Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
@gswrites.bsky.social
Pop science writer/editor consultant for hire, specialising in astronomy and its history. Regular nerd with @somethingwho.bsky.social
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
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 8:47 AM
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.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
Rare exception to Betteridge’s law of headlines/posts.
255. Would Musk deliberately break the 1967 Outer Space Treaty by declaring Mars a new nation?
by @zachweinersmith.bsky.social and @weinersmith.bsky.social
#TabClosed2026 🔭
by @zachweinersmith.bsky.social and @weinersmith.bsky.social
#TabClosed2026 🔭
Mars Attacks: How Elon Musk's plans to colonize Mars threaten Earth
Elon Musk's quest to colonize Mars could upend international cooperation and the establishment of space as a commons—it's a risk to Earthlings everywhere.
thebulletin.org
January 19, 2026 at 7:26 AM
Rare exception to Betteridge’s law of headlines/posts.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
If you think this technology isn’t eventually being used on you, you’re kidding yourself. Either we smash it or destroys us.
This is the fucking limit. I had no idea that Amazon drivers AREN'T ALLOWED TO SING
wat
CRUSH this monopoly wtf my levels were already redlining
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
wat
CRUSH this monopoly wtf my levels were already redlining
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
January 19, 2026 at 4:46 AM
If you think this technology isn’t eventually being used on you, you’re kidding yourself. Either we smash it or destroys us.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
This story combined with the fact that cryptocurrency is a key weapon of the Trump crime family should convince anyone of a simple truth - crypto is poison
This story combined with the fact that cryptocurrency is a key weapon of the Trump crime family should convince anyone of a simple truth - crypto is poison
How crypto criminals stole $713 million
As crypto wealth continues to grow, criminals are mixing sophisticated hacks with deception, and in some cases, real life violence.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 19, 2026 at 5:09 AM
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
This story combined with the fact that cryptocurrency is a key weapon of the Trump crime family should convince anyone of a simple truth - crypto is poison
This story combined with the fact that cryptocurrency is a key weapon of the Trump crime family should convince anyone of a simple truth - crypto is poison
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
At what point does losing 77 billion dollars impact a business? The global box office for all movies, put together, in total, all movies everywhere in 2025 was 33.5 billion dollars. He lost more than double that on “legs”
The division has lost over $77 billion since its inception in 2020.
Meta Lays Off Thousands of VR Workers as Zuckerberg's Vision Fails
The company has laid off some 1,500 virtual reality developers as part of a broader shift toward AI wearable devices.
trib.al
January 18, 2026 at 3:51 PM
At what point does losing 77 billion dollars impact a business? The global box office for all movies, put together, in total, all movies everywhere in 2025 was 33.5 billion dollars. He lost more than double that on “legs”
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
The problem with this is even if called out on it they'll about concede to "I was wrong" but never admit that the position was unsustainable when they adopted it.
January 18, 2026 at 1:40 PM
The problem with this is even if called out on it they'll about concede to "I was wrong" but never admit that the position was unsustainable when they adopted it.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
I need to tell you about the solo careers of Paul Simon and toast.
January 18, 2026 at 11:17 AM
I need to tell you about the solo careers of Paul Simon and toast.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
If it's Cary Grant's birthday, it must surely be time for me to post the "puppy in the jacket pocket" picture again. Be rude not to, really.
January 18, 2026 at 10:44 AM
If it's Cary Grant's birthday, it must surely be time for me to post the "puppy in the jacket pocket" picture again. Be rude not to, really.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
'A crucial innovation lay in the invention of ‘timelines’ (...) In 1765, the scientist-philosopher Joseph Priestley, best known for co-discovering oxygen, invented what was arguably the world’s first modern timeline.'
aeon.co/essays/when-...
aeon.co/essays/when-...
