Sewers are one of the most transformational interventions to human health in history, yet they are rarely understood or recognised for their impact. So we are holding an event about them next Tuesday. In person in London or watch online! www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/searc...

The secret life of sewers

From the Big Stink to the fatberg, London's history has always flowed through what (and how) we flush away. Sewers are one of the most transformational, yet least recognised interventions in the histo...

thebritishacademy.ac.uk

the 2016 settlement was really the point at which it became clear that we had moved from a high trust system to a low trust system in 20 years. HE Expansion did not produce the envisioned productivity gains - the problem must have lain with universities

Raging

Peter Whitewood@pwhitewood.bsky.social · 21h ago

Universities are shedding jobs, departments are closing and students are losing local options. Jo Johnson remains convinced that competition and student choice are working as intended.

😑

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 20h ago

'The government in which Johnson held his ministerial office took pride in the fact that it had opened up higher education opportunity. “Lifting student number controls was one of the most important social mobility reforms of the last generation,” Johnson argues.'

🚨 NEW: Poorer students have the most to gain from university, but they’re the least likely to go. Our brand-new best practice guide argues universities should redouble efforts to support disadvantaged students 🧵

*That honking goose pic*

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 21h ago

'The UK government must urgently come up with a clear plan for what would happen to students who are left stranded by university closures, according to the Conservatives’ shadow education minister [Joanne Cash].'

ah, this is going to be SO GOOD! And we're luring Aditya Chakrabortty to Mile End! Do join if you've got even just a passing interest in #SocialHistory, #BritishHistory, #UrbanHistory, history of photography, or a bunch of cool brains in one room. #SkyStorians

Raphael Samuel History Centre@rshc.bsky.social · 2d ago

How do we write histories of small towns in the post-1945 period? Photographing the Calder Valley: or social history at the “mouth of hell”. Matthew Hilton with Aditya Chakrabortty 19 November 2026, 6pm, Queen Mary University, London E1 PhotographingCalderValley.eventbrite.co.uk @qmcbs.bsky.social

Delighted to share that the British version of my book is now out in paperback! hurstpublishers.com/book/abortion/ Thanks, @hurstpublishers.bsky.social, still LOVE that cover.

There's still plenty of time to apply for this fantastic funded #PhD studentship on the history of unorthodox health activism in Britain after 1948! Interested? Know someone great who should apply? Get in touch! #AcademicSky www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSR502/p...

PhD Studentship: Unorthodox health activism in Britain after 1948 at University of Strathclyde

Explore a PhD Studentship: Unorthodox health activism in Britain after 1948 on jobs.ac.uk. Discover more PhD opportunities and apply today!

jobs.ac.uk

📣 Important Membership News 📣 Keep informed with latest issue of The Gazette (September 2026). This issue explains changes to membership management with a new system from November. Look out for your renewal letters arriving early December. #histSTM #histmed

Stay Informed with The Gazette of SSHM

The Gazette of the SSHM launched in 1990 to keep subscribers of Social History of Medicine informed about professional events within as well as outside the SSHM. It not only provides a means to com…

sshm.org

"But did you know, Women's nose." The lyrics to Seal's Kiss from a Rose according to the 6 year old

OMG I had to check my work emails regarding an extra case in court tomorrow and I've just read this from an HR person. "on a knee to nose basis" A KNEE TO NOSE BASIS 😳

"But did you know, Women's nose." The lyrics to Seal's Kiss from a Rose according to the 6 year old

Visit the 'Patient voices' exhibition at the RCP Museum until 23 July 2027. Check out our website for opening details & exhibition themed events. Next Thurs 8 October you can join our Museum Late to explore after hours with free talks! history.rcp.ac.uk/exhibitions/... @rcphysicians.bsky.social

#JobFairy alert for #histSTM and modern british historians - 60 month post-doc at Newcastle Uni on the Wellcome Trust funded "The Night Shift 1850-present: Reimagining Sleep, Work and Wellbeing for Healthcare Professionals in English and Scottish Hospitals" 🗃️ www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DTD047/r...

Research Assistant/Associate (Modern British History) at Newcastle University

Explore an exciting academic career as a Research Assistant/Associate (Modern British History). Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.

jobs.ac.uk

Was on the same bill as punkdISCO on Friday and can't get this bassline out of my head. Love it soundcloud.com/punkdisco/i-...

