DominicSelwood
@dominicselwood.bsky.social
Historian ★ Author ★ Novelist ★ Barrister ★ Typography ★ Hack photography ★ Löud guitar ★ Honorary Research Fellow
University of Exeter
University of Exeter
A while back I had a lovely chat with Alice Roberts in the Bodleian about all things King Arthur. Turns out someone was filming ... . On Sky History this evening
February 3, 2026 at 4:34 PM
A while back I had a lovely chat with Alice Roberts in the Bodleian about all things King Arthur. Turns out someone was filming ... . On Sky History this evening
Brilliant to see the Tale of the 47 Rōnin (the Akō incident) in the British Museum's stunning new show 'Samurai'. It's one of the best stories ever. Pure bushidō. Duty, honour, protocol, louche living, courage, revenge, sacrifice, and really quite a lot of seppuku.
January 30, 2026 at 7:33 AM
Brilliant to see the Tale of the 47 Rōnin (the Akō incident) in the British Museum's stunning new show 'Samurai'. It's one of the best stories ever. Pure bushidō. Duty, honour, protocol, louche living, courage, revenge, sacrifice, and really quite a lot of seppuku.
Damn! I love the French. “We do prefer respect to bullies. We do prefer science to obscurantism. And we do prefer rule of law to brutality.” Principled. Confident. Meaningful. And not dumbing it down conceptually or in vocabulary. Obscurantism is one hundred per cent le mot juste.
January 20, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Damn! I love the French. “We do prefer respect to bullies. We do prefer science to obscurantism. And we do prefer rule of law to brutality.” Principled. Confident. Meaningful. And not dumbing it down conceptually or in vocabulary. Obscurantism is one hundred per cent le mot juste.
U.S. has approx 11,000 military in UK, and uses approx 6 RAF facilities as forward operating fighter/bomber bases, intel, comms, missile warning.
How does this coexist with tarrifs on UK for upholding art. 5 of NATO treaty?
This is global chaos.
How does this coexist with tarrifs on UK for upholding art. 5 of NATO treaty?
This is global chaos.
January 18, 2026 at 7:29 AM
U.S. has approx 11,000 military in UK, and uses approx 6 RAF facilities as forward operating fighter/bomber bases, intel, comms, missile warning.
How does this coexist with tarrifs on UK for upholding art. 5 of NATO treaty?
This is global chaos.
How does this coexist with tarrifs on UK for upholding art. 5 of NATO treaty?
This is global chaos.
When leaders seize leaders to project power. Hitler, Otto Skorzeny, and the seizure of Mussolini from the Gran Sasso massif in the Apennines, 12 September 1943.
youtu.be/eCxuGakhWLM
youtu.be/eCxuGakhWLM
Trump Seizes Maduro – Hitler’s “Gran Sasso Raid” – Otto Skorzeny Seizes Mussolini – Dominic Selwood
YouTube video by Dominic Selwood
youtu.be
January 4, 2026 at 4:09 PM
When leaders seize leaders to project power. Hitler, Otto Skorzeny, and the seizure of Mussolini from the Gran Sasso massif in the Apennines, 12 September 1943.
youtu.be/eCxuGakhWLM
youtu.be/eCxuGakhWLM
Why ethno-nationalsm has never been part of Britain's identity. Me talking to @SimonMarksFSN on LBC. Starts at 7:45. youtu.be/H2xC7nkcTos?...
'Here is why being born in the UK doesn't make you more British': Simon Marks
YouTube video by LBC
youtu.be
December 31, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Why ethno-nationalsm has never been part of Britain's identity. Me talking to @SimonMarksFSN on LBC. Starts at 7:45. youtu.be/H2xC7nkcTos?...
My happy place! Some very fun FORBIDDEN HISTORY podcasts coming soon!
December 30, 2025 at 6:32 PM
My happy place! Some very fun FORBIDDEN HISTORY podcasts coming soon!
I think if ever it's a choice between a grailly grail and any other kind of grail, I'm going with the grailly one.
December 26, 2025 at 6:59 AM
I think if ever it's a choice between a grailly grail and any other kind of grail, I'm going with the grailly one.
Psychopomp at the Water Rats in Camden. 11 December. ‘Rocking the classics hard so you don’t have to’. Tickets £10 via QR code or link.
s6946974.sendpul.se/sl/MjcwNjExM...
s6946974.sendpul.se/sl/MjcwNjExM...
October 24, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Psychopomp at the Water Rats in Camden. 11 December. ‘Rocking the classics hard so you don’t have to’. Tickets £10 via QR code or link.
s6946974.sendpul.se/sl/MjcwNjExM...
s6946974.sendpul.se/sl/MjcwNjExM...
The two oldest monarchies in the world get together properly after a few centuries of time out. Pope Leo XIV and KIng Charles III sit on thrones dating back respectively to AD 756 and AD 927.
October 23, 2025 at 11:01 AM
The two oldest monarchies in the world get together properly after a few centuries of time out. Pope Leo XIV and KIng Charles III sit on thrones dating back respectively to AD 756 and AD 927.
This should be standard governmental issue to every home in the land.
October 13, 2025 at 8:24 AM
This should be standard governmental issue to every home in the land.
Loving the graffitti art at Canterbury Cathedral. Great lettering! To those sad at the change to the grey purity, worth remembering that before the Reformation churches and cathedrals were a Dulux catalogue of colours and images from which visitors learned church teachings.
