Ashis Basu
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ashis.bsky.social
Ashis Basu
@ashis.bsky.social
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Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories by @amitav.bsky.social a stellar review by @rentravailer.bsky.social

“Ghosh pays attention to the role that writers have played in our collective inheritance of the histories in Smoke and Ashes.”

www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Nandini Das · Dark Propensities: Opium Inc.
Despite European and British efforts to emphasise the ‘traditional’ use of opium in both India and China, neither...
www.lrb.co.uk
“This conversation explores curiosity, responsibility, and the power of paying attention, even when the truth feels heavy.”

Must listen 🎧
February 5, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
It was a pleasure speaking to Willow Defebaugh about the Nature Of, well, everything:
Embracing ‘Cathedral Thinking’ with Elizabeth Kolbert | The Nature Of with Willow Defebaugh
the-nature-of.simplecast.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
An ‘amazing feat’: how was 13-year-old Austin Appelbee able to swim for four hours to save his family?
An ‘amazing feat’: how was 13-year-old Austin Appelbee able to swim for four hours to save his family?
Saltwater, survival backstroke and sheer mind over matter may have helped the teenager save his family, experts say
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:41 PM
February 4, 2026 at 11:50 AM
For Iran, this is an unprecedented moment. Not since 1979 has the regime faced serious threats to both its legitimacy at home and its ability to deter enemies abroad at the same time. @socsanam.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
War, a Trump-imposed deal or internal regime collapse: for Tehran, none of the options are good | Sanam Vakil
Iran’s leaders now face unprecedented peril. The regime has lost its footing, and the global mechanisms to avoid conflict no longer work, says Sanam Vakil of Chatham House
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:51 PM
The physician and longevity influencer Peter Attia is facing criticism after correspondence between him and the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was released on Friday as part of a large tranche of files related to Mr. Epstein. @maggieastor.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/w...
Peter Attia ‘Ashamed’ After Epstein Emails Become Public
www.nytimes.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:13 AM
There are lots of guidebooks for parents of young children – but what happens when your offspring hit adulthood? A psychotherapist shares her guiding principles for raising grownups

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Adolescence lasts into your 30s – so how should parents treat their adult children?
There are lots of guidebooks for parents of young children – but what happens when your offspring hit adulthood? A psychotherapist shares her guiding principles for raising grownups
www.theguardian.com
February 1, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
JANE FONDA: “I know Don Lemon. My husband created CNN. And I will fight for their right to speak… they arrested the wrong Don. This is how autocrats act. We can’t fall for it.”
January 31, 2026 at 4:54 AM
The global damage wreaked by industrial livestock, from climate-heating methane burps to water pollution to the destruction of forests, is well established. @dpcarrington.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Humanity’s favourite food’: how to end the livestock industry but keep eating meat
Bruce Friedrich argues the only way to tackle the world’s insatiable but damaging craving for meat is like-for-like replacements like cultivated and plant-based meat
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
Remember, in 1914-1918 and 1939-1945, in South East Asia, in the Middle East, before mobile smart phone, everyone was civil, kind and cordial to each other?
January 31, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Kevin Warsh’s record raises the possibility that he is a partisan actor whose views on monetary policy are shaped less by real economic conditions than by whether a Democrat or Republican is in power, Rogé Karma writes:

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Trump’s Fed-Chair Pick Is an Interest-Rate Hawk—Or Is He?
Kevin Warsh’s views on monetary policy may be shaped less by real economic conditions than by whether a Democrat or Republican is in power.
www.theatlantic.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:37 AM
My main impression of how the world has changed is we’re all a lot more pissed off with each other. And I really do blame phones @willstorr.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
We have lost so much of ourselves to smartphones: can we get it back?
My use of mobile phones has been compulsive – has it been for better or for worse?
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:32 AM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
A long, thoughtful critique. Recommended: Mark Carney at the End of the End of History open.substack.com/pub/justinli...
Mark Carney at the End of the End of History
The rules-based international order is dead. Long live the rules-based international order.
open.substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
More than 3 million pages of Epstein files released | CBC
www.cbc.ca
January 30, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
It’s easy to see the evil of those who are outwardly violent, tactless, and crude, but it’s harder to see the evil of the frail old man and his wife, who comes around once a year to rearrange our paintings
January 30, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
Please read my latest, on one woman’s act of solidarity and conscience www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
A resignation and call to conscience at company owned by Maga billionaires
Uline employee says she can no longer work for people who helped ‘America descend into fascism’
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Started reading THE CROWN’s SILENCE by @brookenewman.bsky.social on the The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery in the Americas.

Rave reviews and highly recommended by @sathnam.bsky.social ; @lauratrevelyan.bsky.social ; Marcus Rediker; Corine Fowler; many others

I recommend it!
January 30, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
i'm really tempted to revel in its terribleness, but it wasn't me
January 29, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
What we are seeing in their case, as Kidron says, is a “massive transfer of wealth from creators to corporations and from the UK to the US”.

www.thetimes.com/article/3c0c...
All 2.4m of Britain’s creative workers are at risk — and we know why
A new report into the impact of AI on the creative sector makes for apocalyptic reading. The government must act now
www.thetimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 11:42 AM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
President Trump says on housing that he wants “to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes.” 🏡
January 30, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Ashis Basu
About 40% of Australian women without kids say they are hesitant to have children because of climate change. @regedahmad.bsky.social and @donnadlu.bsky.social discuss the anxiety – shared by many – about starting a family as global temperatures rise. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
The anxiety of having kids in a climate crisis – podcast
Parents now have something else to consider when deciding to have a baby – what the future holds as global temperatures rise. The climate, environment and science assistant editor, Donna Lu, speaks to...
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 9:04 PM
An international team of scientists in Australia, the UK, the US and Denmark identified the planet using data captured in 2017 by the Nasa Kepler space telescope’s extended mission, known as K2. @donnadlu.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
A potentially habitable new planet has been discovered 146 light-years away – but it may be -70C
The Earth-size planet HD 137010 b has a ‘50% chance of residing in the habitable zone’ of its sun-like star, scientists say
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 11:40 AM