Peter Mandler
@petermandler.bsky.social
Fellow, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Reposted by Peter Mandler
'Several universities’ undergraduate student intakes fell by between 20 and 30 per cent for this academic year, as many elite institutions reported record numbers.' Sector as a whole accepted 2% more students. Russell Group up 9% (29% of all UK enrolments). 1/3
Intakes down by a third at some providers, latest Ucas data show
Half of Russell Group universities accept record number of undergraduates, according to end-of-cycle admissions figures
www.timeshighereducation.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:04 PM
'Several universities’ undergraduate student intakes fell by between 20 and 30 per cent for this academic year, as many elite institutions reported record numbers.' Sector as a whole accepted 2% more students. Russell Group up 9% (29% of all UK enrolments). 1/3
Reposted by Peter Mandler
'To speak of the “demise” of the UK university is not to suggest its disappearance, but its transformation into something increasingly unrecognisable.'
Wise words, these. 1/3
Wise words, these. 1/3
Why are UK universities failing? - LSE Impact
The HE sector in the UK faces the prospect of a university going into administration. How have universities fallen so low and is change possible?
blogs.lse.ac.uk
January 21, 2026 at 10:40 AM
'To speak of the “demise” of the UK university is not to suggest its disappearance, but its transformation into something increasingly unrecognisable.'
Wise words, these. 1/3
Wise words, these. 1/3
Reposted by Peter Mandler
Prof @petermandler.bsky.social will give the James Ford Lectures 2026 @oxhistoryfaculty.bsky.social
Peter Mandler will chart the spread & use of the language of social science into everyday life in 20th-century Britain.
Thursdays, 5pm
Weeks 1-6 Hilary Term
🔗 www.history.ox.ac.uk/james-ford-l...
Peter Mandler will chart the spread & use of the language of social science into everyday life in 20th-century Britain.
Thursdays, 5pm
Weeks 1-6 Hilary Term
🔗 www.history.ox.ac.uk/james-ford-l...
The James Ford Lectures in British History
The Language of Social Science in Everyday Life - Peter Mandler (Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge)
www.history.ox.ac.uk
January 21, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Prof @petermandler.bsky.social will give the James Ford Lectures 2026 @oxhistoryfaculty.bsky.social
Peter Mandler will chart the spread & use of the language of social science into everyday life in 20th-century Britain.
Thursdays, 5pm
Weeks 1-6 Hilary Term
🔗 www.history.ox.ac.uk/james-ford-l...
Peter Mandler will chart the spread & use of the language of social science into everyday life in 20th-century Britain.
Thursdays, 5pm
Weeks 1-6 Hilary Term
🔗 www.history.ox.ac.uk/james-ford-l...
Reposted by Peter Mandler
Reposted by Peter Mandler
This photo was taken in 1911 using glass plate technology by Herbert Ponting who was part of Scott's Antarctic expedition,
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
January 17, 2026 at 7:12 AM
This photo was taken in 1911 using glass plate technology by Herbert Ponting who was part of Scott's Antarctic expedition,
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
Reposted by Peter Mandler
Older generations spent a lot less time parenting. Millennial dads spend nearly as much time parenting as Boomer moms did. Millennial and Gen X moms way more.
via The Economist
via The Economist
January 15, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Older generations spent a lot less time parenting. Millennial dads spend nearly as much time parenting as Boomer moms did. Millennial and Gen X moms way more.
via The Economist
via The Economist
Reposted by Peter Mandler
This intro to David Frost's Telegraph column sums up so much that is wrong with British politics.
January 16, 2026 at 8:46 AM
This intro to David Frost's Telegraph column sums up so much that is wrong with British politics.
Reposted by Peter Mandler
“More videos are likely to emerge, but the visual evidence shows no indication that the agent who fired the shots, Jonathan Ross, had been run over” (Gift link)
Video Analysis of ICE Shooting Sheds Light on Contested Moments
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:12 PM
“More videos are likely to emerge, but the visual evidence shows no indication that the agent who fired the shots, Jonathan Ross, had been run over” (Gift link)
Reposted by Peter Mandler
Please help spread the word on this, especially to those who may be feeling cold winds towards their research.
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
January 15, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Please help spread the word on this, especially to those who may be feeling cold winds towards their research.
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
Reposted by Peter Mandler
The BFI Southbank season linked to Magic Rays of Light continues tomorrow, Thursday 15 January, with two remarkable broadcasts. My blog post is the text of the programme note that I have compiled for the evening.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/magic-rays-o...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/magic-rays-o...
Magic Rays of Light at BFI Southbank 2. - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: The BFI Southbank season continues tomorrow, Thursday 15 January, with an early evening screening in NFT2 of two remarkable programmes. First is a 1970 edition of the BBC2 arts maga...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
January 14, 2026 at 10:03 AM
The BFI Southbank season linked to Magic Rays of Light continues tomorrow, Thursday 15 January, with two remarkable broadcasts. My blog post is the text of the programme note that I have compiled for the evening.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/magic-rays-o...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/magic-rays-o...
