Duncan Wilson
@duncanwilson78.bsky.social
Historian of ethics, science and medicine at the University of Manchester. Most recent book 'The Making of British Bioethics' (2014); currently writing a book on the history of postwar conservation priorities.
I love it when teammates fight. The infamous Grobbelaar vs Mcmanaman scrap from 1993 is one of my top 10 favourite football moments. More teammates fighting please, it shows they care!
November 26, 2025 at 10:52 AM
I love it when teammates fight. The infamous Grobbelaar vs Mcmanaman scrap from 1993 is one of my top 10 favourite football moments. More teammates fighting please, it shows they care!
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
This is exactly what the recent Trump-BBC 'scandal' was designed to achieve. The BBC is now self-censoring criticisms of Trump in the name of "impartiality"
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 10:26 AM
This is exactly what the recent Trump-BBC 'scandal' was designed to achieve. The BBC is now self-censoring criticisms of Trump in the name of "impartiality"
Some light viewing for Sunday evening
November 2, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Some light viewing for Sunday evening
I'm looking forward to this. I'll be discussing a very relevant, and hopefully interesting, case study 📷
The next Ethics of Medical Photography Network seminar will be on Mon 8 Dec, 2 pm UK time, online and we'll discuss a very hot topic: consent! We couldn't have better speakers: @duncanwilson78.bsky.social, Dr Chimwemwe Phiri and Dr Arya Thampuran. Book your place here: forms.gle/QUxL41SwixUH...
The Ethics of Medical Photography Network Online Seminar
Join us for the next online seminar!
Date: Monday 8 December 2025
Time: 2-3.30 pm UK time
Platform: Ms Teams
ETHICS AND CONSENT IN MEDICAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Speakers:
Dr Arya Thampuran (Durham University...
forms.gle
October 31, 2025 at 11:59 AM
I'm looking forward to this. I'll be discussing a very relevant, and hopefully interesting, case study 📷
I caught up with two old friends the other week. They were Everton season ticket holders, and went to every home and away match for years. They stopped going years ago and don't even watch games on tv now. Though I never had a season ticket, I've seen Liverpool hundreds of times since 1990...
October 19, 2025 at 10:10 AM
I caught up with two old friends the other week. They were Everton season ticket holders, and went to every home and away match for years. They stopped going years ago and don't even watch games on tv now. Though I never had a season ticket, I've seen Liverpool hundreds of times since 1990...
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
A strong statement on refusing to resign to AI resignation www.nplusonemag.com/issue-51/the...
Large Language Muddle | The Editors
The AI upheaval is unique in its ability to metabolize any number of dread-inducing transformations. The university is becoming more corporate, more politically oppressive, and all but hostile to the ...
www.nplusonemag.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:19 PM
A strong statement on refusing to resign to AI resignation www.nplusonemag.com/issue-51/the...
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
Coming soon💨
How has energy shaped a nation?
Electric Wind by @DudleyMarianna.bsky.social is a cutting-edge history of wind power in Britain, from the industrial revolution to the aftermath of war, through energy crises and the changing politics of the late twentieth century💡
Pre-order now!
How has energy shaped a nation?
Electric Wind by @DudleyMarianna.bsky.social is a cutting-edge history of wind power in Britain, from the industrial revolution to the aftermath of war, through energy crises and the changing politics of the late twentieth century💡
Pre-order now!
October 3, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Coming soon💨
How has energy shaped a nation?
Electric Wind by @DudleyMarianna.bsky.social is a cutting-edge history of wind power in Britain, from the industrial revolution to the aftermath of war, through energy crises and the changing politics of the late twentieth century💡
Pre-order now!
How has energy shaped a nation?
Electric Wind by @DudleyMarianna.bsky.social is a cutting-edge history of wind power in Britain, from the industrial revolution to the aftermath of war, through energy crises and the changing politics of the late twentieth century💡
Pre-order now!
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
We need an associate lecturer in history of modern science @stsucl.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
www.ucl.ac.uk
September 26, 2025 at 8:57 AM
We need an associate lecturer in history of modern science @stsucl.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
Had a really good time at the Planetary Futures conference in Manchester. Big thanks to wonderful organizers @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social, @duncanwilson78.bsky.social and presenters!
Snapshots from talks🧵
@mattholmes.bsky.social
@angecass.bsky.social
#envhist
#envhum
#histsci
Snapshots from talks🧵
@mattholmes.bsky.social
@angecass.bsky.social
#envhist
#envhum
#histsci
September 21, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Had a really good time at the Planetary Futures conference in Manchester. Big thanks to wonderful organizers @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social, @duncanwilson78.bsky.social and presenters!
