The First Thing Fascism Dismantles: Why Universities Are Always the Target There is a pattern, and it is not subtle.

The First Thing Fascism Dismantles: Why Universities Are Always the Target
open.substack.com/pub/misogyno...
#AcademicWriting #IndependentScholars #Womanists #BlackSky #Borders #AcademicSupport

The myth of STEM only growth holds back the UK - LSE Impact The view that STEM subjects on their own drive growth is misguided and presents a lopsided view of the value of the social sciences and humanities.

💥New | The myth of STEM only growth holds back the UK

✍️ Geoff Mulgan

#STEM #SocialScience #AcademicSky

I wrote a novel using AI. Writers must accept artificial intelligence – but we are as valuable as ever | Stephen Marche Mastery of banal style is losing its usefulness – but language is more powerful than ever. It’s up to the writer to do what machines can’t

"What LLMs do well, particularly ones shaped by human learning feedback, is generate convincing expressions of dead language. The more formulaic the task, the better they are." #academicwriting #academicsky

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Greenwashing for Punks (and Academics) For all beer aficionados out there — and those who want to be but can barely manage half a pint (looking at you, Raf!) — it is perhaps old…

My new post on Raf Around The Edges: Universities don’t brew beer. But like BrewDog, they do sell stories. But when the story stops matching reality, its true cost is immense.

On Becoming Comfortable with Student Gossiping There are things in life people would rather not know, not because they will harm them (although they might), but because they ruin your…

First post on my new Medium blog, Raf Around the Edges: coming to terms with student gossip in academia.

Turns out overhearing students gossip about you is less catastrophic than expected, and slightly funny.

British politics is hooked on flashy fake numbers – and the AI investment debacle proves it | Jonathan Portes A claim that the UK is attracting billions of pounds in AI investment has been debunked. That’s no surprise when our establishment runs on dubious ‘good news’, says Jonathan Portes, a professor at Kin...

One TRILLION dollars!

Me in @theguardian.com on the addiction of UK politicians/commentariat to large, and largely meaningless, numbers and why it's bad for policymaking.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

These are shaky times for oil markets. An expert explains what a prolonged war will mean for prices Is it time to panic about supplies?

Is it time to panic about supplies?

Absolutely. “I’m not racist, I just care deeply about ‘lifetime net fiscal contribution’ for reasons I can neither articulate nor defend.” In one way, it’s just the latest in a long line of bigotry-shaped fig leaves. In another, it’s worse because it devalues public service & caring professions.

An image of Earth’s curvature from outer space, showing blue oceans, landmasses and white cloud formations against the black background of space and Pentland Centre’s logo at top right corner. The overlaid text says: Pentland Centre Research Seminar. The World is Not Enough: Accounting for Environmental Externalities in the New Space Economy. Professor Sven Modell. Mon, 23 Feb 2026. 11:00-12:00 GMT. LUMS WP B007/online. All LU staff and students welcome. Registration required – For more info visit: tinyurl.com/spc-econ

#ICYMI: Join us on 23 Feb 11:00-12:00 for a session on The World is Not Enough: Accounting for Environmental Externalities in the New Space Economy at LUMS WP B007/online by Professor Sven Modell from University of Manchester.

All welcome!

Registration required – More info: tinyurl.com/spc-econ

Britain’s relentless rain shows climate predictions playing out as expected After an exceptionally wet start to 2026, two climate scientists explain what’s going on.

After an exceptionally wet start to 2026, two climate scientists explain what’s going on.

📢Historic court win📢

A Court ruled yesterday that the Netherlands' climate policy was insufficient, and discriminated against islanders of Dutch-territory Caribbean island, Bonaire. 1/2

How Pension Funds Can Save the Planet: Stewardship vs. ESG | Catherine Howarth (ShareAction)

📣 New podcast interview with our CEO on TBLI Radical Truth, discussing:

🟠 Catherine's roots in shareholder activism
🟠 The power of pensions
🟠 The future of fiduciary duty

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/78Tz...

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r...

How sustainable is football?

We're talking with @idlan.bsky.social on today's Transforming Tomorrow to discuss the carbon footprints for clubs and tournaments, the problems with football shirts, and the possibility for footballers to be influencers on green behaviour.

Justice for Jeyasre: how a brutal murder led to a better deal for garment workers in India After a 21-year-old employee was raped and killed by her supervisor in 2021, campaigners ensured conditions at the factory were overhauled. But its order book never recovered

This story is an example in what’s broken in business–worker relationships across global supply chains: a bit of greenwashing, a bit of greenhushing, half-measures, and enormous inertia. As one of the people driving this case put it: “Unless there is some massive tragedy, nobody will do anything.”

Private equity backers offload record amount of old fund stakes Deals in which investors sell holdings in ageing funds set to hit $110bn

Private equity backers offload record amount of old fund stakes

Every imperial power drums up paranoid fears to justify aggression and expansion. If one excuse looks too ridiculous to attempt, another will always be found.