January 17, 2026 at 11:42 AM
'A crucial innovation lay in the invention of ‘timelines’ (...) In 1765, the scientist-philosopher Joseph Priestley, best known for co-discovering oxygen, invented what was arguably the world’s first modern timeline.'
aeon.co/essays/when-...
aeon.co/essays/when-...
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
Here’s a short poem about the power of poetry to change the world.
January 18, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Here’s a short poem about the power of poetry to change the world.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
Whoa whoa whoa buddy who is this Jesus Christ you’re expecting me to emulate and what exactly did you say happened to him.
The Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire told priests protesting ICE to get their wills and affairs in order. Some praise the bishop, while other priests say they never signed up to be martyrs. n.pr/45TIwwT
Amid ICE clashes, New Hampshire bishop urges clergy to prepare their wills
The Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire told priests protesting ICE to get their wills and affairs in order. Some praise the bishop, while other priests say they never signed up to be martyrs.
n.pr
January 18, 2026 at 10:20 AM
Whoa whoa whoa buddy who is this Jesus Christ you’re expecting me to emulate and what exactly did you say happened to him.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
This *should*, in a sane world, be a resigning matter. A national scandal, all over the front pages.
EQUALITY CHIEF MEETS WITH HEAD OF HATE GROUP
and so on.
The fact that this won’t happen simply demonstrates how catastrophically far we’ve fallen.
I’m so very, very tired.
EQUALITY CHIEF MEETS WITH HEAD OF HATE GROUP
and so on.
The fact that this won’t happen simply demonstrates how catastrophically far we’ve fallen.
I’m so very, very tired.
FOI reveals that within the first week in office, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson requested a meeting with Sex Matters to discuss "mutual priorities and ways to work together going forward"
January 17, 2026 at 7:05 AM
This *should*, in a sane world, be a resigning matter. A national scandal, all over the front pages.
EQUALITY CHIEF MEETS WITH HEAD OF HATE GROUP
and so on.
The fact that this won’t happen simply demonstrates how catastrophically far we’ve fallen.
I’m so very, very tired.
EQUALITY CHIEF MEETS WITH HEAD OF HATE GROUP
and so on.
The fact that this won’t happen simply demonstrates how catastrophically far we’ve fallen.
I’m so very, very tired.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
TFW u can't count
Again, the use case is that you need to make a decision and you are very stupid
Again, the use case is that you need to make a decision and you are very stupid
January 16, 2026 at 9:10 PM
TFW u can't count
Again, the use case is that you need to make a decision and you are very stupid
Again, the use case is that you need to make a decision and you are very stupid
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
I used to not fully understand why they were still, in the 2000s, dragging suspected Nazi camp guards out of their homes and into court, but I sure as hell do now.
Murder. And not just the one who pulled the trigger.
Holy shit.
Renee Good was alive when the bystander physician asked to check her pulse. She was alive when ICE refused to let him help. She was alive when they told him “I don’t care.”
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
Renee Good was alive when the bystander physician asked to check her pulse. She was alive when ICE refused to let him help. She was alive when they told him “I don’t care.”
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
January 16, 2026 at 12:39 PM
I used to not fully understand why they were still, in the 2000s, dragging suspected Nazi camp guards out of their homes and into court, but I sure as hell do now.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
I've never had a Spotify account, now it seems I never will. Like genAI, their mission is to reduce the value of creativity so far that the only way to make money from it is to sell it on a mass basis for micro money, ensuring that only a tiny number of artists can ever make money from their work.
In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.
January 16, 2026 at 9:46 AM
I've never had a Spotify account, now it seems I never will. Like genAI, their mission is to reduce the value of creativity so far that the only way to make money from it is to sell it on a mass basis for micro money, ensuring that only a tiny number of artists can ever make money from their work.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
Was he wrong though?
Oh god horrible memories of the conference I went to early in the days of crypto, when the guy on the panel with me was an American who just kept on saying "it's a nonce-generating machine", "every transaction has a nonce at both ends" etc and I had to keep a straight face.
January 16, 2026 at 11:16 AM
Was he wrong though?