Reposted by Peter Mandler
We’ve got a stellar lineup for this term’s Modern British History Seminar in Oxford. Do come along if you’re around!
talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/series...
talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/series...
January 14, 2026 at 11:50 AM
We’ve got a stellar lineup for this term’s Modern British History Seminar in Oxford. Do come along if you’re around!
talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/series...
talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/series...
Reposted by Peter Mandler
'If he [Ian Chapman] doesn’t succeed, a future right-wing UK government may find this big, visible pot of science and research funding an all-too-tempting target, just as president Donald Trump did in the United States.'
Sadly, seriously true. But this could also happen if UKRI flourishes. 2/2
Sadly, seriously true. But this could also happen if UKRI flourishes. 2/2
January 14, 2026 at 11:34 AM
'If he [Ian Chapman] doesn’t succeed, a future right-wing UK government may find this big, visible pot of science and research funding an all-too-tempting target, just as president Donald Trump did in the United States.'
Sadly, seriously true. But this could also happen if UKRI flourishes. 2/2
Sadly, seriously true. But this could also happen if UKRI flourishes. 2/2
Reposted by Peter Mandler
wokeness was exactly the same as the new left, a groundswell of concern about structural inequalities that got completely devoured by marketing and became synonymous with extreme individualism and self promotion
One of the most contradictory and frustrating aspects of the first Woke Era was that people talked a lot about structural injustices but seemed way more concerned with policing personal behaviour
January 13, 2026 at 1:34 PM
wokeness was exactly the same as the new left, a groundswell of concern about structural inequalities that got completely devoured by marketing and became synonymous with extreme individualism and self promotion
Reposted by Peter Mandler
The official explanation they’re apparently going with here is that they aren’t 100% convinced that breathing soot and ozone is actually bad for you.
Breaking News: The EPA will stop considering lives saved when setting pollution limits and instead calculate only the cost to businesses.
E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved by Limiting Air Pollution
In a reversal, the agency plans to calculate only the cost to industry when setting pollution limits, and not the monetary value of saving human lives, documents show.
nyti.ms
January 12, 2026 at 7:48 PM
The official explanation they’re apparently going with here is that they aren’t 100% convinced that breathing soot and ozone is actually bad for you.
Reposted by Peter Mandler
Minister of State Alex Norris tells the BBC he won't personally come off X because it's important for communicating with voters.
None of his tweets for the last month has more than 1000 views.
None of his tweets for the last month has more than 1000 views.
January 13, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Minister of State Alex Norris tells the BBC he won't personally come off X because it's important for communicating with voters.
None of his tweets for the last month has more than 1000 views.
None of his tweets for the last month has more than 1000 views.
Reposted by Peter Mandler
Inside this isolated rural church is a magnificent and potentially unique medieval treasure.
This is St Peulan's, Llanbeulan on Anglesey, which was founded in the 7th century.
1/8
This is St Peulan's, Llanbeulan on Anglesey, which was founded in the 7th century.
1/8
January 12, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Inside this isolated rural church is a magnificent and potentially unique medieval treasure.
This is St Peulan's, Llanbeulan on Anglesey, which was founded in the 7th century.
1/8
This is St Peulan's, Llanbeulan on Anglesey, which was founded in the 7th century.
1/8
Reposted by Peter Mandler
Good reading.
'How the financial problem is described is not neutral. It reflects and reinforces a particular way of understanding what a university is....If the financial situation is framed as a classic demand-and-cost problem....the obvious actions are to emphasise tight cost controls'. 1/4
'How the financial problem is described is not neutral. It reflects and reinforces a particular way of understanding what a university is....If the financial situation is framed as a classic demand-and-cost problem....the obvious actions are to emphasise tight cost controls'. 1/4
WEEKEND READING: What if, in trying to ‘fix’ universities, we are quietly unmaking them? - HEPI
Join HEPI and Advance HE for a webinar onTuesday, 13 January 2026, from 11am to 12pm, exploring what higher education can learn from leadership approaches in other sectors. Sign up here to hear this a...
www.hepi.ac.uk
January 10, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Good reading.
'How the financial problem is described is not neutral. It reflects and reinforces a particular way of understanding what a university is....If the financial situation is framed as a classic demand-and-cost problem....the obvious actions are to emphasise tight cost controls'. 1/4
'How the financial problem is described is not neutral. It reflects and reinforces a particular way of understanding what a university is....If the financial situation is framed as a classic demand-and-cost problem....the obvious actions are to emphasise tight cost controls'. 1/4
Reposted by Peter Mandler
BIG FIGHT AT POLAND’S WROCLAW ZOO!!!
January 9, 2026 at 8:02 PM
BIG FIGHT AT POLAND’S WROCLAW ZOO!!!
