Marc Hudson
@marchudson.bsky.social
Failing/ed academic (socio-technical transitions), climate historian, writer, video maker. Most days I think we're toast. #envhist See also allouryesterdays.info
@allouryesterdays.bsky.social
@allouryesterdays.bsky.social
Pinned
Marc Hudson
@marchudson.bsky.social
· Aug 5
The politics of Tom Lehrer: Noam Chomsky with a Piano?
Tom Lehrer died, aged 97, in late July. Lehrer had written 37 (well, a few more) songs in the 1950s and 1960s, and on the basis of this is still (rightly in my opinion) regarded as one of the…
marchudson.net
Tom Lehrer was a gateway drug for me, I now realise, for Noam Chomsky. Anyone else have the same experience?
marchudson.net/2025/08/04/t...
marchudson.net/2025/08/04/t...
I think the people who *really* run the country aren't bothered whether their meat-puppets are wearing red rosettes or the blue of Reform. What matters is
a) profits in finance and weapons sales etc
b) keeping the rabble (you, me etc) in line
Climate resilience? Justice? Humanity? Yeah, nah.
a) profits in finance and weapons sales etc
b) keeping the rabble (you, me etc) in line
Climate resilience? Justice? Humanity? Yeah, nah.
February 13, 2026 at 10:52 AM
I think the people who *really* run the country aren't bothered whether their meat-puppets are wearing red rosettes or the blue of Reform. What matters is
a) profits in finance and weapons sales etc
b) keeping the rabble (you, me etc) in line
Climate resilience? Justice? Humanity? Yeah, nah.
a) profits in finance and weapons sales etc
b) keeping the rabble (you, me etc) in line
Climate resilience? Justice? Humanity? Yeah, nah.
February 13, 2026 at 10:49 AM
So, on Tuesday night Keir Starmer gave a make-or-break speech to the Parliamentary Labour Party. Apparently he "gets it" that there needs to be a change of direction.
Yeah, sure.
His Home Secretary? Not so much.
Spooks and weapons-peddlers still running the show, obvs.
Yeah, sure.
His Home Secretary? Not so much.
Spooks and weapons-peddlers still running the show, obvs.
February 13, 2026 at 10:49 AM
So, on Tuesday night Keir Starmer gave a make-or-break speech to the Parliamentary Labour Party. Apparently he "gets it" that there needs to be a change of direction.
Yeah, sure.
His Home Secretary? Not so much.
Spooks and weapons-peddlers still running the show, obvs.
Yeah, sure.
His Home Secretary? Not so much.
Spooks and weapons-peddlers still running the show, obvs.
I observed Angeliki Stogia for about 6 years, first as an ambitious backbench councillor and then as Exec Member for the Environment.
"Otherwise intelligent"? No, no, no. A thousand times no.
"Otherwise intelligent"? No, no, no. A thousand times no.
February 13, 2026 at 10:45 AM
I observed Angeliki Stogia for about 6 years, first as an ambitious backbench councillor and then as Exec Member for the Environment.
"Otherwise intelligent"? No, no, no. A thousand times no.
"Otherwise intelligent"? No, no, no. A thousand times no.
Seems legit
OpenAI Introduces Premium Video Generator For White House Advisors Manipulating Trump https://theonion.com/openai-introduces-premium-video-generator-for-white-house-advisors-manipulating-trump/
February 12, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Seems legit
Madness, yes. But also criminal.
February 12, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Madness, yes. But also criminal.
Reposted by Marc Hudson
Great day for all those people who keep mistakenly buying oat milk when trying to purchase dairy milk. Bad day for the habitable biosphere. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Oatly banned from using word ‘milk’ to market plant-based products in UK
Supreme court makes ruling after Swedish firm’s long-running battle with trade association Dairy UK
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Great day for all those people who keep mistakenly buying oat milk when trying to purchase dairy milk. Bad day for the habitable biosphere. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
![Mid-way through Thelma and Louise, the 1991 Oscar-winning feminist parable starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, one of the policemen pursuing the two women admits that he cannot decide whether “these girls” are either really smart or just really lucky. A colleague mournfully replies that it doesn't matter - smarts will only get you so far, and luck always runs out.
Such seems the dilemma for humanity in the second decade of the 21st century, as the ecological and social consequences of its post-war technological optimism and exuberance become clear to all those who are willing to see. Some promulgate mega-projects of extraction which promise reliable ‘baseload’ energy, while others insist that the future of power generation should be radically decentralised and localised. Nation-states make weak commitments to climate mitigation and bio-diversity preservation, and then fail to meet even those inadequate targets.
