Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Peter Mandler @petermandler.bsky.social · 35m

Plus everyone (including the Tory party leader) has forgotten that the Conservatives *designed* the current funding system to subsidize degrees with the RAB charge: it was a feature then, not a bug, and now it is a 'rip off'.

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 1h

Something grimly predictable about the way that the conversation about 'ripoff degrees' in the UK is always about degrees that aren't rip-offs, but are instead fairly obvious 'this student has chosen something unlikely to pay off economically' rather than the short tail of crap business degrees:

Everyone needs educating in the fight over university degrees

Political confusion over the purpose of these institutions means the obvious fixes are being neglected

www.ft.com

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Reposted by Peter Mandler

Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 19h

I know statistics are poorly understood and are misused. But facts matter

Between the 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 Census *every* ethnic group in the UK has become *less* geographically segregated and *all* groups, majority and minorities, are more likely to interact with people not like them

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Rebecca Goldsmith @beccagold.bsky.social · 1d

Delighted to be admitted as a research fellow at Lise Jardine’s (and Raymond Williams’) college today, in excellent company @jesuscollegecam.bsky.social

A woman in a black gown stands in front of a portrait of Lisa Jardine, smiling

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Peter Mandler @petermandler.bsky.social · 1d

Higher education as defined in these statistics is almost entirely university education. I don't know what else you are thinking about. It does not include (non-degree) apprenticeships, FE or other kinds of post-school 'training'.

Peter Mandler @petermandler.bsky.social · 1d

They now use a different measure, CHEP, for participation in higher education to age 25, and as of 2023 it was at 49%. Little of this comes from government targets and most of it comes from consistently high demand over the past 40 years. It may be that demand is now slackening.

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Peter Mandler @petermandler.bsky.social · 1d

Not that it matters much, since the participation rate was going to go up to these levels pretty much regardless of policy, but there was a supposed 'target' for 50% participation in higher education and it was hit, by Blair's chosen measure of HEIPR (which aggregated participation from 17-30).

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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 2d

The RHS is a membership organisation of 6500+ historians. We welcome applications to join us at any time. Our next closing dates are 13 October and 15 December.

We offer categories for all kinds of historians and at all stages of research, from Postgraduate to Fellow: bit.ly/46V8WOQ #Skystorians

Closing dates for next application rounds:
Mondays 13 October and 15 December 2025

The Royal Historical Society represents the interests of historical researchers in universities, libraries, archives, museums, heritage and broadcasting, as well as those engaged in public, community and family history research.

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Reposted by Peter Mandler

David Gilbert @davidgilbert.bsky.social · 2d

Over the weekend, Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller repeatedly attacked judges, calling them part of an "organized terrorist attack" on the US government....

On Saturday, the home of a judge who ruled against Trump, went up in flames

time.com/7323442/sout...

House of South Carolina Judge Criticized by Trump Administration Set Ablaze

Authorities are investigating a fire at the home of a South Carolina judge who had reportedly received death threats in what could be the latest incident of political violence across the country.

time.com

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Peter Mandler @petermandler.bsky.social · 3d

Proportional representation then?

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Peter Mandler @petermandler.bsky.social · 3d

Perfectly defensible as a moral principle, but democracies can function pretty well with a fair amount of inertia and/or small-c conservatism.

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Peter Mandler @petermandler.bsky.social · 3d

How so? Opinions like this were more common a generation or two ago when everyone thought democracy was in rude health.

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Martin Hewitt @vicmanch.bsky.social · 4d

I might have solved the mystery of Sarah Lewis, author of *Woman's Mission*, key text of Victorian separate spheres ideology. The ODNB states nothing is known about her, but I have evidence to suggest she was Sarah Lewis (1807-1878), headmistress of a girls' boarding school in Putney in the 1840/50s

A picture of the title page of Sarah Lewis's "Woman's Mission"

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Reposted by Peter Mandler

Naomi Alderman @naomialderman.bsky.social · 4d

oh wow. this finally happened to me. a piece I wrote lifted wholesale by the Daily Mail, lightly rewritten and without any links back to my original piece of writing.

most amazingly, a weird use of the word 'pacing' suggests to me that they did it with ChatGPT.

archive.ph/LFmzR

archive.ph

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Phil Tinline @philtinline.bsky.social · 4d

For the latest on George III's response, see next post

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Treasury Department considers minting a $1 Trump coin

The draft design of the coin, which was overseen by the Office of the U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, features Trump’s profile on one side of the coin.

www.politico.com

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Reposted by Peter Mandler

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 4d

If anyone would like to buy Comment is Freed for $150 million, I'm open to offers.

Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 5d

Bari Weiss is expected to be named editor in chief at CBS News on Monday, with parent company Paramount paying $150m in cash and stock to acquire her Substack publication, The Free Press. My story this morning: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Bari Weiss to be named top editor at CBS News

Paramount Skydance will acquire the journalist’s publication, the Free Press, which she started after quitting the New York Times in 2020.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Peter Mandler

Institute of Historical Research @ihr.bsky.social · 5d

Building on their Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) internship on medicine and health, @rachelpeacock.bsky.social explores in our latest On History blog Victorian understandings of mental illness through the example of intruders on Queen Victoria’s privacy tinyurl.com/b47xyh34

Medical History and the Bibliography of British and Irish History - On History

Rachel Peacock recently completed a summer internship at the IHR, where she focused on medical history and health in the Bibliography of British and Irish History. In this blog, she explores…

blog.history.ac.uk

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Reposted by Peter Mandler

John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 5d

The "lanyard class" should almost always be parsed as an attack on women who work, and the enforcement of norms that make workplaces better for them.

