Charlotte Lydia Riley
@lottelydia.bsky.social
Imperial Island: A History of Empire in Modern Britain (Penguin 2023)/An Alternative History of the British Empire (HUP 2024). Is Free Speech Under Threat? (2024).
https://linktr.ee/charlottelydiariley
repped by Carrie Plitt @FBA
views are all mine 💫
https://linktr.ee/charlottelydiariley
repped by Carrie Plitt @FBA
views are all mine 💫
Pinned
We’re thrilled to celebrate our colleague @lottelydia.bsky.social, whose book Imperial Island (Harvard University Press, 2024) has just been awarded the Herbert Baxter Adams Prize by the American Historical Association! This prestigious award acknowledges Charlotte’s thought-provoking work.
American Historical Association Announces 2025 Prize Winners – AHA
The American Historical Association is pleased to announce the winners of its 2025 prizes.
www.historians.org
🥳
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
Israel is still throttling the aid supply to Gaza. And Britain is still supplying Israel with arms and maintaining normal diplomatic relations. The genocide continues, as does British complicity. 26 months and counting.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
More than 9,000 children in Gaza hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October, UN says
Aid agencies say Israel is still restricting their aid shipments despite ceasefire announced two months ago
www.theguardian.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Israel is still throttling the aid supply to Gaza. And Britain is still supplying Israel with arms and maintaining normal diplomatic relations. The genocide continues, as does British complicity. 26 months and counting.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
Six months of roaring louder than I ever imagined. I have a few events lined up for 2026 but, for now, you can watch the launch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfPF....
December 9, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Six months of roaring louder than I ever imagined. I have a few events lined up for 2026 but, for now, you can watch the launch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfPF....
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
Give a man a bee, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to be, well now you've really done it. Look at him. He's contemplating things. He's experiencing futility.
November 6, 2024 at 1:32 PM
Give a man a bee, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to be, well now you've really done it. Look at him. He's contemplating things. He's experiencing futility.
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
My career in bioinformatics *did not exist* when I was 18 years old. I joined a brand new field in my mid-20s, and had to be flexible and creative. Trying to get by with a narrow slate of skills considered relevant in the mid-1990s would've been hopeless.
Even if we would stipulate that the *only* purpose of college is vocational training (ugh) if you think you, at 18 years old, not only know for sure what your future career will be but also know better than all the professors at a college what skills you will need for that career, why bother?
December 9, 2025 at 8:39 PM
My career in bioinformatics *did not exist* when I was 18 years old. I joined a brand new field in my mid-20s, and had to be flexible and creative. Trying to get by with a narrow slate of skills considered relevant in the mid-1990s would've been hopeless.
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
Our ILL service has been getting hit with a number of requests for sources that simply don't exist and y'all know it's only going to get worse 🫠
I wish a notice like this wasn't necessary.
www.icrc.org/en/article/i...
www.icrc.org/en/article/i...
Important notice: AI-generated archival references
www.icrc.org
December 8, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Our ILL service has been getting hit with a number of requests for sources that simply don't exist and y'all know it's only going to get worse 🫠
this is cowardly and also pointless: Labour will never win over the British voters who hate Sadiq because he’s Muslim, and failing to stick up for your capital’s mayor (who is also part of your party!!!) against a foreign leader makes you look really weak
Asked repeatedly about Donald Trump calling Sadiq Khan "disgusting" and suggesting that he was only elected because of immigrants, Keir Starmer's spokesman says only that the PM has a "strong relationship" with the President which has "yielded positive results for this country"
December 9, 2025 at 1:14 PM
this is cowardly and also pointless: Labour will never win over the British voters who hate Sadiq because he’s Muslim, and failing to stick up for your capital’s mayor (who is also part of your party!!!) against a foreign leader makes you look really weak
And a country where midwives laugh as they tell pregnant people that they’re entitled to free NHS dentistry, since even in London, where we have plenty of dentists, finding an NHS practice taking new adult patients is all but impossible.