UK to re-join Erasmus+ – here are six benefits of the European exchange scheme Erasmus+ an accessible and well-supported programme.

Erasmus+ an accessible and well-supported programme.

UKRI chief pledges shift from short-termism in research funding - Research Professional News In RPN interview, Ian Chapman heralds specialisation drive for UK universities via “continuity and commitment”

· #AcademicSky ·
The chief executive of UKRI has said the agency will move away from “transactional” grant funding and encourage universities to specialise by committing to long-term strategic relationships with them, reports @robinbisson.bsky.social via @resprofnews.bsky.social

How executive pay went galactic Elon Musk’s $1tn incentive plan supercharges a long history of rewards driving up executive pay

In companies that turned mismanagement with confidence into strategy, the real kicker isn’t excessive pay. It’s the message to workers: ‘Fuel the corporate machine and maybe you’ll get a wage that won’t make you laugh-cry. Plus free coffee. And mugs, but don’t steal them, that’s an HR violation.”

How unsustainable global supply chains exacerbate food insecurity The expansion of global food supply chains can reduce food security, while improving regional food systems can improve food security.

The expansion of global food supply chains can reduce food security, while improving regional food systems can improve food security.

Maybe, but how do you go around not using French as forms of expression? 😅

How do I learn when to shut up in meetings? It’s too late for me, but you can still follow my advice

Maybe it’s too late for me to read this 😂

Commission’s SFDR review misses the mark, risks fueling more… We work across borders and systems to transform the financial sector and harness its potential to be a force for good.

The @ec.europa.eu released its Sustainable Finance Disclosure SFDR review proposal, and it misses the mark.

️ ⚠️ Key disclosure rules are removed, engagement is overlooked and the new “transition” category still risks greenwashing rather than driving real change.

👉 shareaction.org/news/commiss...

Presented my empirical research on Investor Stewardship’s “Expectations Gap” at the SLS Company Law & Sustainability Conference. The project’s findings show the existence of an “Expectations Disconnect” rather than a “Gap”: high-level principles don’t seem to translate into granular expectations.

Disinformation rife ahead of climate summit in Brazil – DW – 11/06/2025 As a majority of global citizens call for bold climate change policies, a new push for information integrity aims to neutralize the climate denial that has thwarted ambitious action.

📢Research shows a 267% surge in #COP -related disinformation between July - Sept this year📢

A new report found despite recent research showing 80%+ of people support stronger climate action, increasing online disinfo (supercharged by AI) fuels hostility towards science🧵

www.dw.com/en/disinform...

The image includes a teal coloured background with an image of a rounded rectangle with a blue coloured card at the centre right of showing white text saying Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, placed on top of other brightly coloured SDG cards with partially visible text and Pentland Centre logo at the top right side of the image. The overlaid text says: Pentland Centre Research Seminar. Turning points in Climate Justice: What recent International Rulings mean for sustainability? Camilo Cornejo (Lancaster University). Tues, 11 Nov, 2025. 11:00–12:00 GMT. LUMS WP B007/online. All LU staff and students welcome - Tailored for Professional Services members. Registration required - More info at: tinyurl.com/clmt-just. This session will be recorded and made publicly available afterward.

REMINDER: Join us on Tues, 11 Nov, 2025, 11:00–12:00 at LUMS WP B007/online for a session on Turning points in Climate Justice: What recent International Rulings mean for sustainability? by Camilo Cornejo.

All LU staff and students welcome

Registration required-More info at: tinyurl.com/clmt-just.

UK university halted human rights research after pressure from China Exclusive: Leading professor at Sheffield Hallam was told to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China after demands from authorities

As someone early in my research career, I’m stunned by this. That’s a gut punch for academic freedom.

Canada’s largest pension investment manager sued Young Canadians are taking the sixth largest pension fund manager in the world to court, claiming it is failing to protect their pensions from climate risk.

🚨Climate litigation alert🚨

Canada's largest pension fund has been sued over alleged mismanagement of climate risk 🧵

ecojustice.ca/news/canadas...

#CDNpensions #ClimateRisk #FiduciaryDuty #ClimateFinance #PensionGovernance #NetZero #cdnpoli #ProtectOurPensions

@livingwageuk.bsky.social has today announced its new Living Wage rates.

Alongside investors we work with in the Good Work Coalition, we continue to support the real Living Wage and encourage companies to protect their workers and businesses from the harms of low pay.

Paul Turner, Adrian Friday and Jan Bebbington smiling at the camera, standing in front of a dark grey, mottled wall.

What are the energy costs of creating an AI avatar, or asking ChatGPT a question? How can we deal with heat generated by data centres? Professor Adrian Friday returns to #TransformingTomorrow to help Jan & @thepaulturner.bsky.social wrestle with these questions.

Listen & subscribe: pod.fo/e/3403ed