Basia Cummings

‘There is no political power without power over the archive’ Titles banned, data deleted, the nation’s librarians sacked without explanation – Donald Trump’s war on books is a threat to democracy across the world, ...

American libraries are under attack. I have written a long piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social on the MAGA assault on libraries (and archives), and the strong librarians fighting back. observer.co.uk/news/interna...

Modern racism has become loud and proud | The Observer The response to a photo of a class in London shows how ethnic notions of national identity have seeped into mainstream conservatism

Britain hasn’t suddenly become more racist, but racists have become more assertive in their bigotry. My ‪@theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ column: observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Modern racism has become loud and proud | The Observer The response to a photo of a class in London shows how ethnic notions of national identity have seeped into mainstream conservatism

Marvellous piece by @kenanmalik.bsky.social:

‘People can change their minds’: the evolutionary biologi... Ella Al-Shamahi is the erudite presenter of a breathtaking new series about our 300,000-year history. But her own evolution story isn’t short of drama ei...

Brave and fascinating article about my friend and colleague @ellaalshamahi.bsky.social

Creationist to evolutionary biologist.

observer.co.uk/news/science...

The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ... Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal that the truth behind it is ve...

observer.co.uk/news/nationa... This is not only a brilliant investigation but a vindication of the Tortoise Observer takeover - @chloehadj.bsky.social has been doing great work on the Tortoise podcast team for some time

The real Salt Path: how the couple behind a bestseller le... Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal it was far from the truth

I spent months on this investigation and gathered docs from the UK courts, Land Registry and a French local authority, to show that Raynor and Moth Winn's story is not as they claim. @tortoisemedia.bsky.social @observeruk.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ... Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal that the truth behind it is ve...

A superb piece of journalism in The Observer: it seems like the one of the sacred texts of Nature Writing (TM) is not quite as much of an unflinchingly honest read as claimed

observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ... Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal that the truth behind it is ve...

Great piece by Chloe Hadjimatheou. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Teach First brand that helps top graduates into poorest s... Leading brand that trains teachers for most deprived areas of the country will not be allowed to operate under its current name

This is *mental*. The TeachFirst brand is worth a vast sum. And DfE proposes to torch all that? Lunatics.

observer.co.uk/news/politic...

The Salt Path Controversy: Behind the scenes The Observer recently published a major investigation into the bestselling memoir The Salt Path. In this special episode, Giles Whittell is joined by the journalist behind the story, Chloe Hadjimatheo...

This week @theobserveruk.bsky.social published a major investigation into The Salt Path.

In this special episode of The News Meeting, the reporter behind the story, @chloehadj.bsky.social and her editor, Alexi Mostrous, discuss how the investigation unfolded.

Listen here: lnk.to/689fK3

The Observer Issue 12,185: Closing in

'Khamenei once governed a country, now he commands a bunker'
More than 20 Iranian commanders killed
Trump sends B-2 Bombers to Guam

#TomorrowsPapersToday bit.ly/4jFwQCW

“AI could lead to fewer and better told stories” – Our panel on navigating a fast-changing news ecosystem A summary of our launch with Jane Barrett from Reuters, David Rhodes from Sky News and Basia Cummings from the Observer.

“AI could lead to fewer stories, better told with more context”

Our colleagues Marina Adami & Gretel Kahn summarise this morning's #DNR25 global launch ft @basialc.bsky.social, David Rhodes, Jane Barrett and @mitalilive.bsky.social

Watch or read
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/ai-coul...

Free speech, fiction and survival: my conversation with S... In his most frank conversation since he was attacked onstage three years ago, Salman Rushdie addresses his recovery, the importance of fiction in an era ...

So delighted to be joining @theobserveruk.bsky.social as Contributing Editor — and to have the chance to speak to Salman Rushdie @hayfestival.bsky.social. If you couldn't be there, you can read my piece — what a guy, eh? observer.co.uk/culture/book...

Thank you so much for featuring our work.

