Estelle Wolfers
@firetower.bsky.social
Courts, cats and cars; she/her
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
This is exactly it. Turns out being incessantly confronted with the worst parody of your arguments and sealioned into defending it doesn't actually contribute much to the sum total of worthwhile discourse, nor is the accompanying waste of time really conducive to you improving your actual arguments.
also - apols for the shameless self-promotion - as I wrote recently, I'm not sure I buy "oooh you need constant adversity online in order to be a good writer" - I think I've become better at my job since quitting the Getting Shouted At factory, actually! youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
December 15, 2025 at 11:13 AM
This is exactly it. Turns out being incessantly confronted with the worst parody of your arguments and sealioned into defending it doesn't actually contribute much to the sum total of worthwhile discourse, nor is the accompanying waste of time really conducive to you improving your actual arguments.
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
So, Laura Kuenssberg's introduction to her interview with Mary-Ann Stephenson is just hideous.
Let me count the ways. 🧵
Let me count the ways. 🧵
December 14, 2025 at 11:35 AM
So, Laura Kuenssberg's introduction to her interview with Mary-Ann Stephenson is just hideous.
Let me count the ways. 🧵
Let me count the ways. 🧵
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
Russia destroyed 100% of Odesa’s energy infrastructure. All substations were destroyed by missiles and drones.
The city has been completely left without electricity, hot water, and heating for over one million people, including all critical infrastructure.
The city has been completely left without electricity, hot water, and heating for over one million people, including all critical infrastructure.
December 14, 2025 at 5:52 AM
Russia destroyed 100% of Odesa’s energy infrastructure. All substations were destroyed by missiles and drones.
The city has been completely left without electricity, hot water, and heating for over one million people, including all critical infrastructure.
The city has been completely left without electricity, hot water, and heating for over one million people, including all critical infrastructure.
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people
December 13, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
I know this pain all too well. Still at the copy-editing stage for my Family Law textbook, and therefore further away from the last-chance saloon. But proof stage will arrive soon.
Proofreading for idiots
If writing photo-captions is a challenge (as I explained in my last post), proofreading a forthcoming book is an exercise in humiliation. It brings you
www.the-tls.com
December 13, 2025 at 11:32 AM
I know this pain all too well. Still at the copy-editing stage for my Family Law textbook, and therefore further away from the last-chance saloon. But proof stage will arrive soon.
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
Time again for my favorite christmas post ever, one that still makes me laugh every time i read it
December 23, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Time again for my favorite christmas post ever, one that still makes me laugh every time i read it
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
Sure, because one of the first things you notice about 'gender-critical' voices in Scotland is how *silent* they are. It's not like they've been amplified like an air raid siren by virtually the entire national media or anything
December 10, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Sure, because one of the first things you notice about 'gender-critical' voices in Scotland is how *silent* they are. It's not like they've been amplified like an air raid siren by virtually the entire national media or anything
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
btw the reason that transphobia is such a good canary in the coal mine for other rancid views is that transphobia is essentially a conspiracy theory and, via crank magnetism, once you accept its basic tenets you’re going to be open to a lot more
i hope we all noticed how quickly we went from ‘record all offenders by assigned sex at birth’ to ‘report on the ethnicity of all offenders’
once again asking what would be different if we had a Reform government
December 10, 2025 at 3:45 PM
btw the reason that transphobia is such a good canary in the coal mine for other rancid views is that transphobia is essentially a conspiracy theory and, via crank magnetism, once you accept its basic tenets you’re going to be open to a lot more
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
So this week shall I write about how killing unarmed civilians is murder or about how unwise it would be to limit the human right against torture.
Western liberal democracies in 2025.
Western liberal democracies in 2025.
December 8, 2025 at 7:57 AM
So this week shall I write about how killing unarmed civilians is murder or about how unwise it would be to limit the human right against torture.
Western liberal democracies in 2025.
Western liberal democracies in 2025.
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
This composition had eluded me for nearly a decade, but yesterday I was finally able to capture it. A train rolled through just as the Duquesne Incline was crossing over the tracks in #Pittsburgh, creating a picture perfect winter scene. It was worth the hours and hours I've waited over the years.
December 3, 2025 at 2:06 PM
This composition had eluded me for nearly a decade, but yesterday I was finally able to capture it. A train rolled through just as the Duquesne Incline was crossing over the tracks in #Pittsburgh, creating a picture perfect winter scene. It was worth the hours and hours I've waited over the years.
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
How many of my pals on here know the significance of this humble building to the UK nerd community? 😂
December 6, 2025 at 10:48 AM
How many of my pals on here know the significance of this humble building to the UK nerd community? 😂
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
first time I've been sad bsky doesn't have an algorithm because how did it take a month for this to show up on my timeline
December 5, 2025 at 6:52 PM
first time I've been sad bsky doesn't have an algorithm because how did it take a month for this to show up on my timeline
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
College Disability Champion & Deputy Senior Tutor for Admissions, Dr Spencer Johnston, talks about the Hughes Hall community as well as his own challenges having been diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia later on in his academic career. 🌟
Learn more:
youtu.be/K4FOyP_WI1k?...
Learn more:
youtu.be/K4FOyP_WI1k?...
