Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
@gswrites.bsky.social
Pop science writer/editor consultant for hire, specialising in astronomy and its history. Regular nerd with @somethingwho.bsky.social
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
Hong Kong fire and Grenfell are just alike. Fire spreading through unsafe building materials installed due to penny-pinching, killing dozens. One difference: before the HK fire is even out three executives at contractors have been arrested, eight years after Grenfell no-one has been arrested.
November 27, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Hong Kong fire and Grenfell are just alike. Fire spreading through unsafe building materials installed due to penny-pinching, killing dozens. One difference: before the HK fire is even out three executives at contractors have been arrested, eight years after Grenfell no-one has been arrested.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
One major facet of the modern economy - the way large companies blackmail governments. "You need us and the growth we [don't particularly] bring - so agree what we want or else".
Few governments have a good answer for such accusations. www.ft.com/content/d958...
Few governments have a good answer for such accusations. www.ft.com/content/d958...
Getty warns over UK operations if Shutterstock deal is blocked
CEO says competition watchdog is overlooking how quickly AI is reshaping image generation
www.ft.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:58 AM
One major facet of the modern economy - the way large companies blackmail governments. "You need us and the growth we [don't particularly] bring - so agree what we want or else".
Few governments have a good answer for such accusations. www.ft.com/content/d958...
Few governments have a good answer for such accusations. www.ft.com/content/d958...
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
Agree with every word of this
We've gone from 9% of social care staff coming from outside the UK and EEA in 2021/22 to almost 25% in 2024/25
The govt has no near-term replacement
It means either:
1) staffing shortages or
2) councils spending far more to attract staff, with no extra funding
We've gone from 9% of social care staff coming from outside the UK and EEA in 2021/22 to almost 25% in 2024/25
The govt has no near-term replacement
It means either:
1) staffing shortages or
2) councils spending far more to attract staff, with no extra funding
November 28, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Agree with every word of this
We've gone from 9% of social care staff coming from outside the UK and EEA in 2021/22 to almost 25% in 2024/25
The govt has no near-term replacement
It means either:
1) staffing shortages or
2) councils spending far more to attract staff, with no extra funding
We've gone from 9% of social care staff coming from outside the UK and EEA in 2021/22 to almost 25% in 2024/25
The govt has no near-term replacement
It means either:
1) staffing shortages or
2) councils spending far more to attract staff, with no extra funding
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
Look. This isn't analysis of any stripe. That this absolute fucking hogwash is presented as clever, sensible moderate stuff should be considered just as much propaganda as the tabloid screaming about benefits street.
"This is the Labour Party of old – high taxation, high public spending, growth in welfare bills and all the rest of it.
"This puts Labour in a position where it is very much a party older people who lived through the 70s and early 80s would recognise"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/labo...
"This puts Labour in a position where it is very much a party older people who lived through the 70s and early 80s would recognise"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/labo...
‘Labour is trying to pretend it’s all fine – everyone can see what this budget is doing’ | The News Agents
Labour MPs have acted with “tetchiness” as they defend Rachel Reeves' budget, facing questions over whether it has raised taxes for working people. Has the government regressed to where the party was…
www.thenewsagents.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Look. This isn't analysis of any stripe. That this absolute fucking hogwash is presented as clever, sensible moderate stuff should be considered just as much propaganda as the tabloid screaming about benefits street.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
The extent to which the ideology of neoliberalism has broken British journalists' brains really helps explain why the country is peeling apart at the seams.
"This is the Labour Party of old – high taxation, high public spending, growth in welfare bills and all the rest of it.
"This puts Labour in a position where it is very much a party older people who lived through the 70s and early 80s would recognise"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/labo...
"This puts Labour in a position where it is very much a party older people who lived through the 70s and early 80s would recognise"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/labo...
‘Labour is trying to pretend it’s all fine – everyone can see what this budget is doing’ | The News Agents
Labour MPs have acted with “tetchiness” as they defend Rachel Reeves' budget, facing questions over whether it has raised taxes for working people. Has the government regressed to where the party was…
www.thenewsagents.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 8:35 AM
The extent to which the ideology of neoliberalism has broken British journalists' brains really helps explain why the country is peeling apart at the seams.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
The "guy making a case about low taxes" was in fact Karl Williams of the Centre for Policy Studies - author of the fictional/fabricated and now withdrawn "£234 billion" cost number cited by Katie Lam and Reform.
