Sam Leith
@questingvole.bsky.social
@spectator lit ed. “Clock-white, still friendly to the earth.” https://bit.ly/TheHauntedWood
Pinned
Sam Leith
@questingvole.bsky.social
· Sep 4
The Haunted Wood | Oneworld
'A MARVEL' PHILIP PULLMAN Do you remember the first time you fell in love with a book? The stories we read as children extend far beyond our childhoods; they are a window into our deepest hopes, joys ...
bit.ly
My book is out in paperback TODAY. All about children’s books, which are the best and most important sort. bit.ly/4pdXMNt
Reposted by Sam Leith
I havent read such a banger of an essay in a very long time. This is so well-written!
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I havent read such a banger of an essay in a very long time. This is so well-written!
Reposted by Sam Leith
This is what is happening. It is cynical. It is strategic. It is organised. It is well funded.
And we need to pay attention.
The far right - and their cheerleaders, mimics, tribute acts, and handmaidens have identified two presentational frameworks that give them cut-through and traction. 1/7
And we need to pay attention.
The far right - and their cheerleaders, mimics, tribute acts, and handmaidens have identified two presentational frameworks that give them cut-through and traction. 1/7
November 6, 2025 at 1:44 PM
This is what is happening. It is cynical. It is strategic. It is organised. It is well funded.
And we need to pay attention.
The far right - and their cheerleaders, mimics, tribute acts, and handmaidens have identified two presentational frameworks that give them cut-through and traction. 1/7
And we need to pay attention.
The far right - and their cheerleaders, mimics, tribute acts, and handmaidens have identified two presentational frameworks that give them cut-through and traction. 1/7
Reposted by Sam Leith
lol
November 6, 2025 at 4:47 AM
lol
Excellent and learned thread from George here
1. In the wake on Mamdani’s win, we’ll see a lot more far right anti-urban sentiment. Here’s a thread on its roots and evolution.
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
November 5, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Excellent and learned thread from George here
❤️
November 5, 2025 at 8:27 AM
❤️
Reposted by Sam Leith
HERE IT IS!!!!!
H Is For Hawk - Official Trailer
YouTube video by LionsgateFilmsUK
youtu.be
November 4, 2025 at 6:32 PM
HERE IT IS!!!!!
Reposted by Sam Leith
On the latest Little Atoms podcast, @joannapocock.bsky.social on her wonderful new book Greyhound. Out now from @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or here:
shows.acast.com/b5fe8d16-751...
shows.acast.com/b5fe8d16-751...
Little Atoms 975 - Joanna Pocock's Greyhound | Little Atoms
shows.acast.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:15 AM
On the latest Little Atoms podcast, @joannapocock.bsky.social on her wonderful new book Greyhound. Out now from @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or here:
shows.acast.com/b5fe8d16-751...
shows.acast.com/b5fe8d16-751...
Reposted by Sam Leith
Did you happen to leave your @londonreviewbookshop.co.uk purchases on the Metropolitan line yesterday?
Did one of your friends do this and send an anguished message to the group chat?
If so, Darren has just done you a very good turn. 👇
Did one of your friends do this and send an anguished message to the group chat?
If so, Darren has just done you a very good turn. 👇
If anyone lost a bag of books from LRB Bookshop on the Metropolitan Line between Baker St- Watford, I handed it to a cleaner when the train terminated at Watford tube station. And if you have far more followers than me, please share this status. LRB bookshop is not cheap!
November 2, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Did you happen to leave your @londonreviewbookshop.co.uk purchases on the Metropolitan line yesterday?
Did one of your friends do this and send an anguished message to the group chat?
If so, Darren has just done you a very good turn. 👇
Did one of your friends do this and send an anguished message to the group chat?
If so, Darren has just done you a very good turn. 👇
Reposted by Sam Leith
Congratulations, Andrew Cuomo!
I know how hard you worked for this.
I know how hard you worked for this.
![Red Trump-style graphic with images of Donald Trump and Andrew Cuomo.
At the top it says, "I'm going to pick [Cuomo]." - Donald Trump, 60 Minutes Interview, 11-2-25
Then beneath it
TRUMP ENDORSES CUOMO](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:j5hrotody26iqi24hcusufxu/bafkreib7wnor7hl45ryvmifde4sov74rrnexa3iecbyu7zxjx6brrslsiy@jpeg)
November 3, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Congratulations, Andrew Cuomo!
I know how hard you worked for this.
I know how hard you worked for this.
Wrote about how the troll dynamic has come to trump ideology, with a hat tip to @jamesrball.com
Welcome to the age of the troll
Father Mark Rowles, a Catholic priest in Cardiff, admitted to taking on the persona of 'skinheadlad1488' in neo-Nazi chatrooms
www.spectator.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Wrote about how the troll dynamic has come to trump ideology, with a hat tip to @jamesrball.com
Reposted by Sam Leith
The 2026 Carnegies nominations are live! 🎉 Join us in celebrating the exceptional storytelling and illustration recognised this year. 🏆 Get ready for an inspiring awards season! Congrats to all nominees! 📖❤️
https://carnegies.co.uk/nominations-announced-2026
#Carnegies2026
https://carnegies.co.uk/nominations-announced-2026
#Carnegies2026
November 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
The 2026 Carnegies nominations are live! 🎉 Join us in celebrating the exceptional storytelling and illustration recognised this year. 🏆 Get ready for an inspiring awards season! Congrats to all nominees! 📖❤️
https://carnegies.co.uk/nominations-announced-2026
#Carnegies2026
https://carnegies.co.uk/nominations-announced-2026
#Carnegies2026
Paging @sarahchurchwell.bsky.social
THIS MOTHERFUCKER HELD A GREAT GATSBY PARTY WHILE 43 MILLION PEOPLE GO HUNGRY AND HEALTHCARE COSTS KEEP RISING.
