Jos Betts
@josbetts.bsky.social
Senior editor @newlinesmag.bsky.social
A history essay I wrote for Halloween about ancient Egypt, Aleister Crowley, the Black occultist Rollo Ahmed, and what practitioners thought magic was really for in early C20 Britain, in @newlinesmag.bsky.social : newlinesmag.com/essays/the-m...
The Magic of Egypt in Interwar Britain
The land of Osiris and Set was hugely important to two of the period’s occultists, though in very different ways
newlinesmag.com
October 31, 2025 at 1:35 PM
A history essay I wrote for Halloween about ancient Egypt, Aleister Crowley, the Black occultist Rollo Ahmed, and what practitioners thought magic was really for in early C20 Britain, in @newlinesmag.bsky.social : newlinesmag.com/essays/the-m...
Reposted by Jos Betts
NEW: The launch of a new left-wing party in the U.K. shows political fragmentation may not be quickly reversed, & comes at a time when small electoral changes could have outsize effects, argue @josbetts.bsky.social & @lsmwilson.bsky.social in @newlinesmag.bsky.social
newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...
newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...
The UK’s Fragmenting Politics
The launch of a new party on the left is another sign that the country is entering uncharted territory
newlinesmag.com
July 30, 2025 at 3:41 PM
NEW: The launch of a new left-wing party in the U.K. shows political fragmentation may not be quickly reversed, & comes at a time when small electoral changes could have outsize effects, argue @josbetts.bsky.social & @lsmwilson.bsky.social in @newlinesmag.bsky.social
newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...
newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...
Reposted by Jos Betts
NEW: Chants at the Glastonbury festival protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza have drawn the outrage of Britain’s media and politicians. Still, a turning point has been reached for artists and the public, argues @idreesahmad.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social.
newlinesmag.com/argument/bey...
newlinesmag.com/argument/bey...
Beyond Glastonbury’s Gaza Controversy
Chants against the Israeli military led by the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan have drawn outrage, but the underlying story is one of mounting horror at the war from artists and the public
newlinesmag.com
July 8, 2025 at 11:54 AM
NEW: Chants at the Glastonbury festival protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza have drawn the outrage of Britain’s media and politicians. Still, a turning point has been reached for artists and the public, argues @idreesahmad.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social.
newlinesmag.com/argument/bey...
newlinesmag.com/argument/bey...
Reposted by Jos Betts
If you read one thing about Iran and Israel today, have it be this @newlinesmag.bsky.social essay on propaganda by Nahid Siamdoust. newlinesmag.com/argument/bom...
Bombarded by Propaganda, the Iranian People Are Uniting Behind an Anti-War Message
A public mood is coalescing as narratives from both Israel and the regime of the Islamic Republic jostle for position across networks and airwaves
newlinesmag.com
June 20, 2025 at 6:41 PM
If you read one thing about Iran and Israel today, have it be this @newlinesmag.bsky.social essay on propaganda by Nahid Siamdoust. newlinesmag.com/argument/bom...
Reposted by Jos Betts
‘He read voraciously but fitfully, often preferring shlock from railway stalls to the Great Books he claimed to revere.’
@michaelledgerlomas.bsky.social on the prolific writings of WIlliam Morris: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@michaelledgerlomas.bsky.social on the prolific writings of WIlliam Morris: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Michael Ledger-Lomas · Hairy Teutons: What William Morris Wanted
William Morris wrote with appalling fluency. Composing verse on trains or while sat at the loom, he could turn out a...
www.lrb.co.uk
May 11, 2025 at 8:22 AM
‘He read voraciously but fitfully, often preferring shlock from railway stalls to the Great Books he claimed to revere.’
@michaelledgerlomas.bsky.social on the prolific writings of WIlliam Morris: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@michaelledgerlomas.bsky.social on the prolific writings of WIlliam Morris: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Jos Betts
Badar’s fellowship is partially subsidized by the Scholars at Risk program, which works with U.S. universities to host international scholars facing threats in their countries. He never imagined that a country with a Scholars at Risk program would one day pose a risk to scholars.
A powerful essay ⤵️
A powerful essay ⤵️
NEW: The detention of Georgetown University postdoctoral fellow Badar Khan Suri parallels the cases of Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk. His colleague Nader Hashemi reflects for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on his recent visit with Suri in an ICE facility in Texas.
newlinesmag.com/first-person...
newlinesmag.com/first-person...
