Chris Darby
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chrisdarby.bsky.social
Chris Darby
@chrisdarby.bsky.social
400 followers 630 following 520 posts
Accidental theatre producer. Hates climate change. Energy nerd. Adhd & queer. Probably writing code or learning Eos. Used to run a startup. I have nothing to say to Sue Goggins. He/They
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Reposted by Chris Darby
robinince.bsky.social
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career. I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters. Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Good morning. I am in a bad place. Not emotionally, just Heathrow T4
December 14, 2025 at 7:08 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Might f around and start a Minecraft server or three
December 12, 2025 at 11:55 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Wanted the sticky rice but can’t get the global lock :(
Mango sticky rice from a menu in Thailand, but mango is spelled “mongo”
December 12, 2025 at 8:57 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
A few months back (maybe 6?) someone did a post comparing the speed of various JS frameworks, including first load etc. I think I saw it on Bsky, but I can’t for the life of me find it 😢 and obviously googling this kind of thing gets me nothing useful.
December 12, 2025 at 4:44 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
In hindsight, singing backing vocals in A Bushell and a Peck with Jessie Ware should probably have been on my bingo card for this year
November 2, 2025 at 4:47 PM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Not to be political but justice for Burcu. You cant be fining people for pouring a few ml of coffee down the drain unless you fine every motorist for the powder off their breaks, leaking oil etc. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Kew woman fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond
Burcu Yesilyurt says the fine is "disproportionate" while Richmond Council say it is in line with its policies.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 22, 2025 at 3:16 PM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Happy MHHS day to all who celebrate
October 22, 2025 at 12:59 PM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Cybersecurity is cancelled because of woke and DEI
lookitup.baby Ian Coldwater 📦💥 @lookitup.baby · Oct 3
Who needs “cybersecurity” anyway? That shit’s for trans people and furries
October 3, 2025 at 9:03 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Nerds of Bsky… I have purchased a M-ATX board for a new NAS I’m building. Case recommendations for 2-4 swappable 3.5” drives (and a few more inside the case ideally) please!
October 1, 2025 at 7:38 PM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
I have a *very* severe case of the sniffles but I am being a brave soldier
October 1, 2025 at 9:50 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Today was not the day to get whatever plague is going around 🥲
September 29, 2025 at 6:15 PM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Wimdy day at LHR 🥴
September 15, 2025 at 6:23 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
The perfect gaming setup doesn’t exi…
A Nintendo switch 2 sits on a tray next to a tropical pink drink. In the background, waves crash on the Balinese coast
September 14, 2025 at 8:25 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
The big problem with the Breakfast Buffet also having an A La Carte option is my stomach orders from the A La Carte and then immediately visits the Buffet and now I need new clothes 🥲
September 14, 2025 at 12:43 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Not reading “Protect the West” and thinking it’s a new Lib Dem business growth campaign for Weston Super Mare
September 13, 2025 at 7:56 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Minute Cryptic - 13 September, 2025
"100% leather lingerie's always turning heads" (3)
⚪️🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣
I scored: even par
www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...
Minute Cryptic
Solve a clue with a hidden meaning
www.minutecryptic.com
September 13, 2025 at 4:40 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Mad that the hotel restaurant had the exact 5 miniature bao buns I needed to fill the tiny space in my eepy stomach
September 10, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Reposted by Chris Darby
amateuradam.bsky.social
COMPETITION! Order a copy of A PARTICULARLY NASTY CASE from @bookshop.org and you could win a year’s worth of some of my favourite crime and thriller reads, to fill up a particularly nasty bookcase (see what I did there?) Quick! Closes midnight tomorrow uk.bookshop.org/lists/win-ad...
September 10, 2025 at 9:59 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Minute Cryptic - 10 September, 2025
"Playing piano after American season of pipe organs?" (9)
⚪️⚪️🟡🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣
I scored: even par
www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...
Minute Cryptic
Solve a clue with a hidden meaning
www.minutecryptic.com
September 10, 2025 at 1:31 AM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Minute Cryptic - 9 September, 2025
