Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Chris

Hunter Walker

@hunterw.bsky.social

This is the story Bari Weiss apparently doesn't want you to hear.

Trump has been sending people to the camps. talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things...

Trump Is Sending People To The Camps

“More than a prison, El Salvador’s CECOT has many if not all...

talkingpointsmemo.com

December 22, 2025 at 1:30 AM

Reposted by Chris

A Whole Damn Town!

@im.a.whole.damn.town

Twin Peaks: Leland Palmer cries atop Laura’s coffin at her funeral.

Leland Palmer cries atop Laura’s coffin at her funeral. Twin Peaks S01E04 - Rest in Pain.

December 14, 2025 at 12:00 PM

Reposted by Chris

Robin Ince

@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

Reposted by Chris

onion person

@junlper.beer

December 12, 2025 at 3:42 AM

Reposted by Chris

✪ Holly Jolly Jonathan H. Gray ✪

@jongraywb.bsky.social

Simply
having
a wonderful
Christmas time!

*louder* Simply having a wonderful Christmas time!

*angrier* Simply having a wonderful Christmas time!

*crying* Simply having a wonderful Christmas time!

**SCREAMING** SIMPLY HAVING A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TIME!

**throwing up** SIMPLY HAVING A WONDERFUL—

December 7, 2024 at 10:49 PM

Chris

@csdoir3.bsky.social

To Bring You My Love

November 19, 2025 at 3:00 AM

Chris

@csdoir3.bsky.social

I keep conflating Larry Summers with Larry Sellers the Lebowski thief

a blank eyed middle schooler who betrays no sense of guilt over stealing the Dude's car.

November 17, 2025 at 9:07 PM

Chris

@csdoir3.bsky.social

Gorguts

November 15, 2025 at 12:37 AM

Reposted by Chris

NPR

@npr.org

In a 2005 interview, the actor said that in his twenties, he was carrying the load of "everyone's masterpieces." He worked closely with directors including Akira Kurosawa and Masaki Kobayashi. n.pr/4o3J8Xm

Tatsuya Nakadai, an icon of Japanese cinema, has died at 92

In a 2005 interview, the actor said that in his twenties, he was carrying the load of "everyone's masterpieces." He worked closely with directors including Akira Kurosawa and Masaki Kobayashi.

n.pr

November 13, 2025 at 1:06 AM

Reposted by Chris

A Whole Damn Town!

@im.a.whole.damn.town

Twin Peaks: Donna and her sister, Harriet.

Donna and her sister, Harriet. Twin Peaks S01E01 - Northwest Passage.

November 12, 2025 at 1:30 AM

Chris

@csdoir3.bsky.social

BORIS

November 5, 2025 at 2:20 AM

Reposted by Chris

Chaucer Doth Tweet

@levostregc.bsky.social

Repost yf you are an educator usinge Canvas and it ys down by cause of the fragile nature of internet oligopoly ... (no definite purpose, just solidaritye).

October 20, 2025 at 8:41 PM

Reposted by Chris

danielgorman20

@danielgorman20.bsky.social

don’t sleep on Tourneur’s Cat People for all your spooky watchlist needs, still a total stunner:

October 17, 2025 at 1:02 AM

Reposted by Chris

Aquarium Drunkard

@aquariumdrunkard.com

Animal, Surrender! :: A Boot For Every Bane

aquariumdrunkard.com/2025/10/07/a...

Not sure how many eight-string bass / pipe organ / drums trios there are out there, but I’m going to go ahead and declare the Brooklyn-based Animal, Surrender! as the very best of them all.

October 7, 2025 at 8:59 PM

Reposted by Chris

NPR

@npr.org

As accusations of genocide in Gaza mount against Israel, NPR looks at how the term is defined legally and why previously reticent scholars have changed their minds.

A question of intent: Is what's happening in Gaza genocide?

As accusations of genocide in Gaza mount against Israel, NPR looks at how the term is defined legally and why previously reticent scholars have changed their minds.

n.pr

September 27, 2025 at 2:31 PM

Reposted by Chris

Ashton Pittman

@ashtonpittman.bsky.social

EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS infuriating, deplorable account of what one trans woman in the U.K. has gone through as a result of the country's shifting laws (particularly as they have moved toward explicit hatred this year).

Just read it. My God.

Sarah has a suggestion @goatsarah.org · Aug 29

I want to explain a few things and then it might be clearer why UK trans people are upset.
In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia.
In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)

August 30, 2025 at 8:11 PM

Reposted by Chris

Coach Finstock

@coachfinstock.bsky.social

Singing this to the tune of "If You're Happy And You Know It"

If you're proud of what you're doing show your face

August 20, 2025 at 6:18 PM

Reposted by Chris

David_j_roth

@davidjroth.bsky.social

This is such a good local angle on the Jack Reacher: Oyster Farming Progressive guy running against Susan Collins in Maine. I would maybe have photographed the oyster from further away, is my only note. www.midcoastvillager.com/life/it-s-a-...

It’s a Very Dynamic Flavor

Graham Platner’s Senate run begs the question: how are the oysters?

www.midcoastvillager.com

August 20, 2025 at 7:15 PM

Reposted by Chris

Carl Quintanilla

@carlquintanilla.bsky.social

Someone finally wrote the data-center/electricity inflation story.

@nytimes.com #CPI
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/b...

August 14, 2025 at 8:47 PM

Reposted by Chris

Dr. Jens Foell

@jensfoell.de

"Haha, yeah the AI gets this basic stuff wrong, but it excels at summarizing tax law or complicated literature."

MY BROTHER IN CHRIST IT'S JUST THAT YOU CAN'T TELL IN THOSE CASES BECAUSE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ENOUGH TAX LAW OR COMPLICATED LITERATURE

WHY ARE WE EVEN DOING THIS

Brian Shea @brianshea.org · Aug 8

"Flerda"

"Missorti"

"Missa"

I approve of these three changes

August 8, 2025 at 12:05 PM

Reposted by Chris

Ed Zitron

@edzitron.com

Newsletter: AI is a money trap, with AI companies' ridiculous valuations and unsustainable businesses making exits or IPOs impossible. Elsewhere, data center developers have no exit route either, and US economic growth has become shouldered entirely by big tech.

www.wheresyoured.at/ai-is-a-mone...