Echoing warnings of hubris and nemesis that stretch back to the ancient Greek dramatists, academics [21] and economists [44] make calls for humility [5]. Have recently called upon academics to be “reflexive about reflexivity.” In their paper they argue: “Reflexive expertise would require considerable self-criticism and openness to multiple actors to be able to raise novel questions and to critically evaluate and contest scientific propositions and expert recommendations.”
Self-critically, I believe academics should be aware of the traps into which our own terminologies can lead us. Technocracy is, in my opinion, one such term, especially given the lack of an easily understood and agreed antonym. “Technocratic” is thrown about as a term of abuse [47], but without a clear alternative other than ritual (istic) invocations of the need for citizens to be “involved” in decision making. I do not claim that an antonym will](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ffmydg2uch4buzckgetfl5i/bafkreih3irg34qucdgu7ijrltygbblm62xchi2cgjcsqu5oos2m7mkehqe@jpeg)
This may (?) amuse www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Ending technocracy with a neologism? Avivocracy as a conceptual tool
www.sciencedirect.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:03 PM
This may (?) amuse www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Nicely put! Will be stealing those sentences.
February 12, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Nicely put! Will be stealing those sentences.
Oh, there you go again, challenging my ahistorical eurocentrism and reductive biological determinism.
You BASTARD.
You BASTARD.
February 12, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Oh, there you go again, challenging my ahistorical eurocentrism and reductive biological determinism.
You BASTARD.
You BASTARD.
Hello @james-bg.bsky.social - may (?) be of interest.
February 12, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Hello @james-bg.bsky.social - may (?) be of interest.
Reposted by Marc Hudson
NEW: My Udemy course 'Propaganda & Disinformation for Beginners' has helped students in 26 countries worldwide strengthen their armour against disinformation since it launched 2 years ago. Techniques Cambridge Analytica used to secretly profile millions have become a vastly profitable industry.. /1
November 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
NEW: My Udemy course 'Propaganda & Disinformation for Beginners' has helped students in 26 countries worldwide strengthen their armour against disinformation since it launched 2 years ago. Techniques Cambridge Analytica used to secretly profile millions have become a vastly profitable industry.. /1
February 12, 2026 at 11:49 AM
Brief blog - marchudson.net/2026/02/12/t...
February 12, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Brief blog - marchudson.net/2026/02/12/t...
Haven't read it yet, but will, because he is whipsmart.
As per James Baldwin "Not everything that can be faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
As per James Baldwin "Not everything that can be faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
February 11, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Haven't read it yet, but will, because he is whipsmart.
As per James Baldwin "Not everything that can be faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
As per James Baldwin "Not everything that can be faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
Reposted by Marc Hudson
palantirfiles.org
Here is a very informative site covering the nature of Palantir's surveillance and data collection. This is an ongoing academic project created by a Temple professor.
Here is a very informative site covering the nature of Palantir's surveillance and data collection. This is an ongoing academic project created by a Temple professor.
The Palantir Files - The Palantir Files
Reference Iliadis, A., & Acker, A. (2024). The Palantir Files: public interest archives for platform accountability. Information, Communication & Society, 27(13), 2343-2365. https://doi.org/10.1080/13...
palantirfiles.org
February 11, 2026 at 10:09 AM
palantirfiles.org
Here is a very informative site covering the nature of Palantir's surveillance and data collection. This is an ongoing academic project created by a Temple professor.
Here is a very informative site covering the nature of Palantir's surveillance and data collection. This is an ongoing academic project created by a Temple professor.
February 10, 2026 at 4:50 PM
A limerick (!!) from last year.
It’s not climate or covid, or “both”
But a blast past the limits to growth
The systems all flicker
The “leaders” just bicker
And repeat their grow-tesque kind of oath.
marchudson.net/2025/05/04/t...
It’s not climate or covid, or “both”
But a blast past the limits to growth
The systems all flicker
The “leaders” just bicker
And repeat their grow-tesque kind of oath.
marchudson.net/2025/05/04/t...
“The systems all flicker” – a limerick
It’s not climate or covid, or “both” But a blast past the limits to growth The systems all flicker The “leaders” just bicker And repeat their grow-tesque kind of oath. On flickering – see thi…
marchudson.net
February 10, 2026 at 4:49 PM
A limerick (!!) from last year.
It’s not climate or covid, or “both”
But a blast past the limits to growth
The systems all flicker
The “leaders” just bicker
And repeat their grow-tesque kind of oath.
marchudson.net/2025/05/04/t...
It’s not climate or covid, or “both”
But a blast past the limits to growth
The systems all flicker
The “leaders” just bicker
And repeat their grow-tesque kind of oath.
marchudson.net/2025/05/04/t...