Andrew Burchell
@andrewburchell.bsky.social
Historian of UK but living in Sweden - working on stammering, patient organisations, diabetes and rheumatism. https://www.actdisease.org/
Kanske kan vi prata svenska?
Mass Observation and Frågelista fanboy. He/him.
Kanske kan vi prata svenska?
Mass Observation and Frågelista fanboy. He/him.
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
On almost everything – fraud, polarisation, radicalisation, misinformation – evidence suggests that over 60s are in much more urgent need of online protection and education than teenagers.
But that issue gets zero political attention, and is a total non-starter. Nothing good will come of it.
But that issue gets zero political attention, and is a total non-starter. Nothing good will come of it.
This was a minor story on London news this morning - but suspect is a real cautionary (and alarming) tale of an older man getting radicalised online.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Sidcup man convicted aover explosive attack on Ulez camera
Kevin Rees's homemade bomb caused damage to vehicles and property including a child's bedroom.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 9:43 AM
On almost everything – fraud, polarisation, radicalisation, misinformation – evidence suggests that over 60s are in much more urgent need of online protection and education than teenagers.
But that issue gets zero political attention, and is a total non-starter. Nothing good will come of it.
But that issue gets zero political attention, and is a total non-starter. Nothing good will come of it.
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
Feel free to mute me if you get tired of seeing me talking about my book over the next few months but BEFORE YOU DO, I just wanted to point out that the fantastic Francis Spufford has very kindly said that it 'gives us extraordinary, privileged access to the inner worlds of a generation' 🥂🥂🥂
January 27, 2026 at 11:15 AM
Feel free to mute me if you get tired of seeing me talking about my book over the next few months but BEFORE YOU DO, I just wanted to point out that the fantastic Francis Spufford has very kindly said that it 'gives us extraordinary, privileged access to the inner worlds of a generation' 🥂🥂🥂
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
part of this is like, conservatives projecting; part of this is conservatives unable to imagine politics without money; and part of this is dudes who are so out of touch with feminized labor that they think children's birthday parties exist as a spontaneous act of parthogenesis
I mostly just stay off Twitter altogether but after double checking that the Walter Hudson post was still up I ran across this and just had to share so the Romancelandians who bought hand warmers could hear about the PROFESSIONAL GRADE LOGISTICS.
January 26, 2026 at 12:14 AM
part of this is like, conservatives projecting; part of this is conservatives unable to imagine politics without money; and part of this is dudes who are so out of touch with feminized labor that they think children's birthday parties exist as a spontaneous act of parthogenesis
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
An entire people were decimated in a live-streamed genocide and most of the world applauded while suppressing those who objected.
People dont say this stuff never happened *down the road* - they convince you of that *right now* even as your eyes tell you differently.
People dont say this stuff never happened *down the road* - they convince you of that *right now* even as your eyes tell you differently.
“Get it all on record now — get the films — get the witnesses — because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower, after visiting liberated concentration camps in April 1945
Dwight D. Eisenhower, after visiting liberated concentration camps in April 1945
January 24, 2026 at 9:45 PM
An entire people were decimated in a live-streamed genocide and most of the world applauded while suppressing those who objected.
People dont say this stuff never happened *down the road* - they convince you of that *right now* even as your eyes tell you differently.
People dont say this stuff never happened *down the road* - they convince you of that *right now* even as your eyes tell you differently.
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
omg they did the thing
January 25, 2026 at 2:03 PM
omg they did the thing
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
Michel Foucault: In my book I explored Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon as a cautionary tale.
Shabana Mahmood: At long last we have created Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon from the classic political treatise Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison.
Shabana Mahmood: At long last we have created Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon from the classic political treatise Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison.
Shabana Mahmood here, and the vibes are not getting better.
January 23, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
Delighted to announce the launch of my book today 'Universities and the Purpose of Higher Education: Expansion and Development in Post-war Britain'! www.routledge.com/Universities... : a short thread: 1/5
Universities and the Purpose of Higher Education: Expansion and Development in Post-War Britain
This thought‑provoking book addresses the persistent anxieties surrounding the purpose and direction of higher education, offering a nuanced historical perspective on its transformation. Using Cold Wa...
www.routledge.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Delighted to announce the launch of my book today 'Universities and the Purpose of Higher Education: Expansion and Development in Post-war Britain'! www.routledge.com/Universities... : a short thread: 1/5
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
A Jewish journalist, who was charged with antisemitism over his support for Palestine, reflects on how Germany's unflinching support for Israel has fueled the suppression of Jews once again.
zeteo.com/p/germany-no...
zeteo.com/p/germany-no...
