The dark side of Raise the Colours Early on Tuesday evening, amid rush-hour traffic, a ‘Highway Maintenance’-branded van was openly stationed on Abingdon Road affixing St George’s flags to lamp-posts. We ask who is behind it – and why ...

On Tuesday, activists from ‘Raise the Colours’ erected flags along Abingdon Road in broad daylight. We ask who is behind it – and why the campaign is so controversial. oxfordclarion.uk/raise-the-co...

This is a really good article about searching. Lots of things I didn't know about. (And I'd normally flatter myself at being better at this than the average person.)

A very interesting open letter to Donald Trump was published today by one of Dubai's most prominent figures.

@KhalafAlHabtoor is richer than Trump +his family will ever be, even after White House enrichment, and he packs a LOT of clout.

Here's the translation.

Scary stuff, but support is available. For anyone who wants to absorb this news without being swamped by it, see climatepsychologyalliance.org/index.php/fi...

👇🏼👇🏼

Ask a Climate Therapist: How do I deal with friends and family who won't stop polluting? Your climate values are conflicting with your closest relationships. Here's some advice on how to cope, from therapist Leslie Davenport.

My team at Grist launched a new project today: a column we're calling Ask a Climate Therapist, tackling your questions about climate + mental health with licensed therapist @lesliedavenport.bsky.social
Check out Leslie's first column here!
grist.org/culture/ask-...

Collage of four close-up photographs showing hazelnuts at different stages on the tree. The nuts are enclosed in frilled, leafy husks that resemble little caps or hats. Colours range from pale green and cream to warm brown, with softly blurred green and neutral backgrounds.

Hazel comes from the Anglo-Saxons, who named the tree hæsel, linked to a word for “hat”, because its nuts appear to wear little caps. In place names such as Hesleden — once hæsel-denu — old words endure. Denu means valley, while hæsel recalls its early inhabitants: hazel trees.

Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.

“The times are urgent, we have to slow down.”

Great afternoon out with a three-year-old grandson

How to turn your most aggravating student emails into a chance to spread joy Faced with a flurry of grade complaints at the end of each semester, Danny Oppenheimer found a way to respond that generated positivity for students and himself. Read on to find out what he did

How to turn your most aggravating student emails into a chance to spread joy: Faced with a flurry of grade complaints at the end of each semester, Danny Oppenheimer found a way to respond that generated positivity for students and himself. www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/how-t...

It me

‘…just as O’Farrell, in crafting Hamnet, borrows some material from Shakespeare’s life and work, and much from her own.’

‘Reading Hamlet through the prism of biographical speculation impoverishes our understanding of the play and its relationship with stories in circulation during the Renaissance period. Shakespeare used matter other than his own experience as creative springboards for his imagination’

It takes many ghosts to make a story: how Maggie O'Farrell’s Hamnet takes from – and mistakes – Shakespeare Was the premature death of Shakespeare’s only son really the inspiration for Hamlet?

I found #Hamnet immersive and visceral, but I did struggle with the biographical element. I had a similar problem with the novel, though the film takes that element even further. This @theconversation.com article by Amy Walters and Kate Flaherty was very helpful: theconversation.com/it-takes-man...

As people seem to be sharing starter packs for the new arrivals on Bluesky (welcome to you all), I can’t do better on climate than suggest you go to @katharinehayhoe.com ‘s comprehensive list of starter packs. She has them on every conceivable climate topic, including climate psychology (my field).

Sharing our starter pack for those new or recently come back to bluesky. As ever, let us know of any omissions.

go.bsky.app/Gf6AWuT

Also worth looking at @climatena.bsky.social’s starter pack of psychotherapists and other psychological professionals focusing on support for climate distress.

As people seem to be sharing starter packs for the new arrivals on Bluesky (welcome to you all), I can’t do better on climate than suggest you go to @katharinehayhoe.com ‘s comprehensive list of starter packs. She has them on every conceivable climate topic, including climate psychology (my field).

THREAD: I'll fact-check all the viral misinformation about the US military operation in Venezuela in this thread

This image, purporting to show the US military arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is AI-generated.

According to Google's SynthID detector, it was created using Google AI.

“American imperialism is a tradition; removing someone does not lead to predictable results; dispensing with international law is not only wrong but undesirable; foreign military actions can be about domestic regime change.”

Nicely put

Agree. I did very much enjoy the whole bolted-together mess though. But what’s with the love affair with Bodley’s Librarian?

Bridging the Species Divide: Animal minds and the human-animal relationship (Ref: RDF26/HW/PSY/RENNER) at Northumbria University on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Bridging the Species Divide: Animal minds and the human-animal relationship (Ref: RDF26/HW/PSY/RENNER) at Northumbria University, listed on FindAPhD.com

Are you interested in doing a PhD about what humans infer about animal minds?

Check out this opportunity @northumbriapsy.bsky.social with me, @mdconstable.bsky.social and Lee Shepherd!

Deadline 23 Jan 2026

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

For a calendar with online climate cafés and other in-person ones, visit the @climatepsychol.bsky.social website here:

climatepsychologyalliance.org/index.php/co...

Climate Café | Meetup Climate Cafés are an incredibly simple idea. They’re opportunities to meet with facilitators and talk about our responses to climate change. The organisers provide a space, facilitators, and some cake...

Our climate cafés run monthly. January’s is on Sunday 18 Jan at Common Ground, Little Clarendon Street, Oxford UK. You can join the Meetup to get notifications of futures dates meetup.com/meetup-group...

A thread describing what climate cafés are all about.

Absolutely, he is quite the persuader: the plot wouldn’t happen without him. So is his daughter, was my additional point

The father of Mrs Clay, who nearly persuades one Elliott to marry her and then persuades another to elope? Yes please!

Join Us as Our New Co-Chairs of Trustees – PIRC We are looking for two enthusiastic new Co-Chairs of Trustees to work with us as we navigate an exciting period of change and growth.

Could you, or someone you know, be one of our new co-chairs?

publicinterest.org.uk/chair/

Oxford’s hidden food emergency – and the community filling the gaps “What are your plans for next week?” asks Dave. Maria tells him that it's her birthday.  As a volunteer for Oxford Mutual Aid (OMA), which delivers food to people across the city, Dave calls Maria ev...

🚨Clarion morning read 🚨
Increasing numbers of people in Oxford are struggling to put food on the table, in this, one of the UK's most unequal cities.

Phil Perry from Oxford Mutual Aid writes about the growing community that's stepping up to help.
@oxfordmutualaid.bsky.social