Teaching Gandhi in a Texas Detention Center
A visit to the ICE facility housing the Georgetown postdoctoral fellow Badar Khan Suri, whose case parallels those of Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk
newlinesmag.com
April 23, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Badar’s fellowship is partially subsidized by the Scholars at Risk program, which works with U.S. universities to host international scholars facing threats in their countries. He never imagined that a country with a Scholars at Risk program would one day pose a risk to scholars.
A powerful essay ⤵️
A powerful essay ⤵️
Reposted by Jos Betts
NEW: What could be wrong with planting trees? In Madagascar, one region is fighting an Italian multinational’s attempts to turn its grazing grounds into carbon offsets, write Daniela Sala, Sara Manisera and Andrianaivomanana Lova for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
newlinesmag.com/reportage/th...
newlinesmag.com/reportage/th...
The Case Against a Carbon Credit Farm in Madagascar
The Italian multinational Tozzi Green has begun planting trees on land that local residents claim was stolen from them
newlinesmag.com
March 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
NEW: What could be wrong with planting trees? In Madagascar, one region is fighting an Italian multinational’s attempts to turn its grazing grounds into carbon offsets, write Daniela Sala, Sara Manisera and Andrianaivomanana Lova for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
newlinesmag.com/reportage/th...
newlinesmag.com/reportage/th...
Reposted by Jos Betts
The world is worried about the jihadism of Syria’s new leaders, but the world may be missing the point, argues Robin Yassin-Kassab @qunfuz.bsky.social in this powerful intervention in the Islamism/secularism debate in post-Assad Syria, for @newlinesmag.bsky.social.
newlinesmag.com/argument/syr...
newlinesmag.com/argument/syr...
Syria Needs a Strong Society, Not a Strongman
The Islamism vs. secularism debate misses the point — the real struggle for the post-Assad state is democracy vs. authoritarianism
newlinesmag.com
January 23, 2025 at 3:37 PM
The world is worried about the jihadism of Syria’s new leaders, but the world may be missing the point, argues Robin Yassin-Kassab @qunfuz.bsky.social in this powerful intervention in the Islamism/secularism debate in post-Assad Syria, for @newlinesmag.bsky.social.
newlinesmag.com/argument/syr...
newlinesmag.com/argument/syr...
Reposted by Jos Betts
The thing about chaos is that the end result is always unpredictable, and Elon Musk's brand of chaos is no exception. By myself and @josbetts.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
NEW: Elon Musk has turned his sights on politics beyond the U.S. The political drama he has caused in Britain suggests that the results may be unpredictable, write @lsmwilson.bsky.social and @josbetts.bsky.social.
newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...
newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...
The Chaotic Power of Elon Musk’s Foreign Political Interventions
The billionaire is pushing a clear agenda, but the drama he caused in Britain suggests the strategy is not without pitfalls
newlinesmag.com
January 15, 2025 at 11:47 AM
The thing about chaos is that the end result is always unpredictable, and Elon Musk's brand of chaos is no exception. By myself and @josbetts.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
Reposted by Jos Betts
There is no better place on the internet to read deep, humane coverage of Syria than @newlinesmag.bsky.social. Just this week we published 6 different Syrian authors. Here's a thread of some of our best writing on Syria, starting here: newlinesmag.com/argument/lib...
Liberation in Syria Is a Victory Worth Embracing
The country is now free, yet some remain trapped in the past
newlinesmag.com
December 13, 2024 at 4:23 PM
There is no better place on the internet to read deep, humane coverage of Syria than @newlinesmag.bsky.social. Just this week we published 6 different Syrian authors. Here's a thread of some of our best writing on Syria, starting here: newlinesmag.com/argument/lib...
Reposted by Jos Betts
My 5th archaeology story for @newlinesmag.bsky.social but this time it's a story of destruction, not excavation. We don't even know what's being destroyed by Israeli bombs in Lebanon- but here's what we do know. History as well as lives are being destroyed. newlinesmag.com/reportage/le...
Lebanon’s Heritage Is Disappearing Under Israel’s Bombardment
The war has already damaged many lesser-known antiquities and poses a threat to sites of global importance
newlinesmag.com
November 13, 2024 at 2:13 PM
My 5th archaeology story for @newlinesmag.bsky.social but this time it's a story of destruction, not excavation. We don't even know what's being destroyed by Israeli bombs in Lebanon- but here's what we do know. History as well as lives are being destroyed. newlinesmag.com/reportage/le...