November 2, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Paging @sarahchurchwell.bsky.social
Ngl I preferred it when they were made with 100 per cent potatoes
November 1, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Ngl I preferred it when they were made with 100 per cent potatoes
Reposted by Sam Leith
Anyway, my actual serious thought through take is that "these beings are inherently evil" in fantasy is problematic first and foremost depending on how close they get to resembling actual sapient beings. Otherwise that's just a demon and I'm sorry but it was not racism that invented demons.
October 31, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Anyway, my actual serious thought through take is that "these beings are inherently evil" in fantasy is problematic first and foremost depending on how close they get to resembling actual sapient beings. Otherwise that's just a demon and I'm sorry but it was not racism that invented demons.
Reposted by Sam Leith
Very good and relevant episode of the Spectator Book Club by the outstanding Sam Leith @questingvole.bsky.social.
Why do civilized societies collapse?
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/l...
Why do civilized societies collapse?
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/l...
Luke Kemp: The History and Future of Societal Collapse
Podcastaflevering · The Book Club · 15-10-2025 · 49 min.
podcasts.apple.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Very good and relevant episode of the Spectator Book Club by the outstanding Sam Leith @questingvole.bsky.social.
Why do civilized societies collapse?
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/l...
Why do civilized societies collapse?
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/l...
Reposted by Sam Leith
I love to see stuff like this because it helps explain to people trapped in tech-sponsored information bubbles the actually obvious fact that universities teach people to know & think things, and AI is a way to produce the effect of knowing & thinking things w/o actually knowing & thinking them.
Opinion | Why Even Basic A.I. Use Is So Bad for Students
www.nytimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:13 AM
I love to see stuff like this because it helps explain to people trapped in tech-sponsored information bubbles the actually obvious fact that universities teach people to know & think things, and AI is a way to produce the effect of knowing & thinking things w/o actually knowing & thinking them.
Reposted by Sam Leith
JD Vance claims that diversity weakens unions, as people end up distrusting each other and not organizing.
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
October 30, 2025 at 8:07 AM
JD Vance claims that diversity weakens unions, as people end up distrusting each other and not organizing.
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
Reposted by Sam Leith
The sheer effort of laying out everything wrong w/ this argument *&* the fact that it's meaningless to even do so unless & until the full force of the law is levied at these people who are themselves the literal enforcement arm of the law is further evidence that we are all dead & this is superhell.
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
October 29, 2025 at 6:40 PM
The sheer effort of laying out everything wrong w/ this argument *&* the fact that it's meaningless to even do so unless & until the full force of the law is levied at these people who are themselves the literal enforcement arm of the law is further evidence that we are all dead & this is superhell.
Reposted by Sam Leith
Lol I just asked Grok whether Grokipedia is more neutral than Wikipedia and even it can't lie about this
October 29, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Lol I just asked Grok whether Grokipedia is more neutral than Wikipedia and even it can't lie about this
These idiots are even failing at nerd
I’m really starting to suspect that most of the tech bros haven’t actually read Tolkien, as they certainly don’t understand it.
The gentle hobbits save the “hard men” of Gondor, largely through compassion and selflessness. Not the other way around. The Christian parable is barely hidden!
The gentle hobbits save the “hard men” of Gondor, largely through compassion and selflessness. Not the other way around. The Christian parable is barely hidden!
Elon Musk: "It is time for the English to ally with the hard men, like Tommy Robinson, and fight for their survival or they shall surely all die" 29th October 2025. 2 million views in its first hour.
October 29, 2025 at 2:02 PM
These idiots are even failing at nerd
eek
Talk about an in-flight meal.
For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Jqldmn
For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Jqldmn
October 28, 2025 at 8:48 PM
eek
Reposted by Sam Leith
A majority of voters, and a plurality of white voters, think that Reform is a racist party with racist policies.
October 28, 2025 at 2:03 PM
A majority of voters, and a plurality of white voters, think that Reform is a racist party with racist policies.
Reposted by Sam Leith
I know it’s too much to expect them to know their history, but if the American Revolution had a motto, it definitely would not have been “immigrants go home.”
It would have been “get your fucking soldiers out of our cities.”
It would have been “get your fucking soldiers out of our cities.”
October 28, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I know it’s too much to expect them to know their history, but if the American Revolution had a motto, it definitely would not have been “immigrants go home.”
It would have been “get your fucking soldiers out of our cities.”
It would have been “get your fucking soldiers out of our cities.”
Reposted by Sam Leith
I asked Microsoft PR about this—specially the DHS using Halo IP to recruit for ICE—and the company declined to comment.
October 27, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I asked Microsoft PR about this—specially the DHS using Halo IP to recruit for ICE—and the company declined to comment.