Dr Kate Maltby
@katemaltby.bsky.social
3.8K followers 180 following 150 posts
weekly at the i newspaper (news column) monthly at Prospect & at The Stage (on theatre) often at FT & Observer (books, culture) also Deputy Chair, Index on Censorship; Co-Chair, Critics' Circle (Drama); Senior Research Associate, Jesus College, Cambridge
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Reposted by Dr Kate Maltby
sararoseg.bsky.social
You don’t actually have to both sides this. The Jewish community in the UK is not the Israeli government. You can just condemn the murder of two British Jews killed in their place of worship and you don’t have to say a single other thing.
Reposted by Dr Kate Maltby
theipaper.com
Kneecap trades on the disapproval of its institutional elders, writes @katemaltby.bsky.social

➡️ Read more: inews.co.uk/opinion/knee...
Text reads: OPINION Kneecap are the spoilt children of a generation ruined by social media. Photo of Kneecap
katemaltby.bsky.social
Today's column in @theipaper.com.

Catholicism teaches that you can't opt out of a vocation, so the papacy is for life. But questions will haunt the coming conclave about whether Popes can or should retire. What does that mean for Rome's wider attitudes to life & death?

inews.co.uk/opinion/pope...
Pope Francis' death brings a difficult issue to the fore for the conclave
There will be mumblings about the need to elect a Pope young enough to postpone awkward questions
inews.co.uk
katemaltby.bsky.social
As many of you know, this weekend marked the last edition of the old Observer as a publication of the Scott Trust.

It was a honour to have a column in the final edition, on Medea, Snow White, and the inevitable witchiness of wicked stepmothers.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Stepmothers, relax, you’ll always be wicked but true love is worth it | Kate Maltby
Two new surveys confirm that women who take on children from an earlier marriage will almost always be seen as witches
www.theguardian.com
katemaltby.bsky.social
It is a truth universally acknowledged that the boiler and the electrics will blow on the Easter weekend.
katemaltby.bsky.social
This really is becoming just like the other place, circa 2015, isn't it?
katemaltby.bsky.social
And what do we want to bet she does, in fact listen to speakerphone audio in a library?
katemaltby.bsky.social
That is an excellent line.
Reposted by Dr Kate Maltby
indexoncensorship.org
Hungarian lawmakers are voting today on a constitutional amendment that would ban #Pride and legally recognise only two sexes, among other measures. We condemn this as a blatant violation of human rights in #Hungary:
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Hungary poised to adopt constitutional amendment to ban LGBTQ+ gatherings
The controversial amendment also recognises only two sexes, providing a basis for denying other gender identities
www.theguardian.com
katemaltby.bsky.social
In case you’re listening to the BBC Today Programme on Radio 4, I’ll be on at about 8.45 to talk about… Katy Perry going into space with Jeff Bezos’ fiancée. (And why it may not be exactly a feminist achievement.)
katemaltby.bsky.social
On Sam Mendes’ Beatles, ‘participatory culture’, and the rash of premature fan responses. Late to post, but here’s yesterday’s column for The Observer.

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/a...
katemaltby.bsky.social
As I've written often, I share concerns that our attempts to regulate speech on tech platforms will cause all the unintended consequences that censorship attempts always do. But Vance's posturing on anti-abortion protest is throat-clearing to present Starmer as anti-speech, before he pushes on this.
katemaltby.bsky.social
One thing I'd add that I haven't said here: I suspect the 'free speech' Vance is really concerned about is the UK's moves to make tech companies accountable for 'harmful' content. He flagged this at Starmer's Feb White House press conference and it is a key issue for the tech donors who made him VP.
katemaltby.bsky.social
Incredibly disappointing on stage. Bizarrely.
katemaltby.bsky.social
"What we have in common with each other, and with every other human being who has set foot on these islands, is no more and no less than our experience of place."

Latest column: on stamps, selkies, and a patriotism based on place, not race.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Let Britain’s magical, mythical creatures inspire a patriotism untainted by politics | Kate Maltby
A new set of Royal Mail stamps on regional folklore reminds us of our deep roots to the land
www.theguardian.com
katemaltby.bsky.social
I also have a column @thestage.co.uk on Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center & the ethical questions it raises for UK producers.

Cameron Mackintosh's Les Miserables is sticking with an upcoming run at the Kennedy Centre. But where will UK artists draw the line?
www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/how-...
Kate Maltby on why Donald Trump’s attack on the arts will soon create problems for UK producers
The Kennedy Center controversy has so far been largely confined to America, says Kate Matlby, but this is soon going to give UK producers a dilemma
www.thestage.co.uk
katemaltby.bsky.social
"Democratic values may sound like abstract things, but they can end up being the thing that stops a concrete canopy from falling on your head."
inews.co.uk/opinion/trum....
Trump's fascist disdain for civil liberties is spreading across Europe
There is a fundamental obstacle to the democratic movement in Europe
inews.co.uk