Fantastic news that Gary Younge has agreed to be chair of the judging panel for our book prize which awards humanities and social sciences books that change how we see today’s world
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/award-w...
Fantastic news that Gary Younge has agreed to be chair of the judging panel for our book prize which awards humanities and social sciences books that change how we see today’s world
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/award-w...
This conference we are supporting in Birmingham in June has an amazing mix of 40 panels - a veritable Choose your Own Adventure through modern British studies. It’s also the inaugural event of the Association of Modern British Studies! Great stuff here
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/briti...
Remittance inflows, 2024, % of GDP
Collapsing remittances will compound Asia’s energy shock
economist.com/asia/2026/04...
So much for the theory. Iran should allow fertiliser to pass through the Strait of Hormuz; America should not blockade urea shipments from Iran. Tragically, neither shows any inclination to do so. High petrol prices make biofuel more attractive to farmers, not less. And rich countries are in a selfish mood. Failure to act thus looks baked in. In the face of an avoidable disaster, that is shameful.
Fair but depressing conclusion from @economist.com - we could avoid some of the worst of the hunger, but we won’t
economist.com/leaders/2026...
This Modern British Studies conference looks fantastic:
This conference we are supporting in Birmingham in June has an amazing mix of 40 panels - a veritable Choose your Own Adventure through modern British studies. It’s also the inaugural event of the Association of Modern British Studies! Great stuff here
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/briti...
He said: "By shifting the vast majority of university funding into the hands of the aggregate decisions of 17-year-olds, the English system of choice has become an enormous machine for finding out who has the best marketing department, with some world-leading research sprinkled in certain places."
Quite the quote from the John Blake, the former director of fair access at the Office for Students
www.thetimes.com/article/1cb6...
Cervical cancer death rates in the United Kingdom have fallen by 80% since 1950 Reported deaths from cervical cancer per 100,000 women. In 1950, there were 8.6 deaths from cervical cancer per 100,000 women By 2021, this had fallen to 1.7
Your slow news story for the day: Death rates for cervical cancer in the United Kingdom have fallen by 80% since 1950 from 8.6 deaths per 100,000 women to 1.7
ourworldindata.org/data-insight... @ourworldindata.org
Super interesting piece on why many of the new Indian metro systems have not got as many passengers as expected: bad modelling; fares too high; metros not integrated with other transport; and safety are some of the reasons given www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
1 the introduction of population-level screening programs in 1988
2 the rollout of the HPV vaccine
Cervical cancer death rates in the United Kingdom have fallen by 80% since 1950 Reported deaths from cervical cancer per 100,000 women. In 1950, there were 8.6 deaths from cervical cancer per 100,000 women By 2021, this had fallen to 1.7
Your slow news story for the day: Death rates for cervical cancer in the United Kingdom have fallen by 80% since 1950 from 8.6 deaths per 100,000 women to 1.7
ourworldindata.org/data-insight... @ourworldindata.org
Cervical cancer death rates in the United Kingdom have fallen by 80% since 1950 Reported deaths from cervical cancer per 100,000 women. In 1950, there were 8.6 deaths from cervical cancer per 100,000 women By 2021, this had fallen to 1.7
Your slow news story for the day: Death rates for cervical cancer in the United Kingdom have fallen by 80% since 1950 from 8.6 deaths per 100,000 women to 1.7
ourworldindata.org/data-insight... @ourworldindata.org
I can't make this but looks fascinating
1926 would have been the first Census my grandparents appear as young children, but also confirm a few of their siblings left Ireland just in advance of the US 1924 immigration restrictions (siblings my grandparents barely saw again)
There is a major exhibition ‘The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census’ and I’m delighted that we are hosting this in London at @britishacademy.bsky.social from 24 April - 15 May. Free entry and no booking required. Pop in if you are around!
nationalarchives.ie/engage-and-l...
The Swedish military chief said ‘the Russian central bank was underestimating inflation, which it believed was closer to the 15 per cent key interest rate than the official 5.86 per cent’
www.ft.com/content/04a9...
So much for the theory. Iran should allow fertiliser to pass through the Strait of Hormuz; America should not blockade urea shipments from Iran. Tragically, neither shows any inclination to do so. High petrol prices make biofuel more attractive to farmers, not less. And rich countries are in a selfish mood. Failure to act thus looks baked in. In the face of an avoidable disaster, that is shameful.
Fair but depressing conclusion from @economist.com - we could avoid some of the worst of the hunger, but we won’t
economist.com/leaders/2026...
‘Famine and widening food insecurity are the foreseeable consequences of military aggression in the Gulf. That reality ought to weigh heavily on a world that has largely understood this war through the narrow lens of oil-price instability’
www.ft.com/content/3634...
What are your top three Prince songs today? (Not a binding forever choice). I’ll go
1 If I was your girlfriend
2 Crazy you
3 Sometimes it snows in April
But if those are not to your taste I have others
Lovely piece from @helenpearson.bsky.social on how evidence (especially but not only RCTs) have improved so many areas of life including policing, tackling poverty, and medicine
www.ft.com/content/9b8e...
It’s ok. The choices are non binding and you can choose 3 more tomorrow. Ditto with mine and how to fit in Strange Relationship
‘Once there was a hilarious moment when Bruce Springsteen and Madonna came backstage but Prince’s dressing room was off limits to them, so they had to use the band’s toilet.’
Really lovely set of memories of Prince on the 10th anniversary of his death
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/a...
"I loath Olly - he is arrogant to colleagues and condescending to ministerial authority - but it isn't fair for him to be sacked just for doing what the prime minister wanted to happen," said one.
If something bad happens to any of us let’s hope our enemies come out batting for us like this civil servant has for Olly Robbins
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
You can choose a new set tomorrow!
Was just listening to Starfish and Coffee earlier. Absolutely worthy of your number one slot
Haven’t heard Morning Papers for ages!
This from Candy Dulfer might explain the decline:
‘we did some gig at a casino in Atlanta and he slipped and broke his hip. He should have had a hip operation, but as a Witness he wasn’t allowed to, so that’s probably when the painkillers started’ ☹️
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/a...
Sheila E at Ronnie Scott’s
Ronnie Scott’s signboard
Oh wow. I can’t go to that, but saw Sheila E at Ronnie Scott’s last week and she played several Prince tracks including Beautiful Night. Fantastic party atmosphere and a privilege to see her live
‘Once there was a hilarious moment when Bruce Springsteen and Madonna came backstage but Prince’s dressing room was off limits to them, so they had to use the band’s toilet.’
Really lovely set of memories of Prince on the 10th anniversary of his death
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/a...