the UK in 2024. 265 killed by cars www.gov.uk/government/s...

A stripe of orange and red sky appearing on the horizon across the grass playing fields of Peckham Rye Park

Dawn in Peckham Rye Park this morning
#sunrise #Peckham

Almost clear blue skies punctuated by high rise buildings with small trees and grass of Pasley Park in the foreground

It was worth delaying my morning walk until after the mist had cleared this morning. This the view from Pasley Park towards Elephant and Castle.
#Walworth

An angry man with branch hands pretending to be two conjoined Sycamore trees.

A tree on Exmoor which has some fucking stories to tell even though it doesn't go around shouting about it.

A tree on Dartmoor which, though old, is still quite cheeky, and likes using its branches to sneakily tickle cattle, ponies and people when they pass it.

A tree which is so endlessly proud of the village where it lives that it stands constantly at the edge of it, constantly welcoming everyone who arrives, with a wave and a smile.

I hand over an invisible ‘Tree Of The Day’ award to the most charismatic tree I see on each of my walks. Here are just a few past winners of this esteemed but still largely unknown prize.

Orange sun at sunrise shining through trees

Slivers of orange sun breaking through red cloudy skies on the horizon framed by trees with grass in the foreground

Red cloudy skies just before sunrise framed by trees with grass in the foreground

Light clouds illuminated bright red just before sunrise with trees and grass in the foreground

Sunrise over Brockwell Park this morning

Narrow beams of dawn sunlight shining through trees with their trunks creating shadows across the grass

Bright orange glow of sunrise emerging from behind trees across playing fields still in relative darkness

Grey skies over South London this morning so here's a couple of photos from Sunday morning of sunrise over Peckham Rye Park

Early morning sun breaking through clouds on the horizon, reflecting in the waters of Burgess Park lake with grasses in the foreground.

A bit of South London dawn from my stroll on Sunday morning.

Low morning sun shines through the trees in Dulwich Park creating long shadows across the grass and fallen leaves

Early morning sunshine in Dulwich Park

I’m on TV tonight! Check out the first episode of Britain’s Railway Empire at 8pm on Channel 4.

It’s a new, two part series about the history of the railways, starting with the Victorian Era. It’s not just a story about tech and engineering, but covers the social and cultural impact too.