Naomi Alderman
@naomialderman.bsky.social
I write novels (eg The Power, new novel is The Future), I make games (eg Zombies, Run!), unorthodox Jew. not-getting-into-pointless-arguments-on-the-internet is an act of revolution. However complex you think things are, they're more complex than that
I thought this about the play Giant, on Roald Dahl's antisemitism, antizionism and anti-Israel's-actions-views (they are different, some people do all three).
that play works because everyone comes out of it feeling that their views have been well and strongly put forward. that's what we want.
that play works because everyone comes out of it feeling that their views have been well and strongly put forward. that's what we want.
'BBC balance' comes in for a lot of criticism (much of it rightly, there is no good 'balance' with eg Nazism) but this is an example of it being done right.
Give everyone the opportunity to steel-man their views. Speak to as many people as you can. Don't tell the listener what to think.
Give everyone the opportunity to steel-man their views. Speak to as many people as you can. Don't tell the listener what to think.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
I think this is very good. I went into it wondering whether it would mention some elements of this whole thing that I feel are critical - and which often get left out by eg The Times in reporting - but I think it does, it gives a really full, thorough account
I think this is very good. I went into it wondering whether it would mention some elements of this whole thing that I feel are critical - and which often get left out by eg The Times in reporting - but I think it does, it gives a really full, thorough account
November 14, 2025 at 12:43 PM
I thought this about the play Giant, on Roald Dahl's antisemitism, antizionism and anti-Israel's-actions-views (they are different, some people do all three).
that play works because everyone comes out of it feeling that their views have been well and strongly put forward. that's what we want.
that play works because everyone comes out of it feeling that their views have been well and strongly put forward. that's what we want.
'BBC balance' comes in for a lot of criticism (much of it rightly, there is no good 'balance' with eg Nazism) but this is an example of it being done right.
Give everyone the opportunity to steel-man their views. Speak to as many people as you can. Don't tell the listener what to think.
Give everyone the opportunity to steel-man their views. Speak to as many people as you can. Don't tell the listener what to think.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
I think this is very good. I went into it wondering whether it would mention some elements of this whole thing that I feel are critical - and which often get left out by eg The Times in reporting - but I think it does, it gives a really full, thorough account
I think this is very good. I went into it wondering whether it would mention some elements of this whole thing that I feel are critical - and which often get left out by eg The Times in reporting - but I think it does, it gives a really full, thorough account
BBC Radio 4 - Shadow World, Anatomy of a Cancellation - Available now
Available episodes of Anatomy of a Cancellation
www.bbc.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 12:38 PM
'BBC balance' comes in for a lot of criticism (much of it rightly, there is no good 'balance' with eg Nazism) but this is an example of it being done right.
Give everyone the opportunity to steel-man their views. Speak to as many people as you can. Don't tell the listener what to think.
Give everyone the opportunity to steel-man their views. Speak to as many people as you can. Don't tell the listener what to think.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
I think this is very good. I went into it wondering whether it would mention some elements of this whole thing that I feel are critical - and which often get left out by eg The Times in reporting - but I think it does, it gives a really full, thorough account
I think this is very good. I went into it wondering whether it would mention some elements of this whole thing that I feel are critical - and which often get left out by eg The Times in reporting - but I think it does, it gives a really full, thorough account
BBC Radio 4 - Shadow World, Anatomy of a Cancellation - Available now
Available episodes of Anatomy of a Cancellation
www.bbc.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 12:37 PM
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
I think this is very good. I went into it wondering whether it would mention some elements of this whole thing that I feel are critical - and which often get left out by eg The Times in reporting - but I think it does, it gives a really full, thorough account
I think this is very good. I went into it wondering whether it would mention some elements of this whole thing that I feel are critical - and which often get left out by eg The Times in reporting - but I think it does, it gives a really full, thorough account
yes. this is the reason. the reason is not "it is always right". the reason is "it will always be better to have the BBC than to be relying on Musk, Truss and X for news".
November 14, 2025 at 7:58 AM
yes. this is the reason. the reason is not "it is always right". the reason is "it will always be better to have the BBC than to be relying on Musk, Truss and X for news".
