Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Doc Sarah Lonsdale

@sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social

2.6K followers 1.9K following 1.6K posts

Mostly books, history & nature. Politics, 48%. Lecturer, History of journalism. My new book, Wildly Different, about women and the wild is out in the wild! A Financial Times "Best Books" for Summer 2025 "Heartfelt, uplifting" - Brigit Strawbridge

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · Mar 2

Who wants to read about the first woman keeper of insects at London Zoo, and how she cut her way out of a giant spider's web with her nail file? Evelyn Cheesman, the second of the five women in my book:
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/blog/2025/03...

Women's History Month - Evelyn Cheesman - Manchester University Press

To mark Women’s History Month and the publication of her new book Wildly different, we asked historian Sarah Lonsdale to profile the five pioneering women she focuses on, bringing their fascinating st...

manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk

4 43 130

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 13h

This powerful JB Pritzker response to Trump's lawless threats is another reminder of what I tried to argue this morning: Pritzker understands Stephen Miller's theory of this moment, and he's responding accordingly:

newrepublic.com/article/2014...

32 570 2.2K

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

Bevan Thomas @bevanthomas.bsky.social · 14h

In “Gulliver’s Travels" by Jonathan Swift, Gulliver encountered many inventors with foolish inventions on Balnibarbi Island, including a device for randomly creating sentences so that even people with no talent can write books. Thus predicting generative AI several centuries early.
#WyrdWednesday

A map of the island of Balnibarbi, from "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift.

3 5 11

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 14h

@britishmuseum.bsky.social

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 14h

Perfect, time to get Professor Alice Roberts over!

1 1

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 14h

They do to my inexpert eye!

1 1

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

Coraline Jortay 喬海霖 @qiaoj.bsky.social · 2d

This is Nobel Week and, like clockwork, people are speculating about Can Xue 残雪 again -- so reposting this little thread in French about a very deserving contender who remains vastly undertranslated in the Francophone world

Coraline Jortay 喬海霖 @qiaoj.bsky.social · Oct 10

Alors que l'autrice chinoise Can Xue est une fois de plus favorite pour le Prix Nobel de littérature, largement traduite et primée dans le monde anglophone et au Japon, son oeuvre reste méconnue en France : les deux seules traductions (épuisées) datent de... 1992 et 2001 !

1 5 4

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 18h

Like most optimists I often think stones and other objects I find on walks or in my garden are artefacts from ancient civilisations but am always disabused/disappointed. BUT THIS FLINT I DUG OUT OF MY GARDEN HAS DEFINITELY BEEN KNAPPED OR I'M A DUTCHMAN. British Museum is welcome to get in touch.

A triangular shaped flint, with what looks like worked edges

Under flash, a piece of flint with a regular triangle shape and what looks like worked edges

Close up of flint to show its narrow edge

2 1 9

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

Marc Morris @marcmorris.bsky.social · 1d

35 430 1.3K

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 19h

Why is it that any lending scheme, from the current car financing to past scandas involving mis selling mortgages and equity release, does it seem like the starting point for all banks and financers is: "How, and it what ways can we screw over the public for as much as possible?"

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

Rowan Hooper @rowhoop.bsky.social · 23h

Vote for us! We are up for BEST SCIENCE PODCAST at the Signal Listener's Choice awards, please vote for THE WORLD, THE UNIVERSE AND US here: vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting...

1 8 10

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

Henry Snow @henrysnow.bsky.social · 1d

My colleague Jack Bouchard's book Terra Nova is out today! It's about early 16th-century mariners and the seasonal fishery around present-day Newfoundland, and its place within the Atlantic World. I cannot wait to read it

yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...

Terra Nova

A bottom-up story of the fishworkers, whalers, First Nations, merchantwomen, oceans, and animals who together made a new colonial world in the early Atlantic...

yalebooks.yale.edu

1 20 54

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 1d

Aha! Well spotted!

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 1d

Now we're in peak apple season, an apple-based game! One pic shows a collection of real apples; the other shows early C19 wax models of apples, created in the days before colour photography, to show potential buyers what the fruit of different varieties look like. Both gorgeous but which is which!