Snapshots from talks🧵
@mattholmes.bsky.social
@angecass.bsky.social
#envhist
#envhum
#histsci
Snapshots from talks🧵
@mattholmes.bsky.social
@angecass.bsky.social
#envhist
#envhum
#histsci
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
On my way back from the "Planetary Futures" conference in Manchester, organized by @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social and @duncanwilson78.bsky.social
Two days of vibrant discussions on how the humanities can help us understand extinction.
Two days of vibrant discussions on how the humanities can help us understand extinction.
September 20, 2025 at 8:39 AM
On my way back from the "Planetary Futures" conference in Manchester, organized by @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social and @duncanwilson78.bsky.social
Two days of vibrant discussions on how the humanities can help us understand extinction.
Two days of vibrant discussions on how the humanities can help us understand extinction.
I'm wiped out after the Planetary Futures conference that @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social and I organised over the past two days at the University of Manchester. Huge thanks to everyone who gave papers and attended. I think it all went well!
September 20, 2025 at 8:33 AM
I'm wiped out after the Planetary Futures conference that @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social and I organised over the past two days at the University of Manchester. Huge thanks to everyone who gave papers and attended. I think it all went well!
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
In no sense are universities merging creating a 'super university'. They are institutions grabbing a life raft to stop themselves drowning. The merger of Kent and Greenwich is a sign of a sector that has been criminally neglected, the implications for staff and students could be disastrous.
September 10, 2025 at 5:28 PM
In no sense are universities merging creating a 'super university'. They are institutions grabbing a life raft to stop themselves drowning. The merger of Kent and Greenwich is a sign of a sector that has been criminally neglected, the implications for staff and students could be disastrous.
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
We're hiring a new lecturer @stsucl.bsky.social. We're looking for someone with particular interests in the environment. Please share widely www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
www.ucl.ac.uk
September 4, 2025 at 11:18 AM
We're hiring a new lecturer @stsucl.bsky.social. We're looking for someone with particular interests in the environment. Please share widely www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
Since Melvyn Bragg is in the news, here's a clip from the amazing profile of Francis Bacon on the South Bank Show, where the two of them have a good old booze up at The Colony Room Club among other haunts. 'Cheerio!'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yefq...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yefq...
francis bacon documentary part 5.mov
YouTube video by theartroom1
www.youtube.com
September 3, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Since Melvyn Bragg is in the news, here's a clip from the amazing profile of Francis Bacon on the South Bank Show, where the two of them have a good old booze up at The Colony Room Club among other haunts. 'Cheerio!'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yefq...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yefq...
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
Please join us for a discussion event on Extinction, with @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social and Rachel Webster, at Manchester Museum, on 18 Sept 2025.
blogs.manchester.ac.uk/chstm/2025/0...
blogs.manchester.ac.uk/chstm/2025/0...
Discussion Event: Extinction in the Museum
Please join us for a public discussion on 18 September, 6-7:30pm, led by Sadiah Qureshi, historian of extinction and author of Vanished, and Rachel Webster, curator of botany at Manchester Museum.
blogs.manchester.ac.uk
September 2, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Please join us for a discussion event on Extinction, with @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social and Rachel Webster, at Manchester Museum, on 18 Sept 2025.
blogs.manchester.ac.uk/chstm/2025/0...
blogs.manchester.ac.uk/chstm/2025/0...
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
Absolutely delighted to have been awarded the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar medal by the @royalsociety.org for my research on science, race, and empire, including my book Vanished. An enormous thanks to everybody who made this possible, especially the Royal Society.
royalsociety.org/medals-and-p...
royalsociety.org/medals-and-p...
Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal and Lecture | Royal Society
This prize lecture is given on a subject relating to the history of science, philosophy of science or the social function of science.
royalsociety.org
August 27, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Absolutely delighted to have been awarded the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar medal by the @royalsociety.org for my research on science, race, and empire, including my book Vanished. An enormous thanks to everybody who made this possible, especially the Royal Society.
royalsociety.org/medals-and-p...
royalsociety.org/medals-and-p...
