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
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sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
Beautiful. I'm currently trying to work out how to express what happens at the other end of life, when your mum stops phoning you because she can't remember how to dial your number anymore...
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
roguestrands.bsky.social
As parents, we're supposed to remember the first time we did stuff with our kids, but the last time is equally as significant, if not more.

This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
Hello autumn my old friend. You're beautiful but slightly scary because of what comes next.
Shiny brown chestnuts in a pan Jars of freshly made apple chutney A sunny field framed by yellowing leaves Trees in autumn colours around a lake at Mount Ephraim Gardens,  Kent
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
I've noticed a marked pick up in engagement this, and last year. I actually left my class this week feeling somewhat joyful, a rare and precious feeling.
sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
Delighted to be donating a signed copy of Wildly Different as part of this year's Children in Read auction, with all proceeds going to BBC Children in Need. Bid for an author-signed copy of your favourite books. Something for everyone here:

Children in Read 2025 share.google/HLlLuDmSDEI2...
Children in Read 2025
'The Largest Signed Book Auction In The World'Authors and Illustrators around the globe, sign, dedicate, and send their books to their successful bidders.All Postage & Packaging is free.All proceeds a...
share.google
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
anthonymoser.com
Somebody who thinks an ai summary is the same as reading a document would go to a restaurant and eat the menu
irisvanrooij.bsky.social
AI “summaries” are not summaries but slop
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
premnsikka.bsky.social
Former PM Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop abuse of contacts made in public office.

Secretly lobbied the UAE for a billion-dollar private venture,
Used senior contacts in the Saudi govt to pitch for a consultancy firm.

Lust for private wealth is the main cause of UK decline.
Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop abuse of contacts made in public office, watchdog finds
Johnson found to have breached rules after refusing to answer specific questions about allegations published by the Guardian
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
rowhoop.bsky.social
Weapons-grade trolling by the Norwegians here
reuters.com
'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize
sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
FT: "The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela's main opposition leader, who is in hiding."
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
robbryher.bsky.social
WE RAN OUT OF TIME FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

says Fiona Bruce at the end of Question Time

*Green Party bingo cards explode across the nation*
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
junoryleejournalism.com
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
He's probably going to expel Norway too tomorrow when he doesn't win the Nobel Peace Prize
sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
It's easy for we writers and academics, absorbed as we get in our own projects over the summer to forget what an absolute joy and privilege it is to teach the young. We may be overworked and our vice-chancellors may give the impression they're trying to kill us with stress but gosh it's rewarding.
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
gregsargent.bsky.social
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...
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
bevanthomas.bsky.social
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.
sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
Perfect, time to get Professor Alice Roberts over!
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
qiaoj.bsky.social
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
qiaoj.bsky.social
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 !
sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale