Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Uta Staiger @ukstaiger.bsky.social · 1h

Heute in der Post! Mein Gespräch mit der beeindruckenden Sigrid Weigel @zfl-berlin.bsky.social über Walter Benjamin und Hannah Arendt.

Gedruckt in Politik & Kultur, der Zeitschrift des Deutschen Kulturrates.

Mit Dank an das Goethe Institut in Barcelona.

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 16h

🧵🚨

The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.

Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

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UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Uta Staiger @ukstaiger.bsky.social · 11h

What a read!

Teresa M. Bejan @tmbejan.bsky.social · 11h

Get thee (me) to the Beinecke…

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Secrets of a Radical Duke

How a lost copy of the Declaration of Independence unlocked a historical mystery

www.theatlantic.com

Uta Staiger @ukstaiger.bsky.social · 11h

Excellent piece (as you would expect) by @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social:

The compact would "entrap universities in a deal that effectively removes the protections of federal law & gives the administration arbitrary power over them."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

US universities must reject Trump’s ‘compact’. It is full of traps | Jan-Werner Müller

The administration is trying to make nine universities an offer they seemingly cannot refuse

www.theguardian.com

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Política & Prosa @politicaprosa.bsky.social · 18h

«Si tinc una pàtria, és aquesta llengua. I no sé si ella viu en mi, o jo en ella». Fa un any, László Krasznahorkai ens regalava aquestes paraules a Política & Prosa. Avui, la seva veu és reconeguda amb el Nobel de Literatura.

Per @martarebon.bsky.social.

László Krasznahorkai: «Hongria no és un país, és un gran manicomi» | política&prosa

László Krasznahorkai (Gyula, 1954) és una de les veus més singulars de la literatura contemporània europea. Les seves obres, amb llargues frases sinuoses i un estil que defuig les convencions…

politicaprosa.com

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Uta Staiger @ukstaiger.bsky.social · 20h

My kind of party.

Albatros Buchhandlung Bremen @albatrosbuch.bsky.social · 20h

Wir haben ein paar Absagen für unsere "Almost Silent Reading Party" heute Abend und damit freie Plätze! Ab 19:30 könnt ihr es euch bei uns gemütlich machen und 1,5 Stunden ungestört lesen. Eintritt ist frei, meldet euch bei Interesse.

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eileen chengyin chow @chowleen.bsky.social · 1d

I, however,
Have such meagre power,

Clutching at a
Moment,

While you control
An hour.

But your hour is
A stone.

My moment is
A flower.

-Langston Hughes, "Poet to Bigot"
#everynightapoem As ever.

I have done so little
For you.
And you have do little
For me.
That we have good reason
Never to agree.

I, however,
Have such meagre power,
Clutching at a
Moment,
While you control
An hour.
But your hour is
A stone.
My moment is
A flower.
-Langston Hughes, "Poet to Bigot"

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Uta Staiger @ukstaiger.bsky.social · 20h

The Last Wolf & Herman are excellent entry points, I think. V much representative stylistically/in terms of themes, but they are two short stories.

(it was, of all things, pandemic reading, for me)

www.ndbooks.com/book/the-las...

The Last Wolf & Herman by László Krasznahorkai

The Last Wolf (translated by George Szirtes) is Krasznahorkai in a maddening nutshell–it features a classic obsessed narrator, a man hired (by mistake) to write the true tale of the last wolf of Spain...

www.ndbooks.com

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Uta Staiger @ukstaiger.bsky.social · 23h

Enjoying these quote-posts on night-time UG essay writing, feeling seen. Also all the references to not having reference books to hand. If you were late to start, *all* relevant books would be unavailable. Cue library stack surfing, serendipity, seriously innovative argumentation & so much learned.

Jack Stilgoe @jackstilgoe.bsky.social · 23h

In my first year, I wrote an essay on the anthropology of technology the night before it was due. I only had one reference book available - The Guinness Book of Records. Just scraped a pass.

🎃 🧟 Prof. Dr Beth Singler 👻 🎃 @bvlsingler.bsky.social · 23h

I once went to see the Blair Witch Project at the cinema, got thoroughly terrified, played a prank on a friend's girlfriend who'd just seen it, got back to my college room by about 3am, and THEN started an essay for handing in that morning, all while being terrified by the wailing wind outside...

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Alexander Clarkson @aphclarkson.bsky.social · 2d

This is among other things a product of how far UK Conservative and Reform Party MPs and Spads have become so marinated in Right wing American social media that they have adopted its view of unis as a source of radicalisation tempting youth away from the moral purity of National Conservative thought

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 2d

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to announce plans to cut the number of UK university places by about 100,000 annually by reintroducing student number controls, reports Patrick Jack #edusky
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/badenochs-number-caps-plan-would-cut-100000-university-places

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Uta Staiger @ukstaiger.bsky.social · 2d

Late to this piece on/conversation with @sundersays.bsky.social, but what an important intervention. Framing matters! How we speak about things matters. Pervasive pessimism is indeed demobilising. Practical, political, moral arguments need articulating.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Sunder Katwala on race, patriotism and flag-waving: ‘The far right is vocal and angry because it is shrinking’

The director of British Future has spent his career trying to find common ground when it comes to race and immigration. He describes his own experience of racism – and why he’s still hopeful for the U...

www.theguardian.com

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 3d

Not a serious person. Zero mention of what this would mean for the over a million British citizens whose own access to welfare in the EU is protected by the withdrawal agreement.

