Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · 14d

This looks so cool.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 14d

Kindred spirits: the exhibition exploring our endless fascination with ghosts

Visualising the Supernatural at Kunstmuseum Basel charts how spooks and ghouls in artworks reflect shifting anxieties about everything from technology to sex

www.theguardian.com

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Sep 6

I don’t remember ordering this book (I did order the other one) #magic #paranormal #acorah #medium

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Aug 28

Looking forward to getting stuck into this @spr1882.bsky.social

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Aug 21

Shit

www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...

Brent Hinds, ex-Mastodon lead guitarist, killed in motorcycle crash

Musician exited heavy metal band in March after 25 years

www.independent.co.uk

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Aug 18

Can you help out with my PhD student's research into paranormal beliefs and experiences, please?

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Aug 18

So pleased to have been included in this piece by the
@timeshighered.bsky.social on critical thinking in teaching and research www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/criti...

Critical thinking in teaching and research

Practical strategies and advice for university educators and researchers to develop and teach the skills to analyse, evaluate, understand and communicate knowledge in an information-saturated world

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Aug 13

Nice review by @dorianlynskey.bsky.social of Ben Machell's book on Tony Cornell @spr1882.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

Chasing the Dark by Ben Machell review – the original ghostbuster

An entrancing biography of Tony Cornell, who displayed a scientist’s commitment to impartiality as he investigated the paranormal

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Malcolm Schofield

The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · Aug 2

The witch hunts of 1400-1780 and today's misinformation crisis have striking parallels.

Both were fueled by new media technologies that allowed false information to spread rapidly and widely. buff.ly/6RFALyJ By Julie Walsh @wellesley.edu

From printing presses to Facebook feeds: What yesterday’s witch hunts have in common with today’s misinformation crisis

Who bears responsibility when false information leads to real harm?

buff.ly

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Reposted by Malcolm Schofield

Cambridge Skeptics @cambskeptics.bsky.social · Jul 27

Astronomers predict that the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which begins surveying the night sky this year, could spot dozens more interstellar objects over the next decade, reports Marina Koren for National Geographic. archive.ph/VEsEQ www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

Are interstellar objects proof of alien life? This could finally settle the debate.

The Vera Rubin telescope is poised to kick off an explosive era of discovery. "It's like old-fashioned astronomy: Find the thing, point telescopes at it, argue about it. It's going to be fun."

www.nationalgeographic.com

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Jul 24

Fantastic talk from @afwilson.bsky.social on Making Armageddon Great Again

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Jul 22

Sad news

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...

Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath frontman and icon of British heavy metal, dies aged 76

The singer, who later became famous on reality TV show The Osbournes, dies less than three weeks after retirement concert

www.theguardian.com

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Jul 20

Had a great time talking to Katie Tyler on BBC Radio Solent about horror films (around the 41-minute mark). www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Katie Tyler on BBC Radio Solent - 20/07/2025 - BBC Sounds

Katie brings you joyful Sunday mid-morning vibes, big guests and great music.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Jul 18

Some recent book purchases about spaces #gaston #uketsu #office, inspired by #houseofleaves

Reposted by Malcolm Schofield

Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · Jul 10

Grok has been designed to replicate Musk's own online radicalisation process, step by terrible step. First, you treat all mainstream information as biased. Then you gorge yourself on know-nothing crap online. And then you realise you've become a Nazi inews.co.uk/opinion/elon...

Elon Musk's AI has turned into Hitler precisely because of his own radicalisation

The billionaire has journeyed from a much-admired tech entrepreneur to a man doing the Nazi salute in public

inews.co.uk

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Reposted by Malcolm Schofield

Pessimists Archive @pessimistsarc.bsky.social · Jul 2

The Walkman was released this week in 1979, a few years later multiple US states tried to criminalize using a Walkman… newsletter.pessimistsarchive.org/p/the-forgot...

The Forgotten War on the Walkman

The Sony Walkman is now iconic of the 1980s, eliciting nostalgia for the ‘good old days’ of owning music, rather than renting it.

newsletter.pessimistsarchive.org

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Reposted by Malcolm Schofield

Society for Psychical Research @spr1882.bsky.social · Jun 25

The Council House Theory: Were Britain’s Poltergeists A Product Of Social Desperation? An in-depth look at the “council house theory” of paranormal activity: really-haunted.com/the-council-...

The Council House Theory: Were Britain’s Poltergeists a Product of Social Desperation? - Really Haunted

An in-depth look at the "council house theory" of paranormal activity, examining famous cases like the Enfield Poltergeist and 30 East Drive.

really-haunted.com

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Jun 25

Really happy to have been involved in this paper on hoping and waiting for rescue with Prof Paul Gilbert and the Compassionate Mind Foundation bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

<em>Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice</em> | BPS Journal | Wiley Online Library

Background It is clinically recognised that some people find it difficult to engage with or commit to self-help for life difficulties. This may be due to various reasons such as experiences of helpl.....

bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Jun 23

Demonic Possession: SSE's "Anomalies 101" Webinar
July 16, 2025 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM CDT
Live Zoom Event with Álex Escolà-Gascón, Ph.D
scientificexploration.org/2025-Demonic...

Society for Scientific Exploration - 2025 Demonic Possession Webinar

scientificexploration.org

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Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Jun 12

Given how much Wirksworth has grown over the past couple of decades, this is terrible news.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Adult education centres to shut across Derbyshire

Centres in Alfreton, Ashbourne, Glossop, Long Eaton, Matlock, Shirebrook and Wirksworth will close.

www.bbc.co.uk

Malcolm Schofield @malcschofield.bsky.social · Jun 9

Welcome to our new President @kpunews.bsky.social 😄

Society for Psychical Research @spr1882.bsky.social · Jun 9

New President of the SPR! We have said goodbye to Prof Adrian Parker as president (though he has been elected a vice-president of the Society) and we welcome a new one: www.spr.ac.uk/NewPresident

New President of the SPR | spr.ac.uk

www.spr.ac.uk

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Reposted by Malcolm Schofield

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · May 21

'An undead god is the ultimate outsider, the ultimate other...' My review of @kjsoar.bsky.social's terrific collection of short stories about unquiet deities for British Library Tales of the Weird, 'Return of the Ancients': drfrancisyoung.com/2025/05/21/u...

Unquiet gods

Katy Soar (ed.), Return of the Ancients: Unruly Tales of the Mythological Weird (British Library Publishing, 2025), 319pp. “For months now I have resisted and I can resist no longer. I’m going to t…

drfrancisyoung.com

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Reposted by Malcolm Schofield

Hayley Stevens @hayleyisaghost.bsky.social · May 20

Astrology has gone digital but has it gone legit?

In my latest for The Skeptic I explore how algorithm-driven apps are reshaping astrology’s image, and what that means for science communication in the age of AI.

Read it here: www.skeptic.org.uk/2025/05/algo...