I Can Dance

Listen to I Can Dance by punkdISCO #np on #SoundCloud

soundcloud.com

Was on the same bill as punkdISCO on Friday and can't get this bassline out of my head. Love it soundcloud.com/punkdisco/i-...

I Can Dance

Listen to I Can Dance by punkdISCO #np on #SoundCloud

soundcloud.com

Just amazing how many problems there are when people just don't read their emails properly

😮 Amazing!

The Arthur C. Clarke Award@clarkeaward.bsky.social · last wk.

Coming to the stage in 2027! 👉 www.rsc.org.uk/piranesi

'At least eight universities have announced industrial action for the coming year'. Edinburgh: 5 weeks, £140m cuts, 90 degree programmes, 1,800 potential job losses. Dundee, Essex, Exeter, Glasgow Caledonian, Heriot-Watt, Nottingham, Sussex and where next?

UK Universities Set to Strike in ‘Last-Ditch Fight Over Existential Cuts’

'It is carnage'.

novaramedia.com

The fragility of senior managers as they literally destroy whole careers and fields of study has really been something to behold. Is it hot in that kitchen?

Melissa Terras@melissaterras.bsky.social · last wk.

It’s an interesting thought experiment, isn’t it? Can an employee bully the most senior of senior managers? Doesn’t the power differential preclude this? Perhaps they did not pay attention when taught the only effective protest - or comedy - is when you punch up? 🎭 Or they didn’t do an arts subject.

Yes! And Lincoln in the Bardo is one of my favourite books

Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · last wk.

George Saunders on using AI: "Writing is the most precious way one person can communicate their essence to another person. I’ve spent a lifetime trying to get better at making myself present in my writing. Why would I want to sacrifice even one iota of that?"

Our work on diaper waste featured in Anthropocene Magazine: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/09/how-...

How earlier toilet training could help stem the tide of plastic waste

Kids leave diapers behind nearly a year later than they did in the 1950s. With 300,000 disposable diapers tossed every minute, a new study maps three ways out.

anthropocenemagazine.org

Oh, I would love to live here themodernhouse.com/sales-list/m...

For Sale: Mill House, Canterbury, Kent

Set within Canterbury’s historic St Radigunds, this wonderfully reimagined house occupies a picturesque riverside position on the lush banks of the Great Stour.

themodernhouse.com

Today & tomorrow are first days of strike as Uni council makes final decisions on massive cuts of courses &staff. Please show your #solidatity by sharing this, to encourage management to take our alternative financial proposals seriously. Compulsory redundancies not necessary!! @uonucu.bsky.social

University and College Union (UCU)@ucu.org.uk · last wk.

Nottingham today. Everywhere tomorrow. 2,700 staff put at risk. 600+ jobs targeted. At least 48 courses facing closure. What happens here sets the template for the sector. Stand with Nottingham.

Um, I'd actually like to do all three myself.....

Alice Reid@amrcampop.bsky.social · 2w ago

Interested in a PhD in historical demography/population studies at @camunicampop.bsky.social, @camunigeography.bsky.social, Cambridge University? We have 3 suggested topics (see thread): contact me to discuss, or to suggest your own idea. Apply by early December for funded places.

The #EarlyModern Recipes Online Collective annual transcribathon, w/ @wellcomecollection.bsky.social & @rcpmuseum.bsky.social, is 13 Nov. Guest speakers on old age and domestic care are @emmamarshall.bsky.social and Lynn Botelho. Hope you can join us! Details here: emroc.hypotheses.org/5254 #HistMed

2026 Transcribathon Schedule Announced

Recipes through the Ages Friday, November 13, 2026 Join EMROC, Wellcome Collection, and theRoyal College of Physicians for a day of transcribing, virtual chatting, and live talks.  This year we are ex...

emroc.hypotheses.org

Sort of baffled by award winning history books that have just rehashed old material without much reinterpretation

When was the last time our Secretary of State for Culture displayed anything approaching this degree of public enthusiasm for our world-class arts industry? Has she been seen anywhere? Given impending charter renewal... did she even bother to visit a single prom?

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov · 2w ago

Never been to the opera before? Now’s your chance. We’re giving away 70,000 free tickets to the @metopera at the iconic Lincoln Center. Go to on.nyc.gov/opera to enter the lottery. There’s not a bad seat in the house.