Early C19 realistic wax models of different kinds of apples

A range of old apple varieties including Hog's Snout and Hoe

1 1 5

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

katebeales.bsky.social @katebeales.bsky.social · 15d

So delighted to see Broken Horses out in the wild - and in such fantastic company…

2 9

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

Olga Lautman 🇺🇦 @olgalautman.bsky.social · 1d

Speaker Mike Johnson’s refusal to seat Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva is more than the Epstein files, and a dangerous test of whether election results still guarantee representation. My latest

The Dangerous Precedent Behind Johnson’s Refusal to Seat Adelita Grijalva

On September 10, Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva won her Arizona special election, and nearly a month later, Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to swear her in.

olgalautman.substack.com

34 300 780

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

Dr Rob Wray @drrobwray.bsky.social · Sep 6

In fairly short order, the far right have gone from fringe lunatics to a supermarket ideology: different aisles for different resentments, all under one roof of hate. Cheap conspiracies. Hyper-masculinity. Cultural grievance. Violence. And its rubbing off on our kids www.linkedin.com/posts/drrobw...

5 54 130

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 2d

What is the point of creating wrapping paper, however beautiful, that sellotape doesn't stick to!?

Beautiful marbled wrapping paper which is completely useless because it does not let sellotape stick to it, thus failing its primary task

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 2d

Anyone remember Reform promising to go into their new councils with DOGE-style units to slash “waste” and stop taxes from rising? Yeah, it went exactly as you’d expect if you put people in charge who have no idea how anything works.

Reform poised to raise Kent council tax as Musk-inspired attack on costs falters
ANNA GROSS - KENT
Kent's local authority will probably raise council tax rates next year as Reform UK strugglesto find big savings under an Elon Musk-inspired cost-cutting drive.
Kent was one of 10 councils that Nigel Farage's rightwing populist party seized in a swath of local election victories in May. He vowed to save "a lot of money" by abolishing "wasteful" spending.
But Diane Morton, Reform's cabinet member for adult social care on Kent county council, told the Financial Times that services were already "down to the bare bones".
"We've got more demand than ever before and it's growing." she said, stressing she did not believe access to those services should be limited. "We just want more money." As with many local
authorities in England, the bulk of declined to say whether council tax Kent's budget went on adult and chil-
would be raised but other Reform coun-
dren's social care, as well as on children cillors said they wanted to avoid hitting
with special educational needs, which the full 5 percent.
together accounted for about 50 per
Reform's experience highlights some
cent of its £2.5bn annual expenditure.
of the obstacles it may face in national
All councils have a legal duty to bal-
government if it won the next general
ance their books and will set next year's
election and pursued its pledge to slash
budgets in February or March. Ahead of taxes and spending. "Everyone thought
that, most councils in England are we d come in and there were going to be
expected to increase council tax by 5 per
these huge costs we could cut away but
cent, the maximum allowed.
there just aren't," said a third senior
"I think it's going to be 5 per cent,"
Reform cabinet member in Kent.
Morton said of where Kent would land
Farage has set up a Reform Depart-
on tax rises, adding that every 1 per cent ment of Government Efficiency team -
increase equated to an extra E10mn.
modelled on Musk's "Doge" i…

39 230 610

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 3d

Yet so many seem to think that's a reasonable basis for giving a candidate power....

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 3d

Whoever thought Reform would be effective, capable, truthful or simply plain competent in government, more fool you. Remember this at the next election please.

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 3d

Reform likely to raise Kent council tax after cost-cutting drive falters on.ft.com/4pTvJ62

Reform likely to raise Kent council tax after cost-cutting drive falters

Nigel Farage’s party promised to revive local authority finances by slashing wasteful spending

on.ft.com

1 2 6

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

James Barišić 🇭🇷 @james.barisic.fr · 5d

Today is the 89th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street. On 4 October 1936, ordinary east end Londoners stood up to Mosley and his British Union of Fascists, refusing to let them march through east London.

Honour their legacy. Don't ignore fascists. Stop them.

They shall not pass. No pasarán.

2 49 96

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 4d

A bit too much sewage around Deal for that 🙃

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 4d

Greetings from a bright, blustery east Kent. No fish today though.

1 6

Doc Sarah Lonsdale @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social · 4d

What???

Kings Heath United Against Racism @khuar.bsky.social · 5d

Flags went up in Stirchley a few days ago & were taken down by local residents the same evening.

The men returned with a cherry picker and coned off parts of the road with police accompanying them as they put up new flags along the High Street.

Residents who object have been met with verbal abuse.

1 1 4

Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale

Brook @wombattitude.bsky.social · 5d

The most horrific thing about this is the comments suggesting there ANY possible circumstances that this could be valid.

Dr. Jens Foell @jensfoell.de · 5d

People are running stats on LLM-generated participants and think they’re being social scientists when in fact they’re technically just playing a very strange video game. This is like saying you’re doing math research because you’re playing sudoku.

www.science.org/content/arti...

AI-generated ‘participants’ can lead social science experiments astray, study finds

Data produced by “silicon samples” depends on researchers’ exact choice of models, prompts, and settings

www.science.org

2 7 16