Mark Hardiman

Would summarise this as: treat voters like adult stakeholders and not children who need to be managed.

We hear way too much about angry Britain, blue-red Britain. What about the Britain of Save the Children, Oxfam, the RSPCA, the RNLI, popular environmentalism, the Britain of London's absolute triumph since its 80s nadir, its civic universities, the Britain of volunteering, giving, hoping?

When people talk about the idea that some universities must go under, there’s a certain tendency to behave as if these smaller local campuses are negligible- regrettable casualties perhaps but not ‘real’ universities. This report does a great job of illustrating why that’s wrong.

The Age of Academic Slop is Upon Us what happens when AI automates "normal science"?

I just finished a three-year term as an editor at an international relations journal. I began at the start of the LLM era but ended right in the middle of it. Our volume of submissions tripled and our desk reject rate rose to 75%. I have some thoughts.
open.substack.com/pub/hegemon/...

How to AI-proof your job The data suggests soft skills more than quantitative competency equal success in a rapidly changing labour market

‘Contra the narrow focus of policymakers on Stem subjects or coding, now more than ever our economy rewards broad skillsets: team players, problem solvers, good communicators and creative thinkers.’ @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/5e25...

#QRA2026ADM is go!

Looking forward to it! :)

‘Keeps your mind alert’: older Swedes reap the benefits of learning for pleasure Retirees with ‘fantastic hunger for education’ taking part in university organised events in record numbers

'Record numbers of Swedish retirees are enrolling in a university run “by pensioners for pensioners” amid increased loneliness and a growing appetite for learning and in-person interactions.' 1/2

Breakthrough of the year? Renewable energy www.science.org/content/arti...

Seconded >>

cardboard Christmas tree decoration depicting Sir Alec Guinness as George Smiley.

The true spirit of Christmas

Love to have my entire working life being real wage stagnation. It’s so great.

Extract from Rob Reiner's Wikipedia Filmography 1986 - Stand By zme 1987 - The Princess Bride 1989 - When Harry Met Sally 1990 - Misery 1992 - A Few Good Men

Rob Reiner: I'm going to make a coming of age drama, a fantasy adventure story, a romantic comedy, a psychological horror and then a courtroom drama.

Us: Across your entire career?

Reiner: In a 6 year period.

Us: That sounds-

Reiner: -Each one will be arguably the best movie in that genre.

#PalAss25

Launch UK-EU youth experience scheme with initial 44,000 cap, says cross-party commission A new cross-party report recommends the UK and EU should launch the UK’s largest and most generous scheme to restore opportunities for young people who have been denied them by Brexit.

@pimlicat.bsky.social: "Young people have been deprived for far too long of the chance to live, work and travel abroad - opportunities that enrich their futures while strengthening our economies. This report shows there is a sensible way to progress the scheme."

https://bit.ly/3Myjcps

FARSCAPE IS ON AMAZON PRIME

A pine marten.

"The first sighting of a pine marten in Studland, Dorset, in more than a century!" swanage.news/rare-and-end...

Escaping all this actual fascism by watching a lovely relaxing film about…space bugs.

I’m with Vince.

And 2p on income tax plus 2p off NICS to raise £6bn feels like being hung for half a lamb.

www.ft.com/content/9e56...

Climate change predicts Quaternary extinctions and extant genetic diversity in a threatened Australian lizard Ramm et al. show that Quaternary climate change predicts local extinctions and intraspecific differences in genetic diversity of the threatened Mountain Dragon (Rankinia diemensis). Their data suggest...

Out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social and led by @tillramm.bsky.social! We integrated population genomics, fossils, SDMs, and micro-CT scanning to understand how climate change has influenced extinctions and extant genetic diversity in the threatened Australian mountain dragon #ozherps #genomics

The amazing Prunella Scales, starring as Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers. She is smoking a cigarette and holding a bonkbuster novel in her hand.

ICON. 💔

There was a headline on BBC News this morning that said “Prince Andrew gives up royal titles”, and it’s rare to encounter a sentence which has quite so comprehensively forgotten how it started.

Marina Abramović one day, the Stourbridge Town line the next, no other columnist has the range

Now out in @cpsjournal.bsky.social. In our new article, @denis-cohen.bsky.social @thmskrr.bsky.social and I show that where local rent prices increase more, residents with lower incomes become more likely to support the radical right AfD.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

I would watch this >>

✨ The #PalAss2025 organisers are preparing something special for icebreaker participants together with Staggeringly Good ! 🥳
Don't forget to register for this event during the registration period ⬇️ 🎉
palass.org/annual-meeti...

#icebreaker #porstmouth #uk🇬🇧 #events #december

NASA announces discovery of life on Mars with high degree of confidence NASA’s Mars rover finds organic signals in mudstone that resemble microbial activity, sparking new debate over life on the Red Planet.

Huge missed headline opportunity here. Microbial life on Mars?
It’s a God awful small affair.

www.earth.com/news/nasa-an...

One thing I keep thinking about after 28 YEARS LATER is how heavily influenced it is by JG Ballard. Garland already borrowed from Ballard for ANNIHILATION, and I'd say he does again here. The Ralph Fiennes character could be lifted right out of any of Ballard's early environmental apocalypse novels.

⚠️ We’re excited to announce our invited speakers for the #PalAss Annual Meeting! 🎉
🔗 Registration link ⬇️
palass.org/annual-meeti...

#conference #uk #palaeontology #meeting