Naomi Waltham-Smith
@auralflaneur.bsky.social
Professor at Oxford. Politics of listening, continental philosophy, music and sound studies, academic freedom. On the left. Views mine.
This is exactly the kind of chilling effect the rightwing assault on institutions is aiming for. Infuriating if the contract allows for broadcasting a censored lecture without consent. Academics are frequently Reith lecturers and such speech carries the highest level of protection under the ECHR.
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 11:35 PM
This is exactly the kind of chilling effect the rightwing assault on institutions is aiming for. Infuriating if the contract allows for broadcasting a censored lecture without consent. Academics are frequently Reith lecturers and such speech carries the highest level of protection under the ECHR.
Reposted by Naomi Waltham-Smith
I wrote this piece about Trudi Warner and why juries are an important part of our constitution in April last year. I think particularly worth reading today.
goodlawproject.org/high-court-s...
goodlawproject.org/high-court-s...
High Court slaps down ‘fanciful’ prosecution of Trudi Warner | Good Law Project
Judge rules that the solicitor general ‘mischaracterised’ the evidence when he charged Warner with contempt of court for holding up a placard.
goodlawproject.org
November 25, 2025 at 9:57 PM
I wrote this piece about Trudi Warner and why juries are an important part of our constitution in April last year. I think particularly worth reading today.
goodlawproject.org/high-court-s...
goodlawproject.org/high-court-s...
@universities-uk.bsky.social publishes letter to the OfS & reply clarifying free speech is defined wrt to the Convention, so—surprise, surprise—Art 17 speech isn’t protected & proportionality analysis required, not only where no reasonably practicable steps.
www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/latest/news/...
www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/latest/news/...
UUK responds to the OfS's Regulatory advice 24: Guidance related to freedom of speech
Our reply to the OfS’s recently published Regulatory advice 24: Guidance related to freedom of speech.
www.universitiesuk.ac.uk
November 23, 2025 at 10:49 AM
@universities-uk.bsky.social publishes letter to the OfS & reply clarifying free speech is defined wrt to the Convention, so—surprise, surprise—Art 17 speech isn’t protected & proportionality analysis required, not only where no reasonably practicable steps.
www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/latest/news/...
www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/latest/news/...
Reposted by Naomi Waltham-Smith
Obviously a heck of a lot to digest from the Covid inquiry but this one rings true with our experience at the time. Stronger multi disciplinary expertise might have helped show the interconnections and trade offs between health, economics, geography and societal impacts
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
November 20, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Obviously a heck of a lot to digest from the Covid inquiry but this one rings true with our experience at the time. Stronger multi disciplinary expertise might have helped show the interconnections and trade offs between health, economics, geography and societal impacts
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Smith misconstrues academic freedom:
“Institutional autonomy [means] it is the responsibility of government to set in place the objectives and vision for the sector…Having set out that vision, I’m afraid there is an element of saying to the sector, ‘What are you going to do now to deliver that?’”
“Institutional autonomy [means] it is the responsibility of government to set in place the objectives and vision for the sector…Having set out that vision, I’m afraid there is an element of saying to the sector, ‘What are you going to do now to deliver that?’”
Levy criticism ‘makes me want to run screaming’, says Smith student-ui.prd.timeshighereducation.com/news/levy-cr...
Levy criticism ‘makes me want to run screaming’, says Smith
Skills minister says convincing the Treasury of the importance of maintenance grants was difficult to get over the line
student-ui.prd.timeshighereducation.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Smith misconstrues academic freedom:
“Institutional autonomy [means] it is the responsibility of government to set in place the objectives and vision for the sector…Having set out that vision, I’m afraid there is an element of saying to the sector, ‘What are you going to do now to deliver that?’”
“Institutional autonomy [means] it is the responsibility of government to set in place the objectives and vision for the sector…Having set out that vision, I’m afraid there is an element of saying to the sector, ‘What are you going to do now to deliver that?’”
Reposted by Naomi Waltham-Smith
Today's asylum proposals risk worsening problems & causing deep worry for people trying to build safe, stable lives with their families.