‘I came out as autistic. Everyone said: That explains a lot’ | The Observer An autism diagnosis helped Laurie Penny make sense of their experiences, but its real value was in helping them understand the rest of society

This piece - about the consequences of coming out as autistic- is very important to me, and pretty damn personal.
I hope people find it useful.
observer.co.uk/news/first-p...

Opinion: intimate and humane, Pope Leo is a true son of Chicago | The Observer Robert Prevost would have seen greed, racism and corruption growing up in the Windy City, but he is a champion of the humanity we Chicagoans value

Thomas Dyja, author of The Third Coast: When Chicago Built the American, helps us understand Pope Leo through his background as a son of Chicago. Op-ed via @observeruk.bsky.social

observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Sending Second Life to all my friends who are/have been growing babies and raising them. My review of @amandahess.bsky.social’s brilliant first book, in @theobserveruk.bsky.social observer.co.uk/culture/book...

Ekaterina Barabash: the journalist who fled Putin’s Russia by road, air and on foot | The Observer The Russian journalist was forced to leave her homeland, family and friends or face years in prison after denouncing the invasion of Ukraine

First piece in the new Observer. Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash's daring and dangerous escape from Moscow to Paris. Barabash faced up to 10 years in jail for opposing Putin's war in Ukraine.
observer.co.uk/news/interna...

Thunderbolts*: an unusually thoughtful Marvel movie A superpowered Florence Pugh reprises her Black Widow assassin role in this toned-up Marvel movie

Me in @theobserveruk.bsky.social on Thunderbolts*, which is the most fun I have had with Marvel in a long time. observer.co.uk/culture/film...

‘I’ve agreed to host the family shindig – thereby accepting the inevitable destruction of our house’ To my elder siblings, asking me to host would be like nominating my three-year-old daughter to be their doula

When I tell people how many brothers and sisters I have, they often ask how on Earth I host them all. The answer is that I've managed to refuse this task for my entire life. That was until... last week.

observer.co.uk/news/columni...

The Secret History of Neoliberalism with George Monbiot Independent journalism | News, culture & style | Investigations, analysis, features, ideas, recipes, newsletters & podcasts that make sense of the world

In-person tickets for tomorrow's event are sold out, but you can still watch it online. Need to book though. Looking forward to talking to and with you all. observer.co.uk/our-events/t...

School dinners: looking back on 60 years of the meals you loved to loathe Independent journalism | News, culture & style | Investigations, analysis, features, ideas, recipes, newsletters & podcasts that make sense of the world

A story of school dinners observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

guys! I have huge news!

as of this week I now have a monthly sports column (!) in the new Observer

first piece will be in the paper on Sunday but it's already online: observer.co.uk/news/columni... [free to read!]

Chatbots are afraid of dying, warns the godfather of AI Cases of scheming, hacking and misdirection are growing among advanced AI models

A run of scientific studies has shown that cutting-edge AI models are learning to lie. I spoke to the very thoughtful @yoshuabengio.bsky.social about it
observer.co.uk/news/science...

Sara Sharif: what the judges knew The Observer has obtained private family court papers that show how a system meant to protect children failed a ten-year-old girl

Sara Sharif: what the judges knew
The Observer has obtained private family court papers that show how a system meant to protect children failed a ten-year-old girl. Reporting by Louise Tickle and Hannah Summers.

observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

The Observer | News, culture and style Independent journalism | News, culture & style | Investigations, analysis, features, ideas, recipes, newsletters & podcasts that make sense of the world

Today, my weekly column moves home. My Kitchen Diary can now be found at observer.co.uk

The first Observer overseen by Tortoise Media - and what a picture they got to kick it off.

Cover of the first Tortoise edition of the Observer

My column in the first Tortoise edition of the Observer

So, the new @ObserverUK and my new column

The Observer has relaunched today under new ownership, staying true to its heritage.
Includes 20 pages of sport as well as a special London Marathon supplement.
Have a look. @observeruk.bsky.social

There’s no courting King Donald In his bid to make America great again, Trump has weakened his oldest ally and strengthened Keir Starmer’s hand

Make America Great Again? In his first hundred days, Donald Trump has attacked the foundations of his country's success
observer.co.uk/news/opinion...