Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 1d

"my mother’s handshake, that moment of impossible grace, that instinct for making peace that has touched so many." Sharone Lifschitz www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Two years after 7 October and the kidnap of my parents, hate is in fashion. For all our sakes, we need compassion | Sharone Lifschitz

So many were killed – yet on her release, my mother said ‘shalom’ to her captors. Let’s learn from that moment of grace, says Sharone Lifschitz, London-based film-maker and academic

www.theguardian.com

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 3d

😬

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 3d

Rodin’s gates. But where are you actually

1 1

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 3d

Radical Universalism by Omri Boehm sounds interesting. HT SK www.nyrb.com/products/rad...

Radical Universalism

A compelling philosophical exploration of the concept of universalism and its role—or lack thereof—in contemporary politics. This accessible study challenges the prioritization of identity politics ov...

www.nyrb.com

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 5d

"Labour likes to portray the sale of political access as a Tory problem... But Labour is not immune. This week’s party conference was thick with lobbyists for everything from oil and gas giants to defence contractors." democracyforsale.substack.com/p/labour-and...

Labour's lobbyist friends

I went to Liverpool this week. I found lots of "Labour specialist" lobbyists, and barely a word on cleaning up politics.

democracyforsale.substack.com

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 5d

'Munge' - the dull purple-brown of all water colours mixed together - is a great coinage from Brian Eno, and well used to describe the outputs of LLMs. See also 'enshittification' from Cory Doctorow www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/o...

1

Reposted by Caspar Henderson

Avner Gidron @avnergidron.bsky.social · 5d

@amnesty.org : Deliberately inflicting yet another devastating wave of mass displacement in Gaza amidst this suffering is not just inhumane, it is a flagrant violation of international law. www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...

Israel/ OPT: Catastrophic wave of mass displacement under inhumane conditions as Israel obliterates Gaza City

As Israel steps up its cataclysmic onslaught, it appears hell-bent on obliterating Gaza City, deliberately driving out its entire population, levelling large swathes of the city, and seizing full cont...

www.amnesty.org

2 2

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 5d

Breaking News: Badenoch to Reverse 1802 and 1833 Factory Acts. The Conservative leader stressed that her party is fully committed to the wellbeing of children under 9 working a 48 hour week, but British children are only 1% of global indentured labour, and measures must be cost efficient

1

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 5d

“I see nature being destroyed all around the world... What we are doing is stealing our children’s future... We still haven’t learned to treat animals with respect...I’m going to fight for that until I take my last breath.” www.ft.com/content/9600...

‘You must not give up’: the last testament of Jane Goodall

The conservationist, who died this week, led a 65-year fight to raise eco awareness. She gave the Financial Times one of her final interviews

www.ft.com

1 2

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 5d

“It marks an entirely new way of consuming – everything is multiplied by a hundred,” www.theguardian.com/business/202...

‘A paroxysm of disposability’: France’s distaste for Shein’s ultra-fast fashion

A petition to ban the brand has passed 270,000 names but French shoppers have not been immune to its inexorable rise

www.theguardian.com

1

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 5d

Formation of Earth and Moon. This simulation is from 2022, but it's new to me. Helps keep some things in perspective youtu.be/kRlhlCWplqk

New Supercomputer Simulation Sheds Light on Moon’s Origin

YouTube video by NASA's Ames Research Center

youtu.be

3

Reposted by Caspar Henderson

David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 6d

Our horror at the genocide in Gaza, at the mass murder of civilians on Oct 7 2023, and at today's atrocity in Manchester, comes in each case from the same, inherent part of our shared humanity. We need to assert that shared humanity as loudly as possible, and in as many practical ways as we can.

69 190

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 5d

“Kind, good, happy, gentlemanly, secure people never go Nazi… But the frustrated intellectual, the rich and scared speculator, the spoiled son, the labor tyrant, the fellow who has achieved success by smelling out the wind of success—they would all go Nazi in a crisis” harpers.org/archive/1941...

Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson

harpers.org

3

Reposted by Caspar Henderson

Amos @amosduveen.bsky.social · 5d

And, just as importantly, that they would do the same for mosques, churches, temples, gurdwaras, or any other places of worship were they to be similarly threatened.

Something about the UK to be genuinely proud of, that the overwhelming majority of us help to build & maintain, despite everything.

Gabriel Milland @gabrielmilland.bsky.social · 6d

Part of the burden of Jewish history is being touched, and proud, that the British police rushed to the site of this atrocity and that the reaction of the British prime minister was to send police reinforcements to synagogues. For millennia, this was not so. It is not taken for granted.