EU citizens living in UK shouldn’t be allowed welfare benefits, says Tory rising star

Katie Lam — who is earning plaudits on the Conservative right — calls for Brexit withdrawal agreement to be reopened.

www.politico.eu

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UCL European Institute @uclei.bsky.social · 7d

🎙️ Tune in to the latest episode of The Ukraine Shelf podcast where @oliahercules.bsky.social and Felicity Spector speak with @uilleamblacker.bsky.social and @okhromeychuk.bsky.social on all things food!

☁️ soundcloud.com/european-ins...
🎧 www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6HZ...

#Europe #TheUkraineShelf

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George Peretz KC @georgeperetzkc.bsky.social · 4d

Chris Philp on R4 yesterday making 3 false statements about the ECHR and the GFA.
1. “The ECHR is mentioned only in the Multi-Party Agreement not the UK/Ireland Agreement.”. Wrong: the latter agreement requires the UK to support the former: they can’t be pulled apart like that.

George Peretz KC @georgeperetzkc.bsky.social · 4d

Summary here by @joshuarozenberg.bsky.social of the so far unpublished but apparently “circulating” “legal advice” by Lord Wolfson to the Tory party. open.substack.com/pub/rozenber...

How UK could leave ECHR

Withdrawal would allow EU to end criminal law enforcement co-operation

open.substack.com

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Mari Takayanagi @satisfactory20.bsky.social · 4d

Looking around St Deiniol's Church next door to @gladlib.bsky.social I was pleased to find stained glass windows to Gladstone’s daughters Helen, vice-principal of Newnham Cambridge, and Mary, his political secretary #WomensHistory 🗃️

Pair of stained glass windows depicting saints, Helen Gladstone mentioned at bottom

Pair of stained glass windows depicting angels with musical instruments, Mary Gladstone mentioned at bottom

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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 5d

Fantastic piece by Simon Schama on the debate between the US Founding Fathers about freedom of speech (and the Alien and Sedition Acts), that includes this wonderful final exhortation to us all:
on.ft.com/48b6rKt

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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 7d

Listen!

UCL European Institute @uclei.bsky.social · 7d

🎙️ Tune in to the latest episode of The Ukraine Shelf podcast where @oliahercules.bsky.social and Felicity Spector speak with @uilleamblacker.bsky.social and @okhromeychuk.bsky.social on all things food!

☁️ soundcloud.com/european-ins...
🎧 www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6HZ...

#Europe #TheUkraineShelf

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thomrosenhagen @thomrosenhagen.bsky.social · 7d

Heute vor einem Jahr in der Ausstellung von Janosch in Balingen…

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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 7d

as @dralanwager.bsky.social and I put it in 2021, the gap between the deregulatory vision of the Brexiters and the preferences of the British public meant 'the prime minister won the Brexit war. Keir Starmer may have an opportunity to win the peace'. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

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Thu Nguyen @onethuthree.bsky.social · 7d

Pünktlich zum langen Wochenende ist die neue EU to go-Folge da, die letzte mit unserem jetzt ehemaligen Direktor @lindnerjs.bsky.social. Es geht um die große Frage: Hat Europa eine Seele? Braucht es eine neue europäische Erzählung -und wenn ja, wer kann sie erzählen? open.spotify.com/episode/3GSM...

Abschied aus Berlin: Eine Seele für Europa?

open.spotify.com

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Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · 7d

A giant of social science -- und ein wunderbarer Mensch. He will be much missed.

Hertie School @hertieschool.bsky.social · 7d

The Hertie School mourns the passing of Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Claus Offe, Professor Emeritus of Political Sociology, an extraordinary scholar, teacher and colleague.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and all who had the privilege to know him.

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Kit de Waal @kitdewaal.com · 7d

The Climate Fiction Prize celebrates the most inspiring novels tackling the climate crisis.

I will be one of this judges this year and would love to read your work.

The £10,000 prize is awarded annually to a single novel. Submissions now open.

Link here climatefictionprize.co.uk

Please share :)

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Tim Beasley-Murray @timb-m.bsky.social · 9d

With her extraordinary work—in collaboration with her husband, Peter—no one has done more to promote Slovak literature in the anglophone world than @juliasherwood.bsky.social And this latest translation of powerful short stories about the atrocity and violence of the Second World War is a triumph.

Karolinum Press @karolinumpress.cuni.cz · 10d

On International Translation Day, we are delighted to introduce our collaborator in the Modern Slovak Classics series, the London-based @juliasherwood.bsky.social. She is not only active as a translator but also as a tireless promoter of Slovak and Czech literature abroad.

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Lyndsey Stonebridge @lyndseystonebri.bsky.social · 7d

Exactly what we need: careful, considered, funny intelligence squaring up to our catastrophic, deadly, age of stupid (with Arendt's help).

Excellent piece @will-davies.bsky.social

Will Davies @will-davies.bsky.social · 8d

My essay on stupidology (originally published in N+1) is in today's Guardian www.theguardian.com/news/2025/oc...

A critique of pure stupidity: understanding Trump 2.0

If the first term of Donald Trump provoked anxiety over the fate of objective knowledge, the second has led to claims we live in a world-historical age of stupid, accelerated by big tech. But might th...

www.theguardian.com

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Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 7d

There have likely been 10,000 or more university redundancies in the academic year 2024-25.

@gsoh31.bsky.social, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Oxford Brookes, argues that the Higher Education system as we know it is coming to an end.

Where now for Britain’s Universities?

UK higher education now faces a very bleak future, retreating in the face of little public sympathy and limited political interest.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

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