Natasha Walter

Great culture can save lives. Literally.

Amazing letter in today’s @thetimes.com about Tom Stoppard

Sir Andreas Whittam Smith obituary Financial journalist who was the founding editor of the groundbreaking Independent newspaper in 1986

My first job on a newspaper was at the Independent during Andreas Whittam Smith's last years as editor. It already felt like being at the end of something rather fine. Not perfect, but an amazing time & place to be a young writer. Thank you Andreas. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

Great to read all those amazing reviews of Ivo van Hove's production of All My Sons. Not so great to see those prices. Top seats £300, cheapest around £100. I hate the way that theatre has become such a rich person's delight.

Remember when Amazon held a sale during Independent Bookstore Day in an effort to undercut indie bookstores?

We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.

You need to learn English… but we will stop you going to classes.
Racist protest against mums going to English classes is just such a vile, toxic result of the anti-migrant movement. Enraging and heartbreaking. www.thetimes.com/uk/education...

The gaslighting is relentless:Saudi Arabia is changing, women are thriving, empowerment is the new norm. And because loyalty is the currency of their privilege, they take on the regime’s dirtiest work:attacking dissidents, dismissing critics, and teaching ordinary women to doubt their own suffering.

I read this article expecting to hate the scammer. But I ended up feeling incredibly sad for her. The joys of writing and reading are under such intense threat from AI, and we are all losing so much.

“America’s Betrayal of Press Freedom: A Green Light for Saudi Repression” Thanks for reading!

'The Saudi bourgeoisie celebrates the American president’s remarks as a license to escalate their abuses...'
Here, 'Saudi Whisperer' speaks about the terrible effect of Trump's support on dissenters.
Don't let her courage go unheard!
saudiwhisperer.substack.com/p/americas-b...

The life and limbo of a UK asylum seeker: one man’s harrowing 17-year wait for leave to remain Ussu fled imprisonment and torture, only to find himself treated like a liar and outcast in the UK. Here’s how he survived homelessness and horrific injury in almost two decades without a decision

This is a remarkable article by Diane Taylor.
It reminds us why we should never stop standing up for refugees.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

The mountain of waste by the Cherwell is poisoning our environment. It’s also being seized upon by those who would poison our politics with xenophobia. This is what happens now when government fails to act, migrants are blamed, hate rises.

This is so true!
There is nothing new about Home Secretaries saying that refugees must return when countries become safe. The problem is that the countries don't become safe. So all this does is make refugees less secure and less able to integrate...

Remembering Rachel Cooke | The Observer

Incredibly sad news about Rachel Cooke. She will be so missed.
Wonderful tribute here by her longstanding colleague and friend @timadamswrites.bsky.social in @theobserveruk.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

My next book, Feminism for a World on Fire, is out next May.
In it, I’m honest about the challenges that women are facing, from misogyny to the climate emergency - but I also look at how women are still defending our rights and trying to build a better world…

God, the world is depressing right now.
Here's something good to chase away the viciousness.
Win an exquisite piece of embroidery art; and even if you don't win, help brave women doing lovely things in a dark world. If you haven't got £10 to enter, pls share.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/keep-our-d...

The search for Gaza's missing Over 11,000 Palestinians have disappeared since Oct. 7. Relatives don’t know if they’re dead or alive, under rubble or in prison.

Over 11,000 Palestinians from Gaza, mostly women and children, have disappeared since October 7. Their relatives don’t know if they’re dead or alive, trapped under rubble or detained in Israeli prisons — but they’re desperate to find answers.

www.972mag.com/search-gaza-...

Once every 20 years or so, the director-general of the BBC is forced to resign for being insufficiently rightwing. Alastair Milne in 1987. Greg Dyke in 2004. Tim Davie in 2025. The great irony is that the BBC was in all cases profoundly biased towards established power. But just not biased enough …

Crochet blankets — Oshana - crafts to empower women- London- UK Crochet blankets handmade by Syrian refugee women

I find the pressure to spend around Christmas quite bleak.
But some things are beautiful & do good!
I'm proud to be the chair of the charity Makani, which supports women in Lebanon who make exquisite blankets, bags & cushions.
Perfect presents for people with taste and heart.
oshana.co.uk/blankets

In a tent in central Gaza, a women’s film festival is born Held over six days last week, the inaugural International Festival for Women's Cinema was ‘an affirmation that Gaza loves life despite the genocide.’

Incredible courage in the face of indescribable suffering. A women's film festival held in the rubble of Gaza.
By Ibtisam Mahdi in @972mag.com
www.972mag.com/gaza-interna...

UK campaigners launch bill to give nature legal rights Private member’s bill backed by Chris Packham and Natalie Bennett would impose a duty of care on government and business

'We are going through a period of extreme political upheaval. Old allegiances are breaking down. It is chaotic, but we have to make sure there are hopeful examples out there.'
I keep hearing snippets of truth from
@greenparty.org.uk
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

It says so much that Saudi Whisperer is herself anonymous. It isn't safe for her to write under her own name. But we don't have to collude in silencing Saudi women's voices.
Please read her substack and share.

The Plight of the Alhathloul Family A Father’s Plea and a Struggle for Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia

Here Saudi Whisperer writes on the the ongoing persecution of Loujain Al-Hathloul and her family - and the disgraceful whitewashing of the regime by western celebrities. 2/3 saudiwhisperer.substack.com/p/the-plight...

I've read quite a few western journalists telling us what to think about Saudi Arabia recently, and none of them take the time to talk to Saudi women.
If you want a different perspective, I urge you to read the Saudi Whisperer Substack, authored by a Saudi woman 1/3

#NoKings Miami!

Slightly off point, but jumping in to say I have a child at Woodhouse and highly recommend

More disturbing reporting from The Nerve.
How can a scrappy startup in 3 weeks leave BBC trailing in its coverage of Russian interference in our politics?

This isn't strong enough or urgent enough from @rspb.bsky.social
Your members want more - we want nature protected and birds given space to thrive. Please hold this destructive government to account.

Unspeakable cruelty.

Photo of Zack Polanski. Text: Natasha Walter: why young women are flocking to the Greens

‘It feels good – and quite strange – to think I could vote for what I believe in…’

@natashawalter.bsky.social reports on why young women are flocking to @greenparty.org.uk, won over by @zackpolanski.bsky.social’s stance on topics such as Palestine, refugee rights and economic injustice 🌱

I know things are dark in the US right now, but I'm shocked to see what Mark Bray is going through.
If you are too, there is a crowd funder here for him and his family.