October 11, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Loving the graffitti art at Canterbury Cathedral. Great lettering! To those sad at the change to the grey purity, worth remembering that before the Reformation churches and cathedrals were a Dulux catalogue of colours and images from which visitors learned church teachings.
I have to say, we rocked hard at the 100 Club! What a blast!
October 10, 2025 at 3:39 PM
I have to say, we rocked hard at the 100 Club! What a blast!
Which London stage has hosted Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Scott, BB King, Chuck Berry, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, Eddie Grant, Alice Cooper, The New York Dolls ...
October 8, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Which London stage has hosted Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Scott, BB King, Chuck Berry, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, Eddie Grant, Alice Cooper, The New York Dolls ...
Brilliant trip down memory lane in the @guardian's article on Tipper Gore and the PMRC in the 1980s. An entirely absurd moral panic over rock music lyrics. Naturally the stickers became badges of approval guaranteeing zillions of sales.
www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...
www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...
October 5, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Brilliant trip down memory lane in the @guardian's article on Tipper Gore and the PMRC in the 1980s. An entirely absurd moral panic over rock music lyrics. Naturally the stickers became badges of approval guaranteeing zillions of sales.
www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...
www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...
The Bible is an unusual anthology. Certain passages are very familiar, others not so much. Especially the Old Testament. I loaded Ezekiel’s description of a cherub (and a few directions on style, lighting, etc.) into AI. Pretty pleased with the result!
October 4, 2025 at 6:07 PM
The Bible is an unusual anthology. Certain passages are very familiar, others not so much. Especially the Old Testament. I loaded Ezekiel’s description of a cherub (and a few directions on style, lighting, etc.) into AI. Pretty pleased with the result!
The beautiful Parthenon, with all its many traumas, records millennia of history. Left = c19th Parthenon before reconstruction. Right = Selene's horses from East Pediment. Top is cast of horse in British Museum. Middle and bottom are original sculptures in Akropolis Museum.
September 29, 2025 at 12:07 PM
The beautiful Parthenon, with all its many traumas, records millennia of history. Left = c19th Parthenon before reconstruction. Right = Selene's horses from East Pediment. Top is cast of horse in British Museum. Middle and bottom are original sculptures in Akropolis Museum.
Good people! Psychopomp hit the legendary 100 Club stage at 8.40 pm on 9 October, a week and half away! All the bands look amazing, and it's going to be a fabulous evening! As Worzel Gummidge would say: "Screw your Rock head on!".
September 28, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Good people! Psychopomp hit the legendary 100 Club stage at 8.40 pm on 9 October, a week and half away! All the bands look amazing, and it's going to be a fabulous evening! As Worzel Gummidge would say: "Screw your Rock head on!".
Yep! I can totally come up with some branding that screams 'mega cool sunglasses emporium'. Trust me I've got this.
September 28, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Yep! I can totally come up with some branding that screams 'mega cool sunglasses emporium'. Trust me I've got this.
European Heritage day here in Athens, and free entry to the Akropolis Museum means it is heaving! What a fabulous sight (and site)!
September 28, 2025 at 4:11 PM
European Heritage day here in Athens, and free entry to the Akropolis Museum means it is heaving! What a fabulous sight (and site)!
Don't know why people are down on London. Glorious blend of old and new. Woken this morning by a soundscape of the clacking hooves of a trotting horse and, in the background, the persistent warble of a police siren ascending an unfeasibly long hill. #UKDoingFine
September 26, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Don't know why people are down on London. Glorious blend of old and new. Woken this morning by a soundscape of the clacking hooves of a trotting horse and, in the background, the persistent warble of a police siren ascending an unfeasibly long hill. #UKDoingFine
‘The Marbles’ is out. It is a film made to support the case for the UK Parliament to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. The director — a super guy — kindly allowed space for me to put a contrary point of view.
September 22, 2025 at 7:34 PM
‘The Marbles’ is out. It is a film made to support the case for the UK Parliament to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. The director — a super guy — kindly allowed space for me to put a contrary point of view.
Today I shall be mostly reading about a suffragette called Nelippy Hay. Please can Nelippy be one of those cool names you never heard and then suddenly it's everywhere?
September 20, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Today I shall be mostly reading about a suffragette called Nelippy Hay. Please can Nelippy be one of those cool names you never heard and then suddenly it's everywhere?
In suitably Spinal Tap style I managed to get my finger over the lens ... 🤘🏽
September 13, 2025 at 6:55 PM
In suitably Spinal Tap style I managed to get my finger over the lens ... 🤘🏽
The most prolific killer after Mao, Stalin, Hitler (in that order) was likely Genghis Khan (C12-13th). Do listen for a quick immersion in his life, worldview and Mongol domination. Me in conversation with Iain Dale. Civilian-slaughtering maniacs are always with us.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/2...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/2...
219. Genghis Khan – Mongolia (1206-1227)
Podcast Episode · Presidents, Prime Ministers, Monarchs & Dictators · 07/09/2025 · 27m
podcasts.apple.com
September 10, 2025 at 6:56 AM
The most prolific killer after Mao, Stalin, Hitler (in that order) was likely Genghis Khan (C12-13th). Do listen for a quick immersion in his life, worldview and Mongol domination. Me in conversation with Iain Dale. Civilian-slaughtering maniacs are always with us.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/2...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/2...