My forthcoming book, “The Fix,” dissects the mob-like tactics of the Trump regime and proposes ideas to reclaim our democracy. Available now for pre-order here.
www.barbaramcquade.com
Cover image for 'Power Plants: Bioenergy, vegetal labour and the politics of productivity' – to be published by Manchester University Press in June 2026.
Very exciting to have received final cover proofs for 'Power Plants' from @manchesterup.bsky.social.
I'm hugely grateful to Jenn Baka, Gavin Bridge and Cara Daggett for their very kind and generous endorsements.
The book is due out in June: manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526192127/
BBC Verify analysis found more than 1,400 buildings had been destroyed since 2 March based on verified visual evidence, but because of limited access and available satellite imagery this is just a snapshot of the damage caused. The true scale is likely much higher
🚨New article🚨
What if the misguided construction of 'right-wing populism' has prevented us from holding the elite accountable and rejuvenate democracy?
This is what @alexyates2000.bsky.social and I explore in our new article: 'There is no such thing as ‘right-wing populism’'
1/
shorturl.at/jptiu
An image of a contextual streetscape with houses faced in brick, render and boarding with tiled roofs
Now out, an Open Access article on Essex's 1973 "Design Guide", which fundamentally shaped the design of housing in England: doi.org/10.1080/0266....
Thank you to @rproctor.bsky.social @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social & others for encouragement & comments, and @britishacademy.bsky.social for funding
Woah boy. Record NS oil price. The last time it was nearly this high? The Global Financial Crisis
www.ft.com/content/f04a...
For the first time ever, heat pumps outsold gas boilers in Germany in 2025.
48% of all new heating systems installed last year were heat pumps. Gas fell to just 39%. A decade ago, heat pumps had a 7% market share. The transformation has been remarkable.
This article shows clearly how low the bar is when it comes to countering the mainstreaming of far-right politics
Sure, Magyar is less worse than Orban but he's a former Fidesz loyalist, he is further right on immigration and he's in line on many other issues
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
And in academia #CriticalInfrastructure studies attempts to unwind, critically, the criticality of critical infrastructure practices..
It's not that helpful that #CriticalInfrastructure is a policy discourse used to legitimise #fossilfuel stockpiling in a similar manner to #CriticalMinerals does (though I have reservations with the degree to which material supply is solely a construction)
Let's stop referring to #AI as #infrastructure and start referring to it as #RealEstate - infrastructure for what? Public utilities provide common goods—such as water—through infrastructure, common goods that AI tends to erode.
ICYMI: “.. Almost half of the US data centers planned for this year are expected to be delayed or canceled. One big reason is the shortage of electrical equipment, such as transformers, switchgear and batteries.”
@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
I’ve known Lebanon for three decades. What’s happening now is an invasion.
This is Gaza 2.0 – and the world is barely paying attention.
@CaroleCadwalladr for the Nerve
Link 🔽
As long as renewable supply increases are outstripped by increases in energy demand, which they are, we are running to stand still. www.iea.org/reports/glob...
Does @technologyreview.com not understand the data on #energy #supply and #demand? Staggeringly low editorial standards enabling #AI hubris. www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/08/1...
With all the uncritical coverage of the Artemis 2 moon mission, thought it would be timely to post “Whitey on the moon” from Gil Scott Heron
“A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
I can't pay no doctor bills.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
youtu.be/3nzoPopQ7V0
"Transformative Design Frames: A transdisciplinary model to support designing for sustainability transitions"
#TransitionDesign #SystemicDesign
systemic-design.org/contexts/ann...
Of course AOC is the only one with the nuts to warn people in the chain of command that acting on Trump's illegal orders is a crime they can be tried for.
Literally, she is the only person who has a moral claim to the Democratic nomination. I just hope voters see it.
thehill.com/homenews/hou...
New on the podcast: Helen Thompson joins @piercepenniless.bsky.social to discuss Iran and the oil crisis, exploring how energy requirements helped Trump to secure the backing of major US corporations in the 2024 presidential election. Listen on our website:
www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and...
Yeah this is literally the purpose of these products. I don't mean this in a "kids these days" kind of way. EdTech companies, and the feckless education bosses who team up with them, want education to be a credential-generating machine in which learners act like customers and teachers act like cops
Can we stop this? This is entirely irrelevant to IHL. This will be a war crime, and likely a crime against humanity. It's not a curiosity to be debated for clicks.
It's heinous and we all need to start Calling Things What They Are.
I could appreciate this kind of humility if it didn't feel like a blatant attempt to avoid legal liability.
Read this: epic waste on consultants by uni VCs, superbly critiqued by @gsoh31.bsky.social. We need a positive substitute to this "hawking".
There's a gaping gulf between uni practice + real research on the "Big Con" by @rosiecollington.bsky.social+@mazzucatom.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/5032...
#LNG terminals make gas prices volatile because tankers can be diverted on route, on a whim. Imagine if whims were a driving force in politics? safetybeforelng.ie #SayNotoLNG #SafetyBeforeLNG #LNG
The death of a nearly blind refugee from Myanmar who was found on a Buffalo street in February — five days after Border Patrol agents left him at a doughnut shop — has been ruled a homicide, authorities said Wednesday. https://to.pbs.org/3NZGHsz
On this day, a declaration for the rights of the moon is timely
www.centerforenvironmentalrights.org/declaration-...
#RoN #LunarRights
