Martin D.B. Brown
@martindbbrown.bsky.social
Historian, parent, husband, occasional Bondologist
#BondianColdWar book
https://martindbrown.substack.com/
https://www.routledge.com/The-Bondian-Cold-War-The-Transnational-Legacy-of-a-Cultural-Icon/Brown-Granieri-Blaive/p/book/9780367569365
#BondianColdWar book
https://martindbrown.substack.com/
https://www.routledge.com/The-Bondian-Cold-War-The-Transnational-Legacy-of-a-Cultural-Icon/Brown-Granieri-Blaive/p/book/9780367569365
Pinned
Humm...what could go wrong?
February 16, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Humm...what could go wrong?
Errr
Dude is quickly climbing the ranks of Most Dangerous Man Alive
February 16, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Errr
Reposted by Martin D.B. Brown
The Project 2025 architect who promised to put federal employees “in trauma” is spending $15 million of former USAID funding—money that would have gone toward fighting HIV, polio, malaria, and other diseases—to bankroll his security detail. trib.al/TSV3cmb
February 16, 2026 at 12:10 AM
The Project 2025 architect who promised to put federal employees “in trauma” is spending $15 million of former USAID funding—money that would have gone toward fighting HIV, polio, malaria, and other diseases—to bankroll his security detail. trib.al/TSV3cmb
Reposted by Martin D.B. Brown
"This instructional design reflects our commitment to inclusive pedagogy: All learning pathways are valid, whether students engage as manual human learners or outsource their consciousness to a chatbot."
The Next Innovation in Higher Education: Vibe-Teaching™
As the associate vice provost for the Office of Asynchronous Online Courses for Student-Centered High-Impact Learning (OAOCSCHIL, an office we crea...
buff.ly
February 16, 2026 at 2:01 PM
"This instructional design reflects our commitment to inclusive pedagogy: All learning pathways are valid, whether students engage as manual human learners or outsource their consciousness to a chatbot."
Reposted by Martin D.B. Brown
In this episode, I talked with Carolyn Dean about witnessing the Holocaust and empathy. We had a wide-ranging conversaion about the appropriate use of images and also about bystanding and the challenge of indifference.
A LOT to think about!
thhp.buzzsprout.com/2291653/epis...
A LOT to think about!
thhp.buzzsprout.com/2291653/epis...
Ep. 72- Empathy, Witnessing, and the Challenge of the Holocaust with Carolyn Dean - The Holocaust History Podcast
How do we approach witnessing the Holocaust? Are there appropriate or inappropriate ways to do this? Does witnessing make us more empathetic or more indifferent? These are just some of the quest...
thhp.buzzsprout.com
February 16, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Martin D.B. Brown
"I urge the judiciary to listen harder to what trans people say about what their lives have become" - @goodlawproject.org
www.wearequeeraf.com/grim-decisio...
www.wearequeeraf.com/grim-decisio...
"Grim decision": High Court rejects challenge to EHRC interim guidance on single-sex spaces
The long awaited judgement on the EHRC has ruled that Trans+ bathroom bans are lawful in the workplace, but not in other service provisions
www.wearequeeraf.com
February 15, 2026 at 9:12 AM
"I urge the judiciary to listen harder to what trans people say about what their lives have become" - @goodlawproject.org
www.wearequeeraf.com/grim-decisio...
www.wearequeeraf.com/grim-decisio...
Reposted by Martin D.B. Brown
Great piece from @dsquareddigest.bsky.social, which touches on one of the big theories for why English-speaking countries do especially badly at housebuilding:
Adversarial and litigious common law systems (Anglo) vs judge-led civil law systems elsewhere.
samf.substack.com/p/build-the-...
Adversarial and litigious common law systems (Anglo) vs judge-led civil law systems elsewhere.
samf.substack.com/p/build-the-...
February 16, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Great piece from @dsquareddigest.bsky.social, which touches on one of the big theories for why English-speaking countries do especially badly at housebuilding:
Adversarial and litigious common law systems (Anglo) vs judge-led civil law systems elsewhere.
samf.substack.com/p/build-the-...
Adversarial and litigious common law systems (Anglo) vs judge-led civil law systems elsewhere.
samf.substack.com/p/build-the-...