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
And we knew this. This wasn't speculation. We studied it, we had the talking points. We trained volunteers to explain this to people. It's not a surprise. Rich people don't flee places with good quality of life when we increase the quality of life. They might try to cheat us, but they don't leave.
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:16 AM
And we knew this. This wasn't speculation. We studied it, we had the talking points. We trained volunteers to explain this to people. It's not a surprise. Rich people don't flee places with good quality of life when we increase the quality of life. They might try to cheat us, but they don't leave.
ahhhh my book is published today, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
this one is a real labour of passion - I think it is genuinely important to understand the information crisis that we're living through and how and why it makes us all feel anxious and angry
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469677...
this one is a real labour of passion - I think it is genuinely important to understand the information crisis that we're living through and how and why it makes us all feel anxious and angry
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469677...
Don’t Burn Anyone at the Stake Today
What’s the most useful thing you could know about your own life?
In this era-defining book, developed from her groundbreaking Radio 4 essay series, Naomi Alderman turns her boundless curiosity and in...
www.penguin.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 5:51 PM
ahhhh my book is published today, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
this one is a real labour of passion - I think it is genuinely important to understand the information crisis that we're living through and how and why it makes us all feel anxious and angry
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469677...
this one is a real labour of passion - I think it is genuinely important to understand the information crisis that we're living through and how and why it makes us all feel anxious and angry
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469677...
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
Este livro da @naomialderman.bsky.social saiu exatamente hoje. Comecei a ler e não consigo parar.
Don’t Burn Anyone at the Stake Today: (and other lessons from history from the bestselling, award-winning author of The Power) (English Edition)
Compre Don’t Burn Anyone at the Stake Today: (and other lessons from history from the bestselling, award-winning author of The Power) (English Edition) de Alderman, Naomi na Amazon.com.br. Confira também os eBooks mais vendidos, lançamentos e livros digitais exclusivos.
amzn.to
November 13, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Este livro da @naomialderman.bsky.social saiu exatamente hoje. Comecei a ler e não consigo parar.
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
"Nothing can be permanently settled or solved. All we can be is alert to the changing winds – to ask who has been forgotten, to bend our own histories toward what is fair and kind, sensible and good. We will keep failing, but final success was never the point." – Naomi Alderman
🌱📷
🌱📷
November 12, 2025 at 2:27 AM
"Nothing can be permanently settled or solved. All we can be is alert to the changing winds – to ask who has been forgotten, to bend our own histories toward what is fair and kind, sensible and good. We will keep failing, but final success was never the point." – Naomi Alderman
🌱📷
🌱📷
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
"@naomialderman.bsky.social stresses the role of public libraries designed to try to serve the public, and not to hook us into an endless outrage-and-hype cycle", writes Richard Ovenden.
https://bit.ly/49LOliK
https://bit.ly/49LOliK
How to survive an information crisis | The Observer
bit.ly
November 12, 2025 at 7:25 PM
"@naomialderman.bsky.social stresses the role of public libraries designed to try to serve the public, and not to hook us into an endless outrage-and-hype cycle", writes Richard Ovenden.
https://bit.ly/49LOliK
https://bit.ly/49LOliK
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
Family and I went for Sunday Lunch at Harvey' Point (IYKYK) and there was a woman head to to in pink gingham, polka dots and frills. Blonde ringlets. And I heard someone say yer wan's in looking about her sheep.
November 12, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Family and I went for Sunday Lunch at Harvey' Point (IYKYK) and there was a woman head to to in pink gingham, polka dots and frills. Blonde ringlets. And I heard someone say yer wan's in looking about her sheep.
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
This reply was my favorite
November 12, 2025 at 8:48 AM
This reply was my favorite
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
I can never forget this classic:
November 12, 2025 at 5:51 AM
I can never forget this classic:
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
Went to the dentist wearing a red and white striped jumper. When I got up to leave, a little girl loudly whispered to her mother "Found him!"
November 12, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Went to the dentist wearing a red and white striped jumper. When I got up to leave, a little girl loudly whispered to her mother "Found him!"