Germany: No Land for Jews (Still)
A Jewish journalist, who was charged with antisemitism over his support for Palestine, reflects on how Germany's unflinching support for Israel has fueled the suppression of Jews once again.
zeteo.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:04 PM
A Jewish journalist, who was charged with antisemitism over his support for Palestine, reflects on how Germany's unflinching support for Israel has fueled the suppression of Jews once again.
zeteo.com/p/germany-no...
zeteo.com/p/germany-no...
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
How about no, he can get stuffed? (1/2)
January 21, 2026 at 6:41 PM
How about no, he can get stuffed? (1/2)
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
Still the big question for me is what those who cheerled for Trump - Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Farage etc - actually expected would happen with his presidency?
Did they think his economic illiteracy would help? Did they think deporting tens of thousands would be peaceful?
Did they think his economic illiteracy would help? Did they think deporting tens of thousands would be peaceful?
January 21, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Still the big question for me is what those who cheerled for Trump - Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Farage etc - actually expected would happen with his presidency?
Did they think his economic illiteracy would help? Did they think deporting tens of thousands would be peaceful?
Did they think his economic illiteracy would help? Did they think deporting tens of thousands would be peaceful?
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
OMG, he actually did the ‘I can’t be sexist, my wife is a woman’ line.
January 19, 2026 at 5:45 PM
OMG, he actually did the ‘I can’t be sexist, my wife is a woman’ line.
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
We've spent ten years being proved right about all the things the loudest, biggest voices in the UK media insisted, often obnoxiously, we were wrong about. The real kicker is that there's no consolation whatsoever in being correct. Brexit, Putin, Johnson, Truss, Trump, Twitter, Netanyahu etc etc...
January 19, 2026 at 9:12 AM
We've spent ten years being proved right about all the things the loudest, biggest voices in the UK media insisted, often obnoxiously, we were wrong about. The real kicker is that there's no consolation whatsoever in being correct. Brexit, Putin, Johnson, Truss, Trump, Twitter, Netanyahu etc etc...
As a Brit living in Sweden (and always perplexed by the reverence shown to the NP) I keep circling back to the point that the prizes only exist because Nobel was an *arms dealer* and did not want later generations to *remember* that he was an arms dealer.
The Nobel Peace Prize becoming so prestigious that wars are fought over a head of state coveting it is some real monkey paw stuff for Alfred Nobel.
January 19, 2026 at 12:27 PM
As a Brit living in Sweden (and always perplexed by the reverence shown to the NP) I keep circling back to the point that the prizes only exist because Nobel was an *arms dealer* and did not want later generations to *remember* that he was an arms dealer.
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
When “Operation Raise the Colours” started attaching flags to lampposts, you couldn’t analyse it in the media without the reply, “it’s just people innocently expressing national pride”. Now the same people are travelling to France to intimidate refugees.
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
‘They’re emboldened’: British far-right activists step up harassment of asylum seekers in northern France
Aid groups say rise of far-right rhetoric in politics has fed into intimidation, vandalism and hate graffiti around migrant camps
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:02 AM
When “Operation Raise the Colours” started attaching flags to lampposts, you couldn’t analyse it in the media without the reply, “it’s just people innocently expressing national pride”. Now the same people are travelling to France to intimidate refugees.
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
And his 'August 1968' (ironically enough about the Soviet suppression of the Prague Spring).
January 18, 2026 at 1:04 PM
And his 'August 1968' (ironically enough about the Soviet suppression of the Prague Spring).
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
The ferocity with which the vile phrase “a biological male who identifies as a woman” is being embedded across multiple media in Britain is horrifying. It shows how quickly support for eliminationist attacks against trans and gender diverse people is being solidified
January 18, 2026 at 9:52 AM
The ferocity with which the vile phrase “a biological male who identifies as a woman” is being embedded across multiple media in Britain is horrifying. It shows how quickly support for eliminationist attacks against trans and gender diverse people is being solidified
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
Makes me feel insane to live in a world that's persecuting trans folk while simultaneously doing big billboards advertising gender affirming care to cis people???