Reposted by Martin D.B. Brown
February 16, 2026 at 10:41 AM
I fear this sums up much of the coming week
February 16, 2026 at 10:34 AM
I fear this sums up much of the coming week
Reposted by Martin D.B. Brown
And it's not just FCO and the World Service.
The BBC more generally is having to make vast cuts as are the National Gallery, British Library, National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company...
The list goes on.
The UK is destroying its own cultural identity as well as its soft power.
The BBC more generally is having to make vast cuts as are the National Gallery, British Library, National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company...
The list goes on.
The UK is destroying its own cultural identity as well as its soft power.
Exactly. This is not a lot of money. And once destroyed you don’t get to rebuild it.
The entire UK diplomatic budget is about £1.4 billion a year. That’s pretty much precisely 0.1% of government spending.
BBC World Service is about £0.25 billion (it should be higher), or 0.02%.
These are rounding errors on rounding errors. Double each and public expenditure wouldn’t twitch.
Mad.
BBC World Service is about £0.25 billion (it should be higher), or 0.02%.
These are rounding errors on rounding errors. Double each and public expenditure wouldn’t twitch.
Mad.
February 16, 2026 at 7:47 AM
And it's not just FCO and the World Service.
The BBC more generally is having to make vast cuts as are the National Gallery, British Library, National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company...
The list goes on.
The UK is destroying its own cultural identity as well as its soft power.
The BBC more generally is having to make vast cuts as are the National Gallery, British Library, National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company...
The list goes on.
The UK is destroying its own cultural identity as well as its soft power.
Yet again just hear the spiel "Europe relied on US military for security and wasted money on welfare", which is not only not accurate, but non-sensical as welfare from 1940s-2000s was about security too, and neatly ignore that US defense spending was often as insane as Soviet spending
February 16, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Yet again just hear the spiel "Europe relied on US military for security and wasted money on welfare", which is not only not accurate, but non-sensical as welfare from 1940s-2000s was about security too, and neatly ignore that US defense spending was often as insane as Soviet spending
Reposted by Martin D.B. Brown
Yay all of Matt Goodwin's weird posts on his substack are coming back to bite him, because saying insane reactionary shit for your subscribers is red meat (and easy journalism) for the papers
Reform by-election candidate said it was ‘insane’ to jail man who said ‘burn asylum hotels’
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
Reform candidate called it ‘insane’ to jail man who said ‘burn asylum hotels’
Exclusive: It comes after The Independent revealed that Matt Goodwin called for ‘young girls’ to be given ‘biological reality’ check
www.independent.co.uk
February 16, 2026 at 9:50 AM
Yay all of Matt Goodwin's weird posts on his substack are coming back to bite him, because saying insane reactionary shit for your subscribers is red meat (and easy journalism) for the papers
Reposted by Martin D.B. Brown
BBC's Arabic radio service in Lebanon closed after 85 years as part of a £28.5m savings drive. 'Just months later, in October 2023, the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency took over the frequency. Its news bulletin opened with “This is Moscow”, replacing the previous “This is London” intro.' 🙄
BBC warns Russia is taking over World Service radio frequencies
Russian propaganda is filling the void where the BBC has closed World Service radio services due to cuts
inews.co.uk
June 10, 2025 at 6:03 AM
BBC's Arabic radio service in Lebanon closed after 85 years as part of a £28.5m savings drive. 'Just months later, in October 2023, the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency took over the frequency. Its news bulletin opened with “This is Moscow”, replacing the previous “This is London” intro.' 🙄
Hummm...still more to come
Cabinet Secretary front runner Antonia Romeo previously spoken to about management style
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Cabinet Secretary front runner Antonia Romeo previously spoken to about management style
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Cabinet Secretary front runner Antonia Romeo previously spoken to about management style
Dame Antonia Romeo was found to have no case to answer over one complaint nine years ago.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 16, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Hummm...still more to come
Cabinet Secretary front runner Antonia Romeo previously spoken to about management style
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Cabinet Secretary front runner Antonia Romeo previously spoken to about management style
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Berlin film festival defends Wim Wenders after Arundhati Roy attacked ‘jaw-dropping’ comments www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
Berlin film festival defends Wim Wenders after Arundhati Roy attacked ‘jaw-dropping’ comments
Berlinale head says artists should not be pushed into soundbites after author quit over president’s remarks that film-makers should ‘stay out of politics’
www.theguardian.com
February 16, 2026 at 8:05 AM
Berlin film festival defends Wim Wenders after Arundhati Roy attacked ‘jaw-dropping’ comments www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
Is this the world’s most eye-popping restaurant? The architectural marvel – in a Leipzig industrial estate www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Is this the world’s most eye-popping restaurant? The architectural marvel – in a Leipzig industrial estate
This extraordinary diner is the final wonder of the great Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, who dreamt it up at the age of 103. And it’s a great place for a sunset kombucha and gin
www.theguardian.com
February 16, 2026 at 8:03 AM
Is this the world’s most eye-popping restaurant? The architectural marvel – in a Leipzig industrial estate www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Reposted by Martin D.B. Brown
'The majority of the UK’s publicly-funded research is carried out in universities, who now spend over £15bn annually delivering research.
