Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
@stunathan.bsky.social
Storytelling science and technology. Enemy of jargon and wilful obscurity. Often doesn't follow back - nothing personal, just keeping my feed manageable.
Pinned
Words to live by, from Primo Levi, who knew what he was talking about.
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If you are a person who works in social media, and your job requires you to manage an account on Twitter/X, please ask your boss, in writing, to verify that you are required as a responsibility of your position to be on a platform that knowingly creates and monetizes child sexual abuse material …
January 29, 2026 at 7:13 PM
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Reposted by Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
Americans: SAVE act is back. Passed the House in April & it looks like the Senate might take it up next week. Call yr Senators & tell them not to make it harder for citizens (especially married women who changed their name & overseas military personnel) to vote.
campaignlegal.org/update/what-...
campaignlegal.org/update/what-...
What You Need to Know About the SAVE Act
campaignlegal.org
January 28, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Americans: SAVE act is back. Passed the House in April & it looks like the Senate might take it up next week. Call yr Senators & tell them not to make it harder for citizens (especially married women who changed their name & overseas military personnel) to vote.
campaignlegal.org/update/what-...
campaignlegal.org/update/what-...
Pretty much everyone at this point, I think.
Anyone else finding it extremely difficult to focus on anything right now? Anxiety through the roof. I can’t do simple tasks, reply to emails, auditions, shower, watch a movie, play a game.
I can’t move. Bouncing between anger and despair hourly, it really does feel like evil is winning everywhere.
I can’t move. Bouncing between anger and despair hourly, it really does feel like evil is winning everywhere.
January 28, 2026 at 9:31 AM
Pretty much everyone at this point, I think.
Any of my chronic illness peeps got recommendations for Marie?
Craft and/or chronic illness people: what’s a simple crafting activity that I, a person with chronic fatigue and brain fog, might be able to entertain myself with without over-exerting or dying of boredom? I tried crochet but I am so bad at it.
January 27, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Any of my chronic illness peeps got recommendations for Marie?
On Chapel Sands by Laura Cumming.
what are we reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaading?
January 27, 2026 at 6:39 PM
On Chapel Sands by Laura Cumming.
Reposted by Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
If I see you use this word, I'll block you. If you use it "satirically" I'll block you. Using it at all today is a really fine test of character.
I've had some of my books edited because I used it twenty years ago and I'm ashamed today of having used it.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...
I've had some of my books edited because I used it twenty years ago and I'm ashamed today of having used it.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...
The ‘R-Word’ Returns, Dismaying Those Who Fought to Oust It
www.nytimes.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:12 PM
If I see you use this word, I'll block you. If you use it "satirically" I'll block you. Using it at all today is a really fine test of character.
I've had some of my books edited because I used it twenty years ago and I'm ashamed today of having used it.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...
I've had some of my books edited because I used it twenty years ago and I'm ashamed today of having used it.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...
Even a stopped clock...
Sepp Blatter suggests fans should not travel to US for World Cup
Sepp Blatter suggests fans should not travel to US for World Cup
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Ex-Fifa boss shows support for boycott calls
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Security concerns over tournament have risen
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter on Monday suggested he supports fans boycotting World Cup matches in the United States this year due to security concerns.
Blatter gave his support to comments from Swiss anti-corruption lawyer Mark Pieth, who worked with Fifa on potential reforms when Blatter was president, saying fans should stay away from the US for the tournament. Continue reading...
dlvr.it
January 26, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Even a stopped clock...
This link works at time of posting, but it might expire shortly.
January 26, 2026 at 5:15 PM
This link works at time of posting, but it might expire shortly.
Reposted by Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
There is not a lot Canadians can do about ICE, but we can ask Parliament to investigate Canadian companies doing business with them, like Hootsuite. Call or email your MP - or contact the INDU House committee MPs. Will post link below. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Hootsuite CEO says ICE contract will stand as long as agency honours terms and conditions
‘We did nothing wrong here,’ head of Vancouver social media company said in internal call with employees
www.theglobeandmail.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:49 PM
There is not a lot Canadians can do about ICE, but we can ask Parliament to investigate Canadian companies doing business with them, like Hootsuite. Call or email your MP - or contact the INDU House committee MPs. Will post link below. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Reposted by Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
Suella Braverman is a one-nation Conservative. That nation is 1930s Germany.
January 26, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Suella Braverman is a one-nation Conservative. That nation is 1930s Germany.
This defection is truly a lose-lose for both parties, and the Conservatives seem dead-set on making it worse for themselves.
Blimey: Tory HQ goes for the 'she's not well' angle, with Braverman.
January 26, 2026 at 2:48 PM
This defection is truly a lose-lose for both parties, and the Conservatives seem dead-set on making it worse for themselves.
Reposted by Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
I've signed. All UK residents should, football fan or not.
I'm genuinely concerned. I'm a football fan and know how fucking daft lads can be after 10 pints. Over here you might get a night in the cells and a caution. Over there is a high risk of returning in a body bag.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/75...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/75...
January 26, 2026 at 12:06 AM
I've signed. All UK residents should, football fan or not.
Reposted by Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
The lies are the point.
"We have to deny this, for form’s sake, for domestic audiences and to reduce the chance of reprisals," the logic goes. "But we nonetheless want you to understand we did it, and that we would do it again." The purpose of a deterrent is to deter.
Why they can't even bother to come up with good lies.
Why they can't even bother to come up with good lies.
The Lies They Told
Sometimes, the implausibility is the point. Also this week: the even truer-size map; and some extremely late but mercifully-brief film reviews.
jonn.substack.com
January 24, 2026 at 10:37 PM
The lies are the point.