Funnily Amol Rajan didn't ask him about that.. 😉
Funnily Amol Rajan didn't ask him about that.. 😉
And again I wonder why a super expert like Portes is not on BBC4 today instead of a guy making a case about low taxes
Fewer workers. Fewer international students. More people leaving.
A "step in the right direction" according to the PM.
Impossible to take PM/govt seriously on growth if they are deliberately reducing it (and making the fiscal position worse) *as a matter of policy*.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
A "step in the right direction" according to the PM.
Impossible to take PM/govt seriously on growth if they are deliberately reducing it (and making the fiscal position worse) *as a matter of policy*.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
November 28, 2025 at 8:24 AM
The "guy making a case about low taxes" was in fact Karl Williams of the Centre for Policy Studies - author of the fictional/fabricated and now withdrawn "£234 billion" cost number cited by Katie Lam and Reform.
Funnily Amol Rajan didn't ask him about that.. 😉
Funnily Amol Rajan didn't ask him about that.. 😉
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
RIP Martin Luther, you would have loved Papal Audience Black Friday deals.
November 27, 2025 at 10:08 PM
RIP Martin Luther, you would have loved Papal Audience Black Friday deals.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
They’ll have left a trail to follow
November 27, 2025 at 10:11 PM
They’ll have left a trail to follow
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
if you steal a cell phone or wallet in paris they kick you out of the french thieve's guild for insufficient whimsy
Thieves have stolen €90,000 worth of fine French snails destined for some of the country’s most prestigious restaurants
Thieves take €90,000 of snails meant for Michelin-starred restaurants
French police are on the trail of ‘experienced’ criminals who stole a whole year’s worth of produce from Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne’s L’Escargot des Grands Crus
www.thetimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:45 PM
if you steal a cell phone or wallet in paris they kick you out of the french thieve's guild for insufficient whimsy
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
events.bl.uk/events/frank... Hosting this at @britishlibrary.bsky.social: corpse reviver in the bar after I think.
Frankenstein: Guillermo del Toro in Conversation | British Library
The acclaimed films of Guillermo del Toro are inspired by his love and knowledge of classic gothic and mysterious literature, from Edgar Allan Poe and Daph
events.bl.uk
November 27, 2025 at 4:21 PM
events.bl.uk/events/frank... Hosting this at @britishlibrary.bsky.social: corpse reviver in the bar after I think.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
New episode of the podcast just out. Waldemar solves the mystery of Bosch’s masterpiece, I wonder why a gold toilet is worth $12m, and we explore what made Hans Holbein so brilliant with Elizabeth Goldring.
November 27, 2025 at 6:10 PM
New episode of the podcast just out. Waldemar solves the mystery of Bosch’s masterpiece, I wonder why a gold toilet is worth $12m, and we explore what made Hans Holbein so brilliant with Elizabeth Goldring.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
I've just updated the available cats page, we have some REALLY special kitties in and some of them have been waiting ages. Their forever home might be on your timeline, please share? 🥰
Moggies looking for homes
After hearing 50,000 times that we should put the available cats on the website, we’ve made a page! Hooray! However, it is still just me doing most of the work in the shelter. So there’…
hollysmerrymoggies.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:42 PM
I've just updated the available cats page, we have some REALLY special kitties in and some of them have been waiting ages. Their forever home might be on your timeline, please share? 🥰
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
That is a huge drop. Huge.
Starmer will now play the 'look-what-we-achieved' politics of this brilliantly, everyone will calm down, sensible immigration policies will emerge, and Farage will disappear.
Narrator: 'Meanwhile on Planet Earth....'
Starmer will now play the 'look-what-we-achieved' politics of this brilliantly, everyone will calm down, sensible immigration policies will emerge, and Farage will disappear.
Narrator: 'Meanwhile on Planet Earth....'
NEW: Net migration falls sharply to 204,000 in the year to June.