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 5d

This is his repeated attacks on what he calls the "lanyard class". Who are the terrible people who wear lanyards? Doctors & nurses, care workers, teachers, managers, administrators, secretaries. The people who hold society together, who keep everything running, who do the jobs he wouldn't stoop to.

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 5d

Letter in the Times:

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 5d

This is illegal, plain and simple, with penalties including removal from federal service, debarment from federal employment for five years, and a fine of $1000. 5 U.S.C. § 7326.

A country which valued the rule of law would enforce its laws.

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 6d

NEW—US Department of Education sent out standard Out of Office language to employees on Wednesday in light of shutdown. Later yesterday, workers tell me they found someone had updated their auto-responses without consent to a new one blaming Democrats.

Version of original on left, updated on right:

Thank you for your email. There is a temporary shutdown of the U.S. government due to a lapse in appropriations. I will respond to your message as soon as possible after the temporary shutdown ends. Please visit ED.gov for the latest information on the
Department's operational status.
Thank you.

Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume.

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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 6d

This week the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, announced the return of maintenance grants for students in greatest need.

In a new blog post, RHS President Lucy Noakes considers the state of access to history and the humanities in UK HE bit.ly/3KP5WMe #Skystorians

@artsandhums.bsky.social

Opening section and abstract of RHS blog post: 'The value and provision of history and the humanities: it’s time for a political response': "This week the government’s Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, announced the return of maintenance grants for students in greatest need. While we welcome recognition of the financial pressures and impediments many student face, it’s clear that this is a policy with nothing for the arts and humanities, including history. However, as Lucy Noakes, President of the Royal Historical Society, explains here, these pressures are equally acute for students in the arts and humanities. Moreover, as a new British Academy report on ‘Cold Spots’ shows, choice—in subjects including history—is being further eroded for many as the provision of higher education contorts to the financial crisis facing UK higher education. If the government is serious about choice, social mobility and access to education it needs to appreciate that provision of many degree subjects is now at considerable risk in a growing number of regions across the UK. For students to have greater choice and access we need the environments in which choices are made to be fair, balanced and accurate. For this we require political leadership to help us address structural failings and false narratives."

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Reposted by Peter Mandler

Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 6d

Dame Janet Nelson was the first female President @royalhistsoc.org (2000-04) and is the subject of 'Jinty Nelson in Thirteen Articles', also edited by Alice Rio, and published in 'Transactions of the RHS' earlier this year.

Available Open Access bit.ly/4nyYx2k #Skystorians

First page of the journal article: 'Jinty Nelson in Thirteen Articles' with full abstract: "This collection gathers thirteen contributions by a number of historians, friends, colleagues and/or students of Jinty’s, who were asked to pick their favourite article by her and say a few words about it for an event held in her memory on 15 January 2025 at King’s College London. We offer this collection in print now for a wider audience not so much because it has any claim to be exhaustive or authoritative, but because taken all together these pieces seemed to add up to a useful retrospective on Jinty’s work, its wider context, and its impact on the
field over the decades. We hope that, for those who know her work well already, this may be an opportunity to remember some of her classic (and a few less classic) articles, while at the same time serving as an accessible introduction to her research for anyone who knew her without necessarily knowing about her field, as well as for a new and younger generation of readers."

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 29d

Cracking shortlist for our @britishacademy.bsky.social Book Prize 2025 including @profsophieharman.bsky.social, Bronwen Everill, @willdalrymple.bsky.social, Sunil Amrith, Graeme Lawson and @lucyaash.bsky.social
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/power-p...

Power, Politics and the Environment: British Academy Book Prize 2025 shortlist announced

Six books offering new perspectives on issues of global importance, united by rigorous research and a remarkable ability to tell powerful stories in an engaging and compelling way.

www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk

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Reposted by Peter Mandler

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 7d

'Our public libraries are free in three critical senses. Firstly, they cost nothing to join and to use. Secondly, they are open to all in our communities. We must also add a third concept of freedom: the freedom to read – to engage, without restraint, a diversity of knowledge and opinion'.

Libraries are palaces for the people. Their ramparts need...

The spirit of inquiry that led to Britain’s first public library opening its doors 173 years ago needs to be rekindled

observer.co.uk

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Adam Vaughan @adamvaughan.bsky.social · 7d

UK energy secretary Ed Miliband has announced a ban on new fracking licences.

Goes beyond 2019 moratorium on existing licences.

"I say: let's ban fracking and vow to send this bunch of frackers packing too," he said.

The move is directed at Reform, which has said it would back fracking.

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Reposted by Peter Mandler

Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 7d

RHS Funding opportunity: Postgraduate and Early Career Research Support Grants.

Grants of up to £1000 for graduate and early career historians to undertake research projects bit.ly/4nWLNlI

Closing date for the next round: 5 December 2025

Calls for research funding from the Royal Historical Society: current programmes - RHS

The Society currently invites applications for the following three schemes — open to historians across a range of career stages and backgrounds — with closing dates from 5 December 2025 onwards. For f...

bit.ly

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