Current serious problems such as huge backlogs & hotel use stem from Home Office policies not our human rights laws (1/5)
Current serious problems such as huge backlogs & hotel use stem from Home Office policies not our human rights laws (1/5)
November 17, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Today's asylum proposals risk worsening problems & causing deep worry for people trying to build safe, stable lives with their families.
Current serious problems such as huge backlogs & hotel use stem from Home Office policies not our human rights laws (1/5)
Current serious problems such as huge backlogs & hotel use stem from Home Office policies not our human rights laws (1/5)
Reposted by Naomi Waltham-Smith
You are not going to be able to pull together the anti-Reform coalition if voters don't see you are meaningfully different to Reform.
Mad reaction from the government given an increasing threat on the left.
Mad reaction from the government given an increasing threat on the left.
November 16, 2025 at 9:06 PM
You are not going to be able to pull together the anti-Reform coalition if voters don't see you are meaningfully different to Reform.
Mad reaction from the government given an increasing threat on the left.
Mad reaction from the government given an increasing threat on the left.
When the institutional capacity for rigorous journalism and critical public scrutiny is fast eroding and facing brutal attacks, it’s time to return to a classic.
November 16, 2025 at 5:29 PM
When the institutional capacity for rigorous journalism and critical public scrutiny is fast eroding and facing brutal attacks, it’s time to return to a classic.
Reposted by Naomi Waltham-Smith
🗣️ Matt Foot, Co-Director:
“Reducing jury trials will inevitably increase miscarriages of justice. Prisons are overcrowded — and the backlog is caused by underfunding and overcharging, not juries.”
📖 Read our full response to the Leveson review:
👉 appeal.org.uk/levesons-out...
“Reducing jury trials will inevitably increase miscarriages of justice. Prisons are overcrowded — and the backlog is caused by underfunding and overcharging, not juries.”
📖 Read our full response to the Leveson review:
👉 appeal.org.uk/levesons-out...
Leveson’s Outcomes: A Grave Threat to Justice • APPEAL
compensation wrongful conviction scrap the test matt foot radio 4
appeal.org.uk
July 9, 2025 at 12:15 PM
🗣️ Matt Foot, Co-Director:
“Reducing jury trials will inevitably increase miscarriages of justice. Prisons are overcrowded — and the backlog is caused by underfunding and overcharging, not juries.”
📖 Read our full response to the Leveson review:
👉 appeal.org.uk/levesons-out...
“Reducing jury trials will inevitably increase miscarriages of justice. Prisons are overcrowded — and the backlog is caused by underfunding and overcharging, not juries.”
📖 Read our full response to the Leveson review:
👉 appeal.org.uk/levesons-out...
Strikes me both are symptomatic of one variant of Labourism or another
Looking at this fiasco, and the mess Starmer is making of government, it’s looking more and more like the defeat of Corbynism was about its own limitations rather than the Machiavellian machinations of the Labour right
Three people who’d be expected to be Your Party bigwigs have largely walked away from Corbyn’s project: former NE mayor Jamie Driscoll, former Labour MP Beth Winter, and former ANC MP Andrew Feinstein.
I have some new intel on the fall-out, if you’re interested in that sort of thing… 🧵
I have some new intel on the fall-out, if you’re interested in that sort of thing… 🧵
November 16, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Strikes me both are symptomatic of one variant of Labourism or another
Reposted by Naomi Waltham-Smith
The only Legitimate Concerns about asylum seekers are concerns for their well being and safety. For a rich country like ours to incessantly whine about these people as if we are their victims is perhaps the single most pathetic spectacle in British politics over the past quarter century.
November 16, 2025 at 7:19 AM
The only Legitimate Concerns about asylum seekers are concerns for their well being and safety. For a rich country like ours to incessantly whine about these people as if we are their victims is perhaps the single most pathetic spectacle in British politics over the past quarter century.
A leader capable of inspiring with critical nuance—and a theory of art’s heteronymy on which a defence of its freedom can be built without a crude political reduction (also shared with Benedict to be fair). Complete contrast to the political & media class’s using crude economism to destroy the arts.