"Liking when head of state becomes centrist?" (5)
🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣
I scored: 2 under par
www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...
Minute Cryptic
Solve a clue with a hidden meaning
www.minutecryptic.com
September 8, 2025 at 10:15 PM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
Ok I know what code switching is but now I have a Switch Code? (Im a gaymer now, help)
September 6, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Reposted by Chris Darby
colinelves.bsky.social
With alt:
Smajo Beso • Follow 3d • © I started school in Newcastle in Year 5 without knowing a word of English. I was nine years old and had arrived as a refugee from Bosnia just a couple of months earlier. I was one of those strangers our politicians often speak about. I missed my grandparents and friends. I was having awful nightmares, and I would wake up screaming every single night. I hated going to school. I would sit in my chair, look out of the window, and spend my day daydreaming about ways to run back to Bosnia. I didn't want to be here. After a couple of weeks at school, my teacher, Miss Webster, and my classmates did something special to help me settle, something that made me feel less of a stranger. That was the first day I went home with a smile on my face. I have shared this story before, but as tomorrow is start of the new school year, I thought I would share it again. ** Miss Webster was amazing, but I couldn't understand a word she was saying. She had this ritual where, at the end of each day, we would all sit on the floor around her, she would play the guitar, and we would all sing a song together. I couldn't understand what they were singing, but I could see she would sing one part of the song, then she would say someone's name or point to them. The next part of the song would be sung with that person's name in it, and they would get to go home first. My classmates loved this, but I hated it. It annoyed me because I couldn't understand what they were singing, but if I am honest, l hated it mainly because of how happy they all were. I definitely wasn't happy. I cried myself to sleep nearly every night. I eventually started having separate English lessons, which I enjoyed more because it took me out of the classroom. It was always daunting coming to school because I felt everyone was looking at me or speaking about me. For months, my dad would stand with me outside the school gates in the morning until it was time to go in. One day I came back into the classroom from my English lesson. We sat down, and everyone was extra-excited, looking at me more than usual for some reason. Of course, I thought it was because I was a refugee, because I couldn't speak English, or because they couldn't pronounce my name. I was bracing myself for another afternoon of my classmates encouraging me to sing. This was probably the closest I came to running out. So we were all sitting on the floor around Miss Webster. She was holding her guitar, ready to sing. I remember the sun shining through the tall, narrow windows as I slowly drifted into a daydream of being back in Bosnia. She began playing the guitar, my classmates joined in, but this time, everything was different. I froze. I understood what they were signing. Not because I had miraculously learned English in one afternoon, but because they were singing in Bosnian for me. I looked around in shock, and they were all smiling at me, and for a moment I thought I was daydreaming. While I was having separate English lessons, Miss Webster had taught our entire class to sing this song for me in Bosnian. They sang it terribly, but it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. I skipped home that day with a huge smile on my face. For the first time, I looked forward to going back to school the next day. I have often imagined Miss Webster and my classmates rehearsing, struggling with the strange Bosnian words and laughing at themselves. For me, that effort was the ultimate recognition, an act of peace that felt like the opposite of everything I had known during the war. It was special. I do not know if they realised it then, but that moment helped to give me back my dignity, my belonging, and, for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel like I was just a refugee or an outsider. I was home.
September 3, 2025 at 8:59 PM
chrisdarby.bsky.social
If you are New, or live near York, tell all your friends about this camp show!
awkwardprods.co.uk #FitPrince #UntrueDiana #GwynethGoesSkiing @awkwardprods.co.uk · Sep 3
Gwyneth Goes Skiing is heading back to New York and SoHo Playhouse for a 6 week run!

Our run back in January sold out entirely - now we're back Oct 8-Nov 16.

A run like this is an absolute dream come true, beyond gwexcited and can't gwait to see you there! 😍🎿

🎟 in bio
September 3, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Reposted by Chris Darby
jackfifield.uk
"We want the police to police the streets not tweets" says Wes Streeting, in the wake of Graham Linehan's arrest, on Radio 4 this morning.

You literally just banned people from tweeting support for Palestine Action!

Does free speech only apply when it comes to bashing trans people?
September 3, 2025 at 7:21 AM