January 17, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Makes me feel insane to live in a world that's persecuting trans folk while simultaneously doing big billboards advertising gender affirming care to cis people???
"Let him have it" in the Derek Bentley sense, or...?
These so-called "patriotic" 🇬🇧newspapers who brought you Brexit were never really patriotic at all.
They are driven by a disdain for Britain's European neighbours, and a fawning obsession with America.
They do not really want 🇬🇧 to be sovereign. They're content being a 🇺🇸vassal.
They are driven by a disdain for Britain's European neighbours, and a fawning obsession with America.
They do not really want 🇬🇧 to be sovereign. They're content being a 🇺🇸vassal.
January 18, 2026 at 12:17 PM
"Let him have it" in the Derek Bentley sense, or...?
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
Our entire managerial and political class has learned all the things you're supposed to do, and none of the reasons why those conventions are in place. It means they stick doggedly to "conventional wisdom" even when it's the exact opposite of their own best interests, let alone ours.
January 18, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Our entire managerial and political class has learned all the things you're supposed to do, and none of the reasons why those conventions are in place. It means they stick doggedly to "conventional wisdom" even when it's the exact opposite of their own best interests, let alone ours.
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
"And we now have María on the line who would like to swap a Nobel Peace Prize for the presidency of Venezuela..."
January 16, 2026 at 10:29 AM
"And we now have María on the line who would like to swap a Nobel Peace Prize for the presidency of Venezuela..."
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
Honestly it surprised me because whereas Badenoch is a reactionary true believer, Jenrick is just an opportunist who wants to be PM and will adopt whatever political outfit gets him it. And however low his chances at that were in the Tories, I think they're lower in Reform.
The takeaway here is that Jenrick didn't think he had the chops to bring the Tories back to relevance, even though he clearly had the numbers to topple Badenoch.
January 15, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Honestly it surprised me because whereas Badenoch is a reactionary true believer, Jenrick is just an opportunist who wants to be PM and will adopt whatever political outfit gets him it. And however low his chances at that were in the Tories, I think they're lower in Reform.
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
Missing from the coverage of redundancies at Edinburgh: this was done in such a haphazard, uncoordinated way, there are now core teams who have gone from 5 people to 1 with no change in workload or pressure and huge loss in knowledge of institutional process. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2576321...
Hundreds of staff leave Edinburgh University amid cuts drive
According to the university, 345 of these departures were the result of a targeted voluntary severance (VS) scheme run by the institution in 2025.
www.heraldscotland.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:36 AM
Missing from the coverage of redundancies at Edinburgh: this was done in such a haphazard, uncoordinated way, there are now core teams who have gone from 5 people to 1 with no change in workload or pressure and huge loss in knowledge of institutional process. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2576321...
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
you can't ban social media for kids if you also don't allow them to exist in physical spaces. you either get kids at the mall or kids on social media. you can't just put kids in solitary confinement. i'm so tired of this shit.
Banning social media for kids may be good or bad but that guy is a comically obvious bullshit artist with entire books full of trite lessons extrapolated from anecdotes that are themselves barely half-true.
January 14, 2026 at 4:43 PM
you can't ban social media for kids if you also don't allow them to exist in physical spaces. you either get kids at the mall or kids on social media. you can't just put kids in solitary confinement. i'm so tired of this shit.
Reposted by Andrew Burchell
Been thinking a lot about how we are talking about health and society so I wrote down some thoughts about what happens when self-care replaces collective care, and why joy, connection, and shared spaces are as essential to a nation’s wellbeing as any diet
zoegrunewald.substack.com/p/when-whats...
zoegrunewald.substack.com/p/when-whats...
When “what’s good for us” stops meaning "us"
Wellness culture promises control and self-care — but what happens when it starts to hollow out our shared collective lives?
zoegrunewald.substack.com
January 13, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Been thinking a lot about how we are talking about health and society so I wrote down some thoughts about what happens when self-care replaces collective care, and why joy, connection, and shared spaces are as essential to a nation’s wellbeing as any diet
zoegrunewald.substack.com/p/when-whats...
zoegrunewald.substack.com/p/when-whats...