Dr Spencer Johnston - Admissions Tutor and Disability Champion at Hughes Hall
We are pleased to be able to share this video featuring our College Disability Champion, and Deputy Senior Tutor for Admissions, Dr Spencer Johnston. Spencer talks about the Hughes Hall community as…
youtu.be
December 4, 2025 at 2:15 PM
College Disability Champion & Deputy Senior Tutor for Admissions, Dr Spencer Johnston, talks about the Hughes Hall community as well as his own challenges having been diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia later on in his academic career. 🌟
Learn more:
youtu.be/K4FOyP_WI1k?...
Learn more:
youtu.be/K4FOyP_WI1k?...
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
December 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
This is what government censorship actually looks like: defunding entire fields, deporting researchers, and quite effectively chilling speech that helps people understand how our information systems are being exploited and calls out powerful people and platforms for their bullshit.
For the last decade, the pervasive spread of bullshit & manipulation of online platforms have been widely recognized societal concerns. Now non US citizens studying those subjects can be labeled “censors” & denied visas or deported from the US. Censorship, indeed. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Exclusive: Trump administration orders enhanced vetting for applicants of H-1B visa
An internal State Department memo said that anyone involved in "censorship" of free speech should be considered for rejection.
www.reuters.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:27 PM
This is what government censorship actually looks like: defunding entire fields, deporting researchers, and quite effectively chilling speech that helps people understand how our information systems are being exploited and calls out powerful people and platforms for their bullshit.
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
Juries are not just part of our legal system — they are vital defenders of the right to protest.
With anti-protest laws still in place, I asked the Government what risks getting rid of jury trials will have on our democracy.
#RightToProtest #Democracy
With anti-protest laws still in place, I asked the Government what risks getting rid of jury trials will have on our democracy.
#RightToProtest #Democracy
December 3, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Juries are not just part of our legal system — they are vital defenders of the right to protest.
With anti-protest laws still in place, I asked the Government what risks getting rid of jury trials will have on our democracy.
#RightToProtest #Democracy
With anti-protest laws still in place, I asked the Government what risks getting rid of jury trials will have on our democracy.
#RightToProtest #Democracy
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
1. The European Parliament’s attempt to ban plant-based foods from being sold as “sausages”, “burgers” etc is a direct response to livestock industry lobbying. This is a short thread on how utterly bleeding ridiculous it is. 🧵1/6
December 3, 2025 at 10:26 AM
1. The European Parliament’s attempt to ban plant-based foods from being sold as “sausages”, “burgers” etc is a direct response to livestock industry lobbying. This is a short thread on how utterly bleeding ridiculous it is. 🧵1/6
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
WAR IS OVER! FILM
→ www.chess.com/news/view/os...
"Chess historian Edward Winter was a consultant. One key moment in the film features a reversed-color version of Efim Bogoljubov vs. A.H. Trott, Southsea 1950, illustrating the unusual motif of answering check with an immediate checkmate."
→ www.chess.com/news/view/os...
"Chess historian Edward Winter was a consultant. One key moment in the film features a reversed-color version of Efim Bogoljubov vs. A.H. Trott, Southsea 1950, illustrating the unusual motif of answering check with an immediate checkmate."
Oscar-Winning Chess-Themed Animated Short 'War Is Over' Released To Public
Academy Award-winning animated short War Is Over!, a film in which an emotional game of correspondence chess becomes a lifeline between two soldiers on opposite sides of a battlefield, is released.
www.chess.com
December 2, 2025 at 6:26 PM
WAR IS OVER! FILM
→ www.chess.com/news/view/os...
"Chess historian Edward Winter was a consultant. One key moment in the film features a reversed-color version of Efim Bogoljubov vs. A.H. Trott, Southsea 1950, illustrating the unusual motif of answering check with an immediate checkmate."
→ www.chess.com/news/view/os...
"Chess historian Edward Winter was a consultant. One key moment in the film features a reversed-color version of Efim Bogoljubov vs. A.H. Trott, Southsea 1950, illustrating the unusual motif of answering check with an immediate checkmate."
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
#OnThisDay in 1892 eight people visited the Crime Museum in the newly-opened New Scotland Yard by the Thames. They included three authors - Arthur Conan Doyle, his soon-to-be-brother-in-law E. W. Hornung, and Jerome K Jerome. #OTD #OnThisDayInHistory #Sherlock #ConanDoyle #Elementary #CM150
December 2, 2025 at 1:49 PM
#OnThisDay in 1892 eight people visited the Crime Museum in the newly-opened New Scotland Yard by the Thames. They included three authors - Arthur Conan Doyle, his soon-to-be-brother-in-law E. W. Hornung, and Jerome K Jerome. #OTD #OnThisDayInHistory #Sherlock #ConanDoyle #Elementary #CM150
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
Plans for an Ozvent calendar are meeting with some scepticism
December 2, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Plans for an Ozvent calendar are meeting with some scepticism
Seven years ago - a Brexitometer in Cambridge.
December 1, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Seven years ago - a Brexitometer in Cambridge.
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
Please watch this important new video from Youtube channel “Just Have a Think”.
This is not the video I had planned to make.
YouTube video by Just Have a Think
youtu.be
November 30, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Please watch this important new video from Youtube channel “Just Have a Think”.
Reposted by Estelle Wolfers
"Never spread the lie in the headline" should be a hard rule of 21st century journalism.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.
News media has to do better with headlines that present false and unverified public health claims.
November 30, 2025 at 1:10 AM
"Never spread the lie in the headline" should be a hard rule of 21st century journalism.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.