Sam Leith
@questingvole.bsky.social
@spectator lit ed. “Clock-white, still friendly to the earth.” https://bit.ly/TheHauntedWood
Pinned
Sam Leith
@questingvole.bsky.social
· Sep 4
The Haunted Wood | Oneworld
'A MARVEL' PHILIP PULLMAN Do you remember the first time you fell in love with a book? The stories we read as children extend far beyond our childhoods; they are a window into our deepest hopes, joys ...
bit.ly
My book is out in paperback TODAY. All about children’s books, which are the best and most important sort. bit.ly/4pdXMNt
My 14 year old son has been in a black, foul-mouthed, chair-throwing rage for twelve hours and counting because… he’s had suboptimal haircut (it looks, to my eye, exactly like the old one).
February 15, 2026 at 10:34 AM
My 14 year old son has been in a black, foul-mouthed, chair-throwing rage for twelve hours and counting because… he’s had suboptimal haircut (it looks, to my eye, exactly like the old one).
Reposted by Sam Leith
I have asked the BBC to scrutinise + correct the factually inaccurate claims made by Mr Nigel Farage about why net migration fell in 'Political Thinking with Nick Robinson'
Here is the link if you want to do something like this.
www.bbc.co.uk/contact/comp...
Here is the link if you want to do something like this.
www.bbc.co.uk/contact/comp...
February 13, 2026 at 9:48 PM
I have asked the BBC to scrutinise + correct the factually inaccurate claims made by Mr Nigel Farage about why net migration fell in 'Political Thinking with Nick Robinson'
Here is the link if you want to do something like this.
www.bbc.co.uk/contact/comp...
Here is the link if you want to do something like this.
www.bbc.co.uk/contact/comp...
Reposted by Sam Leith
I read three student newspapers in the course of writing this & on the off chance any student journalists at York, Exeter or Cambridge are reading this; God you’re all so much better than student journalism was in my day www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
If you want to know what Reform would be like in power, look at how it threatened Bangor University | Gaby Hinsliff
A debating society didn’t want to invite two figures connected to the party to speak. Cue an authoritarian response, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:27 PM
I read three student newspapers in the course of writing this & on the off chance any student journalists at York, Exeter or Cambridge are reading this; God you’re all so much better than student journalism was in my day www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Sam Leith
I don’t really know what I expect in posting this, but maybe some people see it and can learn from it.
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
I don’t really know what I expect in posting this, but maybe some people see it and can learn from it.
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
Sometimes I love my job. Got Rowan Williams writing on Leonard Cohen this week.
Why Leonard Cohen felt empowered to pronounce benedictions
If it is true that a serious artist is one with the capacity to go on reinventing who they are in their work, Leonard Cohen unquestionably counts as serious. Not that anyone is likely to think of him ...
spectator.com
February 12, 2026 at 8:52 AM
Sometimes I love my job. Got Rowan Williams writing on Leonard Cohen this week.
Reposted by Sam Leith
More people should listen to @tressiemcphd.bsky.social
When people say AI is inevitable, let them know the future isn’t settled.
When people say AI is inevitable, let them know the future isn’t settled.
February 11, 2026 at 2:35 PM
More people should listen to @tressiemcphd.bsky.social
When people say AI is inevitable, let them know the future isn’t settled.
When people say AI is inevitable, let them know the future isn’t settled.
Reposted by Sam Leith
Reposted by Sam Leith
Had the Labour party been reading Private Eye in 2009, when business columnist Slicker was already laying out the peculiar Mandelson-Epstein connection, they would have known exactly what they were dealing with.
➡️ Watch the full episode of Page 94 on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnCe...
➡️ Watch the full episode of Page 94 on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnCe...
February 11, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Had the Labour party been reading Private Eye in 2009, when business columnist Slicker was already laying out the peculiar Mandelson-Epstein connection, they would have known exactly what they were dealing with.
➡️ Watch the full episode of Page 94 on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnCe...
➡️ Watch the full episode of Page 94 on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnCe...
Reposted by Sam Leith
This is the 38th time that the U.S. military has unlawfully killed civilians on the orders of Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump. At least 130 people — never charged with crimes, their identities unknown to their executioners — are now dead.
We are murdering people and it is basically just background noise at this point. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/u...
U.S. Boat Strike Kills 2 in Pacific, With One Survivor
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:29 AM
This is the 38th time that the U.S. military has unlawfully killed civilians on the orders of Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump. At least 130 people — never charged with crimes, their identities unknown to their executioners — are now dead.
Now this, *this* is a declaration of bloody war. With the Spectator’s humble Book Club podcast as Greenland. I should never have encouraged that Sandbrook bloke.
