Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Iona Macduff

@ionamacduff.bsky.social

44 followers 60 following 8 posts

Place Writer Creative Nonfiction PhD at University of East Anglia, Norwich Scotland and Nepal www.ionamacduff.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Iona Macduff @ionamacduff.bsky.social · May 6

Every time I tried to write about Eigg, I wrote about John the Bird. This piece gets at why: what one person can do if they truly know and love a place. You can read it in Paperboats Zine Issue 5, paperboats.org/2025/04/09/t... along with some other beautiful pieces 🌍💚 @paperboatswriters.bsky.social

Looking from a height over green fields, then the white sands of Laig Bay and the blue sea sound between Eigg and the island of Rum, whose rocky peaks have puffy clouds sitting on top.

A white-haired man, John the Bird, stands with his back to us, poring over a moth-identification book in front of a large window, outside of which is a dense green bush.

On the left, a moth identification book is open showing a series of moths. On the right, a notepad records the day's moths that were captured.

mesmerising patterns of black and white sand in the foreground leading up to a thin pale strip of sea and then the island of Rum looking like a silhouette in the background.

2 10

Iona Macduff @ionamacduff.bsky.social · Mar 25

Interesting overview from Sabin Ninglekhu of big money vs. a movement to protect a sacred mountain in Nepal.

A Sacred Mountain, a Cable Car and Nepal's Indigenous Resistance to State Violence

An indigenous movement is resisting state violence and corporate greed to protect Mukkumlung, a sacred mountain under threat from a controversial cable car project in Nepal's Taplejung district.

thewire.in

Reposted by Iona Macduff

Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · Mar 24

Hamdan Ballal, one of the directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, has been assaulted & injured by settlers at his home in the West Bank & arrested by the IDF.
No trace of him since.
The vengeance is clear.
Do not let Hamdan disappear.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

Oscar-winning Palestinian director attacked by Israeli settlers and arrested

No Other Land’s Hamdan Ballal attacked by armed settlers in West Bank and handed to Israeli military, witnesses say

www.theguardian.com

3 82 170

Iona Macduff @ionamacduff.bsky.social · Mar 12

A wonderful mag to write for - open for submissions till end of March 🙌

Hinterland Magazine - open for submissions @hinterlandnf.bsky.social · Mar 12

With our latest issue out, we are open for non-fiction submissions once again, both full-length (up to 5000 words) and flash (1250 words), on any subject. Both submission calls close at the end of the month. You can read our guidelines and submit here: hinterlandnonfiction.submittable.com/submit

3 2

Iona Macduff @ionamacduff.bsky.social · Feb 11

Julian Hoffman @julianhoffman.bsky.social · Feb 10

Given that whales have been around far longer than humans it might be more accurate to say that human languages have patterns that resemble humpback whale songs.

www.newscientist.com/article/2467...

Humpback whale songs have patterns that resemble human language

The sounds that make up humpback whale songs follow some of the same statistical rules seen in human languages, which may be because of how they are learned

www.newscientist.com

Iona Macduff @ionamacduff.bsky.social · Jan 13

Dr. Jeff Masters @drjeffmasters.bsky.social · Jan 13

@weatherwest.bsky.social got the final words on CNN’s 1-hour Anderson Cooper show tonight: “There will be more fire on the landscape in a warming world. What will the extreme risk days in 20/30/40 years look like? It’s pretty clear that they will be even more extreme than what we’re seeing today. “

Iona Macduff @ionamacduff.bsky.social · Jan 4

Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · Jan 2

Always worth watching the NASA spiral. Beautiful and terrifying.

Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · Jan 2

It was another stunning year for global climate and weather extremes.

As data is processed and released in the first two weeks of January, you are going to be hearing all about these new historical records. Apologies for my many graphs in advance! 😬

Spiral below produced by svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5190

Iona Macduff @ionamacduff.bsky.social · Dec 23

@calflyn.bsky.social would be a great addition methinks!

1 1

Iona Macduff @ionamacduff.bsky.social · Dec 2

I'm just getting started on here (hello!) and this list looks like a great place to meet some fellow world-writers. Thanks @robertmoor.bsky.social !

𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐫 @robertmoor.com · Nov 24

For anyone just getting started here, I created a list to help you find some smart, hopeful, angry, beautiful writing about this watery plant-strewn rock floating in the middle of the cosmos we all happen to live on.

Feel free to suggest additions!

go.bsky.app/5Z65eat

1 3