1 25 130

Reposted by Caspar Henderson

Jeremy Noel-Tod @jntod.bsky.social · 6d

On National Poetry Day, the greatest poem I have ever read

A printed poem which reads:

I hav for breakfast Weetabix

I hav for lunch some meat

I have for tea 2 sosajis and thats enuf to eat

Peter Hazel, 5

61 940 3.6K

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 6d

"A neologism that would still place human flourishing at the center...but which also encompassed the supremacy of all living things—including the natural world." Paul Gilroy suggested 'planetary humanism' which is good but still too human centred? "Supremacy" not a great word choice by Zadie Smith

1 1 2

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 6d

"That’s what the practice of essaying is, to me: a stumbling attempt to re-create...a common space, one that is open to all. It’s in that optimistic spot that I set out my stall
...without demanding to see anyone’s identifying papers in the opening paragraph. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

The Art of the Impersonal Essay, by Zadie Smith

In my experience, every kind of writing requires some kind of self-soothing Jedi mind trick, and, when it comes to essay composition, the rectangle is mine.

www.newyorker.com

1 2

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 6d

‘It would be absurd to seek hope in Trump and Trumpism, but perhaps stupidity on such a world-historical level can at least offer an opportunity for “true” understanding. Nothing – markets, bots or machines – can rescue us, except our imagination’ 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

Reposted by Caspar Henderson

Akshat Rathi @akshatrathi.bsky.social · 6d

Badenoch: "Our priority now is growth, cheaper energy, and protecting the natural landscapes we all love."

Um, which is exactly what the Climate Change Act is set to do in the decades to come...

Good explanation of why Tories are making this vow: "Complete intellectual collapse."

James Murray @james-bg.bsky.social · 6d

The worst thing about the Tory pledge to repeal the Climate Change Act is not the decision itself, bad as that is, but the rationale given for it and the total lack of an alternative plan. It’s proof of the complete intellectual collapse of a once great Party.
www.businessgreen.com/news/4519805...

'A reckless decision': Conservatives pledge to repeal Climate Change Act

Kemi Badenoch accused of a "desperate attempt to sound like Donald Trump on climate change", as business and green groups slam "a new low point" for the Tories

www.businessgreen.com

2 2 11

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 7d

“The company’s accounts show that it had funds of less than £1m… Barrowman had been paid at least £65m from its profits, then transferred £29m to a trust set up to benefit Mone and her three adult children” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

UK government wins £122m pandemic case against Michelle Mone-linked firm over faulty PPE

Trial heard 25m surgical gowns supplied by PPE Medpro to protect NHS staff were unusable and could ‘seriously harm or kill patients’

www.theguardian.com

2

Reposted by Caspar Henderson

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 7d

Jürgen is correct. Any historian of Germany in the 30s recognizes this language and approach instantly: the "enemy within" consisted of Social Democrats, Jews, Poles, Gyspies and Gays. Their eradication was sought and to a horrendous extent accomplished.

11 160 330

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 7d

“The UAE is the lifeline to the siege. Without its support, the RSF would have called it off.” Remarkable account of the horrific siege of El Fasher www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

‘We will never, ever escape’: inside the ever-tightening siege of the Sudanese city of El Fasher

For 500 days, 260,000 people have been trapped by the paramilitary RSF. While political progress stalls, those who attempt escape are killed and those who remain inside are starving. Experts believe t...

www.theguardian.com

1 2

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 9d

Better tactics to highlight Reform’s alignment with Putin, fossil fuel interests, and other oligarchs

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 9d

Farage’s proposal to scrap leave to remain *is* racist (and stupid and evil), but could Starmer’s response be as ill-judged as Hilary Clinton’s ‘basket of deplorables’ remark? It opens the door to this kind of bad faith twisting by the Mail

1 1

Caspar Henderson @casparhenderson.bsky.social · 12d

"Poised at the end of a humdrum interglacial, in an otherwise chilly corner of Earth history, industrial civilisation is emitting carbon dioxide at a clip 10 times faster than the apocalyptic volcanoes of the end-Permian mass extinction" www.quantamagazine.org/climate-extr...

Climate Extremes Are a Hallmark of the Age of Animals | Quanta Magazine

New reconstructions of 540 million years of climate history show the planet tumbling between icehouse and hothouse states, revealing how rare and vulnerable our temperate moment is.

www.quantamagazine.org

2