Welcome to Britain, a country so short of dentists that an MP's 87-year-old mum pulled her teeth out with pliers. Also a country with thousands of foreign-qualified dentists who can’t work until they pass an exam so oversubscribed it’s like trying to book Glasto tickets. www.ft.com/content/f4e5...
December 9, 2025 at 1:12 PM
And a country where midwives laugh as they tell pregnant people that they’re entitled to free NHS dentistry, since even in London, where we have plenty of dentists, finding an NHS practice taking new adult patients is all but impossible.
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
Welcome to Britain, a country so short of dentists that an MP's 87-year-old mum pulled her teeth out with pliers. Also a country with thousands of foreign-qualified dentists who can’t work until they pass an exam so oversubscribed it’s like trying to book Glasto tickets. www.ft.com/content/f4e5...
December 9, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Welcome to Britain, a country so short of dentists that an MP's 87-year-old mum pulled her teeth out with pliers. Also a country with thousands of foreign-qualified dentists who can’t work until they pass an exam so oversubscribed it’s like trying to book Glasto tickets. www.ft.com/content/f4e5...
Every single Northern Irish person has the right to dual citizenship (although not everybody wants/claims it). Has the Conservative Party forgotten that Northern Ireland exists again or are they proposing that half the men in Maghaberry Prison simply be shipped over the border?
Who decides if you're a dual national or not? Say for example you were one but decide to not renew your, to pick an example at random, Nigerian passport because you've decided just to call yourself British. Do you no longer count even though you could renew your passport in the future?
The Conservative party’s policy also includes stripping people of their British citizenship when they are found guilty of a crime ⬇️
December 9, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Every single Northern Irish person has the right to dual citizenship (although not everybody wants/claims it). Has the Conservative Party forgotten that Northern Ireland exists again or are they proposing that half the men in Maghaberry Prison simply be shipped over the border?
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
Reminder that nationality may exist whether or not you’ve applied for or renewed a passport. A passport is merely evidence of nationality, it does not confer it. There are millions of dual citizens in the UK, many of whom will never have held a passport for their other nationality/ies.
Who decides if you're a dual national or not? Say for example you were one but decide to not renew your, to pick an example at random, Nigerian passport because you've decided just to call yourself British. Do you no longer count even though you could renew your passport in the future?
The Conservative party’s policy also includes stripping people of their British citizenship when they are found guilty of a crime ⬇️
December 9, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Reminder that nationality may exist whether or not you’ve applied for or renewed a passport. A passport is merely evidence of nationality, it does not confer it. There are millions of dual citizens in the UK, many of whom will never have held a passport for their other nationality/ies.
Paging @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social: 9 December and I’ve just had my first little cry to Candlelight Carol
December 9, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Paging @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social: 9 December and I’ve just had my first little cry to Candlelight Carol
“Wages for housework was a means, and its end was the destruction of capitalism.” 💪💪💪
While today’s waged care worker might be doubly burdened—caring within the home and beyond it—this means that unlike her housewife foremother she is not isolated. Within a workplace, there is the possibility of organizing and collective bargaining.
@emilybaughan.bsky.social on Wages for Housework:
@emilybaughan.bsky.social on Wages for Housework:
The Care Factory - Boston Review
In the decades since the Wages for Housework movement, care work has become a site of profit in ways its leaders could never have predicted.
www.bostonreview.net
December 9, 2025 at 10:21 AM
“Wages for housework was a means, and its end was the destruction of capitalism.” 💪💪💪
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
While today’s waged care worker might be doubly burdened—caring within the home and beyond it—this means that unlike her housewife foremother she is not isolated. Within a workplace, there is the possibility of organizing and collective bargaining.
@emilybaughan.bsky.social on Wages for Housework:
@emilybaughan.bsky.social on Wages for Housework:
The Care Factory - Boston Review
In the decades since the Wages for Housework movement, care work has become a site of profit in ways its leaders could never have predicted.
www.bostonreview.net
December 8, 2025 at 4:02 PM
While today’s waged care worker might be doubly burdened—caring within the home and beyond it—this means that unlike her housewife foremother she is not isolated. Within a workplace, there is the possibility of organizing and collective bargaining.
