Ben Anderson
benmanderson.bsky.social
Ben Anderson
@benmanderson.bsky.social
Cultural and Environmental Historian, Keele University UK
bbcR3/AHRCpress Newgenthinker 2018. www.keele.ac.uk/surf/ Co-Director. Outdoors leisure, Industrial heritage and decommissioning, Ultraviolet. Views my own.
Reposted by Ben Anderson
France claims this as part of its territory. Would the inhabitants of continental parts of France have been left so vulnerable?

www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...
Hundreds feared dead as Cyclone Chido devastates French island of Mayotte
Witnesses tell of ‘apocalyptic scenes’ after worst storm to hit the Indian Ocean territory in almost a century
www.theguardian.com
December 15, 2024 at 7:38 PM
One of the impacts of the UKHE financial crisis is that, while (some) German academics are forcing their system to confront the endless insecure post-doc of #ichbinhanna, we are drifting ever more into the same system, de facto. (good X thread on the comparison here: x.com/mahaelhissy/... )
December 12, 2024 at 1:38 PM
I just completed an introduction to Oral History with the www.ohs.org.uk . Honestly, I was sceptical about what we could learn in two days, but my word, how wrong I was - absolutely brilliant training, covers so much ground, clear and authoritative, very interactive. Would recommend to anyone.
Home - Oral History Society
Interested in oral history? Get advice on interviewing, recording equipment, archiving, ethics, copyright and Data Protection.
www.ohs.org.uk
December 12, 2024 at 1:14 PM
Delighted to be launching the next round of SURF Leverhulme Doctoral Scholars recruitment!
The Sustainable Rural Futures programme aims to train a new generation of interdisciplinary rural researchers. Scholarships are for FOUR years (or five for Masters+) - tell your PGTs! www.keele.ac.uk/surf/
SURF
www.keele.ac.uk
December 9, 2024 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Ben Anderson
I’ve finally finished my book on extinction! If you’re interested in reading how ideas of race, empire, and extinction have shaped our world and left important legacies for thinking about just conservation and the future of our planet, preorder here.

#skystorians

uk.bookshop.org/p/books/vani...
Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction a book by Sadiah Qureshi.
Anyone alive today is among a tiny fraction of the once living: over 90 percent of species that ever lived are now extinct. How did we come to think of ourselves as survivors in a world where species ...
uk.bookshop.org
December 8, 2024 at 2:44 PM
In honour of Babsi Zangerl's astonishing Flash of Freerider on El Capitan (El Cap), Yosemite, here's a brief thread on the history of free climbing the most famous piece of rock in the world. You'll see why this is appropriate. www.ukclimbing.com/news/2024/11...
NEWS: Babsi Zangerl makes historic first flash of El Capitan via Freerider 5.13a
Austrian Babsi Zangerl has made the first-ever flash ascent of a route on Yosemite's El Capitan, climbing Freerider 5.13a via the Boulder Problem in a three-day push with no falls. Her ascent...
www.ukclimbing.com
November 27, 2024 at 11:36 AM
Kemi Badenoch: we need to let the private sector run more stuff.
NAO's response to Eric Pickles' attempt to privatise council auditing: www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
Watchdog refuses to sign off UK public sector accounts over unreliable data
National Audit Office ‘disclaims’ accounts because of shortcomings in auditing of English local authorities
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2024 at 12:08 PM
New art installation launch: Raphael Daden ‘Where Are the Trees, Where Are the Birds?’ in Longton (Stoke-on-Trent), commissioned by my fabulous long-term partners urbanwildernesscic.com in their project with @dccmckay.bsky.social. Think birdsong and backlit natural shapes in a 1970s precinct!
November 15, 2024 at 9:47 AM
Reposted by Ben Anderson
Would thoroughly recommend taking Dolly up on her offer - great audience discussion and a nice way of reaching international #envhum networks!
Unexpectedly, I have two Greenhouse #envhum book talk slots still open this year: December 2nd and 9th.
If you had a relevant monograph published in 2023 or 2024 and could talk to us at 4pm Central European time (3pm in UK, 10am East Coast, etc.), let me know and we'll schedule you in!
November 13, 2024 at 7:55 AM
Reposted by Ben Anderson
My #starterpack of Historians in Britain is very nearly full, but please continue to share it so we can build our community and find our people now that we are exiled from the other place! There are about 10 spots left so if you want to be included, gimme a shout: go.bsky.app/Fpw6Tvr
November 12, 2024 at 10:17 AM
Meanwhile, a pretty standard PMQs in the UK doesn't even have enough seats for all the people with a seat.

We rarely talk about what the space of our main chamber does to political debate and its possibilities.

Image cc House of Commons.
November 13, 2024 at 1:42 PM
My word. My main sensation on joining here is nostalgia. Now I remember why I enjoyed Twitter so much to begin with.
November 13, 2024 at 11:58 AM
Reposted by Ben Anderson
New article time!

I wrote this as part of the #NuSPACES project - it examines the increasingly fast-paced research re the materialities, communities & locations of nuclear cultural heritage.

Open access 🤩

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
October 20, 2023 at 12:16 PM
What do people do with the little jobs that creep up on them every morning? you know - overdue book proposal review, another hoop to jump through before you can be given more work, contract discussions for a project that has already finished, surveys on what makes you unproductive?
November 13, 2024 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Ben Anderson
I talked abt pylons & history of energy infrastructure on Rare Earth this week (BBC R4). Got a bit squeezed out by the v effective green energy lobbyist, so didn’t get in everything I wanted to say, including reference to Chris Petit’s ‘Radio On’ (1978)…

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Rare Earth - Clean energy or green fields? - BBC Sounds
Is it possible to build new green infrastructure without wrecking the countryside?
www.bbc.co.uk
November 10, 2024 at 11:42 AM
I'll just do one post on the post-election nonsense. Harris lost the popular vote 48%-50%. That's bad, in a universe where Dems need a decent lead to win, but it also isn't the end of days, as the left often likes to imagine.
November 13, 2024 at 9:55 AM
Hello Bluesky! I finally made the switch from hellhole, and now I want to catch up!
November 12, 2024 at 9:11 AM