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
Happy to be of service. I once got into a taxi in Dublin wearing a cool new outfit. I was nervous about deviating from the norm but did it anyway.
The taxi driver was on the phone when I got in. First thing he did was finish his phone call saying "I have to go, this fella's wearing dungarees"
The taxi driver was on the phone when I got in. First thing he did was finish his phone call saying "I have to go, this fella's wearing dungarees"
November 12, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Happy to be of service. I once got into a taxi in Dublin wearing a cool new outfit. I was nervous about deviating from the norm but did it anyway.
The taxi driver was on the phone when I got in. First thing he did was finish his phone call saying "I have to go, this fella's wearing dungarees"
The taxi driver was on the phone when I got in. First thing he did was finish his phone call saying "I have to go, this fella's wearing dungarees"
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
This thought prompted by a lovely dream I had last night where I went to the building in Manhattan where my late beloved therapist Sally Henry used to live and found that it was now a combination swimming pool, library and restaurant and I could get a library ticket and go there any time I want.
I’ve just realised that I think the reason I’ve never read the book The Swimming Pool Library is because I love swimming pools and libraries so much that if it is not about somebody inventing a kind of swimming pool which is also a library I will just be terribly disappointed.
November 12, 2025 at 12:38 PM
This thought prompted by a lovely dream I had last night where I went to the building in Manhattan where my late beloved therapist Sally Henry used to live and found that it was now a combination swimming pool, library and restaurant and I could get a library ticket and go there any time I want.
I’ve just realised that I think the reason I’ve never read the book The Swimming Pool Library is because I love swimming pools and libraries so much that if it is not about somebody inventing a kind of swimming pool which is also a library I will just be terribly disappointed.
November 12, 2025 at 12:36 PM
I’ve just realised that I think the reason I’ve never read the book The Swimming Pool Library is because I love swimming pools and libraries so much that if it is not about somebody inventing a kind of swimming pool which is also a library I will just be terribly disappointed.
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
Thank you (and now I have to read the whole book). I've been thinking in recent years about how to maintain common ground while holding opposing views. I sometimes think that Past Me's opinions might not pass a purity test with Now Me. Maybe other people deserve the same grace I'd give Past Me.
November 12, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Thank you (and now I have to read the whole book). I've been thinking in recent years about how to maintain common ground while holding opposing views. I sometimes think that Past Me's opinions might not pass a purity test with Now Me. Maybe other people deserve the same grace I'd give Past Me.
my new book is published tomorrow! I have put an extract here for free of what I think might be the most important thing I say in the whole book - how to preserve friendships during an information crisis (and why it's important to try, if you can)
naomialderman.substack.com/p/how-to-pre...
naomialderman.substack.com/p/how-to-pre...
how to preserve your friendships during an information crisis
and why it's really important to try (if you can, and they're committed to it too)
naomialderman.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 10:22 AM
my new book is published tomorrow! I have put an extract here for free of what I think might be the most important thing I say in the whole book - how to preserve friendships during an information crisis (and why it's important to try, if you can)
naomialderman.substack.com/p/how-to-pre...
naomialderman.substack.com/p/how-to-pre...
yeah
Realizing the "we poisoned you all with lead for decades" generation was immediately followed by "we fucked up teaching you how to read, now you're bad at it and hate it" generation to be followed by "Mandatory AI will fry your cognition" generation. Well, shit.
www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...
www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...
How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers
For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't kno...
www.apmreports.org
November 11, 2025 at 10:17 PM
yeah
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
yes. being a leftwing ex-Orthodox Jew, I maybe straddle a wider range of views among my friends and family than some (than many?)
it may be shocking to learn that: every bias I have ever seen the BBC accused of, I have also heard someone else say they have the precise opposite one
it may be shocking to learn that: every bias I have ever seen the BBC accused of, I have also heard someone else say they have the precise opposite one
In response to some of the comments:
If you agree with *all* the reporting of a news organisation that is both independent *and* non-partisan, then it's very unlikely to be independent and non-partisan.
This is true regardless of your politics.