Some inspiring words on cinema in the streaming era from the Pope.
Yes, THAT Pope.
Yes, THAT Pope.
November 16, 2025 at 1:19 PM
A leader capable of inspiring with critical nuance—and a theory of art’s heteronymy on which a defence of its freedom can be built without a crude political reduction (also shared with Benedict to be fair). Complete contrast to the political & media class’s using crude economism to destroy the arts.
Reposted by Naomi Waltham-Smith
Do you believe the justice system can make society fairer & want to help make this happen?
If you’re a budding professional, join NextGen JUSTICE60, a new network for future leaders advancing justice through giving, mentoring & collaboration.
Learn more: justice.org.uk/get-involved...
If you’re a budding professional, join NextGen JUSTICE60, a new network for future leaders advancing justice through giving, mentoring & collaboration.
Learn more: justice.org.uk/get-involved...
November 13, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Do you believe the justice system can make society fairer & want to help make this happen?
If you’re a budding professional, join NextGen JUSTICE60, a new network for future leaders advancing justice through giving, mentoring & collaboration.
Learn more: justice.org.uk/get-involved...
If you’re a budding professional, join NextGen JUSTICE60, a new network for future leaders advancing justice through giving, mentoring & collaboration.
Learn more: justice.org.uk/get-involved...
Pluribus is a dark satire of society as resonance or mimetic contagion—a critique fit for our times of pseudo-totality as manipulated seriality Theorists of sonic materialism take note!
November 16, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Pluribus is a dark satire of society as resonance or mimetic contagion—a critique fit for our times of pseudo-totality as manipulated seriality Theorists of sonic materialism take note!
Those of us who actually wanted democratic socialism already knew by the time he made his leadership bid in January 2020 that Starmer was incompetent and uninspired. Let’s not forget which fractions of the party (and media class) swung behind him and which opposed him.
New Substack: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/on-incompe... Parts of the Labour party and BBC simply don't know what their jobs should be.
On incompetence
Much of our political culture is fundamentally incompetent.
chrisdillow.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Those of us who actually wanted democratic socialism already knew by the time he made his leadership bid in January 2020 that Starmer was incompetent and uninspired. Let’s not forget which fractions of the party (and media class) swung behind him and which opposed him.
Reposted by Naomi Waltham-Smith
The alienation of young people can be blamed on Covid, phones and much else. But those are exacerbations. The real cause is rent exploitation in all its forms. It is neoliberalism that is destroying the lives of young people. And that is why it has to go. www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
Young people are alienated by neoliberalism
As the FT notes today, in another excellent article by John Burns-Murdoch:
In the UK [the number of] ... young people who are increasingly disengaged from not only the economy but the rest of society ...
www.taxresearch.org.uk
November 14, 2025 at 8:02 AM
The alienation of young people can be blamed on Covid, phones and much else. But those are exacerbations. The real cause is rent exploitation in all its forms. It is neoliberalism that is destroying the lives of young people. And that is why it has to go. www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
Very good commentary from Tom eschewing reduction to the palace coup framing without dodging the issues of who has the power to determine accountability.
With the BBC discourse still raging, here's my take. www.bylinesupplement.com/p/the-direct...
The Director General is Going. Who Will Now Run the BBC?
Tom Mills asks how the BBC can demonstrate its independence and impartiality in a political environment where trust and consensus has collapsed
www.bylinesupplement.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Very good commentary from Tom eschewing reduction to the palace coup framing without dodging the issues of who has the power to determine accountability.
Signup sheet for the last seminar session I’m teaching this term: I might be taking this whole “case of Wagner” thing a bit seriously…
November 11, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Signup sheet for the last seminar session I’m teaching this term: I might be taking this whole “case of Wagner” thing a bit seriously…
Who knew that The Morning Show is the news? 😂
November 10, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Who knew that The Morning Show is the news? 😂
This—what the public listens to impacts polarization and the quality of public reason
Here’s the same data, but with trust broken down by political views (circles are trust among people on the left, +s the right).
