Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 1d

43) The New New Thing by Michael Lewis

I would read this man’s shopping list. Even if his subjects fall short the sentence-to-sentence writing is a marvel

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#BookSky

1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 1d

42) The Double Cross System by JC Masterman

The guy who created Britain’s double-cross spy system during WWII. Some of the hi-jinks are amazing, like the time they realised the only way not to blow an agent’s cover was to fake blowing up an arms dump…by blowing it up for real

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#BookSky

1 1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 1d

“They probably assumed that somebody with his kind of needs and lifestyle didn’t have anybody. They didn’t care.”

The details in this @lgeraghty23.bsky.social piece will teach you a lot about how the deaths of homeless people are treated

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: Debby Wakeham didn't learn about the death of her son, Richard Sanders, in a London homeless hostel, until nine days after the fact

Five months on, she's still desperately searching for answers

A reminder: 1,611 people died while homeless in 2024

www.bigissue.com/news/housing...

One mum's months-long ordeal to find out how her son died in a homeless hostel

Richard Sanders died in a homeless hostel in Brixton on 14 May. His mum Debby Wakeham didn’t find out until nine days later.

www.bigissue.com

1 1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 2d

Politicians know they're not trusted. As he became prime minister, Keir Starmer said: “The fight for trust is the battle that defines our political era.”

It's a fight politicians seem to be losing even against celebrity game show contestants

www.bigissue.com/culture/tv/r...

Revealed: Brits trust Claudia Winkleman more than Rachel Reeves

Celebrity Traitors or British politicians – who would Brits more? We asked Ipsos to run a poll to find out. And the results are damning.

www.bigissue.com

1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 2d

📺 The public trust the cast of Celebrity Traitors more than the UK's leading politicians

With Celebrity Traitors kicking off tonight, @bigissue.com asked @ipsosintheuk.bsky.social to find out who's more trusted: celebs going to a castle to lie to each other on telly, or the UK's politicians

1 1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 2d

If you want to really understand the courts politicians spend so much time talking about, go and sit in the back of one of the rooms

Or just read this:

www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

A day inside the drab asylum court at the heart of plans to close migrant hotels

Keir Starmer's government has promised to speed up the asylum appeals process. We went to court to find how realistic that is.

www.bigissue.com

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 2d

I spent a day in the immigration tribunals Robert Jenrick wants to abolish recently

The reality? Judges don't get much time to impose their political views - they're too busy chasing lawyers and experts for paperwork

Delayed cases, locked doors, and angry judges

1 1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 9d

41) Angeball by @vincerugari.com

I was listening to the audiobook of this as Postecoglu got sacked by Spurs. It paints a fascinating, often moving portrait of someone going beyond football - using sport and achievement to bring meaning to individuals, communities, and countries

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐⭐

1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 9d

40) Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

First book of Adichie's I've read - entertaining, and comes together well. Ifemelu is a great character, but I didn't click with the blog posts. Gives a good glimpse into how class and wealth don't count for much in hostile environments

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐

1 1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 16d

39) Blow Your House Down by Pat Barker

A proper gem, this. The story of life and murder among a group of sex workers in a northern city. Beautifully told, poignant social realism that doesn't look down its nose.

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐⭐

1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 16d

38) The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The only Hemingway I've read that didn't make me feel sentimental. And that was with reading it on the beach in San Sebastian where the main character swims at the end

Goes well with sloppy tortilla, mind

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐

1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 16d

NEW: The Hack, ITV's drama about the phone-hacking scandal begins tonight. Daniel Morgan's murder tangles with the hacking storyline

His brother Alastair wasn't involved w/the show. He told @bigissue.com his thoughts- and if he blames Starmer for dropping the case

www.bigissue.com/culture/tv/t...

Daniel Morgan's murder was never solved. Can ITV's The Hack shake justice loose?

Alastair Morgan's brother Daniel was killed in a pub car park in 1987. Now the murder is the subject of ITV's The Hack.

www.bigissue.com

1 4

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 17d

Thanks! Just very general top-line coverage of the stories (Guardian etc etc) helped, laying out some of the complex allegations in quite basic terms. A lot of them were quite gray, and became less so in hindsight imo. Not reading the physical book didn’t help, as only so many times you can rewind!

