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Rebekah White

@rebekahwhite.bsky.social

1.9K followers 1.7K following 160 posts

Science journalist, contributor @nzgeo.bsky.social, writes mostly about climate engineering, conservation, birds & also science fiction

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · Nov 10

Hello, especially if you followed me here from Twitter, aka the Bad Place! I'm a science journalist and I write for several different publications, mostly about conservation, climate change and the ocean. Also, I'm from New Zealand.

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · 1d

By the way, I started a publishing company, along with three of the most eye-wateringly competent people I know.

We just opened pre-orders for our first book. It's so good. I've read it twice. I edited it. You can get one here! www.kickstarter.com/projects/hom...

Homeward Books: The home for books without a home

Splendor over mediocrity. Stories for the hot bath & the cold plunge. Defying the constraints of genre & delving deep into your heart.

www.kickstarter.com

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Reposted by Rebekah White

New Zealand Geographic @nzgeo.bsky.social · 5d

Remember the Magic Eye books of the 90s?? Now, you can have a crack at viewing New Zealand’s native flowers in 3D. Clematis, orchid, ngutukākā, korukoru, oioi… this is a luscious, spectacular feature by @rebekahwhite.bsky.social, based on the new book He Puāwai by @theobrominated.bsky.social

Magic flora

Philip Garnock-Jones has spent more than a decade photographing our native flowers as they’ve never been shown before: in luscious, three-dimensional detail.

www.nzgeo.com

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · 6d

Thank-you, I found it super interesting to write!

Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 9d

This story by @rebekahwhite.bsky.social got lost in the February mess, but it needs a bump:

The Three-Way Race to Exploit Deep-Sea Life

The genetic bounty of the deep sea is being patented by a handful of multinationals.

www.biographic.com/the-three-wa...

The Three-Way Race to Exploit Deep-Sea Life - bioGraphic

The genetic bounty of the deep sea is being patented by a handful of multinationals.

www.biographic.com

Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · 20d

This year at the Ig Nobels it's affirming to see empirical confirmation of a personal research project: that alcohol demonstrably improves my ability to speak a foreign language.

The sample size is a bit small but I'd volunteer for anyone's replication attempt: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · 20d

I know that some publications usually send the intern to cover the Ig Nobels, but I think they're important (as well as hilarious) and, omg, editors, it's my dream to write about them! Not just who wins, but what they mean. Send me, I'm funny. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Ig Nobel prize 2025: Zebra cows and Teflon food among winners

The tongue-in-cheek scientific awards also recognise research into lizard's preferred pizza and garlicky breastmilk.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · 20d

It's my favourite day of the year! www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Tipsy bats and perfect pasta: Ig Nobels celebrate ‘improbable’ research

The annual awards are a celebration of weird but thought-provoking science.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Rebekah White

Garth Nix @garthnix.bsky.social · Sep 2

I think there are a number of people on here who would be interested to see these pics of Dodie Smith’s London pad.

www.countrylife.co.uk/interiors/co...

Country Life's never-before-published photographs of ‘101 Dalmatians’ author Dodie Smith's London flat

Every Monday, Melanie Bryan delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.

www.countrylife.co.uk

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · Sep 1

My data-journalist friend just researched and wrote this super-fascinating story about what kind of content TikTok sends teenagers, and how young people feel about it www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/i...

Four phones, three weeks: Everything we saw on teen TikTok

We set up four brand-new social media accounts with teenage personas. Then we scrolled.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · Aug 25

if you're in New Zealand: please help a left-handed snail find love!

New Zealand Geographic @nzgeo.bsky.social · Aug 24

A tiny silly fun thing in the midst of all the chaos... We're on the hunt for a mate for Ned, a 1 in 40,000 left-spiralling snail. www.nzgeo.com/stories/lets...

Let's find a mate for Ned

One in 40,000 snails have the spiral on the left side of the shell, and they can only mate with other lefties. Can you help Ned find true love?

www.nzgeo.com

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · Aug 12

I just experienced a 40-degree day for the first time and I reckon this level of heat is like pain: impossible to explain to anyone unless they've also experienced it

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e...

France and Spain hit by red weather warnings as Europe burns in 44C heatwave

France has only issued a red alert eight times in the past 20 years as it experiences soaring temperatures

www.independent.co.uk

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · Aug 7

Am I laughing or am I crying; it's getting harder to tell

www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/im-...