That’s a fall from 649,000 in the year to June 2024. It is a drop of nearly 80% from its 2023 peak.
That’s a fall from 649,000 in the year to June 2024. It is a drop of nearly 80% from its 2023 peak.
November 27, 2025 at 11:45 AM
That is a huge drop. Huge.
Starmer will now play the 'look-what-we-achieved' politics of this brilliantly, everyone will calm down, sensible immigration policies will emerge, and Farage will disappear.
Narrator: 'Meanwhile on Planet Earth....'
Starmer will now play the 'look-what-we-achieved' politics of this brilliantly, everyone will calm down, sensible immigration policies will emerge, and Farage will disappear.
Narrator: 'Meanwhile on Planet Earth....'
Cthulhu fhtagn, Charlie Brown...
Elliott Erwitt, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. New York City, USA. 1988.
November 27, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Cthulhu fhtagn, Charlie Brown...
Get yer trousers on Basil - you're nicked!
The Basil Brush Show (27th November 1976). Together at last - Basil teams up with Dennis Waterman.
November 27, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Get yer trousers on Basil - you're nicked!
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
Happy Thanksgiving, when we celebrate the generosity of the actor Tom Hanks.
November 28, 2024 at 12:32 PM
Happy Thanksgiving, when we celebrate the generosity of the actor Tom Hanks.
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
"I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
November 27, 2025 at 2:30 AM
"I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
1/5 It was entirely predictable that The Telegraph would jump on @DavidOlusoga’s Empire series to fight its right wing culture war for control of our public history. Let’s see what they’ve done:
November 27, 2025 at 8:28 AM
1/5 It was entirely predictable that The Telegraph would jump on @DavidOlusoga’s Empire series to fight its right wing culture war for control of our public history. Let’s see what they’ve done:
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
The Electric Monk
I think I've finally found the AI use that will end humanity.
Cults creating worshippers that don't exist to praise their gods that (sorry religionists) don't exist, burning up the planet in a race to create the most fake prayers to show theirs' is the true faith.
pagesix.com/2025/11/25/e...
Cults creating worshippers that don't exist to praise their gods that (sorry religionists) don't exist, burning up the planet in a race to create the most fake prayers to show theirs' is the true faith.
pagesix.com/2025/11/25/e...
Music fans enraged as AI-generated ‘singer’ tops the holiday charts: ‘Seriously?’
“Solomon Ray is no longer ‘the AI experiment.’ He is now the biggest new voice in gospel music – period.”
pagesix.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:16 PM
The Electric Monk
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
i’m so happy for him
November 26, 2025 at 10:48 PM
i’m so happy for him
Whales Day! (And Nuclear Wessel Day, I guess!) Lovely stuff!
November 26, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Whales Day! (And Nuclear Wessel Day, I guess!) Lovely stuff!
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
Hey.
Wanna see what it looks like to fly past your home planet?
THEN LOOK AT THIS
This is the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft's view as it swung by Earth on Tuesday, 23 September 2025 from an altitude of 3,500 km.
Look how beautiful that big blue marble is ❤️
Wanna see what it looks like to fly past your home planet?
THEN LOOK AT THIS
This is the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft's view as it swung by Earth on Tuesday, 23 September 2025 from an altitude of 3,500 km.
Look how beautiful that big blue marble is ❤️
November 25, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Hey.
Wanna see what it looks like to fly past your home planet?
THEN LOOK AT THIS
This is the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft's view as it swung by Earth on Tuesday, 23 September 2025 from an altitude of 3,500 km.
Look how beautiful that big blue marble is ❤️
Wanna see what it looks like to fly past your home planet?
THEN LOOK AT THIS
This is the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft's view as it swung by Earth on Tuesday, 23 September 2025 from an altitude of 3,500 km.
Look how beautiful that big blue marble is ❤️
Reposted by Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex
Years of work involving an amazing team at BBCSstudios Framestore AppleTV, our series #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge is out now on #AppleTV. Huge thanks to everyone involved. All 5 eps have been released!
November 26, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Years of work involving an amazing team at BBCSstudios Framestore AppleTV, our series #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge is out now on #AppleTV. Huge thanks to everyone involved. All 5 eps have been released!