Agreeing with all its reporting is the wrong test
If you agree with *all* the reporting of a news organisation that is both independent *and* non-partisan, then it's very unlikely to be independent and non-partisan.
This is true regardless of your politics.
Agreeing with all its reporting is the wrong test
Information underpins democracy and the BBC is a key part of that.
We need to protect our institutions
open.substack.com/pub/christin...
We need to protect our institutions
open.substack.com/pub/christin...
November 11, 2025 at 10:47 AM
yes. being a leftwing ex-Orthodox Jew, I maybe straddle a wider range of views among my friends and family than some (than many?)
it may be shocking to learn that: every bias I have ever seen the BBC accused of, I have also heard someone else say they have the precise opposite one
it may be shocking to learn that: every bias I have ever seen the BBC accused of, I have also heard someone else say they have the precise opposite one
yes. being a leftwing ex-Orthodox Jew, I maybe straddle a wider range of views among my friends and family than some (than many?)
it may be shocking to learn that: every bias I have ever seen the BBC accused of, I have also heard someone else say they have the precise opposite one
it may be shocking to learn that: every bias I have ever seen the BBC accused of, I have also heard someone else say they have the precise opposite one
In response to some of the comments:
If you agree with *all* the reporting of a news organisation that is both independent *and* non-partisan, then it's very unlikely to be independent and non-partisan.
This is true regardless of your politics.
Agreeing with all its reporting is the wrong test
If you agree with *all* the reporting of a news organisation that is both independent *and* non-partisan, then it's very unlikely to be independent and non-partisan.
This is true regardless of your politics.
Agreeing with all its reporting is the wrong test
Information underpins democracy and the BBC is a key part of that.
We need to protect our institutions
open.substack.com/pub/christin...
We need to protect our institutions
open.substack.com/pub/christin...
November 11, 2025 at 10:47 AM
yes. being a leftwing ex-Orthodox Jew, I maybe straddle a wider range of views among my friends and family than some (than many?)
it may be shocking to learn that: every bias I have ever seen the BBC accused of, I have also heard someone else say they have the precise opposite one
it may be shocking to learn that: every bias I have ever seen the BBC accused of, I have also heard someone else say they have the precise opposite one
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
Roses are red
Kites are for flying
Kites are for flying
![Telegraph headline: Terminally ill man tackled to the ground by six police officers after mooning speed camera as part of his 'bucket list' before dying (subhead: Retired lecturer Darrell Meekcom had been irritated for years at being caught for "silly speeds" while only marginally over the limit). Plus photo of “Darrell Meekcom, a wheelchair user, [who] criticised the police response as "completely disproportionate"”. He is an older man with little hair and an understandably downbeat expression, holding a walking stick which has a head shaped like a bird’s](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vckf3haopb3yncclmf7o2m3f/bafkreidaovzz3ewtmvdh5oxu4j5vo7lokofefxh2reeerchbrhxqogeaua@jpeg)
November 11, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Roses are red
Kites are for flying
Kites are for flying
it happened very insidiously, slowly and from multiple different fronts.
*for all its problems, which I do not dispute*, the conversation about ending the BBC is absolutely being pushed by the rightwing, because (of their ideological goals and) they simply disagree with public-service anything.
*for all its problems, which I do not dispute*, the conversation about ending the BBC is absolutely being pushed by the rightwing, because (of their ideological goals and) they simply disagree with public-service anything.
Can't believe there are conversations about ending the BBC. This is like listening to a family calmly discussing whether to shoot it's dog, or burn down the house.
November 11, 2025 at 10:22 AM
it happened very insidiously, slowly and from multiple different fronts.
*for all its problems, which I do not dispute*, the conversation about ending the BBC is absolutely being pushed by the rightwing, because (of their ideological goals and) they simply disagree with public-service anything.
*for all its problems, which I do not dispute*, the conversation about ending the BBC is absolutely being pushed by the rightwing, because (of their ideological goals and) they simply disagree with public-service anything.
Reposted by Naomi Alderman
For those in any doubt please take a look at this study: Life Without The BBC: downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/...
downloads.bbc.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 10:13 AM
For those in any doubt please take a look at this study: Life Without The BBC: downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/...