February 10, 2026 at 9:50 AM
Now this, *this* is a declaration of bloody war. With the Spectator’s humble Book Club podcast as Greenland. I should never have encouraged that Sandbrook bloke.
Reposted by Sam Leith
The Daily Telegraph currently owned by a private equity vehicle RedBird IMI - based in the UAE and led by Italian American Gerry Cardinale and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Patriotic news. For patriotic people. Who don't want to pay taxes.
Patriotic news. For patriotic people. Who don't want to pay taxes.
February 8, 2026 at 9:34 AM
The Daily Telegraph currently owned by a private equity vehicle RedBird IMI - based in the UAE and led by Italian American Gerry Cardinale and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Patriotic news. For patriotic people. Who don't want to pay taxes.
Patriotic news. For patriotic people. Who don't want to pay taxes.
@mackeza.bsky.social hi, are you able to follow me briefly so I can DM you pls?
February 7, 2026 at 9:11 PM
@mackeza.bsky.social hi, are you able to follow me briefly so I can DM you pls?
Reposted by Sam Leith
this is very funny www.foxnews.com/media/jd-van...
JD Vance should have been sold by his mother for drugs, NYT columnist says
New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie suggested Vice President JD Vance's mother was reasonable when attempting to sell him for drugs during his childhood.
www.foxnews.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:01 AM
this is very funny www.foxnews.com/media/jd-van...
Reposted by Sam Leith
Ian McKellen performs “The Strangers’ Case” speech from “Sir Thomas More” on Colbert.
February 5, 2026 at 1:07 PM
Ian McKellen performs “The Strangers’ Case” speech from “Sir Thomas More” on Colbert.
Ugh, unasked for new iOS making my phone look like it’s been rescued from a Gelatinous Cube
February 5, 2026 at 10:34 AM
Ugh, unasked for new iOS making my phone look like it’s been rescued from a Gelatinous Cube
Peter Mandelson says he “believes to be false” reports he got $75k from Epstein, and that he has no “record or recollection” of the dosh. Idk about you, but I’m pretty sure I’d remember if someone gave me seventy thousand quid.
February 2, 2026 at 10:41 AM
Peter Mandelson says he “believes to be false” reports he got $75k from Epstein, and that he has no “record or recollection” of the dosh. Idk about you, but I’m pretty sure I’d remember if someone gave me seventy thousand quid.
I’m not going to stop calling it Twitter, when I have to refer to it, so there
February 2, 2026 at 10:38 AM
I’m not going to stop calling it Twitter, when I have to refer to it, so there
FML. The dog, literally, ate my homework
January 31, 2026 at 9:01 PM
FML. The dog, literally, ate my homework
Reviewed a book about Nintendo, to bring a bit of cheer
Mario, Pikachu and Donkey Kong — the joy of Nintendo
In Super Nintendo, Keza MacDonald explores the history of the Japanese company that gave us Super Mario, Pokémon and so much more
www.thetimes.com
January 31, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Reviewed a book about Nintendo, to bring a bit of cheer
Just rewatching 28 Days Later, and it struck me: it’s basically the plot of Watership Down, isn’t it?
January 30, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Just rewatching 28 Days Later, and it struck me: it’s basically the plot of Watership Down, isn’t it?
Reposted by Sam Leith
I made this for @kjsoar.bsky.social back on the old site
January 30, 2026 at 11:08 AM
I made this for @kjsoar.bsky.social back on the old site
Superb piece
"As we watch the least effective and most morally objectionable of our tactics come home and be used amongst and against us, we are left with a profound feeling of betrayal."
www.wired.com/story/ice-pr...
www.wired.com/story/ice-pr...
ICE Pretends It’s a Military Force. Its Tactics Would Get Real Soldiers Killed
WIRED asked an active military officer to break down immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
www.wired.com
January 30, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Superb piece
“In theater”. What a titanic prick.
Q: Can you be specific about how many ICE and CBP agents are currently operating in the state?
HOMAN: 3,000. There's been some rotations. They've been in theater a long time. Day after day, can't eat in restaurants, people spin on you, blowing whistles at you. But my main focus now is draw down
HOMAN: 3,000. There's been some rotations. They've been in theater a long time. Day after day, can't eat in restaurants, people spin on you, blowing whistles at you. But my main focus now is draw down
January 29, 2026 at 2:33 PM
“In theater”. What a titanic prick.
Nonfiction publishers: why not try including the phrase "making of the modern world" in your subtitle?
January 29, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Nonfiction publishers: why not try including the phrase "making of the modern world" in your subtitle?
Reposted by Sam Leith
I wonder where it's all coming from?
January 29, 2026 at 8:11 AM
I wonder where it's all coming from?