Universities are the UK’s single best collective asset for economic and social prosperity'. 1/3
Universities are the UK’s single best collective asset for economic and social prosperity'. 1/3
Introducing the commission on research for better economic growth
James Coe and Sarah Chaytor launch the brand new commission on research for better economic growth
wonkhe.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:45 AM
'The majority of the UK’s publicly-funded research is carried out in universities, who now spend over £15bn annually delivering research.
Universities are the UK’s single best collective asset for economic and social prosperity'. 1/3
Universities are the UK’s single best collective asset for economic and social prosperity'. 1/3
Are Anthropic’s new AI work tools game-changing for professionals? www.ft.com/content/92df...
Are Anthropic’s new AI work tools game-changing for professionals?
Adaptable plug-ins must compete with bespoke products already used by lawyers and consultants
www.ft.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:31 AM
Are Anthropic’s new AI work tools game-changing for professionals? www.ft.com/content/92df...
I keep an X account to look up this nonsense, because otherwise I'd think it couldn't possibly be 'real'
February 16, 2026 at 7:31 AM
I keep an X account to look up this nonsense, because otherwise I'd think it couldn't possibly be 'real'
Reposted by Martin D.B. Brown
Absolutely excellent article by @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social
Beyond natural curiosity I'm not usually heavily invested in internal theological debates within Chrisitanity, but they are once again affecting the safety of my own people.
In that spirit, move past the headline and read this excellent article by @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social. ty for writing it.
In that spirit, move past the headline and read this excellent article by @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social. ty for writing it.
Opinion | Whatever This Is, It Isn’t Anti-Zionism
www.nytimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:22 AM
Absolutely excellent article by @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social
Podkopávanie demokracie na Slovensku už nie je dojem, trend k autokracii potvrdzujú dáta, tvrdí historik dennikn.sk/5138444/podk...
Podkopávanie demokracie na Slovensku už nie je dojem, trend k autokracii potvrdzujú dáta, tvrdí historik
Toto je podkopávanie demokracie na Slovensku, hovorí historik a radí ľuďom, čo robiť, ak sa obávajú autokratického režimu.
dennikn.sk
February 16, 2026 at 7:25 AM
Podkopávanie demokracie na Slovensku už nie je dojem, trend k autokracii potvrdzujú dáta, tvrdí historik dennikn.sk/5138444/podk...
UK overseas aid cuts to outstrip those of Trump administration www.ft.com/content/ad52...
UK overseas aid cuts to outstrip those of Trump administration
Spending will drop by 27 per cent this year from 2024 levels to help fund higher defence budget
www.ft.com
February 16, 2026 at 6:59 AM
UK overseas aid cuts to outstrip those of Trump administration www.ft.com/content/ad52...
Small Prophets — Mackenzie Crook’s new BBC series is unexpected and very charming www.ft.com/content/40a6...
Small Prophets — Mackenzie Crook’s new BBC series is unexpected and very charming
The ‘Detectorists’ creator returns with an idiosyncratic comedy with a folkloric twist
www.ft.com
February 16, 2026 at 6:59 AM
Small Prophets — Mackenzie Crook’s new BBC series is unexpected and very charming www.ft.com/content/40a6...