Reposted by Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
British crown owned thousands of slaves in the Caribbean as late as 1831.
Even as he oversaw the Royal Navy’s suppression of the transatlantic slave trade, George IV continued to profit from the labour and sale of enslaved people.
Source: The Crown’s Silence, a new book by historian Brooke Newman
Even as he oversaw the Royal Navy’s suppression of the transatlantic slave trade, George IV continued to profit from the labour and sale of enslaved people.
Source: The Crown’s Silence, a new book by historian Brooke Newman
British crown was world’s largest buyer of enslaved people by 1807, book reveals
Exclusive: Author of The Crown’s Silence tells how navy and monarchy protected slave trade for hundreds of years
www.theguardian.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:20 PM
British crown owned thousands of slaves in the Caribbean as late as 1831.
Even as he oversaw the Royal Navy’s suppression of the transatlantic slave trade, George IV continued to profit from the labour and sale of enslaved people.
Source: The Crown’s Silence, a new book by historian Brooke Newman
Even as he oversaw the Royal Navy’s suppression of the transatlantic slave trade, George IV continued to profit from the labour and sale of enslaved people.
Source: The Crown’s Silence, a new book by historian Brooke Newman
Good piece, this. And I didn't watch Borgen.
“Had I ever suggested a storyline involving an American president who becomes obsessed by the thought of owning Greenland, to the extent that he is willing to sacrifice Nato and use mob methods to bully allies into compliance, I would have been laughed out…”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
If I’d pitched Trump’s Greenland plot for Borgen I’d have been laughed at. Now we’re living his sinister drama
The only positive of this stranger-than-fiction scenario is that Greenland and Denmark stand more united than ever, says Adam Price, the creator of the TV series Borgen
www.theguardian.com
January 23, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Good piece, this. And I didn't watch Borgen.
I hadn't heard it before either.
Incredible story that I hadn't heard before
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95. “Her painstaking calculations and programming helped transform raw satellite data into precise geodetic models, enabling reliable satellite-based navigation.” [thezebra.org]
January 23, 2026 at 12:20 AM
I hadn't heard it before either.
Reposted by Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
Trump tells Davos "China makes almost all of the windmills and yet I haven't been able to find any windfarms in China"
IRENASTAT data shows China had 479GW of onshore wind capacity in 2024 & 41GW of offshore wind capacity
pxweb.irena.org/pxweb/en/IRE...
IRENASTAT data shows China had 479GW of onshore wind capacity in 2024 & 41GW of offshore wind capacity
pxweb.irena.org/pxweb/en/IRE...
January 21, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Trump tells Davos "China makes almost all of the windmills and yet I haven't been able to find any windfarms in China"
IRENASTAT data shows China had 479GW of onshore wind capacity in 2024 & 41GW of offshore wind capacity
pxweb.irena.org/pxweb/en/IRE...
IRENASTAT data shows China had 479GW of onshore wind capacity in 2024 & 41GW of offshore wind capacity
pxweb.irena.org/pxweb/en/IRE...
Reposted by Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
The US granted visas to Jews but only allowed 30,000 in from Germany a year. You had to wait for your number to come up.
Meet Robert Smallbones. An unassuming British diplomat who 'hacked' this system so effectively (saving 48 THOUSAND Jews) the UK government kept his scheme secret for decades /1 🧵
Meet Robert Smallbones. An unassuming British diplomat who 'hacked' this system so effectively (saving 48 THOUSAND Jews) the UK government kept his scheme secret for decades /1 🧵
January 21, 2026 at 12:52 PM
The US granted visas to Jews but only allowed 30,000 in from Germany a year. You had to wait for your number to come up.
Meet Robert Smallbones. An unassuming British diplomat who 'hacked' this system so effectively (saving 48 THOUSAND Jews) the UK government kept his scheme secret for decades /1 🧵
Meet Robert Smallbones. An unassuming British diplomat who 'hacked' this system so effectively (saving 48 THOUSAND Jews) the UK government kept his scheme secret for decades /1 🧵
Reposted by Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
“As America prepares to commemorate its 250th anniversary, the republic is flirting with its own funeral.” My column. www.ft.com/content/dede...
America’s barbarian turn
No ideological code can fully capture Trump’s actions
www.ft.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:25 PM
“As America prepares to commemorate its 250th anniversary, the republic is flirting with its own funeral.” My column. www.ft.com/content/dede...
Reposted by Stu Nathan, science word-wrangler for hire
@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social thought this was one of yours fir a second.
January 19, 2026 at 10:08 PM
@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social thought this was one of yours fir a second.
Gabriel's "Fruitier" here presumably means so stupid as to be virtually brain-dead.
January 19, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Gabriel's "Fruitier" here presumably means so stupid as to be virtually brain-dead.
Great film.
Polite Society is on Film4, Wednesday night at 9pm and I'd hugely recommend it: teenage would-be stuntwoman plots to stop her older sister's wedding, having decided the bridegroom is secretly evil.
Enormous fun - this was my NYE film a couple of years ago.
Enormous fun - this was my NYE film a couple of years ago.
a woman dancing in front of a sign that says " no mercy "
Alt: Ria in Polite Society dancing to distract her enemies; text overlaid says " no mercy "
media.tenor.com
January 19, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Great film.
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THREAD. A collection of photographs of excellent sheep I have met on walks.
You will find the captions to each photo in the alt text.
You will find the captions to each photo in the alt text.
January 17, 2026 at 2:15 PM
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