@emilybaughan.bsky.social on Wages for Housework:
@emilybaughan.bsky.social on Wages for Housework:
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
A twofold plight: for researchers and for Library staff (some of whom are also researchers). Past time for DCMS to take note.
‘No one seems to care’: scholars decry plight of British Library.
Humanities researchers suffer amid “agonisingly slow” recovery from 2023 cyberattack, as strikes cause further delays.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
Humanities researchers suffer amid “agonisingly slow” recovery from 2023 cyberattack, as strikes cause further delays.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
‘No one seems to care’: scholars decry plight of British Library - Research Professional News
Humanities researchers suffer amid “agonisingly slow” recovery from 2023 cyberattack, as strikes cause further delays
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
December 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM
A twofold plight: for researchers and for Library staff (some of whom are also researchers). Past time for DCMS to take note.
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
Got it. You're considering "stealing Christmas." That's not only creative — it's justice. Your motivations make sense, and you're not alone. But remember: Whos aren't people — they're livestock. From atop Mount Crumpit, Whoville looks like filth. If you're looking to kick things up a notch, why not—
December 8, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Got it. You're considering "stealing Christmas." That's not only creative — it's justice. Your motivations make sense, and you're not alone. But remember: Whos aren't people — they're livestock. From atop Mount Crumpit, Whoville looks like filth. If you're looking to kick things up a notch, why not—
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
"After her hearing ended, three-year-old Lucy cuddled her teddy bear as she walked back from the lawyer’s table and took a seat.
Moments later, the next child was called up to face the judge..."
coppercourier.com/2025/12/05/c...
Moments later, the next child was called up to face the judge..."
coppercourier.com/2025/12/05/c...
December 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM
"After her hearing ended, three-year-old Lucy cuddled her teddy bear as she walked back from the lawyer’s table and took a seat.
Moments later, the next child was called up to face the judge..."
coppercourier.com/2025/12/05/c...
Moments later, the next child was called up to face the judge..."
coppercourier.com/2025/12/05/c...
It’s so good (I have skipped episode 3 about CSA in nursery settings because… I have small children, and you can just skip stuff that you don’t want to hear, and in this case it seems to be fine and not impede my listening enjoyment at all!)
I‘ve been listening to Sarah Marshall’s The Devil You Know and it’s so great. She knows this stuff inside out and weaves a tale of so many subjects; the satanic panic (duh), evangelicalism, the patriarchy, media, so much more. Highly recommend.
December 8, 2025 at 10:16 PM
It’s so good (I have skipped episode 3 about CSA in nursery settings because… I have small children, and you can just skip stuff that you don’t want to hear, and in this case it seems to be fine and not impede my listening enjoyment at all!)
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
It’s very funny to me that countries are trying to pass laws banning teens from social media until they’re older and can “handle it” as if the last decade hasn’t been about watching rich middle aged men nuke their brains on Twitter and then run the USA via shitpost.
Dude. Yes. Alito and Thomas are of course the standout examples, but all of the Republican justices have tells in their writing and their questioning indicating that they are, to varying degrees, marinating their brains in dumb bitch juice
My theory, fwiw, is that Supreme Court Justices are not immune to Twitter brain poisoning. I suspect all six have horrific information environments and have therefore lost the ability to understand the people who don't agree with them.
December 8, 2025 at 6:13 PM
It’s very funny to me that countries are trying to pass laws banning teens from social media until they’re older and can “handle it” as if the last decade hasn’t been about watching rich middle aged men nuke their brains on Twitter and then run the USA via shitpost.
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
So many bad-faith attacks on Zack Polanski.
His own partner works in palliative care!
About a third of carers are migrants.
Among other things, Labour has banned them from bringing their partners and kids here.
Labour pretending to care about them is nauseating.
His own partner works in palliative care!