It’s not just that the BBC is widely consumed — it also has solid trust on both left & right, whereas trust in the biggest US media brands is hugely polarised.
It’s not just that the BBC is widely consumed — it also has solid trust on both left & right, whereas trust in the biggest US media brands is hugely polarised.
November 10, 2025 at 7:03 PM
This—what the public listens to impacts polarization and the quality of public reason
Overjoyed to have been awarded an AHRC LUCIA grant to continue work with @justicehq.bsky.social, United Borders & members of @artnotevidence.bsky.social to increase awareness of rap’s aesthetic & socio-cultural value to combat criminalization & racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
November 10, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Overjoyed to have been awarded an AHRC LUCIA grant to continue work with @justicehq.bsky.social, United Borders & members of @artnotevidence.bsky.social to increase awareness of rap’s aesthetic & socio-cultural value to combat criminalization & racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
There are many problems with the 1st Amendment regime: e.g. time, place & manner restrictions are readily deployed to silence marginalized voices and dissent. There is arguably much to commend the more nuanced jurisprudence and hierarchy of protection under the ECHR for being more egalitarian.
There’s a number of commentators who’ve criticised the UK’s free speech laws in recent times, with I think some justification. But it’s worth noting that the First Amendment doesn’t defend itself and speech in the US is being criminalised as well.
It's impossible to overstate how much of what ICE is doing on the ground reflects this completely preposterous conflation of hostile *speech* and hostile *conduct.*
The First Amendment protects—or, at least, is supposed to protect—the former up and until it's a "true threat," which none of this is.
The First Amendment protects—or, at least, is supposed to protect—the former up and until it's a "true threat," which none of this is.
November 5, 2025 at 8:25 AM
There are many problems with the 1st Amendment regime: e.g. time, place & manner restrictions are readily deployed to silence marginalized voices and dissent. There is arguably much to commend the more nuanced jurisprudence and hierarchy of protection under the ECHR for being more egalitarian.
Reposted by Naomi Waltham-Smith
Zohran's campaign was his determination to make New York a city everyone can afford to live in. Huge congratulations!
His success will resonate throughout the world. A story where no one is left behind.
It's time to write that story across England & Wales too.
His success will resonate throughout the world. A story where no one is left behind.
It's time to write that story across England & Wales too.
November 5, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Zohran's campaign was his determination to make New York a city everyone can afford to live in. Huge congratulations!
His success will resonate throughout the world. A story where no one is left behind.
It's time to write that story across England & Wales too.
His success will resonate throughout the world. A story where no one is left behind.
It's time to write that story across England & Wales too.
Congratulations, NYC!
November 5, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Congratulations, NYC!
Important report on by-and-for organizations’ role in making audible the often marginalized voices of affected communities:
“There are things that you can’t do as an individual but once you are an organisation, you can easily get your voice heard”—Ruth Ngwata, Coventry Empowered African Women Group
“There are things that you can’t do as an individual but once you are an organisation, you can easily get your voice heard”—Ruth Ngwata, Coventry Empowered African Women Group
By-and-for organisations are a critical part of society.
They providing essential services and a voice for communities and populations often missing or excluded from the workplace, the charity landscape, and within spheres of influence and policymaking.
Learn more:
neweconomics.org/2025/09/buil...
They providing essential services and a voice for communities and populations often missing or excluded from the workplace, the charity landscape, and within spheres of influence and policymaking.
Learn more:
neweconomics.org/2025/09/buil...
Built by us
Understanding the distinctiveness of by-and-for organisations
neweconomics.org
November 2, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Important report on by-and-for organizations’ role in making audible the often marginalized voices of affected communities:
“There are things that you can’t do as an individual but once you are an organisation, you can easily get your voice heard”—Ruth Ngwata, Coventry Empowered African Women Group
“There are things that you can’t do as an individual but once you are an organisation, you can easily get your voice heard”—Ruth Ngwata, Coventry Empowered African Women Group