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 17d

37) The Two Popes by Anthony McCarten

Great portrait of two fallible men in an 'infallible' post. The stuff on Francis' past is fascinating and often missing in his popular image. He's a complicated figure. But often the audiobook was so tangly I was reading news articles to clarify

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐

2 1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 17d

36) Talk to Me by Dean Nelson

Great guide on interviewing. The bits on securing interviews are really useful. Recommend for new or experienced journos

His take on calling sources back to verify quotes (thinks it's ethical and helpful) is interesting too!

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐

1 3

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 17d

35) From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming

Exciting, nice to read Bond as a proper spy

Should add: I know you expect some 'this has aged badly' stuff with Bond but...I don't think that explains away the part where a female character makes Bond promise to beat her if she eats too much

#BookSky

⭐⭐⭐

1 1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · 18d

Saw a proper mad Instagram reel that Declan Rice had donated £14m to a housing project in Tower Hamlets

Googled it and the AI summary backed it up, telling users about the donation

Did some journalism - it’s not true. Experts say it’s a classic case of AI dangers

www.bigissue.com/news/housing...

No, Arsenal's Declan Rice didn't donate £14m to house homeless families

Google's AI summary is telling users Arsenal footballer Declan Rice donated £14m to a London housing project. But the story's not true.

www.bigissue.com

1 2

Reposted by Greg Barradale

Andrew Chadwick @andrewchadwick.com · 21d

Happy to help @gregbarradale.bsky.social with this story for @bigissue.com.

Is it too much to expect platforms' AI summaries to at least get the big things right?

Have a read.

Loughborough University PR @lboropr.bsky.social · 21d

'This is the latest in a long line of erroneous AI summaries'

Prof @andrewchadwick.com @lborouniversity.bsky.social talks to the The Big Issue

www.bigissue.com/news/housing...

No, Arsenal's Declan Rice didn't donate £14m to house homeless families

Google's AI summary is telling users Arsenal footballer Declan Rice donated £14m to a London housing project. But the story's not true.

www.bigissue.com

1 1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · Sep 9

34/x: Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

For about half of its 270 pages, you've no idea what's going on or what the sentences mean. Then it suddenly all falls into place and it's as good as sci-fi gets. Ambitious, rich, a bit mad

Fun fact: It's the fake film they're making in Argo

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#BookSky

1 1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · Sep 9

33/x: The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach [email protected]

Ordering this on Vinted might be the most 'get a life' moment I've ever had

But the stuff on overlapping audiences and truth through multiple stories is dead insightful + holds up well. Useful little textbook

⭐⭐⭐

#BookSky

2 1 5

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · Sep 9

Back at it with my favourite benign use of social media -- short book reviews! Now with star ratings!

I will not fail you, 2025 books thread, even if there is a backlog to clear

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · Sep 9

32/x: Berlin Diary by William L. Shirer

The diary of a foreign correspondent in Berlin as the Nazis take power and wage war. A gripping piece of history, and a touchstone account of journalism under pressure

Bonus points for descriptions of drunk diplomats as 'in their cups'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#BookSky

1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · Sep 9

32/x: Berlin Diary by William L. Shirer

The diary of a foreign correspondent in Berlin as the Nazis take power and wage war. A gripping piece of history, and a touchstone account of journalism under pressure

Bonus points for descriptions of drunk diplomats as 'in their cups'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#BookSky

1 1 1

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · Sep 9

31/x: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

I really thought it was going to turn out that the butler was a robot. Not sure why Lovely, understated, deft book that unfolds wonderfully at the end. Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way, and all that

⭐⭐⭐⭐

#BookSky

A black copy of The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

1 2

Greg Barradale @gregbarradale.bsky.social · Sep 9

🚨Over 100 people have died in Scotland after taking nitazenes, a synthetic opioid contaminating the drugs supply

But even more could have died if it wasn't for one innovation: the UK's first safer consumption room

Staff tell me how it's saved lives in near-misses

www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Scotland grapples with growing nitazene deaths

Scotland is Europe's drug deaths capital. But a new threat from synthetic opioids like nitazenes is making it harder to save lives

www.bigissue.com

2