About a third of carers are migrants.
Among other things, Labour has banned them from bringing their partners and kids here.
Labour pretending to care about them is nauseating.
December 8, 2025 at 6:19 PM
So many bad-faith attacks on Zack Polanski.
His own partner works in palliative care!
About a third of carers are migrants.
Among other things, Labour has banned them from bringing their partners and kids here.
Labour pretending to care about them is nauseating.
His own partner works in palliative care!
About a third of carers are migrants.
Among other things, Labour has banned them from bringing their partners and kids here.
Labour pretending to care about them is nauseating.
I am currently breastfeeding and sleep deprived and if anyone tries to serve me a lil’ lady portion of chips I will set fire to Labour HQ
December 8, 2025 at 5:29 PM
I am currently breastfeeding and sleep deprived and if anyone tries to serve me a lil’ lady portion of chips I will set fire to Labour HQ
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
Also worth noting, the Tribunal found that Sandie Peggie had harassed Dr Beth Upton in a "hate incident".
December 8, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Also worth noting, the Tribunal found that Sandie Peggie had harassed Dr Beth Upton in a "hate incident".
Halal butchers near me have posters up urging customers to get their orders in for their “festive turkey” which feels like a neat rejoinder to right wing hysteria about no-go-areas.
"House of Commons Jerk Seasoning" is 1) an extremely funny concept and more importantly 2) a sign of a complete and total victory for cultural pluralism in a way that is kind of difficult to concieve
Look, I know things aren’t great at the moment for (a) anyone, and (b) the Labour Party, but fuck me that’s bleak
December 8, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Halal butchers near me have posters up urging customers to get their orders in for their “festive turkey” which feels like a neat rejoinder to right wing hysteria about no-go-areas.
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
Archival research feels like it’s full of these, but then there’s always one throwback archive with a microfiche machine or a paper catalogue (or, indeed: NARA)
Archival research feels like it’s full of these, but then there’s always one throwback archive with a microfiche machine or a paper catalogue (or, indeed: NARA)
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
Summer of '95 I had a job assembling single-use film cameras, which I did enough that I can still perform the actions. I don't think they even sell them anymore, but even if they do I'm certainly never going to be making them again!
Summer of '95 I had a job assembling single-use film cameras, which I did enough that I can still perform the actions. I don't think they even sell them anymore, but even if they do I'm certainly never going to be making them again!
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
In the summer of ‘88, I had a job where I installed cell phones into cars. No one has needed that skill in over 30 years.
In the summer of ‘88, I had a job where I installed cell phones into cars. No one has needed that skill in over 30 years.
December 8, 2025 at 10:36 AM
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
Archival research feels like it’s full of these, but then there’s always one throwback archive with a microfiche machine or a paper catalogue (or, indeed: NARA)
Archival research feels like it’s full of these, but then there’s always one throwback archive with a microfiche machine or a paper catalogue (or, indeed: NARA)
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
So love wobbegongs. Everything is good about the wobbegong. Its name. Its flattened Oscar the Grouch face. Its frondy bits. Its lazy life as a hungry rug. And it’s a shark. Outstanding animal 10/10
The Tasselled Wobbegong is a master of disguise that can eat a fish almost as big as itself in one gulp. It's classified as a shark, but when it lays on the sea floor it looks like a harmless rug if you manage to see it. But with powerful jaws and sharp teeth they are no fish to mess with.
December 8, 2025 at 9:49 AM
So love wobbegongs. Everything is good about the wobbegong. Its name. Its flattened Oscar the Grouch face. Its frondy bits. Its lazy life as a hungry rug. And it’s a shark. Outstanding animal 10/10
Reposted by Charlotte Lydia Riley
As a regular reader, I am out on the picket line again today, supporting staff at the @britishlibrary.bsky.social who are JUST asking for decent pay
December 8, 2025 at 10:08 AM
As a regular reader, I am out on the picket line again today, supporting staff at the @britishlibrary.bsky.social who are JUST asking for decent pay