I can highly recommend Endling, by Maria Reva. I initially got a copy because it's partly about conservation of 'lowly' species, but it's also a very ambitious and inventive novel that's ultimately about writing in a time of crisis.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Endling by Maria Reva review – a Ukrainian caper upended by war
Jaw-dropping formal invention turns this witty heist tale of endangered snails and ‘mail-order’ brides into an urgent dispatch about writing during conflict
www.theguardian.com
August 25, 2025 at 9:01 PM
I can highly recommend Endling, by Maria Reva. I initially got a copy because it's partly about conservation of 'lowly' species, but it's also a very ambitious and inventive novel that's ultimately about writing in a time of crisis.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
I grew up in Mold and my family and lots of friends still live there. It's not without its problems, like all deindustrialised towns, but it's pretty galling to see it described it as a 'terrible place' following yesterday's asylum protests.
August 24, 2025 at 1:35 PM
I grew up in Mold and my family and lots of friends still live there. It's not without its problems, like all deindustrialised towns, but it's pretty galling to see it described it as a 'terrible place' following yesterday's asylum protests.
*Curb Your Enthusiasm theme plays*
August 19, 2025 at 7:48 PM
*Curb Your Enthusiasm theme plays*
I love how the seaweed patterns this black sand as it's dragged out by the tide.
August 17, 2025 at 8:13 PM
I love how the seaweed patterns this black sand as it's dragged out by the tide.
🦤🦤🦤🦤
Conference: Planetary Futures - Rethinking Extinction and Conservation in the Anthropocene. Manchester, 18-19 Sept 2025.
Registration is free - please register your interest in attending by Friday 22 August.
blogs.manchester.ac.uk/chstm/2025/0...
Registration is free - please register your interest in attending by Friday 22 August.
blogs.manchester.ac.uk/chstm/2025/0...
Planetary Futures: Rethinking Extinction and Conservation in the Anthropocene
Conference, 18-19 September 2025, at the University of Manchester.
Call for Papers
blogs.manchester.ac.uk
August 15, 2025 at 5:41 PM
🦤🦤🦤🦤
I had a nice chat with Jonathan Miller on the tube. I was on my way to a job interview and he said I should visit an exhibition he'd curated at a London gallery.
July 19, 2025 at 12:19 PM
I had a nice chat with Jonathan Miller on the tube. I was on my way to a job interview and he said I should visit an exhibition he'd curated at a London gallery.
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
Tony Blair could lead a party that included Dennis Skinner — and often, in fact, spoke about the importance of the party being able to contain both of them within its broad church. This stuff doesn’t make Starmer look strong, quite the opposite.
Yeah this is stupid and bad. If Tony Blair could put up with the usual suspects - who were more rebellious than these MPs - why not the present government?
🚨 | Rachael Maskell is understood to have been the 4th MP to be suspended:
- Neil Duncan Jordan (Poole)
- Chris Hinchcliff (North East Hertfordshire)
- Brian Leishman (Alloa & Grangemouth)
- Rachael Maskell (York Central)
- Neil Duncan Jordan (Poole)
- Chris Hinchcliff (North East Hertfordshire)
- Brian Leishman (Alloa & Grangemouth)
- Rachael Maskell (York Central)
July 16, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Tony Blair could lead a party that included Dennis Skinner — and often, in fact, spoke about the importance of the party being able to contain both of them within its broad church. This stuff doesn’t make Starmer look strong, quite the opposite.
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
If you're a social scientist who also claims to be a 'futurist', you're not real social scientist. The grift of tech determinist 'consultancy' is getting worse. Seemingly no costs to bullshit and countless uncritical journalists to write it up. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Futurist Adam Dorr on how robots will take our jobs: ‘We don’t have long to get ready – it’s going to be tumultuous’
Researcher says tech could replace nearly all human labour within 20 years and societies urgently need to prepare
www.theguardian.com
July 9, 2025 at 7:19 AM
If you're a social scientist who also claims to be a 'futurist', you're not real social scientist. The grift of tech determinist 'consultancy' is getting worse. Seemingly no costs to bullshit and countless uncritical journalists to write it up. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Duncan Wilson
At a certain point, the fact that every pro AI-in-education article is so eye-poppingly stupid - this one takes its data on how students use AI from a study by Open AI, and apparently sees no issue there - is itself a finding.
theconversation.com/ai-isnt-repl...
theconversation.com/ai-isnt-repl...
AI isn’t replacing student writing – but it is reshaping it
If AI allows students to automate routine cognitive tasks, it doesn’t mean they’re thinking less. It means their thinking is changing.
theconversation.com
July 6, 2025 at 5:45 PM
At a certain point, the fact that every pro AI-in-education article is so eye-poppingly stupid - this one takes its data on how students use AI from a study by Open AI, and apparently sees no issue there - is itself a finding.
theconversation.com/ai-isnt-repl...
theconversation.com/ai-isnt-repl...