I’m Captain Ahab and I Say We Must Never Transition Away from a Whale-Based Energy Industry

When I heard that the globalist oligarchs and fat cats in the Washington marshland were conspiring to invest in alternative, non-whale-based energy...

www.mcsweeneys.net

Reposted by Rebekah White

Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · Jul 2

INDIANA JONES AND THE LOST FUNDING

Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · Jul 2

*INDIANA JONES AND THE CLOSURE OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY DEPARTMENT*

A news story: "Disney Reportedly Planning Full Reboot of the INDIANA JONES Franchise"

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Reposted by Rebekah White

Ursula K. Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com · Jun 27

“If the engine of narrative is conflict, then what happens if a story organizes itself around another center?” Shruti Swamy asks in the introduction the the 2023 Harper Perennial edition of Always Coming Home (right).

The Library of America edition of Always Coming Home (left) and the Harper Perennial edition of Always Coming Home (right).

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Reposted by Rebekah White

Tess McClure @tessairini.bsky.social · Jun 30

total horror is being inflicted on the women of tigray. here we document the attempts by soldiers to destroy their fertility, and their hopes for justice as most of the world looks away www.theguardian.com/global-devel... @ximenaborrazas.bsky.social

Rusted screws, metal spikes and plastic rubbish: the horrific sexual violence used against Tigray’s women

Tens of thousands of Tigrayan women report brutal wartime abuse by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers, such as gang-rape and the insertion of objects into their uteruses. But justice seems a distant pros...

www.theguardian.com

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · Jul 1

@alecluhn.bsky.social Only just clocked that you were also at the Arctic Repair conference last week - I've been following your work for ages, wish I'd said hi! Give me a shout if you're ever in Oxford... it's better than Cambridge.

Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · Jul 1

This might be my favourite advertisement of all time. No beating around the bush. No lies. No exaggeration.

(also, it's biscuits in the British sense)

Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · Jun 18

I really wish I was not away in July and could go to this—but you should!

Jack Stilgoe @jackstilgoe.bsky.social · Jun 18

One of our excellent Science Communication MSc students is leading a free history of science walking tour in London. Sign up here www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/london-wal...

London Walking Tour: Untold Histories of Science

Explore the untold histories of science on this multisensory, interactive walk centred on underrepresented and marginalised identities.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · Jun 6

that film already hit too close to home when it came out

Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · Jun 1

not to mention all accommodation everywhere ever

Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · Jun 1

It's my year!!!

...I hope it's not my year.

Eric Holthaus @ericholthaus.com · Jun 1

Ready or not, the 2025 hurricane season starts today.

The alphabetical list of 2025 Atlantic hurricane names as chosen by the World Meteorological Organization. Find a text version of this list at hurricanes.gov/aboutnames.shtml#atl (Image credit: NOAA NWS)

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Reposted by Rebekah White

Startling Lady of Gore @postnatodepression.bsky.social · May 25

Māori man with parasol. Northland region, ca. 1910.
Photo by Northwood brothers of Kaitaia.
Ref 1/1-010679-G, National Library of New Zealand.

A grinning man in European clothes, holding a very small parasol over his head.

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · May 14

he might want to tell everyone at oceaniron.org that...

Exploring Ocean Iron Solutions

Every year, humans pump about 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The heat from this greenhouse gas is disrupting planetary systems and reshaping life on Earth. The ocean may be abl...

oceaniron.org

Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · May 14

idk how much iron this ocean fertilisation company uses in its "nutrient mix" but they just sold a bunch of credits and they're doing pilot trials off the coast of New Zealand www.gigablue.co/news/skiesfi...

Gigablue Announces Largest Ocean Carbon Removal Agreement with SkiesFifty, Capturing 200,000 Tons Over Four Years — Gigablue

“Gigablue’s ocean-based CDR solution. It stood out due to its combination of environmental safety, durability, scalability, and robust scientific measurement,” said Simon Talling-Smith, Founding Partn...

www.gigablue.co

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Reposted by Rebekah White

Chris Stringer @chrisbstringer.bsky.social · May 6

Sir David, who will be 99 on Thursday, says: "After almost 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Sir David Attenborough Ocean film 'greatest message he's told'

Sir David says his new film Ocean is one of the most important of his career.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Rebekah White @rebekahwhite.bsky.social · May 4

In personal news, yesterday I moved back to Oxford and today I watched Andor, and it's hard to say which of those things I was looking forward to more

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