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
This notion of 'politics as drama or entertainment', and then the chase for audience numbers, rather than 'how our society is structured' is where things went wrong at the BBC.
January 16, 2026 at 10:28 AM
This notion of 'politics as drama or entertainment', and then the chase for audience numbers, rather than 'how our society is structured' is where things went wrong at the BBC.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
I am calling for a complete and total boycott of the Mercator projection in all news stories about Greenland until every member of the American public has seen this
January 13, 2026 at 5:32 PM
I am calling for a complete and total boycott of the Mercator projection in all news stories about Greenland until every member of the American public has seen this
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
The owners of the UK media have a vested interest in elevating Farage to power, at which point we know he will demolish the country's remaining institutions, stripmine its infrastructure and brutalize its citizens. The current government is laying the groundwork for that destruction.
January 16, 2026 at 7:22 AM
The owners of the UK media have a vested interest in elevating Farage to power, at which point we know he will demolish the country's remaining institutions, stripmine its infrastructure and brutalize its citizens. The current government is laying the groundwork for that destruction.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
Reminder that in the UK an incoming radical, populist government would have immediate access to immense, unchecked executive power.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
NEW
The UK constitution is even more vulnerable than the US constitution
In the face of an illiberal radical assault, what has happened politically in America could easily happen in the UK
By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
The UK constitution is even more vulnerable than the US constitution
In the face of an illiberal radical assault, what has happened politically in America could easily happen in the UK
By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
January 15, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Reminder that in the UK an incoming radical, populist government would have immediate access to immense, unchecked executive power.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
The faux formality of ‘accepts’ is unforgivable sanewashing of what is actually an embarrassing and abject pantomime from both Machado and Trump
News outlets declaring “Trump Accepts Nobel Peace Prize” is a red alert state media indicator
January 16, 2026 at 4:04 AM
The faux formality of ‘accepts’ is unforgivable sanewashing of what is actually an embarrassing and abject pantomime from both Machado and Trump
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
This "open borders" line is *infuriating* - these people came here to study or work, because they had a uni place or a job to come to. They paid visa fees, student fees, NHS surcharge - and many of them are doing challenging and important work - staffing our care homes, for example, including Mum's.
Starmer keeps using this line, & it's bonkers.
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
!["And this is what Keir Starmer’s press secretary has said about Robert Jenrick at the lobby briefing this morning.
[Highlighted] Robert Jenrick was the immigration minister in a government that presided over an open borders experiment [Highlighted], a health minister who left people stuck on waiting lists, and a Treasury minister during the worst decline in living standards on record.”
While Reform continues to welcome failed Tory retreads, this Labor government is putting the country back on track."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cixgmtrg7nzy4gkmyfeosaox/bafkreibe3jczrmbmzfnhj2adl4qe432lbpmcbn6m6qrentwih7vxj4fu7y@jpeg)
January 15, 2026 at 2:29 PM
This "open borders" line is *infuriating* - these people came here to study or work, because they had a uni place or a job to come to. They paid visa fees, student fees, NHS surcharge - and many of them are doing challenging and important work - staffing our care homes, for example, including Mum's.
As Chas made ever more obscene gestures from the ground in front of his steamroller, something inside Morph finally snapped...
January 15, 2026 at 4:59 PM
As Chas made ever more obscene gestures from the ground in front of his steamroller, something inside Morph finally snapped...
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
WWF raising the alarm over the extent to which climate impacts could make swathes of the global economy uninsurable. www.businessgreen.com/news/4524226...
WWF: Extreme weather costs and 'protection gap' undermining insurance sector
Insurance industry 'the canary in the coalmine' for financial system's exposure to climate risks and nature loss, new white paper warns
www.businessgreen.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:05 PM
WWF raising the alarm over the extent to which climate impacts could make swathes of the global economy uninsurable. www.businessgreen.com/news/4524226...
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
January 15, 2026 at 1:47 PM
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage