Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Shivaji Shiva

Alison Stenning @alisonstenning.bsky.social · 5h

“the plain fact that youth services ought to be thought of as one of the public realm’s most basic elements”

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Britain's youth clubs have been quietly decimated. What's most revealing is that few seem to care | John Harris

These vital spaces have been the first targets of cuts in a nation that favours age over youth – despite being the remedy for blights such as social division, polarisation and loneliness, says Guardia...

www.theguardian.com

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Ruth Watson @ruthwatson.bsky.social · 16h

#America, 2025

And the UK #Farage wants to create.

Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 23h

This Is Fascism

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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 18h

NEW ANALYSIS: More than 80% of UK social housing still relies on gas boilers keeping bills exposed to international gas markets and climate targets out of reach.

I’ve explored how other European countries are tackling this at scale, and what the UK can learn.

www.sureserve.co.uk/news-and-pro...

Phasing out gas in European social housing - what the UK can learn

www.sureserve.co.uk

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 6h

‘An investigation by Index on Censorship showed that it’s mainly LGBT-themed books that get challenged; another study indicated that American pro-censorship groups are beginning to influence the situation in the UK.’

Anna Aslanyan on book bans, from the blog
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/oc...

Anna Aslanyan | The Censor’s Scissors

John Heartfield was forced to leave Germany in 1933. Even before the Nazis put him on their hit list, his art had caused...

www.lrb.co.uk

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Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 7h

"Because you can never have enough email."

Prof. Ian Walker @ianwalker.bsky.social · 8h

On BlueSky I share thoughts about sustainable transport and environmental psychology, plus interesting links

I'm going to try a newsletter for when I want to explore ideas in more depth

Sign up? simple.ghost.io The first entry, to tell you what's going on, is at simple.ghost.io/the-simple-n...

The Simple Newsletter is coming soon

Because you can never have enough email

simple.ghost.io

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Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 8h

Yes, upstairs with books and menswear.

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Adam Tranter @adamtranter.bsky.social · 9h

Your next pricey takeaway could well be cooked in an entirely different kitchen from the one you expected, delivered by someone who doesn't match the picture of the courier, using what the platforms say is a bicycle but is actually an unlicensed motorbike.

www.londoncentric.media/p/host-kitch...

Your upmarket Deliveroo might be made by your local kebab shop

"On one hand, it’s a lifeline... But on the other hand, it’s a harbinger of doom.”

www.londoncentric.media

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 9h

‘It is peculiar, to say the least, that Israel is being given, in a “peace deal”, land that it has not managed to capture militarily.’

@selmadabbagh.bsky.social on Gaza, from the blog: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/oc...

Selma Dabbagh | Knowledge of the Relevant Facts

Israel has assassinated a record number of Palestinian journalists, refused to allow international reporters to enter...

www.lrb.co.uk

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 9h

Not sure why it has taken until late 2025 to see this, but this is how you do it. Every time. For every one of these guests.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10h

STEPHANOPOULOS: I didn't insinuate anything. I asked you whether Tom Homan accepted $50k as was heard on an audio tape recorded by the FBI in September 2024. You did not answer the question. Thank you for your time.

VANCE: No, George, I sai--

STEPHANOPOULOS: We'll be right back

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Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 9h

#ShareTheJoy

bikepedantic @bikepedantic.bsky.social · 9h

Random kid enjoying parade from my bench bike

Kid sitting in cargo bike, parade in background

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Sarah Goodyear @sgoodyear.bsky.social · 1d

One of these books is ours!

Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 1d

If cars are so bad for our health, our cities and the planet, why can’t we quit them? Three new books argue it’s time to really try.

‘Car Brain’ Is Making the US Unhealthy and Dangerous. EVs Won’t Fix It.

A trio of new books argue that we need to confront the full range of costs that car-based living has imposed on our cities, our health and our society.

bloom.bg

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American Fietser @americanfietser.bsky.social · 10h

Time to start planning your bike lights for the darker months. Have fun with it. You'd be amazed at how much joy it brings to your ride.

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Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 10h

That first image ...

Rob H&ynes @robonabike.bsky.social · 10h

Autumn doesn't do much that isn't brown, but it has its moments.

Flouncy dahlias, purple callicarpa berries, pink schizostylis, purple salvia.

Lemon-peel clematis flowers and seed heads.

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Tom Sasse @tomsasse.bsky.social · 10h

A new disruptive transport technology is rapidly changing cities across the rich world. It is not the self-driving electric car, but the humble bicycle, writes @dlknowles.bsky.social www.economist.com/internationa...

Forget EVs. Cycling is revolutionising transport

Pedal power is booming, spinning up a new culture war

www.economist.com

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Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 10h

This is an experience I recognise. After almost 30 years of this, I have at least learned to take a good book while my wife knows I'll be in the cafe or the nearest decent pub when she is ready to move on.

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 15h

This is such a clever idea on taking kids to museums/galleries
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Nadia from London has an idea that sounds such fun you'll be booking a day out asap.
"I've always loved museums," she says,
"but they can be overwhelming for children. For decades now, I've done something called 'playing postcards'
We do
the museum backwards, visiting the gift shop first. Each child gets to choose three postcards. Then they take it in turns to find that particular artwork in the museum and give us a little information about the piece from the details on the postcard, or from any gallery plaque. At the end of this treasure-hunt-style activity, we vote for our favourite in the cafe."

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Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 10h

#Freedom?

Robert Knight @rupertairbear.bsky.social · 10h

I've never seen the traffic into Oxford this bad. It took 72 minutes to get from the station to the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, including about 45 minutes of being stuck on St Giles not moving.

bustimes.org share.google/tFfHC1ATYI6A...

Two lines of stationary traffic outbound on St Giles, with a line of stationary traffic going the other way.

Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 10h

#PSA

Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 11h

South Birmingham folk, if you fancy a charity shop crawl capped with a relaxing meal / coffee in a friendly spot, give Evoke Food a try.

They really are friendly - two people have asked me how the toastie was; I found myself explaining Goodness Gracious Me to someone who was not born when it aired.

a man in a green shirt is smiling with the words what 's the blandest thing on the menu behind him

ALT: a man in a green shirt is smiling with the words what 's the blandest thing on the menu behind him

media.tenor.com

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Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 11h

South Birmingham folk, if you fancy a charity shop crawl capped with a relaxing meal / coffee in a friendly spot, give Evoke Food a try.

They really are friendly - two people have asked me how the toastie was; I found myself explaining Goodness Gracious Me to someone who was not born when it aired.

a man in a green shirt is smiling with the words what 's the blandest thing on the menu behind him

ALT: a man in a green shirt is smiling with the words what 's the blandest thing on the menu behind him

media.tenor.com

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Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 12h

#SundayAfternoon - coffee at Evoke Food

#BirminghamHospice

The daily special - Evoke’s Indian Railway Toastie

It was tasty but not spicy enough to live up to the name, even after the friendly team scoured the kitchen and, in the absence of chilli sauce, chilli flakes or chilli oil, produced some chilli jam.

A flat white with a book in the background - and my Better Streets for Birmingham bookmark.

A view of both - my first wife and kids will disown me for posting pictures of food, so I may as well go all in.

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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 15h

Important findings in this @ippr.org report by @beccam-c.bsky.social & @msingerhobbs.bsky.social on the inequalities entrenched by #UKCarCulture.

Cycling is the most affordable, efficient means of urban mobility. But planners and politicians have removed that option for a huge number of people....

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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 16h

“I’m old enough to remember when mainstream British politicians, who should know better, stirred up racial hatred as a path to power. You’re old enough to remember too because it was last Tuesday. And it was Robert Jenrick”

Cathartic anger at flag-flying racism.

www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...

Stewart Lee: The thugs have taken my flag. So I’ve taken theirs

What do you do with a lot of cheap banners hanging from motorway bridges once you’ve torn them down?

www.thenerve.news

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Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 16h

www.ippr.org/articles/the...

The transport challenge for low-income households | IPPR

Transport policy can make a material difference to people’s finances, especially those struggling to make ends meet. It can also help people better access

www.ippr.org

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 17h

Crisp sunny mornings and crunchy golden leaves are here, so we’re celebrating with this wonderfully seasonal woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige.

🍁 Maple Trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine, and Linked Bridge, 1857, by Utagawa Hiroshige I (1797–1858). EAX.4362

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American Fietser @americanfietser.bsky.social · 1d

A perfect illustration of which "lifestyle" actually imposes itself on public space, public safety, and the public purse.

Jfrisco @jfrisco.bsky.social · 1d

Hold my beer...

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