Reposted by Peter Mandler
‘Contra the narrow focus of policymakers on Stem subjects or coding, now more than ever our economy rewards broad skillsets: team players, problem solvers, good communicators and creative thinkers.’ @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/5e25...
www.ft.com/content/5e25...
How to AI-proof your job
The data suggests soft skills more than quantitative competency equal success in a rapidly changing labour market
www.ft.com
January 10, 2026 at 8:16 AM
‘Contra the narrow focus of policymakers on Stem subjects or coding, now more than ever our economy rewards broad skillsets: team players, problem solvers, good communicators and creative thinkers.’ @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/5e25...
www.ft.com/content/5e25...
Reposted by Peter Mandler
How do you become a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society? What kinds of activity lead to Fellowship?
RHS Fellows are elected for their 'original contribution to historical scholarship'. We've a new guide to the many ways Fellows achieve and demonstrate this bit.ly/48mpcJa
#Skystorians 1/2
RHS Fellows are elected for their 'original contribution to historical scholarship'. We've a new guide to the many ways Fellows achieve and demonstrate this bit.ly/48mpcJa
#Skystorians 1/2
January 9, 2026 at 1:59 PM
How do you become a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society? What kinds of activity lead to Fellowship?
RHS Fellows are elected for their 'original contribution to historical scholarship'. We've a new guide to the many ways Fellows achieve and demonstrate this bit.ly/48mpcJa
#Skystorians 1/2
RHS Fellows are elected for their 'original contribution to historical scholarship'. We've a new guide to the many ways Fellows achieve and demonstrate this bit.ly/48mpcJa
#Skystorians 1/2
Reposted by Peter Mandler
Nice bit of digital humanities here - using AI to transcribe more than 32,000 manuscripts in the space of a few months. But with two years of preparation in training the model and creating standards for automating manuscript transcription
www.inria.fr/en/comma-med...
www.inria.fr/en/comma-med...
CoMMA: thousands of medieval manuscripts finally transcribed
Transcribing thousands of medieval manuscripts by hand would be a monumental undertaking. Fortunately, researchers in computational humanities at the Inria Paris Centre have been able to automate the ...
www.inria.fr
January 9, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Nice bit of digital humanities here - using AI to transcribe more than 32,000 manuscripts in the space of a few months. But with two years of preparation in training the model and creating standards for automating manuscript transcription
www.inria.fr/en/comma-med...
www.inria.fr/en/comma-med...
Reposted by Peter Mandler
PGA golfer, Scottie Scheffler was arrested for striking an officer with his car in a similar incident to the Minnesota woman. Scottie also was clearly moving away from the cop and the cop hung on to his car. Charges declined by DA next day and no one shot him.
January 8, 2026 at 10:37 AM
PGA golfer, Scottie Scheffler was arrested for striking an officer with his car in a similar incident to the Minnesota woman. Scottie also was clearly moving away from the cop and the cop hung on to his car. Charges declined by DA next day and no one shot him.
Reposted by Peter Mandler
6 February deadline. Obviously a very difficult time in the history of academia to ask for voluntary labour, but our ability to publish in peer-reviewed journals relies upon it, and it's a great way of both using and developing expertise. Open to current Fellows of the Royal Hist. Soc. #Skystorians
Society invites applications to join new-look 'Transactions' editorial board - RHS
The Royal Historical Society seeks to appoint new members to the editorial board of its academic journal, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, published by Cambridge University Press. These n...
royalhistsoc.org
January 8, 2026 at 12:29 PM
6 February deadline. Obviously a very difficult time in the history of academia to ask for voluntary labour, but our ability to publish in peer-reviewed journals relies upon it, and it's a great way of both using and developing expertise. Open to current Fellows of the Royal Hist. Soc. #Skystorians
Reposted by Peter Mandler
Has Reviews in History stopped?
I'd completely forgotten about it. Looking at the website, it appears that the last reviews were 1 in September and 1 in July last year. That site used to publish multiple reviews a month when I reviewed for them...
I'd completely forgotten about it. Looking at the website, it appears that the last reviews were 1 in September and 1 in July last year. That site used to publish multiple reviews a month when I reviewed for them...
January 7, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Has Reviews in History stopped?
I'd completely forgotten about it. Looking at the website, it appears that the last reviews were 1 in September and 1 in July last year. That site used to publish multiple reviews a month when I reviewed for them...
I'd completely forgotten about it. Looking at the website, it appears that the last reviews were 1 in September and 1 in July last year. That site used to publish multiple reviews a month when I reviewed for them...
Reposted by Peter Mandler
If you’re interested in modern British studies, then do follow @modbritstud.bsky.social on here. This is a new professional association for British studies based in the UK. Follow for more news in due course, including events and membership options.
January 7, 2026 at 5:49 PM
If you’re interested in modern British studies, then do follow @modbritstud.bsky.social on here. This is a new professional association for British studies based in the UK. Follow for more news in due course, including events and membership options.